Quietly, Sounders FC became the first team in MLS to clinch a playoff berth with its 3-2 stoppage-time win over Real Salt Lake on Friday. Still toting a game in hand on the other four Western Conference teams above the playoff line, Seattle created some separation in the standings with its victory and a pair of draws by the Galaxy last week.
Now with a three-point cushion, Seattle has seven matches to play and a chance to lift silverware this week against the Philadelphia Union in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Here is a look at how the playoffs would shape up if the season ended today.
In the West, Sounders FC leads by three points over the LA Galaxy, and the Galaxy would face No. 3 Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference semifinal. That series would start at Rio Tinto Stadium and conclude at the StubHub Center. Meanwhile, Seattle would await the winner of a Knockout Round match between No. 4 FC Dallas and the No. 5 Vancouver Whitecaps, who jumped ahead of the Portland Timbers with a midweek win over the San Jose Earthquakes. That game would be played at Toyota Stadium with the winner advancing to host Sounders FC in the first leg of its Conference Semifinal series. The second leg would be at CenturyLink Field.
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Seattle is a 0-1-1 in the regular season against the Whitecaps and won its two previous matches with FC Dallas, 3-2 back on April 12 at Toyota Stadium and 2-1 at CenturyLink Field on May 7. The third meeting between Seattle and Dallas is on Sept. 24 at Toyota Stadium as Seattle finishes a 12-day road trip that includes the Open Cup final and the only matchup of the season with the New York Red Bulls.
In the East, the New York Red Bulls jumped into the fourth spot to move the Union out of the fifth and final playoff spot while the New England Revolution continued to close the gap at the top of the standings.
If the season ended today, second-seeded Sporting Kansas City would meet the No. 3 Revs while D.C. United would await the winner of a Knockout Round match between the Red Bulls and Columbus Crew. The Crew and Union are even with 9-9-10 records, but Columbus holds the second tie-breaker with a plus-four goal differential while Philadelphia is at plus-two.
