Seattle Sounders FC are on the doorstep of history, with 90 minutes Wednesday night separating the Rave Green from becoming the first MLS team to win a Concacaf Champions League title.
They host Liga MX's Pumas UNAM at Lumen Field (10 pm ET | FS1, TUDN), with the victor earning continental bragging rights and a FIFA Club World Cup spot.
The stakes of this moment aren't lost on midfielder Cristian Roldan, who told the Extratime crew that conquering CCL represents an opportunity to summit entirely new territory for an organization that's won two MLS Cups (2016, '19).
"After winning MLS Cup, myself and Jordan \[Morris\] had a conversation," Roldan said, with a 2-2 aggregate scoreline lingering from Leg 1. "We were talking about how winning Champions League would be like the cherry on top of everything. When we had this draw, when we saw León in front of us, we thought we could do some damage. Cherry on top of everything is the right phrase, I think, for that."
Added Morris: "This is the logical next step and we felt like, especially coming into this year, that we had the quality to make a run and win this tournament. To be this close and have pretty much a one-game final at home is really exciting."
Wednesday marks the second time Seattle have hosted a final, the last being MLS Cup 2019 when they secured a 3-1 win over Toronto FC. Morris is expecting a home-crowd boost that should push 70,000 and comfortably break the tournament's single-match attendance record.
"It's a similar feeling to the 2019 final, knowing we get to play at home in front of over 60,000 fans and we're super fortunate here to have the fan base that we do. I think all the guys are just looking forward to getting out there," Morris said.
"It'd mean everything," the forward added. "I think that what's we're playing for, to be the first team to do it. Like you said, it's something you can't have taken away from you and I think all the guys, the whole staff, everyone involved in the club understands that. That's what we're playing for."
Brian Schmetzer has never been one to talk up his own accolades, but the head coach also isn't shying away from what a victory would mean for the Sounders and the league as a whole.
The Seattle native has experienced it all since the club's 2009 entry into MLS, first as an assistant coach under the late Sigi Schmid before taking over the first-team lead role halfway through 2016.
"Look, I don't want to downplay the importance of this moment for myself or anybody else. It's obviously a big moment, but what I always go back to is there's a lot of people that have come before that have paved the way for me, starting with Sigi," Schmetzer said. "He did a lot for me, and then some of the near-misses that we've had in our league have kind of started to sway the things.
"Our Leagues Cup run last year kind of helped us this year. Then I wish Bruce [Arena] would've made it past Pumas. We would've had three MLS teams, it would have been great. So there are people that have paved the way, but yes, it goes back to my nature. Ask me that same question six months from now when I get a chance to really wrap my head around it. Yeah, of course, it'll be a big deal."
MLS teams have made four previous CCL finals and fallen each time. But Schmetzer believes that if the door gets slammed open, it won't be shut any time soon.
"It'd be really massive for our fans and then I'd probably reach the next level and say it's pretty cool for MLS, it's finally happened," Schmetzer said. "It'll probably open the door for more success, I believe. I'm a firm believer that we're getting closer. So, somebody has to do it."
