Like the sands of the hourglass, the 2024 regular season is dwindling down to its final, frantic days.
With one slot still up for grabs in the Western Conference and several teams in the race for the final two in the East, the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs picture will draw into clearer focus this weekend as Matchday 37 unfolds.
The jostling for position will continue until the final whistle on Decision Day, set for Oct. 19, but much will be determined over the next two days. Here are a couple of key games and storylines to watch.
Reds’ last stand? ⚔️
Like an action hero clinging to a cliff’s edge, Toronto FC are still above the Eastern Conference’s playoff line, clutching to ninth place on 37 points despite a four-game winless skid, a brutal -20 goal differential and, frankly, some distinctly suboptimal vibes.
“No excuses, just not good enough,” said head coach John Herdman after Wednesday’s disastrous 4-1 home loss to the New York Red Bulls, a result poor enough that captain Jonathan Osorio felt compelled to visit the south end of BMO Field to take in an earful from the Reds’ aggrieved supporters’ groups.
“Not good enough tactically, not good enough with the set-up and not good enough on the pitch … We didn't look like a team ready for the playoffs tonight -- mentally, emotionally.”
Not only were TFC soundly beaten, they lost Fede Bernardeschi, one of their only elite difference-makers this year, to a late red card clearly borne out of seething frustration. And his fellow Italian Designated Player Lorenzo Insigne remains on the injury list with issues in both calves, with Herdman suggesting he’ll be limited to a short cameo off the bench this weekend, at best.
Unfortunately for the Reds, they’re the only team in MLS who don’t play on Decision Day. And drawing that short straw in scheduling terms means they’ve lost control of their own playoff destiny, with Saturday afternoon’s visit from freshly-crowned Supporters’ Shield winners Miami their final game of the season. The Reds are in real danger of getting passed by D.C. United and Philadelphia Union, who are tied with them on points and both hold a game in hand, while Atlanta, Nashville and New England can all catch them, too.
Any hopes Herdman & Co. held that Miami might throttle back here after clinching the Shield took a hit on Thursday when Leo Messi was spotted on the Herons’ team plane to Toronto. TFC must defeat the league’s top side, and probably the GOAT, too, if they are to retain any real playoff hopes.
Knifey Lions on the clock ⏳
The reason Miami could party with the Shield immediately after their win in Columbus: A couple of intrepid FCC supporters drove up Interstate 71 to hand off the hardware to its new possessors. That selfless act provided a reminder that 12 months ago, it was Cincy celebrating their delirious capture of the honor, punctuating a hard climb from back-to-back-to-back Wooden Spoons to regular-season champs.
It feels like a lot longer than that because this season has been a slog, peppered with a litany of costly injuries and other frustrations. The Garys have lost twice as many league matches (10) as in 2023, six of them coming in their last 10 games, and looked very much like a team searching for their best selves in the error-prone midweek 3-2 setback at NYCFC.
“Poor performance,” coach Pat Noonan said afterward. “Certainly not a game we deserved to win. We fought enough to make it interesting, but our play isn't good enough, and I don't just put that on the players. Over the last two games, my message hasn't been clear enough or demanding enough for it to look better than it has. So we got some work to do.
“You don't want it to look like that, where you're scrambling in the way we are and playing the way we are.”
FCC are seven points ahead of Orlando with two games left, so their hold on third place in the East is safe. But Noonan knows as well as anyone that the playoffs are all about momentum, and the Knifey Lions are badly in need of that. Lucho Acosta still leads MLS in goal contributions (tied with Portland’s Evander on 32), assists (19) and key passes (101), so he remains the linchpin – and maybe, just maybe, a strong run-in can help the Argentine dynamo become the first player in league history to win consecutive Landon Donovan MLS MVP awards.
So you’re saying there’s a chance… 🍀
With 22 goals in their last eight games – a 6W-2L-0D run that’s taken them to the brink of clinching first place in the West -- the LA Galaxy are straight-up cooking right now. And they’re doing so in a manner that should delight their fans and neutrals alike: A full-throttle, damn-the-torpedoes insistence on attacking soccer, both with the ball and in transition, that coach Greg Vanney has clearly decided is not only fun, but his side’s best chance at being their best selves.
Riqui Puig is pulling the strings, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil are galloping up and down the flanks, and all three have reached the rare distinction of double-digits in both goals and assists. Dejan Joveljić is the clever, mobile reference point at the No. 9 spot, and the supporting cast behind them does enough to keep the Gs in striking distance in nearly every game, even when the often-suspect defense gets breached. Simply put, this is an entertaining soccer team worthy of its Tinseltown environs.
All that in and of itself makes Austin FC’s visit to Dignity Health Sports Park – where the Galaxy are yet to lose a league match in ‘24 – worth a watch. It’s enhanced that much further by the fact that the Verde & Black remain mathematically in contention for the West’s final playoff berth, albeit on extremely long odds, given they must overcome a six-point gap and a hefty goal differential difference on Portland, which depends on the Timbers taking nothing from their last two games.
But hey, hope and possibility can be powerful things. Maybe the Central Texans can spring a surprise out in Carson.
Other storylines to track…
Are Montréal really going to pull this off?!
Riding a 4-0-1 surge, CFM are arguably the hottest team in the league, and it’s powered them three points clear of the playoff line despite some pronounced struggles earlier in the year. In the wake of Wednesday’s impressive win at Atlanta, the Québecois aim to keep a good thing going as their Southern swing continues in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Sounders are back, baby
Seattle, too, have a case for being the most in form team in MLS, stacking up wins like the old days, the most recent being an absolute trouncing of Cascadia Cup neighbors Vancouver at midweek. Can they extend that with a road result on short rest in the high altitude of Colorado, or will the Rapids – who’ve leaked six goals against in their last two matches -- turn this into a trap game?
