The 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, begin this Wednesday with the first of this week's two play-in games, making it the perfect time for a refresher course of how the MLS postseason works.
Wednesday night's Western Conference Knockout Round match-up between the fifth-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps and fourth-seeded FC Dallas (9 pm ET; TSN1 | TWCSC-Texas | MLS LIVE (blackout in Canada)) at Toyota Stadium will be the first win-or-go-home game of the postseason. It will be followed by another do-or-die Knockout Round fixture on Thursday, as the New York Red Bulls, No. 4, host Sporting Kansas City, No. 5, (8 pm ET; ESPN2 | TSN1) in a battle of Eastern Conference playoff regulars at Red Bull Arena.
The winners of those matches will then advance to take on the top seed in their respective conference in a two-legged Conference Semifinals series. Whoever is victorious out of the Whitecaps and FC Dallas will square off with the Supporters' Shield champion Seattle Sounders, while the triumphant club out of the Red Bulls and Sporting KC duel will lock horns with resurgent D.C. United.
Those series -- as well as the other Conference Semifinals bouts involving the New England Revolution (East No. 2) and Columbus Crew (East No. 3) and the LA Galaxy (West No. 2) and (West No. 3) Real Salt Lake -- will be decided by an aggregate score (in other words, the total score for each team over two games).
The away-goals rule has been implemented this season, so if two teams are even after 180 minutes, the amount of road goals scored will be used to determine who advances. If they are on level terms there, then extra time and penalties, if necessary, will be played to determine a winner.
After those matches come another pair of home-and-away series in the Conference Championships. The two remaining clubs from each conference face off with a chance to move onto the 2014 MLS Cup Final. Again, the away-goals rule comes into play if teams are locked in a stalemate at the end of the second game.
The MLS Cup Final, which will take place on Dec. 7 at the home of the participating team with the best regular season record, will conclude the playoffs. It is a winner-take-all single-game affair, meaning everything will be on the line and that extra time and penalties will come into play if necessary.
