MLS Major League Soccer

Nine Teams Vie for Four Playoff Spots

Published on October 12, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


Impact Game of the Week:

Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m. (DK, Matchcenter)

This week's Impact Game of the Week features one of the most intriguing late season matchups in recent history, as surging FC Dallas meet the Colorado Rapids with each team led by this season's front runners for the Budweiser Golden Boot in Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas) and Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids).

The Rapids sit in fifth position in the Western Conference with a 10-8-10 record and 40 points, only four points out of the top spot. FC Dallas is 10-12-6 with 36 points and can remain in the playoff hunt with a victory on Saturday.

The clubs have met 48 times in the regular season and FC Dallas hold the advantage all-time with a 23-17-8 record, 16-5-3 all-time at home versus the Rapids. Last September, Colorado won at Dallas in a regular season game for the first time since 2001, but the Rapids have eliminated Dallas from the MLS Cup Playoffs on four occasions (1997, 2002, 2005 and 2006).

Cunningham leads the Golden Boot race with 17 goals this season, while Casey's 16 goals are second. Each team has this game and one more remaining in their regular season, as they vie for this year's scoring title. Casey has two goals in six career games against FC Dallas; Cunningham has notched four goals and six assists in 25 career games against the Rapids.

A tie or a loss will likely put an end to FC Dallas' season, while Colorado remains in the playoff hunt and could clinch a berth with a win or tie in this game, depending on other results. The last time the Rapids sent FC Dallas home for the winter was in the 2006 playoffs at Pizza Hut Park, after which Dario Sala received a six-game suspension for his role in a post-game melee.

MLS Cup Playoffs Race: Chivas USA Secures Berth; Nine Teams Vie for Four Playoff Spots

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, nine teams are still trying to grab a chance to win MLS Cup, but five of them will be done for the year by Oct. 26.

Chivas USA ensured that it will play in November by defeating Kansas City, 2-0, on Saturday night, joining Columbus, Houston and Los Angeles in the postseason. Only New York and San Jose are mathematically out.

A new Playoff Standings page now appears on MLSnet.com to allow fans an at-a-glance way of tracking the chase for wild card spots and automatic berths.

Coming up in Week 31, the following scenarios could occur:

Chicago Fire will clinch a playoff spot and home-field advantage for the Conference Semifinal Series IF:

* Chicago defeats New England Saturday

Chicago Fire will clinch a playoff spot IF:

* Chicago ties New England AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o FC Dallas fails to win vs. Colorado AND EITHER:

* RSL fails to win vs. New York Wednesday AND Toronto fails to win vs. RSL OR

* Toronto and RSL tie on Saturday

Chicago Fire will clinch a playoff spot IF:

* Chicago loses to New England Saturday AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o FC Dallas fails to win vs. Colorado AND EITHER

o RSL loses to New York AND TOR fails to win vs. RSL OR

* RSL and New York tie AND Toronto and RSL tie

Colorado Rapids will clinch a playoff spot IF

* Colorado defeats FC Dallas Saturday AND

* RSL fails to win either of its two games this week

Colorado Rapids will clinch a playoff spot IF:

* Colorado ties FC Dallas AND

o RSL fails to win vs. NY AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o Toronto FC and RSL tie

New England Revolution will clinch playoff spot IF

* New England defeats Chicago AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o FC Dallas fails to win vs. Colorado AND

o RSL loses vs. New York AND

o Toronto FC fails to win vs. RSL OR

* RSL and New York tie AND Toronto and RSL tie

Seattle Sounders FC will clinch playoff spot IF

* Seattle defeats Kansas City

Seattle Sounders FC will clinch playoff spot IF

* Seattle ties Kansas City AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o FC Dallas fails to win vs. Colorado AND EITHER:

* RSL fails to win vs. New York Wednesday AND Toronto fails to win vs. RSL OR

* Toronto and RSL tie on Saturday

Seattle Sounders FC will clinch playoff spot IF

Seattle loses to Kansas City AND

o D.C. United fails to win vs. Columbus AND

o FC Dallas fails to win vs. Colorado AND EITHER

o RSL loses to New York AND TOR fails to win vs. RSL OR

* RSL and New York tie AND Toronto and RSL tie

Kansas City Wizards will be eliminated from playoff contention with anything but a win, OR a New England win or tie vs. Chicago.

A win by New England will put four other teams in win-or-be-eliminated situations: D.C. United, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, and Real Salt Lake.

Columbus Crew will clinch the Supporters' Shield IF

* Columbus defeats D.C. United AND

o Chivas USA fails to win vs. San Jose

If the season were to end today, five teams out of the Western Conference would qualify for the playoffs,. But the season does not end today, and the current rankings cannot account for the uneven amount of games played. Each club has between two and three games left to secure one of eight spots before the MLS Cup Playoffs begin Oct. 29.

Eight teams qualify for the playoffs. Playoff berths will be determined by points in the standings upon the completion of the regular season. All 15 teams will have played 30 games. The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets. The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive "wildcard" berths:

* The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first.

* If more than four teams qualify from one conference, the team(s) finishing lower than fourth in its conference will shift over to the other conference bracket.

* A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.

As of today, the top two teams in each conference and four wild card teams that would qualify for the playoffs (bold print), the order in which they would be seeded, and their total Points (in parentheses), and Games Remaining [in brackets is as follows:

Eastern Conference: Western Conference:

1. x - Columbus (49) [2 1. x - Los Angeles (44) [2 *

2. Chicago (41) [2 2. x - Houston (44) [2 #

3. New England (38) [2 3. x - Chivas (44) [3

4. D.C. United (36) [2 4. Seattle (41) [2

5. Toronto FC (36) [2 5. Colorado (40) [2 ^

6. Kansas City (32) [2 6. FC Dallas (36) [2

7. New York (18) [2 7. Real Salt Lake (34) [3

8. San Jose (29) [2

x - Clinched playoff berth

* LA holds three-way tie-breaker over Houston & Chivas (points per game).

# Houston holds tie-breaker over Chivas (head-to-head).

^ Colorado becomes the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference bracket.

Eight teams qualify for the playoffs. Playoff berths will be determined by points in the standings upon the completion of the regular season. All 15 teams will have played 30 games. The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets. The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive "wildcard" berths:

* The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first.

* If more than four teams qualify from one conference, the team(s) finishing lower than fourth in its conference will shift over to the other conference bracket.

* A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.

FC Dallas Forward Jeff Cunningham Wins MLS Player of the Week for Week 30

FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham was voted MLS Player of the week for Week 30 of the regular season. Cunningham assisted on David Ferreira's opening goal and scored the game-winning goal, his league-leading 17th tally of the season, to propel FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. FC Dallas' third consecutive win kept them alive in the race for the playoffs.

Cunningham and Casey meet on Saturday in the MLS Impact Game of the Week on Saturday, Oct.17 at 8:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The Rapids sit one place, and four points, ahead of FC Dallas in the Western Conference standings. A victory for FC Dallas on Saturday would keep them alive in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but a loss or tie could end their season. While a win is vital for each team, Cunningham and Casey are also aiming for one of the League's highest individual honors - the Budweiser Golden Boot. For more on Cunningham's award click here.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com.

Previewing Week 31: Oct. 14 - 18, 2009

(All Times Eastern)

Wednesday, October 14

New York Red Bulls at Real Salt Lake, 10:00 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)

- Real Salt Lake and New York meet in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Championship (won by the Red Bulls), this time with RSL's playoffs hopes on the line. New York has no shot at the post season, and Real Salt Lake need a victory to realistically remain in playoff contention. The clubs have met nine times in the regular season and Real Salt Lake have never defeated New York. Astoundingly, they have tied six times, including all four games taking place in the state of Utah.

Saturday, October 17

Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC, 4:00 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- Toronto FC must close the season with two victories and hope for other results to go their way. Among playoff contenders, Toronto FC had one of the easier late schedules with two of three games at home against teams at the bottom of their respective conferences. They face a Real Salt Lake team whose destiny is also not entirely in their hands. The teams have met five times and have split the all-time series 2-2-1. Real Salt Lake defeated Toronto 3-0 in their only other meeting this season on June 27 with goals from Kyle Beckerman, Clint Mathis and Yura Movsisyan.

Chicago Fire at New England Revolution, 6:00 p.m. (FSC, FSE)

- Chicago and New England are in a battle for the second automatic qualifying spot in the Eastern Conference. Through August, the Fire were vying with the Crew for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but are winless in their last five League games. A Fire victory would clinch their playoff berth and solidify the Fire's spot as second place in the East. A Revolution victory would leave the race for the second automatic berth up for grabs. The Fire have dominated with series recently going 4-0-1 in the last five meetings. The clubs tied their other encounter this season, 1-1 at Toyota Park on May 9.

Columbus Crew at D.C. United, 8:00 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- With a playoff spot and first place in the Eastern Conference wrapped up, the Columbus Crew travel to face D.C. United without too much worry. A win would put the Crew one step closer to their second consecutive Supporters' Shield. United are trying to avoid being left out of the post season and a loss or tie would virtually eliminate them. A victory could keep United alive for a wild card berth depending on other results. The Crew are 3-0-1 versus United in their last four meetings. The teams played to a 1-1 tie on July 4, their only other meeting this season.

Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- In one of the most intriguing matchups of the season, the two top contenders for the 2009 Budweiser Golden Boot meet. FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham leads the race with 17 goals, and Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has 16. Casey, the hero of the U.S. national team's victory over Honduras, will be coming back from a busy week of World Cup qualifiers, while Cunningham will have had a week to rest heading into this match. Cunningham's torrid goal scoring pace, 16 goals in the last 13 games, has kept FC Dallas in the playoff hunt. The Rapids currently occupy a playoff spot and might lock up a berth with a victory.

Seattle Sounders FC at Kansas City Wizards, 8:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- Sigi Schmid's squad is looking to become the second expansion team in MLS history to qualify for the playoffs (Chicago did it in 1998). Seattle is coming off a two-week break since their 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew, which snapped the Crew's 22-game home unbeaten streak in League play. Thirty minutes prior to kickoff, the Wizards will know if their slim playoff hopes remain because a tie or win by New England would eliminate them. The teams have met only once before, with Davy Arnaud providing the game's only goal on April 11.

San Jose Earthquakes at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- Chivas USA clinched a playoff spot last weekend with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards and now they have the top spot in the Western Conference and the Supporters' Shield in sight. With three games remaining, Chivas USA have the most points available in order to take the Western Conference regular season crown, and should the Crew slip up they will vie for the League's top spot. Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton's 0.72 goals against average and 12 shutouts are best in the League. Thornton has a chance to record the best goals against average in League history set by Houston's Pat Onstad in 2007 with a 0.82 average.

Sunday, October 18

Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo, 3:00 p.m. (Telefutura)

- The Galaxy and Dynamo meet in a pivotal match for playoff seeding. Both teams have already qualified for the post season, but seek home field advantage. Houston holds a slight edge (4-4-3) in the all-time series. The teams met on June 28 at The Home Depot Center with Todd Dunivant scoring the game's only goal. After this match, Houston travel to face Chivas USA in another crucial match that could determine Western Conference playoff seeding. LA's Landon Donovan has three goals and three assists in seven career games against Houston.

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 12, 2009


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