Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
The 2016 MLS regular season, complete with all its wild and wacky ups and downs, storylines, narratives et al is now complete, and now it’s time to look ahead to the playoffs. Before we can do that, and there will be a preview piece for the knockout stage games coming later in the week, let’s take a look back at Decision Day as well as the end of the regular season in order to put a bow on those stories before the playoffs take center stage.
FC Dallas Guts Out the Shield: FC Dallas is two thirds of the way towards a first ever treble of Supporters Shield, US Open Cup and MLS Cup having held off the Colorado Rapids to win the Shield Sunday in LA. Without Mauro Diaz and Fabian Castillo, as well as coming off a grueling game in Guatemala only three days ago, their defensive clampdown on the Galaxy’s reserves was still impressive all things considered. With the Shield in tow, FC Dallas now has a week to get healthy and rest up for the playoff grind ahead, which will be one of the toughest tasks this team has to face since they are now without Mauro Diaz for the playoffs and likely well into next year. If any coach can find the right combinations, it’s Oscar Pareja. His team is going to face Seattle, SKC or RSL, and over two legs they can beat any one of those teams, though Seattle would give them the toughest test of the three. Teams that win the Supporter’s Shield often don’t have success in the playoffs, but this FC Dallas team does feel as if it can buck the trend.
The Bottom Falls out on the Timbers: The past week couldn’t have possibly gone worse for the Timbers and Caleb Porter. First, they’re eliminated from CONCACAF Champions League play by Saprissa on Wednesday. Then, they travel to Vancouver in a must-win game to make the postseason and not only lay an egg, but lay an egg that cost them not only the playoffs, but the Cascadia Cup too. It’s an amazing fall from grace for the defending champs, who went winless on the road all season in all competitions. In each of the last four seasons, a team has gone winless on the road in MLS. Travel in this league compared to most others is quite difficult, but to see a defending champion struggle away from home like these Timbers did is quite shocking. They have a major roster makeover coming, and Caleb Porter and company have a lot of work to do to right the wrongs of a season that strayed well off course, made worse by the fact that their great rivals staged one of the biggest in-season comebacks and turnarounds ever to make the postseason.
Backing Into the Postseason: Will it Matter? Montreal Impact and DC United both played road games on Sunday against teams that missed the postseason, and played largely a side of reserves anticipating their meeting against each other this week. However, both played like junk and entering a do-or-die game in that kind of form is certainly questionable. Since they’re playing each other, one has to win, but the decisions each made this Sunday to take their foot off the gas big time is a bit worrying for both. Another team in a complete and total free-fall is Philadelphia, who by the time they play on Wednesday will not have won a game in two months. They made the playoffs since no one behind them could catch fire, and all of the good vibes from their fantastic mid-season run are long gone. They have to travel to Toronto, which is a bit of a thankless task in of its own. In the West, both RSL and LA enter their game on Wednesday night sputtering somewhat, so the battle of who can find their feet faster will be highly intriguing.
Drogba and Gerrard: Will they Return? The future for both of these players is still in question, with Gerrard posting a cryptic photo on Instagram amid rumors he was returning to Liverpool after returning to England last week. And Didier Drogba and the Impact seem to be on better terms, but he still was not in the team’s eighteen against New England (they play on turf) ahead of their playoff game. RFK Stadium does have natural grass, so that won’t be an impediment for him to play. However, it wouldn’t be a shock to see neither of those players take the field for their team’s knockout round games this week, which would be crushing blows to both squads, though they have shown they can win without them.
Bradley Wright-Phillips wins another Golden Boot: His story with the New York Red Bulls is in many ways the quintessential American soccer story. His career was on life support after many failed spells in England, so he took a chance and took a trial with the Red Bulls. His success in 2014 many said was largely down to Thierry Henry’s magic, but since he retired after the 2014 season, BWP has only gotten better. With Jesse Marsch at the helm, and with Sasha Kljestan’stransformation into a fantastic #10, BWP has continued to score at crazy rates, with 69 goals in three and a bit seasons with the Red Bulls, and he’s become the only player in league history to score 20+ goals in two or more seasons. If he’s on fire in the playoffs, which he hasn’t really been in the Red Bulls last two playoff runs, they can finally win MLS Cup.
Awards: MLS gives out plenty of awards at the end of each season, but the two awards this season that will certainly cause controversy and anger are Rookie of the Year and MVP. The league is replete with choices for both, so someone worthy is going to win both awards, but in the process, other players are going to get robbed. Most would assume Jordan Morris will win ROY in a runaway because of his goals for the Sounders (and the hype), but for your consideration, how about Philly’s Keegan Rosenberry and New York’s Alex Muyl? Rosenberryhas become one of the league’s more solid fullbacks, and Muyl has become a dynamic winger at both ends of the pitch for the Red Bulls as they’ve gone on a tear. There are other names too that I’m surely forgetting, but those three are probably the highest names on the list of contenders for that award.
And MVP… goodness there are choices galore. Defending MVP Sebastian Giovinco has once again been sensational for Toronto FC, Bradley Wright-Phillips has a case, so too David Villa, but the name most will probably champion is Nicolas Lodeiro in Seattle, whose mere presence helped complete the biggest in-season turnaround in league history. It would be hard to see him not winning the award, even though he played less than half a season for the Sounders, but much like how Didier Drogba sparked the Impact last season, Lodeiro did much the same in Seattle. A dark horse name to consider would be Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti for his combination of goals and assists, and NYRB’s Sasha Klejstan for completing only the second 20 assist season in league history.
Stay tuned later this week for a preview of the four knockout round games: Toronto FC/Philadelphia and LA/RSL on Wednesday, and DC/Montreal and Seattle/Sporting KC on Thursday.
