Western Conference Championship Showdown: Seattle have the Shield, but Galaxy hold playoff edge

<img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 75px; height: 75px;">

<strong>Position/Edge</strong>

<img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/Sounders.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 70px; height: 99px;">

<p><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jaime-penedo" target="_blank">Jaime Penedo</a> is capable of the big save. We know that much from CONCACAF and the year-plus he&#39;s prowled the net for LA. But he&#39;s also capable of a maddening moment or two, as we saw in the season finale between these two teams. The Galaxy can&#39;t afford any of those in this series.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Goalkeepers</p><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 75px; height: 75px;">

<p>After some injury-plagued seasons in Toronto, <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/stefan-frei" target="_blank">Stefan Frei</a> got a career reset in Seattle. The revolving backline hasn&#39;t helped his goals-against average or save percentage, and Penedo takes this head-to-head based on his ability to change the game as a shotstopper.</p>

<p class="rteleft">Somehow, some way, Seattle took this category ahead of their back-to-back games to end the regular season. The fact is LA has the most cohesive, effective defensive unit in MLS.&nbsp;<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/omar-gonzalez" target="_blank">Omar Gonzalez</a> is the league&#39;s most dominant defensive presence, and his partnership with <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/aj-delagarza" target="_blank">A.J. DeLaGarza</a> is about as well rounded as they come. Robbie Rogers, if he can stay healthy for an entire season, has first dibs on the &#39;Best Left Back in MLS&#39; tag. Dan Gargan, meanwhile, is understated, but has been nails all year.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Defenders</p><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 75px; height: 75px;">

<p>It&#39;s no wonder Sigi Schmid went conservative against Dallas. Despite plenty of talent, the Sounders backline has been as inconsistent as any in MLS for much of the year. Fortunately, the attack covered up some of the defensive blemishes. <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/chad-marshall" target="_blank">Chad Marshall</a> appears to be the favorite for Defender of the Year and has developed a nice partnership with <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/zach-scott" target="_blank">Zach Scott</a>, but LA&#39;s speed and movement could mean trouble. Speaking of speed and movement, <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/deandre-yedlin" target="_blank">DeAndre Yedlin</a> is going to draw <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/landon-donovan" target="_blank">Landon Donovan</a> duty, a massive test even with Yedlin&#39;s athletic ability, as RSL&#39;s <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/landon-donovan" target="_blank">Tony Beltran</a> can attest.</p>

<p class="rteleft"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/marcelo-sarvas" target="_blank">Marcelo Sarvas</a> and <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/juninho" target="_blank">Juninho</a> can do it all, and they&#39;ll put a choke hold on the middle of the park if you let them. They&#39;ll fancy their chances of doing just that against Pineda and Alonso, especially if the Cuban is hampered at all by injury. <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/landon-donovan" target="_blank">Landon Donovan</a>&#39;s ability to impact a match needs no explanation. The biggest question mark is who&#39;ll start on the right flank. The safe money is on MLS Newcomer of the Year finalist <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/stefan-ishizaki" target="_blank">Stefan Ishizaki</a>, who specializes in pulling backlines apart with his positioning, then tearing them to pieces with his passing ability.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Midfielders</p><strong>EVEN</strong>

<p class="rteleft">It&#39;s all about <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/osvaldo-alonso" target="_blank">Osvaldo Alonso</a> this week. Can the Sounders get the man who sets the tone back up to full speed in time to tackle an LA midfield easily the Sounders equal? There&#39;s nobody better in MLS at recovering the ball, then igniting the attack than Alonso, and Seattle will also need inspired performances from <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/gonzalo-pineda" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Gonzalo Pineda</a> and <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/brad-evans" target="_blank">Brad Evans</a> (the likely replacement for <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/marco-pappa" target="_blank">Marco Pappa</a> on the road) to keep the Galaxy from running the show in possession. <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/lamar-neagle" target="_blank">Lamar Neagle</a> is the wildcard. Sounders fans are familiar with &quot;Good Lamar&quot; and &quot;Bad Lamar,&quot; but there&#39;s no doubt whichever shows up is capable of the spectacular.</p>

<p>The Galaxy take this toss-up category on form, but only barely. When <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/robbie-keane" target="_blank">Robbie Keane</a> is on, as he was in the second leg against Real Salt Lake, he scores goals himself and turns Donovan into an unstoppable force. The Irishman hardly featured this international break, heading home early after a late substitute appearance, and should be rested and ready for Seattle. Form, meanwhile, isn&#39;t exactly <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/gyasi-zardes" target="_blank">Gyasi Zardes</a>&#39; forte right now, though a linesman&#39;s flag deprived him of a goal at Rio Tinto. But just because the goals aren&#39;t flowing doesn&#39;t mean Zardes isn&#39;t a handful. He&#39;ll do his best to pull Marshall and Scott all over the field and open up space for his teammates before bee-lining for for the 18 himself.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Forwards</p><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 75px; height: 75px;">

<p>We haven&#39;t seen &ldquo;Most Valuable Player&rdquo; production from <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/obafemi-martins" target="_blank">Obafemi Martins</a> during these playoffs, but perhaps the Nigerian was just waiting for the Conference Championship to bring his best. That best is about as good as it gets in MLS and is usually accompanied by some swashbuckling play from <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/clint-dempsey" target="_blank">Clint Dempsey</a> in support. LA has succeeded at gumming up the middle of the field in the teams&#39; three meetings this season, largely minimizing the duo&#39;s impact. Can Seattle find a way to jam their oftentimes mesmerizing combination play down the Galaxy&#39;s throats over 180 minutes?</p>

<p><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/alan-gordon" target="_top">Alan Gordon</a> specializes in Goonie magic, but there&#39;s not much attacking bite behind him if <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/stefan-ishizkaki" target="_blank">Stefan Ishizaki</a> starts as expected. In that case, <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/baggio-husidic" target="_blank">Baggio Husidic</a> and <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jose-villarreal" target="_blank">Jose Villarreal</a> will carry the burden, though LA will hope that it never gets to that point, since they&#39;ll be relying on the Keane-Donovan-Zardes combination to do their job at home.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Bench</p><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/Sounders.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 70px; height: 99px;">

<p><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/marco-pappa" target="_blank">Marco Pappa</a> is a game-changer, a 12th man who has the talent to start but has also thrived as a late bullet off the pine. Assuming Schmid sticks with Evans in the first leg for tactical reasons, the Guatemalan will be ready to enter in search of a valuable road goal. Should fresh legs or brute force and determination be required up top, <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kenny-cooper" target="_blank">Kenny Cooper</a> and <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/chad-barrett" target="_blank">Chad Barrett&nbsp;</a> are waiting in reserve, roles they&#39;ve perfected behind Deuce and Oba over the past year.</p>

<p>When the pressure is at its zenith, Bruce Arena&#39;s teams generally get it done. That certainly includes scenarios that involve the Sounders. Schmid may have gotten the best of Arena in the Supporters&#39; Shield race, but <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/omar-gonzalez" target="_blank">Omar Gonzalez</a> is back for this one, and <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/robbie-keane" target="_blank">Robbie Keane</a> is healthy and ready to go. Until Schmid and the Sounders summit Mount Arena in the playoffs, the legendary collegiate, MLS and USMNT boss has the edge.</p>

<p class="rtecenter">Coach</p><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px; width: 75px; height: 75px;">

<p>This time last year, Sigi Schmid was in a precarious position. Now he finds himself with a double in the bag and the opportunity to help the Sounders shed their reputation as playoff flops. Not only that, he gets to do it against a team (LA) and a manager (Bruce Arena) that have owned this matchup in seasons and playoffs past. To book a place in the MLS Cup Final, one which would be played at CenturyLink Field if they can get past the Galaxy, Schmid will have to strike a balance between the attacking soccer that won the Supporters&#39; Shield and the conservative efforts against Dallas that got Seattle in this position.</p>