CONCACAF Champions League semifinals pairing set

Major League Soccer has two chances to get a team into the CONCACAF Champions League final, which would mark the second time such a thing has happened.

Champions League semifinals are now set, with the LA Galaxy taking on Monterrey in one semifinal, the Seattle Sounders clashing once again with Santos in the other.

The opening legs will be played April 2-4, with the return legs set for a week later, April 9-1.

Real Salt Lake is the only MLS side yet to fight its way into the regional tourney finals, falling in 2011 to Monterrey.

So now it’s on the Galaxy to battle Monterrey; Bruce Arena’s team looks good right now, with one big win to MLS play, a useful draw in Costa Rica to open its quarterfinal series against Herediano and then last night’s romp and stomp at the Home Depot Center.

A little more on the Galaxy semifinal matchup is here.

A bubbling little subplot here will be Landon Donovan’s potential availability … perhaps as a late sub in the second contest? That’s all about when, exactly, the LA Galaxy attacker rejoins practices and how quickly he gets his soccer legs about him.

The back story is thick on this Seattle-Santos series. These clubs met a year ago, and Seattle Sounders fans were rightly excited about a 2-1 win at CenturyLink Field. But, oh, how the air flew out of that balloon once the series returned to Torreon, Mexico. There, Sigi Schmid’s team took a mighty beating, falling 6-1.

The Sounders were down by two goals after 10 minutes, and that was that. So, redemption will be a theme as we talk about this one over the next two weeks.