After a couple of nights of nearly all chalk, the Knockout Round is over, with three of four home teams winning their one-off matchups on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Sunday, the real work begins.
All eight remaining clubs will play the first leg of their conference semifinals in a MLS Cup Playoff quadruple-header on Sunday. The Montreal Impact will host the New York Red Bulls in the early match, the LA Galaxy will welcome the Colorado Rapids to California, and New York City FC will travel to Toronto before the Sounders square up with FC Dallas in Seattle in the final match of the day.
Each series is chock full of intriguing storylines. Here are some of the best:
New York Red Bulls vs. Montreal Impact
Leg 1 – Sunday, 3 pm ET, Stade Saputo, ESPN in the US, RDS & TSNGO in Canada
Leg 2 – Nov. 6, Time TBD, Red Bull Arena, TV TBD
Is this the year the New York Red Bulls finally carry all of their regular-season success into the playoffs?
The Red Bulls have been one of the best regular-season teams in MLS over the last four years, twice winning the Supporters’ Shield and never finishing with fewer than 50 points. That regular-season success hasn’t translated into the playoffs, however, with the Red Bulls winning just two playoff series in that stretch.
New York were excellent again in the 2016 regular season, finishing first in the East and third in MLS with a 16-9-9 record to prompt many – myself included – to pick them to win their first-ever MLS Cup.
If this year is to be any different, they’ll have to first go through a Montreal team brimming with confidence after their huge 4-2 Knockout Round win at D.C. on Thursday. The Impact were sans Didier Drogba, but rode Ignacio Piatti and some excellent counterattacking to a comprehensive victory at RFK. They’ll look to employ the same formula against the high-pressing Red Bulls, who have a couple of notable Montreal connections in head coach and former Impact manager Jesse Marsch and midfielder Felipe.
There’s no word yet on whether or not Drogba will be available for Montreal in the Red Bulls series. If he is, it’ll be a boost for the Impact, who beat the Red Bulls 3-0 back in March but lost at New York in August and September.
Colorado Rapids vs. LA Galaxy
Leg 1 – Sunday, 5 pm ET, StubHub Center, ESPN in the US, TSN1/4 in Canada
Leg 2 – Nov. 6, Time TBD, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, TV TBD
NYCFC vs. Toronto will likely be decided by stars, but LA vs. Colorado could be determined by some of MLS’s unsung heroes. Both teams have plenty of big names, but with Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Jermaine Jones and Gyasi Zardes all dealing with varying degrees of injuries, this one could come down to some lesser-known, if equally important, players.
As they have all year, Colorado will look to suck the life out of the LA attack, with central midfielders Sam Cronin and Michael Azira set to play huge roles against the Galaxy’s more offensive-minded midfielders. Giovani dos Santos will no doubt play a big part for LA, who will be looking for Ema Boateng to continue rolling after he absolutely torched RSL in LA's 3-1 Knockout Round win Wednesday.
All three regular-season meetings between the sides played out to the Rapids’ liking, with Colorado beating LA 1-0 in Denver in March, drawing 0-0 at StubHub Center in June and tying 1-1 in LA in August. The Rapids will no doubt like their chances if they can keep things that low scoring in this series.
New York City FC vs. Toronto FC
Leg 1 – Sunday, 7 pm ET, BMO Field, FS1 in the US, TSN2 in Canada
Leg 2 – Nov. 6, Time TBD, Yankee Stadium, TV TBD
Out of the four conference semifinals, I’m probably most excited for this matchup. New York City FC and Toronto FC are both defined in large part by their stars, with TFC carried by their DP triumvirate of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley and NYCFC reliant on David Villa and, to a slightly lesser extent, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. Which group shows up more will go a long way toward deciding the series.
To that note, Sunday’s match at BMO Field is absolutely critical for Toronto FC. The Reds topped Philadelphia 3-1 at home on Wednesday night, getting a goal and assist from Altidore, a strike from Giovinco and a third tally from Jonathan Osorio. The win didn’t come without a cost, however. Both Altidore and Bradley picked up yellow cards against the Union. If either is cautioned again in Sunday’s match, they’ll be suspended for the second leg at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 6.
The teams were all even in the regular season, with Villa notching a brace in a 2-2 draw at Yankee Stadium on March 13 before the teams tied 1-1 at BMO Field on May 18. The most memorable match of their series actually came last July, when Giovinco – who has four goals and two assists in five career matches against NYCFC – scored a nine-minute hat trick and added a helper to lead TFC to a 4-4 draw in the Bronx.
Expect more fireworks in this series. NYCFC were the highest-scoring team in MLS this year and conceded more times than any other playoff squad, something Toronto – who have been stingy in the back – should be able to take advantage of over the two legs.
FC Dallas vs. Seattle Sounders
Leg 1 – Sunday, 9:30 pm ET, CenturyLink Field, FS1 in the US, TSN2 in Canada
Leg 2 – Nov. 6, Time TBD, Toyota Stadium, TV TBD
Two down, one to go for FC Dallas.
After winning the US Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield earlier this fall, FCD will begin the third leg of their treble quest against the Sounders on Sunday. The matchup is a rematch of an epic 2015 Western Conference semifinal between the two clubs, which saw Dallas emerge victorious following a wild second leg and dramatic penalty-kick shootout at Toyota Stadium.
Of course, that Dallas team had a healthy Mauro Diaz. The Argentine playmaker won’t be around this time, as he’ll miss the rest of the year and a significant chunk of 2017 after tearing his Achilles in a narrow win against the Sounders just two weeks ago. FCD played very conservatively without Diaz in a scoreless draw at LA last Sunday – we’ll see if they remain that pragmatic in the first leg this weekend.
The Sounders continued their remarkable rise from midseason obscurity Thursday, when they scored an emotional 1-0 win against Sporting KC in the Knockout Round.
If Seattle, who were the beneficiaries of some controversial calls against SKC, can continue their excellent second-half run against Dallas, it’ll likely be behind summer arrival Nicolas Lodeiro and defensive stalwarts Ozzie Alonso, Chad Marshall and Roman Torres. The Sounders have been excellent when those four start this season. If they can have a big impact – and if Alonso, who Sporting wanted sent off on Thursday and will be suspended for the second leg if he picks up a yellow on Sunday, can stay on the field – the Sounders and interim (soon-to-be full-time?) head coach Brian Schmetzer have a solid chance at advancing.
