Seattle lost today... again. Because of an entanglement where San Jose plays at LA tomorrow and LA plays at Seattle next Sunday, only two of those three teams can pass up Portland, therefore the Timbers are in.
If the Timbers beat Real Salt Lake tonight at JWF, they finish no worse than 2nd in the west. This is best for avoiding any potential conflicts with PSU football (November 2 game vs Weber State). Finishing 3rd means a home game (the conference semifinals and conference finals are home-and-home, higher seed hosts the 2nd game) either Saturday or Sunday of that weekend... finishing 4th or 5th means playing a game Wednesday or Thursday just to try to qualify to play in the round that would begin the same weekend.
If the Timbers beat Real Salt Lake tonight at JWF, they finish no worse than 2nd in the west. This is best for avoiding any potential conflicts with PSU football (November 2 game vs Weber State). Finishing 3rd means a home game (the conference semifinals and conference finals are home-and-home, higher seed hosts the 2nd game) either Saturday or Sunday of that weekend... finishing 4th or 5th means playing a game Wednesday or Thursday just to try to qualify to play in the round that would begin the same weekend.
