I've watched way too many CONCACAF Champions Cup / CONCACAF Champions League games over the last 10+ years. The first tournament I paid close attention to was the 2007 edition, back when it was an eight-team knockout tournament. Houston squeaked by a lesser Costa Rican club, then beat Pachuca 2-0 at home in the semifinals first leg. They even scored two goals down in Mexico and held a late aggregate lead, but coughed up the equalizer in the 86th minute, then blew it in extra time. This was a classic introduction to MLS in CCL.
So many times, the ability and/or psychological strength needed to win these series just wasn't there. Once the CCL was formed for the 2008-09 season, which created a lengthier schedule, we also saw a lack of depth and a lack of interest manifest themselves. MLS backups just didn't have the quality, so squad rotation killed performances. Other times - like the Revolution's notorious 6-1 aggregate loss in CCL qualifying to now-defunct Trinidadian club Joe Public - MLS clubs cared so little about the competition that their performances were tantamount to throwing the match simply to avoid the six group stage games.
In the first two years, only two out of nine MLS clubs made it out of the group stage. RSL made it to the final in the third edition in 2010-11 (without having to play any Mexican clubs in the knockouts until the final). In 2011-12, FC Dallas became the first MLS club to win a match in Mexico with a group stage win over Pumas, but they didn't even advance to the quarters.
A mediocre Montreal team made it to the final in 2014-15 with a miracle SF win over Pachuca, but they never truly had a chance in the final. In 2015-16, four MLS teams qualified for the QF for the first time, but all four got bounced by Mexican opposition.
So it's truly amazing to me to see a team pummel a midtable Mexican club like Tijuana and another team outlast a titan like Tigres. These things just didn't happen before.
Seattle can make it an astounding three for three tonight, but it's going to be tough. In their favor: a one-goal lead, if they score they'll have the away goals edge, Chivas isn't that good. Headwinds: they are on the road, Nicolas Lodeiro is out which badly hurts their creativity.