About two weeks ago, the Seattle Sounders began what promised to be a season-defining stretch of games. The Sounders were set to play as many as seven matches in a span of 23 days while attempting to win their first-ever international competition and contending for the top spot in the Western Conference, something they’d only ever accomplished once before.
It hasn’t been the dream stretch they had surely envisioned, but five games in it’s also far from the disaster it had the potential to be. Sunday’s result was potentially the inflection point.
The Sounders were coming off a frustrating and potentially dispiriting loss to León in the Leagues Cup final on Wednesday, allowing a title into which they had invested much effort and energy to slip through their fingers.