Photo by Kelley L. Cox/ISIphotos.com
With the New York Red Bulls' victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy Tuesday night, two more teams had their playoff hopes officially dashed. The San Jose Earthquakes and Chivas USA joined Toronto FC, New England and Vancouver as teams who will be missing out on the MLS postseason, leaving 13 of the league's 18 teams vying for 10 spots.
Three of those places are spoken for, with Los Angeles, Seattle and Real Salt Lake already clinching playoff berths. FC Dallas, Colorado, Sporting Kansas City, Philadelphia and Columbus are currently locked into postseason spots but haven't clinched anything just yet.
New York and Houston occupy the final two spots, with each sitting on 43 points through 32 of the season's 34 games. Portland, whose current -6 goal differential could come into play in a tiebreaker scenario, is three points behind both teams but has a game in hand (and a huge match against Houston next Friday). D.C. United is five points back but has two games in hand, and Chicago is the longshot remaining in the field, six points off the pace through 31 games.
Which teams do you see missing out on the postseason? Did you think San Jose and/or Chivas would make the playoffs when the season started?
Share your thoughts below.