Five-a-side: What's hot around the league
Five things that matter this week in MLS, revolving around the playoff race
1. Simplifying the playoff races: A friendly word to players and managers around MLS: don't let the ball conk you in the noggin when you turn your head to peek at the out-of-town scoreboard this weekend.
There's bound to be a lot of that going around.
There's sure to be particular interest in the result coming out of New England. That's because a Revolution win at Gillette against Chicago (no sure thing considering the Revs' traditional struggles against those Windy City troublemakers) will put D.C. United, FC Dallas, Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake on the edge of elimination. For the most part, it's win or else for those sides anyway. But a New England win will make it official -- win or else.
Meanwhile, Columbus, Los Angeles, Houston and Chivas USA have berths in pocket, of course. And a few others have earned their rights to exercise great control over matters.
Chicago will clinch a playoff spot with a win this weekend. Same for Sounders FC, who reach the second season with a win at Kansas City. That won't be easy, however, as the Wizards have been respectable (a 3-2-2 record) since that terrible, scoreless August.
Chicago and Seattle could also clinch spots with draws -- but that comes attached to a bunch of complicated scenarios in both cases. Both clubs are surely thinking about making things as simple as possible, especially since it's a treat that others can't enjoy.
"It's nice to be in control of your own destiny," Sounders FC manager Sigi Schmid said. "You don't have to hope that we will win and they will lose and they will lose, which is sort of what Kansas City has. It's always a lot better to be in the position that we are in where let's just win and we are there. The only scoreboard we need to watch is our own scoreboard."
Colorado and New England could conceivably clinch with weekend wins, but both would need other results around the league to go their way in order to seal the deal in this round.
Kansas City? Yeah, they're mathematically alive. But so am I when I pick up that lottery ticket on some random Wednesday afternoon. Officially speaking, I've got a chance -- but I think we all know better.
While three of four teams in another pair of contests can't clinch anything, we have two virtual "elimination matches" on deck. Toronto or Real Salt Lake will see their hopes vanish with a loss -- and probably with a tie. Same for FC Dallas, which hosts Colorado. The Rapids are the one team in the foursome with a little wiggle room.
That's an overview of the simplest math here. Of course, one big upset could move the markers. Seven matches this weekend will tell us a lot.
2. Looking at the teams already in: So much of the focus on this year's spandex-tight playoff race has been on the fringe sides, those still looking to find their postseason chair once the music stops. We sometimes tend to breeze past Houston, Chivas USA and Los Angeles now because they have already secured their spots.
But we shouldn't forget about the postseason home-field advantage that's still in play. And there's one match on deck that's huge in the Western Conference reach to secure a top spot and the potential home-field advantage in a conference final.
In the last three years, the home team has won five of six times in those conference championship matches. The one road team to win was the New York Red Bulls last year, and as everyone around Real Salt Lake will tell you, the visitors were oh-so-lucky to escape Rio Tinto and those extra-wide goal posts (or so it seemed) with the narrowest of 1-0 wins.
Houston battles Los Angeles down at Robertson Stadium this weekend; any loss here is a major gut punch to conference championship hopes for either side, especially since Chivas USA have the luxury of a game in hand over both of these sides.
How important is the potential right to host this match to these teams in particular? Consider first that Houston has been in two of the last three Western Conference title matches, winning both at home. So there's a marked psychological edge to be gained here for Dominic Kinnear's team.
Consider also that in 2009 Houston and Chivas USA have combined to win 17 games on their home grounds this year, but have just eight wins between them on the road. Clearly, both of those sides are more comfortable playing at home. So Houston's match against L.A. is critical -- but maybe no more so than Chivas USA's contest against San Jose, where the Red-and-White can take a big step in gaining that potential host spot.
(And that's not to mention that Chivas is the only real threat to swipe the Supporters Shield from Columbus. "It's a personal goal of mine to get the Supporters' Shield," Chivas USA attacker Sacha Kljestan said. "It's big -- it shows that over a season you're the best team in the league."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles would also prefer to stay at home in such a big contest, but Bruce Arena's side might not be as nervous about road matches. For whatever reason, Bruce Arena's team has as many points at home (22) this year as on the road.
3. Someone will tell a storybook tale of 2009: Storybook tales will unfold around the league as more teams stamp their playoff passport for 2009 -- no matter which of the chasers claim their prize. All over the league, teams making this year's field will be overcoming hurdles of substantial size to arrive there.
Los Angeles, for instance, has already qualified. That's a talker out in southern California soccer circles since the team had been pretty tough on the eyes prior to this season -- and that's being charitable. The Galaxy last advanced into the second season in 2005.
Up the coast, Seattle is on the verge of making the playoffs as an expansion side. So, the prevailing story line is built in at Qwest. This isn't the old MLS, where Chicago immediately got up to speed as an expansion side in 1998. Consider the tough road taken for recent expansion sides: Toronto joined in 2007 and has yet to make the playoffs. Chivas USA joined in 2005 and has yet to win a playoff series. Real Salt Lake also joined in 2005 and needed four seasons to make their postseason debut.
New England probably needs a few more points to extend its playoff streak yet another season; the Revolution last missed the postseason in 2001, a matter of pride that's all but stamped on manager's Steve Nicol's forehead at the moment.
Even being this close to playoff entry is a tribute to the fortitude around Gillette, considering that injuries have stripped away most of this year's availability for veterans Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston and Chris Albright. So a playoff appearance for Shalrie Joseph and Co. would truly represent and improbably feat.
Then we have potential stories developing in Real Salt Lake and Dallas. If the men of Utah make it, they will have accomplished several "firsts" along the way. Jason Kreis' side went into Wednesday's contest against New York needing, in all likelihood, three wins in three matches. That meant beating the Red Bulls for the first time -- which RSL did.
It also means winning on the road on artificial turf for the first time in club history -- which RSL must do this weekend at Toronto.
And speaking of Toronto, that would be a pretty exciting story, too, if the bunch from BMO Field could somehow squeeze into the field and make all those loyal supporters happy. They need nothing less than two wins over two weekends, in all likelihood.
Dallas faced perilously long odds coming out of August. But the team has gone 4-1-1 since then and has won its last three. So if Schellas Hyndman's team does find its way in, it will almost surely come attached to a storybook five-game winning streak.
4. The latest on Rookie of the Year: There are so many good candidates for what is easily the most well-stocked Rookie of the Year race in MLS history. But the irony is that most of the top candidates have something major working against them.
For instance, Omar Gonzalez looks like the frontrunner. He's a Los Angeles Galaxy center back. But will voters pick an L.A. Galaxy center back for the second consecutive season, following up on Sean Franklin's win last year. Some voters might be reluctant to choose an "L.A. do-over." That's not Gonzalez's fault, but that's the way it is sometimes.
Here's something else along from the file of "it is what it is." Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace have enjoyed outstanding seasons at RFK, playing well in multiple roles for D.C. United. But could mean they will split votes, effectively stripping away votes from one another? It could happen.
Same with New England's promising pair of defenders, Darrius Barnes and Kevin Alston. Voters from that area, who have seen the pair the most and might naturally lean in a Revolution player's direction, could divide their votes and affect both players' chances.
And it may be the same for Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin at Toronto. Frei seems to have a better chance at this point, although Cronin has been quietly effective all year in a pair of different midfield roles.
Then there's Steve Zakuani, Seattle's livewire winger, who has been an absolute handful for opposing defenders this year. He's got three goals and four assists -- which aren't bad numbers for a rookie. But they aren't outstanding, and even Sounders FC manager Sigi Schmid admitted this week that Zakuani might have trouble snagging the award this year.
Well, someone's gotta win it. Right?
5. Finishing the run: What a scene at Rio Tinto on Wednesday, where the home team kept its playoff hopes alive with a 2-0 win against New York.
And what a guy to deliver the big goal! Andy Williams finally broke the Red Bulls-Danny Cepero curse that had conspired to keep the ball out of the visitor's goal for the bulk of two memorable matchups between the sides. (Somehow, some way, Cepero and the Red Bulls held off the RSL onslaught last year to prevail in the 2008 conference final and block the home team's path to the MLS Cup final.)
Williams' goal was yet another chapter to his inspirational 2009 tale. Williams' wife Marcia has a rare from of leukemia, although a bone marrow transplant has things looking up. Suffice to say, the matter has made for an emotional time in the Williams family and in his extended RSL family. So, consider the cascade of feelings around Rio Tinto as Williams put that one past Cepero in the 80th minute.
Then there's the Facebook angle. Williams predicted on the popular social network platform shortly before Wednesday's match that he would score. And indeed he did.
"I've done it before and it hasn't worked for me," Williams said of his prediction. "But I just had that feeling today."
Of course, his prediction would never have had a chance if Kreis didn't insert the reserve playmaker into the match. In fact, Kreis looks great with his choice of offensive-minded substitutes Wednesday, inserting Williams in the 63rd minute and Robbie Findley in the 69th. Those two combined for the big goal, and don't think that won't be a talking point if RSL can elbow its way into the playoffs.
Finally, there's this -- a huge lesson in will, and also a lesson on how to play the game the right way:
Yes, Williams had come in as a substitute, so he had some fresher legs than many guys. Still, watch (and prepare to be impressed) where he comes from on the goal.
Williams is back in his own penalty area helping to defend a Red Bulls free kick. Remember, the game is still well in the balance at this point, scoreless in the dying minutes. As Kyle Beckerman plays a quick and accurate ball to Will Johnson to clear the penalty area, Williams is two steps inside his own 18.
So his run was about 100 yards as he dashed into position, finishing Findley's well-hit cross two steps inside the Red Bulls six-yard box.
That's a run a lot of players wouldn't be willing to make. It's a run of faith, essentially, because so much could have gone wrong between Beckerman's outlet pass and Findley's cross landing in the right place.
Williams had the faith to make the run that mattered -- and his team remains alive in the playoff chase as a result.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve writes for www.DailySoccerFix.com and can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
