MLS playoff bracket set after frantic final day of regular season
The Major League Soccer playoff picture is set.
The 2020 regular season concluded Sunday after Sporting Kansas City wrapped up first place in the Western Conference with a 2-0 win at Real Salt Lake. The Seattle Sounders, the Reigning MLS Cup champions, finished second in the division despite a 4-1 triumph over the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Montreal Impact and Inter Miami took the Eastern Conference's last two playoff berths during Decision Day's earlier kickoffs.
The postseason begins on Nov. 20 when play-in fixtures will be contested to condense the Eastern Conference's side of the bracket from 10 teams to eight. The single-legged Eastern and Western quarterfinals will begin a day later.
Eastern Conference play-in matches (with teams' seeds)
- Nashville SC (7th) vs. Inter Miami (10th)
- New England Revolution (8th) vs. Montreal Impact (9th)
Eastern Conference quarterfinals
- Philadelphia Union vs. lowest remaining seed from play-ins
- Toronto FC vs. highest remaining seed from play-ins
- Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls
- Orlando City vs. New York City FC
Western Conference quarterfinals
- Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC
- Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas
- Minnesota United vs. Colorado Rapids
BRACKET = SET@Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs coming up! 🍿 pic.twitter.com/prkYibJDec
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 9, 2020
In the Western Conference, the top eight teams were already assured of a postseason spot on Sunday, with only the playoff seeding to be determined.
Sporting Kansas City saw off Real Salt Lake's challenge at a frosty Rio Tinto Stadium. A goalmouth scramble in the final moments of the opening stanza resulted in a goal for Ilie Sanchez, and Erik Hurtado made RSL's David Ochoa eat snow soon after the restart when he rounded the unsteady 'keeper before converting from a tight angle.
The Sounders finished as runners-up in the West following a second-half outburst against San Jose. Seattle racked up four goals after the break through tallies from Nicolas Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz, and Jordan Morris, and Marcos Lopez's own goal. Lopez scored the consolation for the 'Quakes.
The Portland Timbers, who also had an opportunity to steal first place before Sunday's matches began, drew 1-1 at Los Angeles FC following a late equalizer from Jorge Villafana.
In the East, Thierry Henry's Impact were behind twice at D.C. United, but they still managed to end their sputtering regular season with a victory. Bojan Krkic equalized after Donovan Pines scored the host's opener, which all occurred before a bullet header from Victor Wanyama and Romell Quioto's 88th-minute tap-in overcame United's second goal scored by Ola Kamara.
D.C. United were in a spot to qualify for the postseason prior to Wanyama and Quioto swiping a 3-2 triumph for Montreal.
Inter Miami took the final playoff spot when they beat FC Cincinnati, and the Chicago Fire and Atlanta United dropped points in their last-day fixtures. The visitors threatened to ruin Miami's day, but Mikey Ambrose's long-range finish and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez's header were enough to secure a 2-1 win during a tropical storm.