The Pitch (Decision Day): Top Things to Watch in MLS This Week

Five-Horse Race Highlights Decision Day in the Eastern Conference

The Wild Card Race Gets Wild

Seven Eastern Conference teams have secured their spots in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, but the hope of postseason soccer is still alive for five teams ahead of Decision Day 2023.
Charlotte FC will look to claim one of the two Wild Card spots and their first postseason appearance in club history with a pair of wins over Inter Miami CF this week. CF Montréal, who currently holds the conference’s eighth seed, will need a result in Columbus on Decision Day against their former head coach Wilfried Nancy if they want to keep their playoff destiny in their own hands.

Berths on the Line in the Big Apple

A pair of Wild Card contenders in Chicago Fire FC and New York City FC will meet on Decision Day in a must-win game for both sides. The Fire currently hold the longest active playoff drought in MLS but will hope to put an end to their five-season absence from the postseason with a victory at NYCFC.

MLS History in the Balance for the Red Bulls

A red-hot New York Red Bulls team, though, will travel to Nashville SC looking to win a third consecutive game to keep their hopes of qualifying for an MLS-record 14th consecutive postseason alive. The Red Bulls current streak of 13 consecutive postseason berths is the longest active streak among North American men’s professional sports, with the Los Angeles Dodgers (11 consecutive postseasons) following behind.

Fighting for a Concacaf Champions Cup Spot

The Columbus Crew and New England Revolution head into Decision Day jockeying for a Concacaf Champions Cup spot, which will be awarded to the two highest finishing teams in the Supporters’ Shield standings outside of the respective conference leaders. With the Philadelphia Union earning qualification through their third-place finish in Leagues Cup 2023 and Orlando City SC locking up one of those two spots, the Crew and Revolution will be fighting for more than just home-field advantage in the Best-of-3 Round One series on Saturday.

All to Play For in the Western Conference on Decision Day

The Pitch Week 38_Western Conference Decision Day

Five Teams Vying for Final Three Playoff Spots

Three teams – FC Dallas, the Portland Timbers, and San Jose Earthquakes – sit above the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs line with Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United FC facing one another in hopes of making an improbable Decision Day comeback. For Dallas, they can tie the LA Galaxy (20) for the second-most playoff appearances in MLS history by clinching a berth. With the Earthquakes, head coach Luchi Gonzalez has an opportunity to join current ‘Quakes technical director Chris Leitch (2017) as the only coaches since 2006 to lead the Earthquakes to the postseason in their debut season as manager.

Sporting Kansas City host Minnesota United, which should make for fireworks as neither team can afford a draw and need to win to give themselves a chance at the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. The final Wild Card spots will come down to the last kick of the ball on the evening of Decision Day as wins are critical.

Homefield Advantage Heating Up

The Houston Dynamo might be the team that most needs a result on Decision Day to secure homefield advantage. Houston sits one point above Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, but the Dynamo have the biggest points discrepancy at home (37 points, 11-2-4) versus on the road (11 points, 2-9-5) across MLS in 2023. Meanwhile, Vancouver will be fighting for their first home playoff game since 2017 and are 8-3-5 at BC Place in 2023. Both teams will be looking to avoid facing a dangerous Salt Lake side, who is the only team in MLS with a better road record than home record.

St. Louis Aims to Punctuate Historic Season

With a win against Seattle Sounders FC (9 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), St. Louis CITY SC would eclipse LAFC (57 in 2018) for the most points by an expansion club in their inaugural season. St. Louis has already wrapped up the top seed in the Western Conference, becoming the first expansion side to do so in their debut season.

LAFC Holding on to Concacaf Champions Cup Hopes

By the time the ball is kicked against the Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC will know if they have a chance to steal the final MLS regular season berth to the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Black and Gold will be hoping both Columbus and New England drop points, because if they do, LAFC could snag the last berth with a resounding victory on the road. If they miss out, LAFC would have to win back-to-back MLS Cups to return to the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2024.

LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga Closes in on Golden Boot presented by Audi

With a three-goal advantage and just a single Matchday left on the calendar, LAFC forward Dénis Bouanga and his 19 regular-season goals are closing in on the Golden Boot presented by Audi in his first full MLS season.

By earning the league’s scoring title, Bouanga would be the third different LAFC player to win the award in the last five years, joining Carlos Vela (34 goals) during his MVP-winning campaign in 2019 and Diego Rossi (14 goals) in 2020. LAFC would be the second club to earn the honor three times in a five-season span (New England Revolution; 2002, 2004-05), and the first club to do so with three different players.

However, a final push from a few key contenders could bounce Bouanga from the top position on Decision Day. Five players sit within four goals of the lead, including three players who have a higher assist total than Bouanga (seven) -- Luciano Acosta (16 goals, 13 assists), Cucho Hernández (15 goals, 11 assists), and Hany Mukhtar (15 goals, 11 assists). A heroic effort on Decision Day, combined with the top tiebreaker in hand in total assists, could make for a sensational finish on the league’s final day.

Defending Champs Columbus Crew 2 Host Austin FC II in MLS NEXT Pro Cup

MLS NEXT Pro Cup will return to Columbus, Ohio for the second straight year when Eastern Conference Champion Columbus Crew 2 hosts Western Conference Champion Austin FC II Sunday, October 22 at Lower.com Field (5 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass). Crew 2, winners of the first MLS NEXT Pro Cup in 2022, will have the opportunity to defend their title at home thanks to upsets in both Conference Finals over the weekend.

After defeating No. 1 Crown Legacy FC on the road in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, No. 3 Crew 2 pulled off another upset in the Conference Finals on Saturday. Columbus went into Foxborough and handed No. 2 New England Revolution II a 1-0 loss behind Gibran Rayo’s goal in stoppage time (90’+1’).

On Sunday night, another upset led to Crew 2 hosting the final game of the 2023 season. With a win in the Western Conference Final, No. 1 overall seed Colorado Rapids 2 would have hosted Cup. However, it would be No. 4 seeded Austin FC II that would play spoiler for the third straight round of the playoffs, sending themselves and MLS NEXT Pro Cup to Columbus.

The two evenly matched clubs battled through 90 scoreless minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time before 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Goalkeeper of the Year Damian Las proved why he earned the prestigious award. He produced two massive saves in the shootout and led Austin FC II to a 4-1 shootout win to advance to MLS NEXT Pro Cup.

2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and will feature an enhanced broadcast. James Hadnot will provide play-by-play and will be joined by analyst Ricky Lopez-Espin in the booth. Jalil Anibaba and Michelle Montaine will provide coverage on the sidelines.

Get in the Game with the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge

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