It's as close as it can get coming down the stretch for the New York Red Bulls.
With two games remaining in the regular season schedule, New York sits tied for fourth place and the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Kansas City.
Because neither side could earn more than a three-point advantage after this weekend, everything is up for grabs in the last week of the season. And it just so happens that New York and Kansas City are facing off against each other at Giants Stadium on Saturday, October 14 in both teams' regular season finale.
"I hope that it comes down to that last game against Kansas City because that will really show the character of the team," said midfielder Danny O'Rourke after New York's 1-0 win over Chicago last Saturday.
O'Rourke got his wish later that night. Kansas City ended up drawing 3-3 with Real Salt Lake, putting the Red Bulls and the Wizards deadlocked in fourth place.
But New York has one important factor at hand - it currently has the advantage head-to-head with its Eastern Conference foe, going 1-0-2 against the Wizards this season. That means in the most extreme case that if New York falls to its opponent this Saturday, the Colorado Rapids, and Kansas City wins its match (vs. Chivas USA), a Red Bulls win against the Wizards would put them in the playoffs.
However, despite all that is stake next week, New York is firmly focused on the opponent at hand - in this case, the Rapids.
New York is coming off one of their strongest performances on both ends of the field on Saturday. Forward Jozy Altidore found the back of the net in his first career start and for the third time in five appearances. Meanwhile, the defense only allowed one shot on goal all night - a week after conceding four goals during New York's 4-3 loss to D.C. United.
"We kind of talked about it in practice and looked at film," Mendes said on Saturday night. "We didn't defend [poorly] against D.C. in the first half and we kind of just let down and lost focus once they got red carded and we were really disappointed with that. We just have to keep doing what we were doing at least from the first half in D.C. and keep it going for 90 minutes and that's what we did [against Chicago]."
In facing Colorado at INVESCO Field at Mile High on Saturday evening (9 p.m. ET), the Red Bulls will have the obstacle of dealing with the change in altitude (the level of the stadium, as its name suggests, appropriately about a mile above sea level).
"I think a well-conditioned athlete can endure for 90 minutes in those games," said head coach Bruce Arena. "I think your preparation during the week in terms of how you take care of yourself and hydrate yourself properly is important."
Furthermore, Arena pointed out, Colorado, who is in fourth place in the Western Conference fighting for one of two playoff spots, has been substantially better at home, posting a 9-3-3 record (compared to a 2-10-3 mark away from home).
No matter the venue however, midfielder Dema Kovalenko said after the Chicago game that every match from here on out are likely going to be a low-scoring and at times, ugly. Because of this, the team's mission going into this weekend is simple: Get a result.
"To win a game, I've got this figured out after 30 years of coaching - you've got to score a goal. Or, the other team has to score one for you and I'm not counting on that," Arena said.
