The MLS playoffs began Wednesday, on Halloween. Crowds were pretty pathetic.
With the second pair of MLS Knockout Round matches on Thursday, attendance at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and Banc of California Stadium in LA was just what you wanted it to be, with stadiums full of rowdy — perhaps too rowdy in LA.
The MLS Cup Playoffs kicked off last night with matches at Toyota Stadium in Frisco and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and the attendance numbers were not good. It was, of course, Halloween night, which ruled out anyone with a kid, anyone attending a monster mash and anyone hellbent on finishing The Haunting of Hill House.
New York City FC defeated the Philadelphia Union 3-1 to advance to the MLS Conference Semifinals on Wednesday in the Bronx. On its face, it was a comprehensive victory, with the Union’s lone goal coming far too late in the 83rd minute. But one shocking no-call in the first half absolutely had an impact on the game, and MLS is being a bit tone-deaf in the aftermath.
If there’s one thing I’m sure of when it comes to America, it’s the fact we love ourselves some playoffs. We demand postseason tournaments to determine our sports champions and can’t even fathom ending a season without only rewarding the team that’s playing the best at the end of the campaign. But despite our affinity for such tournaments, it may still be hard to understand how MLS playoffs work.
Major League Soccer’s Decision Day (the final match week of the regular season) came and went this past Sunday and served as the perfect precursor to the main event: we have absolutely no idea how this’ll all pan out. You’ll find our how to watch MLS Playoffs 2018 and a knockout round preview below.
Last weekend, the LA Galaxy’s 3-1 win over Minnesota United — coupled with Real Salt Lake’s 0-3 defeat to Portland — seemed to all but guarantee Zlatan’s side a place in the playoffs. The route was clear: defeat the Houston Dynamo, the West’s 10th-place side, at home, and the Galaxy would be in.
Anything less and it was all over.
27 minutes into the first half, the Galaxy took control through Ola Kamara with Romain Alessandrini providing the assist.
Alphonso Davies signed off on his Vancouver Whitecaps career with a sensational solo strike in the club’s match against the Portland Timbers on Sunday. Vancouver had already been eliminated from playoff contention and used the season finale at BC Place as a send-off to the 17-year-old, who joined the club’s residency program in 2015.
Wayne Rooney’s time at DC United has been, to put it bluntly, special. The club’s season has done a 180 since his debut in mid-July. Before Rooney (the “BR/AR” era should certainly be a way of measuring time from now on if you’re a DC soccer or general MLS fan), DC United was having a season to forget. Now, just last week they secured a playoff spot.