Wednesday’s first playoff game was crazy and dramatic. The second game between the Seattle Sounders and the Los Angeles Galaxy surpassed it on all levels. After 90 minutes of high-energy soccer, the home team eliminated the defending champions and could be poised to make a postseason run.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Frantic first half set the tone

Both teams played the first 25 minutes at such an out-of-control pace that it more closely resembled a video game than real soccer. There were some great plays and also a ton of mistakes. There was the miscommunication between Donovan Ricketts and Steven Gerrard on the first goal. Gyasi Zardes hit a touch for himself but instead it fortunately rolled to Sebastian Lletget who hit the equalizer.

The teams went back and forth and traded blows with scoring chances coming at rapid pace. It made for an unbelievable spectacle.

LA Galaxy completes surprising collapse

In August, many people thought that the Galaxy were going to dominate MLS and that it was the most talented team in the history of the league. The truth is that while it might have had the most talented players in the history of the league, it was far from the best team.

The backline was too vulnerable down the stretch. Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Rogers, and AJ DelaGarza along with goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, had a poor game against Seattle but this had been coming. Remember two weeks ago when Portland shredded the defense in a 5-2 victory?

The Galaxy will rebound. Bruce Arena is a great coach in this league. Giovani Dos Santos will be fine once he has a full preseason to get adjusted. Salary cap issues could affect players like Gonzalez and Zardes but the team’s management has a good system and steady pool of young talent on the horizon.

Better team won

After the insanity of the first half subsided, Seattle took control of the game and dominated the second half. The winning goal from Erik Freiberg was completely deserved as the Sounders were pressing all night.

Seattle is not a deep team and that will make it challenging for them as the playoffs progress, but the club had more chances and made far fewer mistakes than the Galaxy. The Sounders made the Galaxy pay for the miscues and generally were far more creative over 90 minutes.

For Sigi Schmidt, the Galaxy always seemed to be a massive hurdle for Seattle’s playoff success. That roadblock has been removed. Is this finally the year Seattle puts it all together and makes a serious run at MLS Cup?