FRISCO, Texas - On Saturday evening, FC Dallas became the fifth team to qualify for the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs with its 3-1 road win over the Columbus Crew. This will be Dallas' 10th trip to the postseason in its 12-year history, tying the Los Angeles Galaxy for most all-time playoff appearances. D.C. United, New England Revolution, Houston Dynamo, and Chivas USA had secured their place in the 2007 playoffs prior to this weekend.
With two regular season games to play, FC Dallas sits in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 13-11-4 (43 points), eight points behind Chivas USA and five points behind Houston.
If FCD wins both of its final two games, AND Houston loses its final two games, Dallas would finish in second place in the Western Conference. If FCD finishes second, it would play the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series on the road on the weekend starting Oct. 25 and host the second game at Pizza Hut Park the following week. Exact dates and times are yet to be determined, pending match-ups and the National TV MLS Cup Playoff schedule.
Should Houston tie or win either of its final two games, or FCD lose or tie either of its final two games, then Dallas would be assured of finishing third in the Conference. If FC Dallas finishes third, it will host the first leg of the Conference Semifinal Series at Pizza Hut Park on October 25th, 27th, or 28th. The second leg will be played on the road the following weekend.
FC Dallas season ticket holders should use the "Home Playoff Game # 1" ticket for the Western Conference Semifinal home playoff game. Individual tickets for this game are priced at $16, $24, $28, and $45. Fans may begin reserving their seat for the game on Monday, Oct. 8 at 9 a.m. (CT) by calling the FC Dallas office at 1-888-FCD-GOAL.
Parking at Pizza Hut Park for FC Dallas games is free.
REMAINING GAMES:
FC Dallas: Oct. 11 vs. Chivas USA (8 pm CT, ESPN2); Oct. 20 vs. Kansas City Wizards (7:30 pm CT).
Houston Dynamo: Oct. 15 at Real Salt Lake (8 pm CT); Oct. 20 at Chivas USA (9:30 pm CT, Fox Soccer Channel).
Chivas USA: Oct. 11 at FC Dallas (8 pm CT ESPN2); Oct. 14 vs. Colorado Rapids (2 pm CT, Telefutura); and Oct. 20 vs. Houston Dynamo (9:30 pm CT, Fox Soccer Channel).
ABOUT THE MLS CUP PLAYOFFS:
At the end of the regular season, eight MLS teams qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets. The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive "wildcard" berths. The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first. If more than four teams qualify from one conference, those finishing lower than fourth in their conference will shift over to the other conference bracket. A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.
Conference Semifinal series are conducted under a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format, with single-game Conference Championships determining the MLS Cup Finalists. For each Conference, the 1st seed plays the 4th seed, and the 2nd seed faces the 3rd seed in the Conference Semifinal series, with the lower seeded team hosting the first game.
The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-away series advances to the single elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by a penalty-kick shootout, if necessary. The team with the higher seed between the two Conference finalists will host the Conference Championship game.
In the case of ties after regulation in the Eastern and Western Conference Championship games and MLS Cup, 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by a penalty-kick shootout, if necessary, to determine the winners.
