NEW YORK - This Saturday, the lines are drawn in Major League Soccer and some teams will advance while others will watch and wait. All six games have serious ramifications on the race to the MLS Cup Playoffs. Three teams have clinched playoff berths - D.C. United, FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire. Now, nine teams grapple for one of the five remaining playoff berths with just three regular season games remaining for each team.
A victory for New England puts the Revolution through to the postseason, while losses for Columbus and Los Angeles would spell the end of their chances for MLS Cup 2006. Chivas USA, Houston and Colorado could all clinch playoff spots if they win and Real Salt Lake loses.
Here are the team-by-team implications of Saturday's games:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
D.C. United - plays at Houston
D.C. United will clinch the 2006 Supporters' Shield, which goes to the MLS team with the best regular season record, IF:
Note: The Supporters' Shield winner also gets a berth in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the region's top club competition.
Chicago Fire - plays at New York
Chicago will clinch home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs IF:
OR IF:
Note: If Chicago clinches home-field advantage, it will host the second leg of an Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Oct. 28 or Oct. 29 against the third-place finisher in the East.
New England - hosts Colorado, 7:30 p.m. ET
New England will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Kansas City - hosts Real Salt Lake, 8:30 p.m. ET
Kansas City cannot clinch a playoff spot this Saturday. But, IF Kansas City defeats Real Salt Lake, Columbus is eliminated.
New York - hosts Chicago, 7:30 p.m. ET
New York cannot clinch a playoff spot this Saturday. But IF Kansas City defeats Real Salt Lake AND New York loses to Chicago, then New York will need to win its last two games and have Kansas City lose or tie against Chivas on Oct. 7 to earn a spot.
Columbus - hosts FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. ET
In order for Columbus to make the playoffs:
Note: Columbus loses the head-to-head tiebreaker if it finishes tied on points with either NY or KC.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
FC Dallas - plays at Columbus
FC Dallas will clinch home-field advantage for the Western Conference Championship IF:
Chivas USA - plays "at" Los Angeles Galaxy
Chivas USA will clinch a playoff spot IF:
Houston Dynamo - hosts D.C. United, 8:30 p.m. ET
Houston will clinch a playoff spot IF:
Colorado Rapids - play at New England
Colorado will clinch a playoff spot IF:
Real Salt Lake - plays at Kansas City
Real Salt Lake cannot clinch a playoff spot on Saturday.
Real Salt Lake will be eliminated if it loses to Kansas City AND Houston and Colorado both win their games AND Chivas USA ties or wins its game.
Los Angeles Galaxy - hosts Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. ET
In order to make the playoffs,
The regular season ends on Sunday, Oct. 15, and the MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday, Oct. 21. The third and fourth place teams from each conference host Conference Semifinal games on Oct. 21 or 22 against the second and first seeds, respectively. The return-leg games of those Conference Semifinal series will be played on Oct. 28 or 29, hosted by the higher-seeded team. For the Conference Championships, the highest remaining seeds will host a single match on Nov. 4 or 5.
MLS Cup 2006 will take place live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 12 from Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The remaining MLS schedule follows and is available at www.MLSnet.com. Playoff schedule is tentative and subject to change.
