Both are legitimate MLS Cup contenders, but due to a competitive Western Conference, one could end up being a wild-card team in the playoffs.
It's a postseason setup some Sounders are calling unfair.
The four best teams in the league — Los Angeles, Seattle, FC Dallas and Salt Lake — all reside in the West, but just three automatically advance past the wild-card round in this year's playoff setup.
Similarly, the East gets three automatic berths to the conference semifinals, but each of those teams could have a worse record than their counterparts in the West.
The injustice is more glaring due to the fact that each team in MLS plays a balanced 34-game schedule — one home game and one away game against the 17 other squads.
"It doesn't make a lot of sense," goalkeeper Kasey Keller said of the playoff structure. "We all knew what the rules were going in, but we just have to deal with it. If you want to win the thing, you have to beat whoever's in front of you. It's a little odd, but they'll figure it out someday."
Coach Sigi Schmid suggested it might be more equitable to seed playoff teams one through 10 regardless of conference. But new ideas won't make a difference this year.
The Sounders have won five games in a row and are hoping to continue where they left off in August, going 7-0-1 in all competitions. Though after taking a five-day break, Schmid said some rust accumulated.
"Once we get into that first game (back), the rust usually comes off when you get the first kick of the ball," Schmid said. "Or when a guy kicks you for the first time."
Goalkeeper Terry Boss was placed on the disabled list Friday and won't play again this season. The 30-year-old suffered a concussion — his second in two months — while playing for the Puerto Rican national team last week.
Serving as a backup to Keller, Boss won all four of his starts this season in U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League games.
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