SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders face off against the LA Galaxy on Saturday night in the Western Conference Championship in California.
Overall, Saturday’s game notches the Sounders' seventh time playing in the Western Conference Final.
"We're [as] coaching staff super excited to have a couple more extra training days," head coach Brian Schmetzer said at a recent press conference. "As a fan, as just a guy growing up in Seattle, I'm super proud of this organization, this group, this particular group of players. I mean, they put it in last week. They deserve this opportunity. So I'm fired up."
If the Sounders win, it will be the team’s fifth time advancing to the MLS Cup Final, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 7 in Seattle at Lumen Field.
The Sounders are 16-9-9 and are seeded fourth in the Western Conference. The Galaxy are 19-8-7 and are the second seed in the Western Conference.
"It's been a lot of cohesion," said goalie Stefan Frei. "The squad has stuck together really, really well and through ups and downs. But I always say this, that you need the downs in the year that you are currently playing as a squad to build that resilience that we obviously needed in, like the game against LA FC."
"You go down a match and you keep pushing through, and you keep believing, and that has to be formed and built and earned throughout the year," Frei continued. "But I think we have a strong group that's together, that's been together for the whole year, and that's that's helped us, and hopefully it will keep keep pushing us on."
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PDT at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. Fans can watch the game via the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
This year, the Sounders have gone 1-1-1 against the Galaxy in three matches. LA won over Seattle on March 30, but a match on May 5 ended in a scoreless draw. The Sounders claimed victory over LA on Aug. 8.
The Sounders are said to be the league’s best defensive team, allowing only 35 goals all season.
If Seattle wins, the Sounders advance to the MLS Cup Final to face the winner of the match between Orlando and New York, also being held on Nov. 30.