The Colorado Rapids had the dream start against the Seattle Sounders in the first leg of the Western Conference Finals. They picked up a crucial away goal in the first quarter of an hour of action at CenturyLink Field, and though they were ultimately beaten 2-1 on the day, they still have a lot to look forward to about coming home in the second leg on Sunday.
Don't miss the MLS action from Dick's Sporting Goods Stadium at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 27, 2016. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Colorado Rapids -105
Seattle Sounders +240
Draw +240
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The bottom line for the Rapids is that they have to win this match in 90 minutes if they want to advance to the MLS Cup Final, and they're going to have to ultimately do so without allowing a goal. A 1-0 win or better is good enough to go through, while a 2-1 win would send the match to extra time. Should the Sounders score twice in this one, Colorado will need to win by two goals to put them away.
Not surprisingly, it's basically a tossup at this point as to who is going through. Slight advantage goes to Seattle here with its 2-1 lead from the first 90 minutes, but the Rapids are only -105 to win this match inside of 90 minutes here in Colorado.
The total of 2.5 tells the tale of what could be a gritty game, though the first leg certainly didn't feel that way with three goals and what could have been a heck of a lot more than that.
The First Leg
The Rapids were up 1-0 via Kevin Doyle goal on 13 minutes, but from that point forward, Seattle was clearly on the front foot the rest of the way. The Sounders came up with an equalizer six minutes later from Jordan Morris, his first ever postseason goal, and they were always threatening from that point forward.
Reserve goalie Zac MacMath, playing in place of the injured Tim Howard, had some good moments, and he didn't play as poorly as two goals allowed would suggest. His first goal allowed came on more of a defensive lapse than anything else, while the second – a Nicolas Lodeiro strike two-thirds of the way through the match – came via a penalty of his defense's creation.
Virtually all of the question marks on the injury front actually played in this match even though there were signs that all of the following wouldn't suit. Morris and Shkelzen Gashi for Seattle and Colorado respectively were always trending towards out last week, but now that both have started and have played crucial roles, it's clear that there aren't any major concerns going forward in the second leg of the West Final.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Seattle could end up ruing that first goal allowed, but the fact of the matter is that it was the better of these two teams by a huge margin in the first leg. Taking 15 shots and putting six of them on target and just narrowly missing on a few others was a good step in the right direction, and if it can successfully have that sort of play on the front foot in this one, the Rapids are going to be in a lot of trouble.
Of course, things change in a hurry in these second legs, and if the Rapids put their first goal in relatively early as they did in the first leg, that should open the entire game up. If they don't though, this could end up getting gritty and nasty in a hurry, and we can't help but wonder if there isn't going to be a single goal in this game over the course of 90 minutes, a result that would be fantastic for the Sounders faithful.
MLS Odds: Colorado 0, Seattle 0
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