Leg 1 of the Western Conference Championship between the Portland Timber and Sporting KC ended in a 0-0 draw at Providence Park on Sunday. The teams will match up again in Kansas City on Thursday, November 29 (6:30pm PT, ESPN | Presented by Oregon Lottery ) for the decisive second leg. Below is a grid showing the scoreline for what Portland would need to do to advance to 2018 MLS Cup.
How to read the grid: Match each Kansas City goals total (above) with each potential Portland goals total (to the left) for the second leg, and the team that is shown on the square where those columns intersect is the team that would advance. Remember, if the score on November 29 ends in a tie with any goals scored over Leg 2, Portland will advance to MLS Cup on away goals (see below for more information on the away goals rule). However, away goals do not apply in extra time if regulation ends with the score 0-0.
The away goals rule: The away goals rule is a tiebreaking method that is used to determine the winner of a two-legged series, such as the MLS Conference Semifinals and Conference Championships. If two teams are tied on aggregate at the end of regulation time of the second leg, the away goals rule is applied as the first tiebreaker. The winner is the team with the most goals scored away from home.
