It’s truly wild how quickly fortunes can change in Major League Soccer.
After a slow start to the 2017 MLS season, an opening to their title defense that saw them win just two matches from 11, the Seattle Sounders have won two consecutive games and are now just a point outside playoff position in the Western Conference.
Earning just one point from four matches between April 29th and May 17th, a miracle point at that coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 against New England, things looked bleak for the Sounders heading into the crucial summer months.
But then something changed. Back-to-back 1-0 home wins over Real Salt Lake and bitter rivals the Portland Timbers have the Sounders sitting on 16 points through 13 matched heading into Wednesday night’s midweek clash against Columbus Crew SC (4:30 p.m. PT; Q13 FOX, ROOT Sports, SoundersFC.com, El Rey 1360AM). The Rave Green are just one point behind the LA Galaxy for the sixth and final postseason spot and remarkably just four points behind the Houston Dynamo for second, which is to say Seattle is doing just fine. Results on Wednesday in Columbus and Sunday against Houston could see Seattle rise as high as second.
The West is especially cluttered. The difference between first place and 10th is only eight points — fewer than the maximum points available in just three games. No team is averaging more than 1.67 points per game either.
More than one-third of the regular season’s games have already been played, and the standings are nearly as tight as when the year began. MLS embraces parity like no other league in the world, and the chaos and entropy are surely just beginning.
