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

Steven Gerrard Speaks on Retirement, 1st Season in MLS

LA Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard has suggested he could retire at the end of next season after reflecting on a somewhat disappointing first campaign in MLS.  According to Adam Serrano for LA Galaxy's official website, he said: "It could be my last season as a footballer. ... I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m feeling right now come next year. I’d love to go out on a high. It’s a long season and I only came here for the last four months, but I’ll certainly be better for the experience next year." Gerrard's Galaxy side—which also features the likes of Robbie Keane and Giovani dos Santos—looked like a strong candidate to triumph in the play-offs only to lose 3-2 to the Seattle Sounders, denying the 35-year-old a long-awaited league title after failing to do so with boyhood club Liverpool.     To make matters worse for the Englishman, he likely felt a nightmarish sense of deja vu after being personally culpable for Seattle's second goal after he allowed Nelson Valdez to race onto Andreas Ivanschitz's free-kick. Former United States and MLS goalkeeper Tony Meola and ESPN's Taylor Twellman were among those to highlight his part in the goal: Gerrard's error came just 18 months after ...

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

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

Major League Soccer entered the conference semifinal phase of the MLS Cup playoffs on Sunday, with the eight remaining teams looking to get an advantage in the first of the two-legged ties. D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls met in the first of two Eastern Conference clashes followed by the Columbus Crew and Montreal Impact later in the evening. Over in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers renewed their rivalry, while the Seattle Sounders were hoping FC Dallas wouldn't derail their hopes of winning an MLS Cup for the first time. Here's a look at how Sunday's matches unfolded.   Conference Semifinal Scores Conference Semifinal Schedule   Sunday Recap D.C. United 0, New York Red Bulls 1 The Eastern Conference's top seed drew first blood in the conference semifinals after Dax McCarty's goal in the 72nd minute gave the New York Red Bulls a 1-0 win over D.C. United on the road in RFK Stadium. Sacha Kljestan picked up the assist, as his right-footed delivery on a set piece found McCarty on the edge of the six-yard box, per MLS: Some D.C. United supporters will feel wronged by referee Fotis Bazakos after Ronald Zubar escaped a red card in the 69th minute. The Red Bulls defender took out Markus ...

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