MLS: Regular Season Closes As Philly, Sounders, SKC, RSL Clinch Playoff Berths; Hoops Win Supporters Shield; Revs, Timbers Eliminated

Ten games were contested on Sunday, the final day of Major League Soccer's regular season.  

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Shkelzen Gashi's equalizer lifted the Colorado Rapids to a 1-1 home draw with the Houston Dynamo.  The Rapids will finish second in the Western Conference standings and will play in a two-game conference semifinal series.  Andrew Wenger scored for the Dynamo in the 20th minute.

At Kansas City, Kansas:

Benny Feilhaber (PK-27') and Graham Zusi (88') each scored once as Sporting Kansas City locked up their sixth successive playoff berth with a 2-0 home blanking of the San Jose Earthquakes.

At Carson, California:

A 0-0 road stalemate against the Los Angeles Galaxy assured FC Dallas of their first Supporters' Shield title.

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Diego Fagundez (13'), Juan Agudelo (60'), and Kei Kamara (71') each scored a goal as the New England Revolution dominated the visiting Montreal Impact 3-0.  Despite the victory, the Revs will still miss out on the MLS Cup Playoffs.

At New York City:

Steven Mendoza (45'), Jack Harrison (75'), Khiry Shelton (77'), and David Villa (90'+3) each scored once as New York City assured themselves of a first-round playoff bye with a 4-1 home domination of the Columbus Crew.

At Orlando, Florida:

Kaka scored once (21') and assisted twice (on goals by Kevin Molino and Cristian Higuita in the 13th and 50th minutes respectively) as Orlando City closed out their season with a 4-2 home doubling of playoff-bound DC United.

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

Bradley Wright-Phillips (26') and Alex Muyl (57') delivered the goals as the New York Red Bulls clinched top spot in the Eastern Conference following their 2-0 road blanking of the Philadelphia Union, who still qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five years.

At Seattle:

Cristian Roldan scored the winning goal in the 31st minute as the Seattle Sounders defeated visiting Real Salt Lake 2-1 as both clubs clinched playoff berths (the Sounders for the eighth straight year, and RSL for the eighth time in nine seasons).

At Toronto:

Jonathan Osorio scored the winning goal in the 62nd minute as playoff-bound Toronto FC held off the visiting Chicago Fire 3-2.

At Vancouver, British Columbia:

Giles Barnes scored twice (13', 32') as the Vancouver Whitecaps dominated the visiting Portland Timbers 4-1 to end the visitors' dreams of making the MLS Cup Playoffs and win the Cascadia Cup as well.  The Timbers, the only club to go winless on the road in league play this year, become the first reigning champions to miss the playoffs in ten years and with Columbus having already been eliminated, this will mark the first time that both of the previous season's MLS Cup finalists miss the postseason.



FINAL MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   New York Red Bulls (GP: 34; GD: +17; PTS: 57)
2.   New York City FC (GP: 34; GD: +5; PTS: 54)
3.   Toronto FC (GP: 34; GD: +12; PTS: 53)
4.   DC United (GP: 34; GD: +6; PTS: 46)
5.   Montreal (GP: 34; GD: -4; PTS: 45)
6.   Philadelphia (GP: 34; GD: -3; PTS: 42)
7.   New England (GP: 34; GD: -10; PTS: 42)
8.   Orlando City SC (GP: 34; GD: -5; PTS: 41)
9.   Columbus (GP: 34; GD: -8; PTS: 36)
10. Chicago (GP: 34; GD: -16; PTS: 31)

NOTE:  With Philadelphia and New England level on points (42) and wins (11), the Union have the superior goal differential (-3, to the Revolution's -10).



WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   FC Dallas (GP: 34; GD: +10; PTS: 60)
2.   Colorado (GP: 34; GD: +7; PTS: 58)
3.   Los Angeles (GP: 34; GD: +15; PTS: 52)
4.   Seattle (GP: 34; GD: +1; PTS: 48)
5.   Kansas City (GP: 34; GD: +1; PTS: 47)
6.   Real Salt Lake (GP: 34; GD: -2; PTS: 46)
7.   Portland (GP: 34; GD: -5; PTS: 44)
8.   Vancouver (GP: 34; GD: -7; PTS: 39)
9.   San Jose (GP: 34; GD: -8; PTS: 38)
10. Houston (GP: 34; GD: -6; PTS: 34)



MLS CUP MATCHUPS (OPENING ROUND:

Here are the match-ups for the one-game knockout playoffs to take place on Wednesday and Thursday with the hosts listed first and all kickoff times Pacific:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Wednesday:

At Toronto:

Toronto FC vs. Philadelphia Union, 4:30 PM (ESPN 2)

Thursday:

At Washington:

DC United vs. Montreal Impact, 4:30 PM (UniMas)



WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Wednesday:

At Carson, California:

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 PM (UniMas(

Thursday:

At Seattle:

Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7:00 PM (Fox Sports 1)

The New York Red Bulls and New York City FC, as the top two seeded clubs in the Eastern Conference, advanced to the conference finals; the same holds true for FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids in the Western Conference.