The Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders faced one another for the Supporters' Shield in the regular-season finale. Marco Pappa netted a brace late in the second half to give the Sounders a 2-0 win and the Shield in the process.

Now, the two teams meet again in the MLS Western Conference final.

“We were kind of hoping for this,” forward Alan Gordon told MLSSoccer.com. “It's going to be a good series, similar to what we saw a couple weeks back, and may the better team win.”

LA actually had a chance to claim the Shield at the StubHub Center in the penultimate regular-season match. However, they blew a 2-0 lead over the Sounders and drew 2-2.

This meeting between the league's two best sides is a dream matchup for the teams' supporters, the MLS offices and neutrals across North America. The Galaxy and Sounders had the best attacks in the regular season, and LA conceded the joint-fewest amount of goals.

The chance for the Galaxy to make up for a crushing defeat at CenturyLink Field is just one of the many enticing storylines surrounding the match.

Landon's Last Hurrah?

Landon Donovan could potentially play his last games in this two-legged affair. This phrase was uttered in the conference semifinals against Real Salt Lake, during which Donovan scored the first playoff hat-trick of his career.

RSL players and coaches claimed that they saw a confident, tireless and motivated Donovan during what could have been the final games of his long, successful career, per the official MLS website. 

'He’s got some fire in his belly, for sure,' said U.S. teammate Nick Rimando.

'He’s a player that has been special for quite some time. You could see he wants it bad.'

'Well, I guess he’s not done playing,' Kyle Beckerman told reporters.

'He didn’t want [Sunday] to be the end. He’s dangerous and, playing at his top level, is really hard to stop.'

LA will already be motivated to beat the Sounders for the draw that happened at the end of the regular season. The last thing that Seattle wants to face is a fired-up Landon Donovan.

Seattle Guns for That Elusive MLS Cup Appearance

This game isn't all about Donovan and the Galaxy. Seattle is trying to ward off some playoff demons that have haunted it since its MLS inception in 2009.

The Sounders have never participated in an MLS Cup, and this is their best chance to finally accomplish that feat, but they first have to defeat their toughest competition in the Western Conference.

Seattle has the edge in some categories. Firstly, it'll be playing the first leg of this series at the StubHub Center. The Sounders were able to nick a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in the conference semifinals by shutting up shop and utilizing set pieces.

Very few teams were as consistent at scoring on set pieces as the Sounders during the regular season. Seattle recorded 16 goals through corners and free kicks, per WhoScored.com. Only Dallas (20) and Real Salt Lake (19) had more than the U.S. Open Cup champion this year.

LA scored 58 goals in open play, via WhoScored.com, and given the lack of pace in the center of Seattle's defense, it should have plenty of opportunities to build on that number. The Sounders managed to stop the bleeding at the StubHub Center, so head coach Sigi Schmid will have a plan to repeat that feat and get his team into the MLS Cup final.

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