Leg 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders ended in a 2-1 win for Portland at Providence Park on Sunday. The teams will match up again on Thursday, November 8 (10:30 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes; TSN, TVAS) for the decisive second leg. Below is a grid showing the scoreline that each team needs to advance to the Western Conference Championship.
How to read the grid: if the match on November 8 (Leg 2) is SEA 1, POR 0 at the end of regulation time (aggregate score of SEA 2, POR 2), Seattle will advance to the Western Conference Championship on away goals (see below for more information on the away goals rule).
The away goals rule: The away goals rule is a tiebreaking method that is used to determine the winner of a two-legged series, such as the MLS Conference Semifinals and Conference Championships. If two teams are tied on aggregate at the end of regulation time of the second leg, the away goals rule is applied as the first tiebreaker. The winner is the team with the most goals scored away from home.
