PORTLAND, Ore. — Losing 2-1 to your biggest rival in a playoff game is far from ideal, but the Seattle Sounders find themselves in the not entirely-awful position of heading into the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals knowing that a reasonable result at home can send them through.
The biggest positive the Sounders will bring home is the comfort of a road goal. Raúl Ruidíaz’s 10th minute strike means the Sounders would go through with a result as straight forward as 1-0 on Thursday.
The biggest negative — probably more than the scoreline — is that both Cristian Roldan and Chad Marshall were forced out of the game due to injury.