Minnesota United must try to figure a way to get past an old nemesis when they host the Seattle Sounders in the decisive match of the best-of-three Western Conference First Round series Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Sounders, who won the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019, are 15-3-3 all-time against the Loons in all competitions, including 2-0-1 in the postseason.

Fourth-seeded Minnesota won a penalty shootout, 3-2, in the first match, which ended in a scoreless draw on Oct. 27. Fifth-seeded Seattle, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first 41 minutes, rebounded to win the second match 4-2 at home Monday.

“Our mentality is the same as the last one,” Seattle’s Albert Rusnak said. “It’s win or go home for us.”

Obed Vargas scored a brace, including a goal in the 86th minute to seal the win, and Jordan Morris and Danny Musovski also scored first-half goals for Seattle.

Despite the poor start Monday, Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay saw some positives for his team to build on heading into Saturday’s winner-take-all match. The Loons cut the lead to 3-2 with goals by Nectar Triantis and Robin Lod in first-half stoppage time to make things interesting in the second half before Vargas clinched the win for the Sounders.

“We obviously wanted to survive the anticipated difficult opening stages,” Ramsay said. “But I think the big thing for us is that we showed real fighting character to get back in the game. … (While) that didn’t mean anything (Monday), ultimately it does mean a lot going into the next game.”

Added Lod: “The good thing is that we get to play in our stadium with our own fans that help us really much, so I’m looking forward to that.”

The winner will advance to face either San Diego FC or the Portland Timbers, who play their deciding Match 3 on Sunday night. If top-seeded San Diego advances, Minnesota or Seattle would visit San Diego in the Western semifinal matchup. If Portland advances, the Loons or Sounders would host the Timbers.

–Field Level Media