Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: Breaking Down Conference Semifinal 2nd Legs

The first weekend of conference semifinal action across Major League Soccer determined very little and left us wanting more out of the four head-to-head clashes.  Sunday's playoff quadruple-header should produce more excitement, along with the required clarity as four teams will move into the conference finals that begin after the November international break.  The New York Red Bulls were the only road team to win the first leg, while Montreal and Seattle pulled off 2-1 wins over Columbus and FC Dallas respectively. Vancouver and Portland played to the only draw of the first-leg weekend, the Whitecaps and Timbers both failing to find the back of the net at Providence Park. Now the focus shifts to the business end of the conference semifinals, which begin with one of the league's best rivalries at Red Bull Arena.  The first match between the Red Bulls and D.C. United wasn't much of a contest. Jesse Marsch's men left with a one-goal advantage thanks to Dax McCarty's game-winning header in the second half. To make matters worse for the Black and Red, they failed to record a shot on target in the home defeat. The good news for Ben Olsen's side is there is still plenty of time to make up ...

MLS Playoff Player Rankings: Ousted Top After Conference Semifinals 1st Leg

For the entire Major League Soccer regular season, we ranked the top 20 players in the league based on form.  Just because the regular season is over, it doesn't mean we can't stop ranking players, but we did have to make some adjustments for the MLS Cup playoffs.  Instead of listing the top 20 stars, we narrowed the list down to 10 in order to honor the best performances of the postseason to date from a limited amount of teams.  Our first ranking of the playoffs mainly focuses on the displays in the conference semifinal first legs, but those who were involved in the knockout-round matches had their showings from those contests considered as well. Continue reading on to see who landed in the first playoff edition of our MLS Player Rankings. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Dempsey, McCarty, Waston Shine in Conference Semifinals

The four first legs of the conference semifinals in Major League Soccer produced more grind-it-out results on Sunday than the overwhelming excitement produced by the knockout-round matches on Wednesday and Thursday. With more strategy involved, including playing for away goals in the first leg, the eight teams who stepped onto the pitch on Sunday all remained alive because of hard-fought contests. Seattle and Montreal made the biggest splashes at home, but both sides conceded an away goal to FC Dallas and Columbus respectively. The New York Red Bulls took advantage of D.C. United's putrid attacking play to head into the second leg at Red Bull Arena with a 1-0 lead, while Portland and Vancouver failed to break their deadlock after 90 minutes.  Since goals came at a premium for forwards on Sunday, we shaped our MLS Team of the Week in a 4-5-1 formation. Continue reading to see who were the best 11 players during Sunday's slate of contests.Begin Slideshow

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 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 ...

MLS Player Rankings: Larin, Diaz Make Big Leaps, 7 Players Enter

With playoff spots up for grabs across Major League Soccer in Week 33, some of the league's best scorers rose to the occasion and found the back of the net for their respective sides.  Sebastian Giovinco, Cyle Larin, Robbie Keane, Obafemi Martins and Fabian Espindola were among the high-profile names who boosted their team with goals in the penultimate week of the regular season.  Few players were more impressive than Larin, who scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season for Orlando City on Friday night as the Lions continued their late playoff push.  Over in the Western Conference, Mauro Diaz continued to power the FC Dallas attack as he played a major role in both wins by Oscar Pareja's side in Week 33.  Due to the massive influence they had on their respective sides, Larin and Diaz were the highest movers in our latest MLS Player Rankings.  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 where Larin, Diaz and the rest of the stars in MLS landed in our list of the league's top 20 in-form players.Begin Slideshow