MLS Cup 2017

Sebastian Giovinco lead Toronto FC in goals scored during their treble campaign in 2017

After their MLS Cup loss, Toronto FC looked to return to the cup as well as compete for the Supporters' Shield and Canadian Championship.[10][11] In addition to their 2016 roster, the team acquired French leftback Chris Mavinga and Spanish midfielder Víctor Vázquez to fill depth roles;[12] manager Greg Vanney placed a strong emphasis on an organized defense, one of the team's strengths during the 2016 season.[13] The team entered the season as a favorite to win the cup,[14] as well as a key challenger for the Supporters' Shield.[15] Toronto immediately jumped into a run of good form, with only three losses in the first half of the season, and remained near level with Chicago Fire at the top of the league.[16] Despite two consecutive losses in September, Toronto finished the season as Supporters' Shield champion, breaking the record for most points (69) and tying the record for most wins (20).[17][18]

Toronto faced the New York Red Bulls in the conference semifinals and took a 2–1 lead away in New Jersey. The team returned home and lost 1–0, but advanced on the away goals rule with the 2–2 aggregate draw.[19] The home fixture was marred by a halftime brawl between the teams that saw Jozy Altidore sent off and Sebastian Giovinco suspended for yellow card accumulation in receiving a yellow card in two consecutive matches.[20] In the conference finals, Toronto traveled to play Columbus Crew SC, earning a 0–0 away draw and a 1–0 win at home, qualifying them for the MLS Cup.[21]

The Sounders entered the season as defending MLS Cup champions, their first title after years of early playoff exits.[22] Head coach Brian Schmetzer, promoted from his interim role, made offseason roster changes to replace older veteran players with younger talent that align with general manager Garth Lagerwey's vision for the club.[23][24] Among the additions were MLS veteran Will Bruin, homegrown player Henry Wingo, academy graduate Nouhou Tolo, and veteran defenders Gustav Svensson and Kelvin Leerdam, adding to the team's depth positions.[25][26] Seattle started the season slowly, with only five wins in the first 17 matches, due to injury troubles and inconsistent lineups.[27] From late June to early September, the team welcomed back injured players and went on a 13-match unbeaten streak that put them in playoff contention.[28] The streak ended with a series of draws and losses,[29] but the Sounders recovered with three wins in late September and October to clinch a second-place finish in the Western Conference.[30]

Seattle faced their Canadian rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, in the conference semifinals. After a scoreless draw in Vancouver, the Sounders returned home and won 2–0 on a pair of goals scored by Clint Dempsey.[31] In the conference finals, the Sounders played Houston Dynamo and earned a 2–0 win in the away leg after a Dynamo player was sent off early in the match.[32] Heading into the home leg with an advantage on away goals, Seattle went for an aggressive 3–0 win to give them a 5–0 aggregate win that was capped by home-and-away goals by former Dynamo forward Will Bruin.[33] The Sounders maintained a shutout streak that carried over from the 2016 Western Conference Final, reaching 647 minutes after the win over Houston.[34]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

The ESPN broadcast registered a 0.7 Nielsen rating, up 75 percent from the MLS Cup 2015 broadcast on ESPN.[45] The ESPN and Spanish language broadcasts in the United States drew an audience of 1.1 million combined viewers, a 43 percent decline from the 2016 final.[46] The TSN broadcast drew an audience of 1.3 million viewers in Canada, a 13.3 percent decline from the 2016 final.[47]

Seattle's Stefan Frei made six saves in the first half, tying an MLS Cup record set in 2003

Despite forecasts with cold and snowy conditions,[48] the match kicked off in cloudy weather at a temperature of 1 °C (34 °F), reported to be −7 °C (19 °F) with wind chill.[49] The Sounders were without injured captain Osvaldo Alonso,[50] and also chose to start Joevin Jones at left back in place of Nouhou Tolo.[51] Toronto switched to a 4–4–2 diamond formation, a departure from the 3–5–2 formation used during the regular season and playoff, as Greg Vanney attempted to counter Seattle's strong central players.[52]

Toronto spent most of the first half in possession, making several attacking runs and being the more dominant team. They were unable to score, however, due to a series of saves from Seattle's Stefan Frei,[50] who tied an MLS Cup record for second most saves in a half at six saves, behind Pat Onstad's seven at the 2003 final.[52][53] He made a diving stop to deny Sebastian Giovinco in the 10th minute and a push on the ball from Giovinco in the 23rd minute.[49] Jones took Seattle's first shot of the match in the 30th minute, ending the club's 150-minute streak without a shot on target between the two MLS Cup finals.[49][52] In the final moments of the half, Frei saved a shot from Víctor Vázquez and the Sounders nearly scored an own goal after Joevin Jones made a clearance that veered towards the goal.[54][55] The Sounders were largely unable to challenge the Toronto goal, with the exception of several counterattacks through the middle of the field.[52]

Toronto continued its control of possession and attacking chances early in the second half, with Frei making two key saves on shots from Michael Bradley and Giovinco after the hour mark.[49] In the 67th minute, Toronto strung together a series of passes on a counterattack to Jozy Altidore, who finished with a left-footed shot over Frei to open the scoring.[54] Seattle brought on Jordan Morris for Víctor Rodríguez, and he immediately tried a shot towards Toronto's goal that was wide of the post.[56] During a corner kick for the Sounders in the 83rd minute, a wire holding the Skycam system over the stadium fell onto the pitch, causing a short delay.[56] Toronto made two consecutive substitutions, switching Armando Cooper for Jonathan Osorio at midfield and Altidore for centerback Nick Hagglund. Seattle attempted to score an equalizer, taking shots that forced Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono to save, but were unable to prevent Toronto from counterattacking. In the 90th minute, Giovinco fell from a shoulder challenge from Cristian Roldan in the penalty area, but calls for a penalty were denied by referee Allen Chapman.[56] Both teams made their final substitutions early in stoppage time, with Toronto bringing on Benoît Cheyrou for Marky Delgado and Seattle switching Jones with Nouhou.[49] A Toronto counterattack in the 94th minute ended with a shot from Cooper that hit the post, but the rebound was finished by Vázquez, clinching a 2–0 victory.[56]