The North American Soccer League was at the top of professional soccer in the United States well before Major League Soccer kicked off.

Seattle’s Stefan Frei finished with three saves for his league-leading 10th clean sheet of the season and Pedro Gallese saved two shots as Orlando City played the Sounders to a scoreless tie.

European champion Real Madrid could face Seattle Sounders at the next edition of the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco in February.

The Orlando City managed to come out on top with a 3-2 finish against the Seattle Sounders Wednesday night.

The Orlando City managed to come out on top with a 3-2 finish against the Seattle Sounders Wednesday night.

Raúl Ruidíaz scored on a deflected shot late in the first half added a second goal off a perfect counter attack in the 80th minute, and the Seattle Sounders defeated Pumas 3-0 to win the CONCACAF Champions League title.

Forward Jozy Altidore and goalkeeper Brad Guzan are on a preliminary 59-man United States roster with a mostly junior varsity appearance for next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Columbus Crew's Jonathan Mensah, center, carries the trophy on stage after the Crew defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-0 in the MLS Cup championship game Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)COLUMBUS, Ohio – No matter the absences from the lineup or the opponent, Caleb Porter implored the Columbus Crew to impose themselves. Porter's players responded, putting aside the recent history of the defending champion Seattle Sounders and capping the most unpredictable of MLS seasons with one of the league's original franchises raising a championship trophy. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth back-to-back champions in league history. Seattle needed a frantic comeback in the final 15 minutes of its Western Conference final against Minnesota United just to reach MLS Cup.

Seattle Sounders forward Will Bruin (17) shoots to score against Minnesota United during the second half of an MLS playoff Western Conference final soccer match, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE – Gustav Svensson scored off a corner kick in the final moments of second-half stoppage time, and the Seattle Sounders beat Minnesota United 3-2 on Monday night to advance to the MLS Cup final. Seattle scored three times in the final 15 minutes of regulation and stoppage time to stun Minnesota and claim the Western Conference championship for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Will Bruin scored in the 75th minute to pull Seattle within 2-1 and set the stage for the wild final moments when the Sounders scored twice off corner kicks. But Svensson came through by rising above on the final corner kick and giving the Sounders the victory.

Seattle Sounders defender Shane O'Neill (27) heads in a goal against FC Dallas during the second half of an MLS playoff soccer match, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Seattle. As in his one previous MLS goal before Tuesday night. The Sounders will face either Minnesota United or Sporting Kansas City in the West final next Monday. But O’Neill found himself unmarked in front of the Dallas goal in the 49th minute and flicked Nicolas Lodeiro’s corner kick past Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. It was the first Seattle goal by someone other than Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris in the past five matches.

Los Angeles FC forward Diego Rossi (9) scores on a penalty kick against the Seattle Sounders during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Kissimmee, Fla., Monday, July 27, 2020. Even without reigning league MVP Carlos Vela, LAFC pressured and flustered the Sounders early and never let up. LAFC outshot Seattle 25-11. At times, the Sounders couldnt play the ball out of their own defensive end due to the pressure of LAFC. Rossi drew Xavier Arreagas foul in the penalty area and beat Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 14th minute for the early advantage.

When Major League Soccer and its players came to agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement back in February, there was a genuine feeling of accomplishment on both sides. Those pre-pandemic positive vibes are now gone, at least in how the players feel toward the league and ownership. The Major League Soccer Players Association ratified a revised CBA this week that will allow the league to resume this summer with a tournament in Florida but they did so with bitter feelings about the strategies used by MLS. FC Cincinnati player rep Nick Hagglund told reporters the lockout threat didnt create panic but was taken seriously by the vast majority of players. MLS players had a median salary of $163,750 in 2019, according to the union salary survey.