SEATTLE - The Seattle Sounders' quest for the treble remains on course.
Seattle earned a 2-0 victory over the L.A. Galaxy, a result that allowed it to win the Supporters' Shield, emblematic of the best regular-season record in MLS, for the first time in its history.
The Sounders and the Galaxy entered the match level on points, and a draw would have still been enough to give Seattle the shield based on the total wins tiebreaker, but two late goals from substitute Marco Pappa allowed the home side to claim the trophy outright.
Here are three thoughts from Seattle's big day.
1. Seattle rides defense -- and Marco Pappa -- to first Supporters' Shield
Seattle has owed its position at or near the top of the standings this season to an attack that has been white hot at times. But on this day, it was the Sounders' resilient defending that proved crucial.
Heading into the match, the stars seemed to be aligning perfectly for Seattle. The Sounders were playing at home in front of a raucous crowd, only needing a draw to claim its second trophy of the season. Seattle was also at full strength while L.A. was missing both defender Omar Gonzalez (suspended) and MVP candidate Robbie Keane (injured).
But Seattle seemed intent on reprising the tactical game plan that it used in last week's 2-2 tie with the Galaxy, namely getting eight outfield players behind the ball whenever possible and trying to catch L.A. in transition with direct passes to Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey. It led to a match that was short on aesthetics, and filled with chippy fouls and six yellow cards (three for each side), though referee Matt Geiger could have cautioned more players if he had followed the letter of the law. A few skirmishes contained lots of pushing and shoving, and one appeared to feature a punch thrown by L.A. defender Dan Gargan.
That said, Seattle's approach was effective and proved even more so thanks to the play of Pappa. It was the Guatemalan who inspired Seattle's comeback from two goals down last week in L.A., and he was the difference again this time. Coming in for Brad Evans in the 73rd minute, he lashed home the game winner off a slick pass from Martins with just five minutes of normal time remaining.
The joy of the crowd turned into delirium when Pappa made the game safe five minutes into stoppage time. The Seattle attacker stripped Galaxy keeper Jaime Penedo of the ball and then scored on a delightful chip over a retreating Galaxy defender. After the final whistle, the Seattle players showed off the Shield to its adoring fans.
Matches in the MLS playoffs bear a closer resemblance to Saturday's encounter than some of the free-flowing soccer both the Sounders and the Galaxy have showed at times this season. That Seattle can derive the result it needed bodes well for its playoff prospects.
2. Arena makes calculated risk -- and sets his priorities
The announcement of the Galaxy's starting lineup was met with surprise, as Robbie Keane wasn't even in the 18-man roster. Los Angeles indicated that an unspecified nagging injury kept the Irishman out of the lineup. In the process, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena showed that his priorities are on the MLS Cup as opposed to the Supporters' Shield. Given that Keane has been logging considerable minutes for both club and country, there was no questioning the sensibility of his approach.
On a day where Seattle was intent on staying compact defensively, Keane's guile was missed, however. While L.A. enjoyed some large stretches of territorial domination, it only succeeded in creating a few half chances. And when it mattered most, neither Landon Donovan nor Gyasi Zardes could provide the needed quality in the attacking third to break through Seattle's defense.
The best chance of the first half fell to Landon Donovan in the 15th minute. Stefan Ishizaki's floated ball found Donovan behind the defense, but his volley attempt went straight at Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Donovan did well to find Zardes inside the box in the 33rd minute, but the L.A. forward's touch was too heavy, and the attack fizzled out. Zardes did come close to scoring in the 69th minute, but after pouncing on a turnover in the attacking half, his shot from distance went just wide.
L.A. did have some success from wide positions, especially when right back Gargan moved forward into the attack, but it wasn't enough to find a way past a Seattle defense that on this day was on top of its game.
3. Can Seattle continue its momentum?
MLS history has shown that the regular season is a poor predictor of postseason success. Of the 18 previous Supporters' Shield winners, only six have won the MLS Cup in the same season, with the Galaxy the last to do the honors back in 2011.
But Seattle's Shield triumph may have a little more carryover into the postseason than it would for a team like the Galaxy. L.A. has proved to be the postseason kryptonite for the Sounders on more than one occasion, and the fact that Seattle was able to secure a trophy -- granted one with less prestige than MLS Cup -- in a face-to-face, two-game showdown against L.A. to finish the season will undoubtedly give the Sounders a jolt of confidence.
Seattle also seems to have shed the demons from last year's late-season meltdown. The present makeup of the roster seems to fit together much better both on and off the field, and now the Sounders carry some considerable momentum heading into the playoffs.
As for L.A., its late-season failure to win the Shield will likely not create too much of a hangover, despite the fact that the Galaxy claimed just two points from its last three games.
This is a veteran group that has largely been able to find its form in the playoffs. That wasn't the case last season, of course, when it lost to Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference semifinals. But the emergence of Zardes gives the Galaxy the kind of three-headed attack that proved vital in years past. All told, it seems likely these two sides will meet again in the playoffs, though the health of Keane will prove critical.