MLS Conference Finals Review

West:

The late blooming Seattle Sounders matched up with a consistent Colorado team in the MLS Western Conference Finals. Playing at home for the first leg, Seattle came out with a 2-1 win. Kevin Doyle scored first, but Jordan Morris and Lodeiro scored later on for Seattle. In the second leg, Colorado was down by one goal, but they also had an away goal and were playing at home. However, they couldn’t score the one goal they needed, and Seattle came away with a 1-0 win courtesy of Jordan Morris. Seattle won 3-1 on aggregate and will be playing away for the MLS Cup Final.

East:

For the first time in history, the Eastern Conference Finals was played between two Canadian teams. Giovinco and Piatti lead Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact, respectfully, in this historic game. Montreal got off to the right start. Goals by Oduro, Mancosu, and Oyongo gave them a 3-0 lead by the 53rd minute. Toronto were short of a late comeback when Altidore and Bradley scored later on in the game. In the most eventful game of the playoffs, Montreal traveled to Toronto to try to confirm their spot in the finals. In the 24th minute, Oduro put Montreal up 4-2 on aggregate. 13 minutes later, Cooper notched one back for Toronto. On the stroke of half time, Altidore tied the series 4-4. Montreal winger Ignacio Piatti scored to put his team up 5-4 in the second half. Toronto threw everything at Montreal and eventually got a goal back in the 68th minute when defender Hagglund put one in. With the aggregate tied at 5-5, the series went into extra time. Star striker Giovinco had to come off due to injury, but his substitute, Cheyrou, made an instant impact as he scored a header to put Toronto into the lead. Just 2 minutes later, Ricketts scored and confirmed Toronto’s spot in the final. The 7-5 aggregate win is one of the highest scoring playoff series in MLS history.

Toronto will host the MLS Final on December 10th.

Image Source: mlssoccer.com