Rapids, RSL clinch playoff spot
The Rapids and Real Salt Lake are in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. Colorado clinched their spot with Saturday's 2-0 win vs. Toronto FC, while RSL locked up their postseason place with Saturday's 3-3 draw vs. the Portland Timbers.
Philadelphia, D.C. close out the weekend
The Union host D.C. United in today’s lone match. Kickoff is set for 6:15 pm ET. You can watch for free on Apple TV or on FS1.
The top of the West is a little clearer and a bunch of teams decided it would be more fun to blow late leads rather than hold onto them. Let’s talk it out.
The Galaxy overwhelmed the Whitecaps as Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil, Riqui Puig and Dejan Joveljić became the first quartet in MLS history to each score 10 goals in one season. It’s an impressive bounceback win for LA after their midweek loss to Portland and it may have sealed their spot at the top of the West. They’re seven points clear of RSL and nine points clear of LAFC. Even with the chasing pack holding a game or two in hand, the Galaxy are now in full control at the top.
Vancouver… man, what do we even add at this point? Same as it ever was against the best of the best. They’re down in seventh now.
This one got very weird late. RSL jumped out to an early lead thanks to summer signing Dominik Marczuk’s first MLS goal and then went up two thanks to Diego Luna. They started to lose their grip on the game in the second half and Antony and Evander—via an absurd free kick off the underside of the crossbar—eventually made them pay. They appeared to have rescued themselves in the 90th minute thanks to new DP Diogo Gonçalves, but a long, looping cross somehow found Jonathan Rodríguez and Portland equalized.
Both of these teams’ best and worst traits were on full display here. Strangely though, I think you could argue RSL will feel better about this one in the end. Getting Marczuk and Gonçalves going is critical to their MLS Cup hopes. If it took a little chaos to get there, that’s fine. They still ended the night in second place anyway. Portland, somehow, are still stuck down in eighth.
Soooooooooo…are we worried about LAFC yet?
That’s five straight without a win since returning from Leagues Cup. Normally this is the time of year we see LAFC get hot at the right time. Instead, they’re getting cryogenically frozen at the absolute wrong time. They’re in fourth place and all but out of time to catch the Galaxy at the top of the conference.
Dallas outpaced them here thanks in part to Petar Musa’s 15th goal of the season and a goal and assist from Logan Farrington. Farrington is up to four goals and eight assists in 1,070 minutes this season.
Those are impressive numbers, but it still might be too little too late for Dallas. They’re five points back with four games remaining. But there’s reason for optimism in 2025 at least. Musa is for real and DPs Alan Velasco and Jesus Ferreira haven’t been healthy this season. With Farrington in the mix, next year could be a lot more fun.
James Sands skied for a late equalizer in The Bronx as New York City FC swiped a point. It’s a good result, but they’re still looking for their first win in nine games.
Meanwhile, Miami dropped points twice this week despite having Lionel Messi back. They were outplayed for large chunks of this one and still don’t look like they’re functioning at a high level. They need 10 points from their last four games to break the points record. They may even need all those points to hang onto the Supporters’ Shield. The Crew have a game in hand and the Herons have to travel to Columbus in a couple of weeks. It’s unlikely, but this isn’t quite as locked up as it felt last week.
The Crew cruised to a 3-0 lead, but full credit to Orlando. They woke up late in this one and scared the hell out of Columbus for the last quarter of the game. It’s an atypical late-game performance from this version of the Crew, but they saw it through in the end without needing to break a deadlock.
They have a slight but still plausible chance at catching Miami, by the way. They’re eight points back, but they have a game in hand and a six-pointer against the Herons in Columbus a couple of weeks from now. It may be too late but, hey, no one is making a living betting against this Crew side.
Orlando came up short here. A lot of teams come up short against the Crew. They’re still looking for a signature win this season though. Even with a late push, they were overrun in this one. They still have a lot to prove against the East’s best.
In about 10 minutes, Elias Manoel had a penalty saved by Brad Guzan, newly substituted Edwin Mosquera scored the goal of his life and Manoel made up for the penalty miss with an equalizer in the very last moments of the game. It delivered one of our favorite kinds of games here at The Daily Kickoff: A game where neutrals are thoroughly entertained and no one involved in the game leaves happy.
The Red Bulls have now won just twice over their last 16 matches in all competitions. They are somehow still in fourth place.
Atlanta United have still only beaten the Red Bulls once in the regular season. They have never won at Red Bull Arena. And they’re now down to 11th in the East. With another game against the Red Bulls still on the schedule, the playoffs feel like a long shot.
That’s more like it from Charlotte. DPs Liel Abada and Pep Biel both got on the board, as did Patrick Agyemang. Agyemang came on at the 63-minute mark for DP Karol Swiderski. They may need to have some conversations about striker?
Anyway, Charlotte got a much-needed win here after a few awful performances. They’re now five points clear of a Wild Card spot and a home playoff spot is still in reach.
Coco Carrasquilla delivered Houston’s first-ever win in Austin via a bicycle kick as the Dynamo took care of business and effectively ended Austin’s season. That’s a heckuva rivalry moment for Houston and a critical win in their chase for a home playoff spot. They’re in fifth place for now, but only three points behind second-place RSL.
The Rapids were always in control here and got breakthrough moments via new fullback Reggie Cannon and Djordje Mihailovic. They’re in third place at the 30-game mark and have the second-most wins in the West this season.
Toronto are now in real danger of missing the playoffs. They’re just three points ahead of 13th-place Nashville and every team between them has at least a game in hand. Two of their final three games are against Red Bulls and Miami. They’re in trouble.
Minnesota took care of business after some rain thanks to new DP Kelvin Yeboah. Make it five goals in five matches for him now. He’s been an instant hit and it looks like he’s powered them to a Wild Card spot. There’s a five-point gap between them and 10th place with four games left.
Sam Surridge had a brace, but stunners from Lucho Acosta and Luca Orellano kept this even in one of the better, but least consequential games of the day. Nashville are still down in 13th with a realistic, but slim chance at making the playoffs and Cincy are still likely destined for third place in the East.
At the very least, Nashville keep getting proof of concept for the B.J. Callaghan era. It’s been an impressive few games here.
Montréal are all the way up to ninth!...for now. Josef Martínez and Caden Clark led the way here. CFM have a -20 goal differential but still have a realistic shot at making it over the line in the end. They just won’t be over the line by the end of the day. One of Philadelphia and D.C. United will jump them tonight.
That’s that for Chicago.
St. Louis picked up two goals early in the win. Neither team is making the playoffs.
- Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig made MLS history.
- The Rapids are "hungry for more" after clinching a playoff spot.
- The Crew got back to form before the Campeones Cup.
- Coco Carraquilla toppled Austin FC with a bicycle kick.
- James Sands stunned Inter Miami.
- Atlanta United midfielder Alexey Miranchuk won the AT&T Goal of the Matchday for Matchday 33.
- RSL fans accidentally booed a favorable VAR call after another “however” moment.
Good luck out there. Hit it where they ain’t.
