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MLS Roundup

Playoff and MVP Races Starting to Heat Up in MLS

An end-of-season showdown between the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy is starting to look inevitable, while the MLS MVP battle is still up for grabs.
BY Nick Kariuki Posted
October 02, 2014
8:08 AM

TABLE TALK

  • In the Western Conference, the Sounders fell 3-1 to FC Dallas on Wednesday, then came from behind twice to eventually beat Chivas USA 4-2 on Saturday. The Los Angeles Galaxy dominated the New York Red Bulls by a score of 4-0. L.A. and Seattle remain remain tied on points, with the Sounders ahead based on games won.

  • The Vancouver Whitecaps beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Saturday to move back into the last playoff spot. Shortly before that, the Portland Timbers blew a two-goal lead and eventually lost 3-2 to Toronto FC, dropping Portland below the red line.

  • In the Eastern Conference, D.C. United defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Saturday. The win doubled the side’s lead at the top to six points.

  • The New England Revolution edged Sporting Kansas City 3-2. With the result, the Revolution moved into second with one more win this season than SKC.

  • New York’s defeat allowed the Columbus Crew to take fourth place. The Crew beat Montreal 2-0.

    LOOKING AHEAD

    The Sounders missed a great chance to pull away from the Galaxy in the Western Conference and Supporters Shield standings. It’s looking more and more likely that it’s going to come down to the regular season’s final double header to see which team will take the title.

    Both teams will want to take full advantage of what should be a favorable pair of fixtures before the final showdown. The Sounders travel to face the struggling Colorado Rapids, followed by hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps, which has only managed two road wins this season. The Galaxy face Toronto at home, where Jermaine Defoe’s return to fitness is looming, before traveling to FC Dallas, a team that L.A. has beat twice already this season.

    Toronto, Portland, and Philadelphia are all on the outside looking in. Toronto will hope its late momentum can carry over into tough road games at L.A., New York, and New England, a schedule eased slightly by home games with Houston and Montreal.

    The Timbers face the San Jose Earthquakes twice, before hosting RSL and finally travelling to Dallas.

    With two games left against Columbus, the Union still have a chance to steal the Crew’s golden ticket or serve it to them on a platter. Philadelphia also has to play the stuttering Chicago Fire and Sporting KC.

    GOOD FORM, BAD FORM

  • L.A.’s unbeaten streak is now at eight games. This season the Galaxy have scored the most goals (63) and conceded the fewest (31), making a remarkable goal difference of 32.

  • Colorado’s winless streak extended to 10 games with a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.

    LEAGUE LEADERS

  • Landon Donovan served up three assists against New York, moving his season total to 18. Donovan is now level with Steve Ralston’s all-time record of 135 assists, with four regular season games remaining.

  • Portland’s Diego Valeri and L.A.’s Robbie Keane each have 14 assists and New York’s Thierry Henry has 13.

  • Bradley Wright-Phillips was quiet this week but remains on top of the Golden Boot race with 24 goals. Fellow Brit Dom Dwyer headed in a goal to move his season total to 20. Dwyer has now scored in his last four games.

  • Galaxy forwards Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes, who both found the net on Sunday, follow with 17 and 16 goals respectively. Keane netted twice, reaching 51 career goals with Los Angeles. Goal No. 50 was definitely memorable:

    THE MVP RACE

    There are still plenty of names in the hat and a good postseason run could be a game-changer for any of the front runners. Obafemi Martins definitely made his case for the award on Saturday. The forward scored a brace to raise his total to 15, breaking the Sounders’ single-season record. With 13 goals and eight assists, Clint Dempsey can’t be too far from the conversation either.

    It would be icing on a pretty illustrious cake for Donovan to see out his career with another individual honor. Donovan was also on the score sheet for the New York game. Teammate Keane is one of the players who may deserve it more than than Donovan.

    Bradley Wright-Phillips still needs three goals to match the single-season goals record of 27, held by Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski. Wondo won the MVP title the year he set the record, while Lassiter was a finalist.

    Revs midfielder Lee Nguyen, Vancouver’s Pedro Morales, and Dwyer are probably still the best of the outside bets, with an outstanding playoff run helping any of their cases.

    Nick Kariuki writes both the ASN Injury Report and the MLS Roundup every week. Follow him on Twitter.
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