Two playoff berths will be decided on the final weekend of the MLS regular season. In the Eastern Conference, the Kansas City Wizards need at least a tie on the road against the New York Red Bulls this Saturday, Oct. 14, at Giants Stadium to advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs. If the Red Bulls win, they will wrest the final berth away from Kansas City and will face D.C. United in the first round.
In the Western Conference, the Colorado Rapids need at least a tie in Houston on Saturday to earn the right to play FC Dallas in a Conference Semifinal Series. A Dynamo win over Colorado would leave the door open for Real Salt Lake to claim the final spot in the last game of the season - Sunday, Oct. 15 against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center (7 p.m. ET, Live on Fox Soccer Channel). Therefore:
• If Colorado ties or defeats Houston Saturday, the Rapids clinch a playoff spot.
• If Colorado loses to Houston Saturday AND Real Salt Lake defeats Chivas USA on Sunday, then Real Salt Lake clinches a playoff spot.
Also at stake this coming weekend is home-field advantage for two of the conference semifinal series. New England has a one-point lead on its first-round opponent, Chicago, so the following scenarios are possible:
• If New England defeats Columbus on Saturday, the Revolution clinch second place in the East.
• If New England ties Columbus on Saturday, the Fire must win in D.C. on Sunday to clinch second.
• If New England loses to Columbus on Saturday, the Fire need a tie or a win in D.C. to clinch second.
Similarly, Houston needs a result to clinch home-field advantage for the decisive second game of its Western Conference Semifinal Series. Dynamo will face either Chivas USA, currently in third place, or Colorado. Here are the possible scenarios:
• If Houston defeats or ties Colorado on Saturday, Dynamo clinch second place in the West.
• If Houston loses to Colorado on Saturday, Chivas USA must win against RSL on Sunday to clinch second. Note that Colorado could finish third, but cannot finish second in the Western Conference.
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.
