The Seattle Sounders FC travels to Texas for the second and deciding match of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Dynamo this Sunday. Kickoff is 12 p.m. PT at Robertson Stadium. The two teams, level on aggregate following the first leg in Seattle, are vying for a place in the MLS Cup West Final.Unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four games, the Sounders FC (12-7-12) goes for its third straight road win. It has won four of its last five away games in all competitions. Seattle is undefeated (2-0-2) in four matches played against Houston in its inaugural season.
The Dynamo (13-8-10), MLS Cup champions in 2006 and 2007, lost only once at home during the regular season.
The winner of Sunday's match will face either the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Western Conference's top seed, or Chivas USA on November 12 or 13 for a berth in MLS Cup 2009.
Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The lower seeded team hosts the first game. The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-home series advances to the single-elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played, followed by kicks from the penalty spot, if necessary.
The winners of the four series advance to a single-game Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup Finalists. The team with the higher seed between the two finalists will host the game. The West Final is November 12 and the East Final is November 14.
MLS Cup 2009 will be played on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on November 22 at 5:30 p.m. PT.
To purchase playoff tickets, visit www.SoundersFC.com, any Ticketmaster outlet or the Qwest Field Box office.
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