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Seattle • A sustained postseason run in the Western Conference typically goes through Southern California anyway. So Real Salt Lake must ace what promises to be another complex test against a well-known opponent right off the bat.

For the fourth time since 2009, RSL will face the L.A Galaxy in the Western Conference playoffs. This round will be a bit different. It's a first-round, one-and-done scenario for both teams in Wednesday's knockout match at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

The rivals have faced off an MLS Cup final and in two-leg series before — in respective Western Conference semifinals in 2013 and 2014 — but this match will determine which team gathers momentum to the next round and which team faces locker-room cleanup much earlier than planned.

RSL's late-season slide plummeted the club down to the No. 6 seed, while L.A. was locked into the No. 3 seed entering the final weekend of the regular season.

"They have a bunch of talented players," RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said. "They're the third-best team in the conference for a reason. They've done really well this year. We'll have our hands full. But we're looking forward to it, and like I said, we've got nothing to lose, we'll give it everything we've got."

Javier Morales had a smile on his face in the locker room when asked about drawing the superstar-laden Galaxy in a playoff match in three days.

"To be honest," he said, "I like it. I really like it, because it's always fun to play against them, in a good stadium, good grass. I think there's a good chance for us to beat them and try to advance in the playoffs."

The Galaxy went 8-1-8 at home this season, but sported the best goal-differential in the Western Conference. RSL's lone visit to Carson this year came in April when it took an early 1-0 lead, but eventually succumbed in a 5-2 thumping.

This will be RSL's first playoff match at StubHub Center since the 5-0 loss in the second leg of the 2014 Western semifinals.

"They've got dangerous players. I think their lineup has looked quite different towards the end of the year," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "Again, you have to play extremely good on both sides of the ball. And make them pay for the mistakes that they make."

ckamrani@sltrib.com Twitter: @chriskamrani