Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: Who Is the Favorite to Win MLS Cup?

After eight months of regular-season play and four knockout-round matches that narrowed the playoff field down to eight, we still have no idea who will hoist the MLS Cup on December 6. In a league that prides itself on parity, very few teams have looked like the squad to beat for the entire season. The LA Galaxy were handed the trophy by many, including this scribe, when Giovani Dos Santos joined the 2014 MLS Cup champions in July, but the Galaxy couldn't find a way to play effective defense and fell out of the postseason at the hands of longtime rival Seattle on Wednesday.  If there are any clear-cut favorites to come out on top when the postseason ends, it's easy to look at the two No. 1 seeds. The New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas impressed during the stretch run of the regular season, but both have flaws waiting to be exploited by their conference semifinal opponents.  For the umpteenth time in the history of the league, the Red Bulls will square off with D.C. United in the conference semifinals. The rivals will face each other for the sixth time in a playoff series starting on Sunday at RFK Stadium. The Red Bulls ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2015: Thursday Scores, Reaction and Updated Schedule

The second batch of knockout games in the MLS postseason was played on Thursday night, with the final two spots in the conference semifinals up for grabs. Below, we'll take a look at the results of both contests along with the updated postseason schedule and a recap of Thursday's action.         Thursday Results   Eastern Conference Schedule   Western Conference Schedule   Montreal Impact Beat Toronto FC, 3-0 The Montreal Impact left no doubt.  First, the club scored its first goal in MLS playoff history. Then it added two more for good measure, blowing past Toronto FC on Thursday, 3-0, to advance to the next round of the MLS playoffs.  Patrice Bernier opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing off a lovely bit of counterattack play by the Impact. Ignacio Piatti slipped him in free on goal, and Bernier did the rest. The MLS on Twitter shared the goal: That opened the floodgates. Fifteen minutes later, Piatti doubled Montreal's lead, sliding a low shot past 'keeper Chris Konopka.  Six minutes later a legend would get involved, as Didier Drogba gave the Impact a 3-0 advantage.  Toronto will have an entire offseason to lament its defense on that goal. From there the Impact dug in defensively, content to protect a 3-0 lead and advance to face the Columbus Crew, ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2015: Wednesday Scores, Reaction and Updated Schedule

The 2015 Major League Soccer Cup playoffs kicked off Wednesday with two fixtures of the win-or-go-home variety. Wednesday's winners advanced to play two legs against a higher-seeded club, but they only had one match to prove themselves at the dawn of the postseason. The D.C. United played host to the New England Revolution in the opening match followed by the Seattle Sounders squaring off with the visiting LA Galaxy. Check out how both those matches unfolded in the recaps below preceded by an updated MLS playoffs schedule:     D.C. United 2, New England 1 After hitting the post in the 75th minute on a penalty kick, D.C. United's Chris Rolfe benefited from a beautiful setup by Fabian Espindola and scored the winner from middle of the box to secure a 2-1 victory. Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth couldn't even attempt to dive at the ball once D.C.'s exceptional display of teamwork culminated in Rolfe's simple left-footed strike.     ESPN's Taylor Twellman commended Espindola for setting up both of D.C. United's goals, believing he was the best player on the pitch at RFK Stadium: Demoralizing as the defeat was for New England in the end, Revolution fans and soccer purists couldn't have asked for a much better goal to ...

MLS Power Rankings: New York Red Bulls Close out the Regular Season on Top

MLS Decision Day lived up to the hype on Sunday. The New York Red Bulls won their second Supporters' Shield in three years. The rest of the playoff picture was also finalized, with the postseason beginning on Wednesday with the knockout round matches. The epic conclusion of the regular season has drastically altered the final power rankings before the playoffs. As always, every team will be ranked based on the following criteria: Quality of opponent and performance. Recent form beyond the previous match.  Key absences. Current standing. Here's where every MLS team stands at the end of the regular season.Begin Slideshow

MLS Cup Playoffs 2015: Dates, Schedule, Odds, Bracket and Live Stream Info

The MLS Cup playoffs schedule was set on Sunday, as New York Red Bulls won the 2015 Supporters' Shield to end the regular season. New York pipped FC Dallas on goal difference to claim the top seeding and home-field advantage for the playoffs. It is New York's second Supporters' Shield triumph in the last three seasons, and they are favourites to take the 2015 MLS Cup as well. Read on for full scheduling information ahead of the playoffs, along with odds and live streaming information. The full bracket is provided by MLS: The knockout round takes place this week, with eight teams aiming to join Dallas, New York, Vancouver Whitecaps and Columbus Crew SC in the semi-finals. Here is the full schedule for this week's matches: Live stream available in the UK via Sky Go.   Defending champions LA Galaxy face a tough test on Wednesday against Seattle Sounders, a repeat of last year's Western Conference final. Galaxy are among the favourites to prevail once more in the MLS Cup, but they will have to do it the hard way as Seattle will be a tough team to get past in the preliminary knockout round. Here are the latest odds for the MLS Cup 2015 winner: Montreal Impact and Toronto face each other ...

MLS Player Rankings: Sebastian Giovinco Remains Top at End of Regular Season

Sunday marked the culmination of yet another wild Major League Soccer regular season that produced plenty of marvelous individual performances.  Some of the league's top players were able to use standout showings to lead their respective sides into the postseason, while others suffered disappointment on Decision Day.  Both types of players feature in our last regular-season edition of the MLS Player Rankings. The 20 players on this list may not be the 20 best stars over the course of 2015, but they were the top in-form players during the final month of the year.  Our player rankings take into account form over the last four matches, with the player's most-recent performance holding more stock than the other three.  Continue reading to see who landed where in the final MLS Player Rankings of the regular season. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Drogba, Dempsey and Nagbe Star on Decision Day

Major League Soccer's Decision Day delivered plenty of final-day fireworks as the field for the MLS Cup playoffs was determined by 10 games played over four hours on Sunday. Didier Drogba, Clint Dempsey and Darlington Nagbe were some of the biggest difference-makers on the last day of the regular season, powering their respective sides to the highest playoff place possible.  Outside of the high-profile names in the league, plenty of role players made massive contributions for teams bound for the postseason and even for a few clubs whose seasons ended on Sunday.  Because of the large amount of impressive attacking performances on Decision Day, we shaped our best XI from Sunday in a 4-3-3 formation. Continue reading to see who else landed in our final MLS Team of the Week of the 2015 regular season. Begin Slideshow

MLS Regular Season Final Day: Winners and Losers from Sunday Games

The eight-month long Major League Soccer regular season concluded on Sunday with 10 matches that produced a good amount of drama across North America. Columbus stole the show during the 5 p.m. ET kickoffs as it broke down the D.C. United defense on many occasions in its 5-0 win to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.  D.C.'s loss combined with Montreal's win over Toronto put the Impact in third and United in fourth. Montreal will host No. 6 Toronto FC in the knockout round on Thursday, while D.C. will face No. 5 New England on Wednesday. The New York Red Bulls, who already secured the No. 1 seed in East, clinched the Supporters' Shield with a win in one of the six late games.  In the Western Conference, Vancouver earned the second bye into semifinals. FC Dallas clinched their spot a week ago.  Portland and Seattle captured the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the West with their respective wins to set up knockout-round clashes with Sporting Kansas City and LA, respectively. Here's a look at our winners and losers from the thrilling slate of contests on Decision Day. Begin Slideshow

MLS Regular Season Final Day: Live Score, Highlights from Sunday’s Games

Welcome to our live coverage of MLS Decision Day.  We'll have live scores and updates of every playoff race throughout the two sets of games.    5 p.m. ET Games (All Matches Final)  Orlando City 0-1 Philadelphia New England 3-1 New York City FC Toronto FC 1-2 Montreal D.C. United 0-5 Columbus 7 p.m. ET Games (All Matches Final)  New York Red Bulls 2-1 Chicago Fire San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 FC Dallas LA Galaxy 1-2 Sporting Kansas City Houston Dynamo 0-3 Vancouver Whitecaps Colorado Rapids 1-4 Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake 1-3 Seattle Sounders    All playoff scenarios can be found here.    Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: League Gets It Right with Decision Day Format

The end of the Major League Soccer regular season is here.  After a few weeks that seemed to drag on in length in September and October, the last day of the regular season should produce some of the most exciting moments of 2015.  The busy Sunday across North America starts at 5 p.m. ET with four Eastern Conference showdowns. Seeding for the playoffs, which begin on Wednesday and Thursday with one-off knockout games, will mostly be on the line. But if Orlando City beats Philadelphia and New England loses at Yankee Stadium City FC and there is an eight-goal swing, the Lions will miraculously sneak into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.  Since that scenario is unlikely, even though the Union seem to have given up on the season after their U.S. Open Cup final defeat at the end of September, most of the focus will be on seeding. D.C. United enters Decision Day with the best chance to capture the No. 2 seed and enjoy a rest along with the New York Red Bulls ahead of the conference semifinals.  Columbus controls its own destiny as well, as it needs a win over D.C. at Mapfre Stadium on Sunday to clinch the ...