Ted S. Warren/Associated Press
SEATTLE — Major League Soccer is closing out its 24th season this weekend with a rubber match: For the third time in four years, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto F.C. will play for the league championship in M.L.S. Cup.
While the matchup, as well as the stage, is familiar for both the teams and the league, it did catch a few people by surprise. As recently as two weeks ago, neither Seattle, which beat Toronto in the 2016 final, nor Toronto, which flipped the result a year later, was expected to be here.