It took three extra days, but the Seattle Sounders finally know their opponent for the 2016 MLS Cup Final.
Seattle will travel to Canada to take on Toronto FC at BMO Field on Saturday, Dec. 10 (5 p.m. PT; FOX/TSN/UniMas/KIRO 97. FM/El Rey 1360AM) after TFC knocked off the Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference Championship on Wednesday evening.
TFC beat Montreal 7-5 on aggregate in the series, scoring two goals in extra time Wednesday night after the two teams played to a 5-5 aggregate score through the two games.Toronto forward Jozy Altidore scored for the fifth consecutive postseason game and Benoit Cheyrou scored the winner eight minutes to extra time to pace the Reds, who will play in their first-ever MLS Cup Final.
The Sounders knocked off the Colorado Rapids in the Western Conference Championship on Sunday, punching their ticket to the league title game for the first time in the franchise history. Toronto earned the right to host the MLS Cup Final because of a better record than the Sounders during the regular season.
Click here for more information about how to get tickets to MLS Cup in Toronto.
The 2016 edition of MLS Cup is the first in the league’s 21-year history to not feature one of the original 10 teams. Toronto joined MLS in 2007, the Sounders in 2009.
Toronto is the first Canadian team in league history to reach MLS Cup. Prior to Montreal and Toronto FC reaching the Eastern Conference Championship, no Canadian team had even reached a conference final.
The Sounders drew 1-1 with Toronto at BMO Field on July 2. Jordan Hamilton opened the scoring for the Reds in the 60th minute, only to see Jordan Morris equalize just a minute later. The Sounders nearly won in the 87th minute, but Mark Bloom cleared an opportunity off TFC’s goal line.
That match did have some notable absences, and was played before the summer arrival of Sounders playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro. TFC stars Altidore and Michael Bradley were each out injured for TFC in a lineup that featured seven changes to its regular starting lineup.
The Sounders are 7-2-2 all time against Toronto FC, including a 3-1-1 record at BMO Field.
The Reds are led by 2015 MLS MVP and Italian international Sebastian Giovinco (17 goals, 15 assists) and the rejuvenated Altidore, who scored 10 goals and added five assists during the regular season.
TFC defender Eriq Zavaleta was drafted by the Sounders in 2013 and appeared in five games before TFC acquired his rights from Seattle via trade in January 2015, while Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei spent his first five seasons with TFC before joining Seattle in 2014.
BMO Field played host to the title game in 2010, when MLS still played the game at a neutral site. The Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas in that game in front of nearly 22,000 fans.
