As the countdown clock winds down toward first kick, I’ve gone through 40 years of Seattle pro soccer. History seems to repeat itself in some way, shape or form.

But in the case of this winner-take-all, season-ending match (OK, a draw will do it for the home side) for the Supporters’ Shield, there’s never been anything quite like it: the league’s top two teams vying with one another for a major prize as they cross the finish line. Never happened, not in 18 years of MLS, nor dating back to ’74 for the Sounders.

Yes, there have been Seattle sides who have finished atop the regular season table. FC Seattle did it in 1988, and went on to claim the Western Soccer League championship as well. The second coming of the Sounders owned the best record in the 1994 and 2002 A-League, as well as the 2007 USL-1. In 1980 the Sounders faltered in the final game, to be overtaken by the Cosmos.

However, in the past, the top record had more to do with playoff seeding on those occasions. As the domestic game has become more cognizant of the world game, finishing top of the table has literally meant more luster. There’s some hardware to be held aloft, after all, and a Champions League berth to boot.

For sure, this is a match made in heaven, for MLS, NBC and the fans of both Seattle and LA. Personally, I’d rather the Sounders win the Shield than any other trophy. But that’s only if forced to choose. When there’s history to be made, it’s good to be greedy and grab all the loot, MLS Cup included. And if the Rave can do that, that would be the first Treble.

I’ve got a sense that by lifting the Shield, the Sounders would also take a giant step toward the Cup. Seattle’s not known for its MLS playoff prowess: just one series won in six tries.

Beating LA would give the Sounders a boost, a bounce, like never before. Apart from 2013, they’ve put together some strong Octobers, yet never punctuated the stretch run by beating an in-form, playoff team. The closest they came was in ’09, beginning their late-season run with a streak-stopping road win at SS winner Columbus and stopping red-hot Dallas just shy of a berth with a comeback in the final game.

Now, an emphatic, galvanizing win over a fellow title challenger is no guarantee of postseason success. Some MLS Cup winners, like the 2011 Galaxy, limped home before their November resurgence. But a strong finish from the Sounders–the fight back to draw at StubHub, followed by whatever it takes Saturday–may be like a performance enhancing drug mainlined into every member of the squad.

Confidence is a powerful drug, and with the Shield in hand, confidence will be coursing through the veins of the men in Rave come the playoffs. Over the last five years, Seattle has gone into the playoffs sometimes wide-eyed, sometimes with a swagger (see 2011), but never with that solid belief that come what may, they can handle it.

This is a different squad, with a different temperament and different leadership. Add that finishing coat of confidence, and these Sounders may just prove unstoppable.