The picture is growing more and more clear by the day.
First, Orlando City and the San Jose Earthquakes did their jobs on Friday night to stay alive in their respective quests to reach the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, gutting out wins in do-or-die clashes.
Then on Saturday it was the Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew SC booking playoff tickets in the East, leaving just one last spot in the conference which will be disputed on #DecisionDay, October 25, between the New England Revolution (47pts) and Orlando City (44pts). The Lions, who are currently on the outside looking in, need to win big vs. Philadelphia on that last day and hope the Revs also lose big in order for the goal differential tiebreaker to tilt in their favor.
Things are slightly more muddled out West, while the Supporters' Shield is now a two-horse race.
Here's a rundown of where things stand a week out from #DecisionDay, the all-decisive final day of the season on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Pressure's on Portland
The Portland Timbers are desperate to pick up points in their penultimate match on Sunday, but they'll have to try to do it in one of the most difficult stadiums to visit anywhere in the league: StubHub Center for a nationally televised match against the defending champions LA Galaxy (7 pm ET, FS1 and FOX Deportes).
While the Galaxy are themselves looking to secure the No. 2 seed and a Knockout Round playoff bye out West, the Timbers are on the wrong side of the red line which determines playoff qualifiers, tied on points with San Jose (47pts) and rivals Seattle Sounders (47pts), who will be led by Clint Dempsey (below) when they take on the Houston Dynamo just two hours earlier on Sunday (5 pm ET, ESPN and ESPN Deportes).
That task won't be an easy one for the Sounders as they travel to face a Houston Dynamo team on its last legs in the race for the 2015 postseason.
It makes for an intriguing watch with five Western Conference teams (Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders, San Jose Earthqukaes, the Timbers and Houston) battling it out for only three remaining playoff spots.
Supporters' Shield heading to Dallas or New York
With just one week remaining in the MLS regular season, FC Dallas are the best team in all the land with an impressive 57-point haul. And their latest gutsy road win on Saturday at Real Salt Lake also clinched first place in the West and with it a Knockout Round playoff bye and a ticket to the 2016-'17 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.
FC Dallas are also sitting pretty in the race for the prestigious Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record. The New York Red Bulls, current leaders out East, are the only other team that has a mathematical chance at challenging for the Shield title, but they'll need to start with a win over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday (3 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
Clash of the Goalscoring Titans
Saturday afternoon also showcased the race for the Audi Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer in MLS. And although he didn't score, Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco is now in pole position to win it next weekend.
That's because his closest competitor, Crew SC's Kei Kamara who is tied with Giovinco on 22 goals, will be suspended on #DecisionDay for yellow card accumulation after picking up a caution at BMO Field.
If they remain tied on 22 goals at season's end, the Audi Golden Boot will go to Giovinco based on the assists tiebreaker (Giovinco has 15, while Kamara has eight). So unless LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane goes on a scoring spree beginning against Portland (he's currently sitting on 17 goals), the trophy is heading to Toronto.
