Did you miss out on any of the hectic week that was in Major League Soccer? Looking for a way to catch up on the bare essentials from Week 30's bevy of important games across the league?
We've got you covered.
DC 3, CLB 0: D.C. United opened up a busy Wednesday night by methodically overwhelming their guests from Ohio. Crew SC were the better team in the first half, but couldn't convert, leaving the door open for United to wreck shop in the closing stages. After mystifying observers with their inconsistency for most of 2016, D.C. are now hitting on all cylinders and figure to be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.
MTL 3, SJ 1: Both teams badly needed points, but Montreal held serve at home to continue their curious dominance (3-0-2 all-time) of the Earthquakes in MLS play. Shout out to Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, who saved a Chris Wondolowski penalty kick that would've tied this one up in the late going before Johan Venegas' late clincher. Bush's heroics might just be what gets his team into the playoffs.
TOR 0, ORL 0: More action than the score would indicate, but not much satisfaction for either side. Dropping points at home represented a potentially crippling blow to TFC's Supporters' Shield hopes (more on that in a minute). Meanwhile Orlando left Canada knowing they blew chances to steal a win they desperately needed given their shrinking window of playoff contention – which slammed shut a few days later.
SEA 1, CHI 0: Like the scoreless draw in Toronto, the Sounders' narrow win underlined the tight margins at this stage of the season. A stubborn Fire side nearly stymied their hosts long enough to snatch a late equalizer, but their luck ran short, as it has all year. Chad Marshall's header made the difference as Seattle's surge up the charts gained further momentum.
HOU 0, NYC 2: New York City FC are MLS' road warriors, as they proved again against the resurgent Dynamo on Viernes de Fútbol. They're the only team in the league with a winning record away from home, and no one has done more to make it so than David Villa. The Spaniard's brace has (re)set the pace in the Golden Boot race, and his squad are 5-2-2 since the end of July.
NY 3, PHI 2: Easily one of the top five most exciting matches of the year, as two East heavyweights traded punches for 90-plus minutes and Bradley Wright-Phillips matched Villa's haul from the night before in the race for the Golden Boot. When the smoke cleared, the Red Bulls had taken over the driver's seat in the standings, while Philly all of a sudden must sweat it out, hoping to avoid another late-season collapse.
CLB 3, CHI 0: It will take something truly special over the next few weeks. But Columbus' postseason dreams aren't dead just yet, thanks to Saturday's emphatic win over the hapless Fire, keyed by a truly stunning thunderbolt from Harrison Afful. Crew SC have a game in hand on Philly and New England, their chief rivals for their conference's sixth and final playoff spot, and they might just have to win all three of their remaining matches. But hope lives at MAPFRE Stadium.
NE 3, SKC 1: Speaking of hope...the Revolution keep hanging around, too. They had to have this one, and they got it, as Kei Kamara and Juan Agudeloproved a vicious one-two punch on sinking Sporting. SKC are now in danger of falling through the West's trap door and face a tricky trip to Real Salt Lake after the international break.
TOR 1, DC 2: As hot as United have gotten lately, few expected this result. Toronto have been quite solid at BMO Field, but the Black-and-Red caught them with their pants down this time as Bill Hamid's stellar goalkeeping paved the way for Lamar Neagle to slip the knife in with two goals on either side of halftime. TFC now face a Knockout Round playoff game instead of the bye into the conference semifinals that the top two postseason seeds enjoy.
COL 1, POR 0: Will both of last year's MLS Cup finalists watch the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs at home on their couches? It's a very real possibility as the Timbers' season-long road woes refuse to relent. They fell victim to classic Rapids soccer over the weekend, with Colorado's stingy, bruising defense bludgeoning the defending champs into submission and keeping their own Shield push intact.
DAL 1, LA 0: Fans at Toyota Stadium got a sneak preview of tense playoff soccer as FC Dallas edged the Galaxy via a Walker Zimmerman set-piece header. Both these teams have booked their postseason spots, but won't be satisfied with anything less than a run to the cup final. Might they meet again in November?
SJ 2, RSL 1: Salt Lake rolled with the punches as well as anyone earlier in the season, yet have turned icy-cold in recent weeks. Saturday's loss at San Jose ended exposed several lingering bugaboos in RSL's makeup, and they're running out of time to fix them. While the Quakes ended a seven-game winless skid with this one, though it might be too little, too late to climb into the West's top six.
ORL 0, MTL 1: Orlando City officially kissed their playoff hopes goodbye with a dispiriting home loss to the bus-parking Impact, popping off 22 shots but finishing not a one, thanks in large part to Evan Bush's five saves and five blocks from his teammates. Meanwhile, Didier Drogba finally suited up for a game on synthetic turf...and still sat this one out as an unused substitute. The big Ivorian could be a supersub from here on out, and that probably suits Montreal.
VAN 2, SEA 1: The Whitecaps became the third team eliminated from the playoff reckoning, thanks to a wild home loss to the Sounders with major Cascadia Cup repercussions. Vancouver's teenage phenom Alphonso Davies was his team's best player, earning a first-half PK that pushed them in front. But a shorthanded Seattle side rallied impressively in an affair that ended 10 on 10, powering up to fifth place in the West.
