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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 to New York 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 No. 2 seed. A draw in Columbus could allow Toronto FC to slide into second position with a win, but the Reds face a tough battle against rival Montreal at Stade Saputo.
Montreal could launch itself as high as third place with a win and some help on Sunday, but it is more likely the Impact will be fighting for the opportunity to host the knockout-round game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, which could see them face Toronto again.
As for New England, win and get in is the formula it will look to follow. The 2014 MLS Cup runner-up could finish as high as third with a victory, a Columbus loss and a draw in Montreal, but the real focus is set on qualifying for the postseason first.
While there will be some excitement during the early slate of matches, the 7 p.m. ET kick offs are the set that should ignite plenty of fireworks, starting with the race for the Supporters' Shield.
MLS did the right thing by moving back the New York Red Bulls' match with Chicago to coincide with FC Dallas' home clash with the San Jose Earthquakes. The Red Bulls have an advantage at the moment on goal differential, but winning at Toyota Park will be no easy task for the club that has been historically poor at the home stadium of the Fire. FC Dallas will also face stiff competition from San Jose, who is in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Speaking of the wild, wild Western Conference, only FC Dallas has locked down their position for the postseason, as they are set as the No. 1 seed. The LA Galaxy enter Decision Day as the No. 2 seed, but they may be stricken by their poor road form against a desperate Sporting Kansas City team.
Vancouver looks to be in good shape to finish no lower than third as it hosts Houston, a team knocked out of playoff contention last time out. However, beneath those three teams, all chaos is set to break loose between four clubs.
Portland, Seattle, Sporting KC and San Jose come into Decision Day in that order. The Timbers should avoid the madness against Colorado at Providence Park, but they must be aware of the Rapids' hunger to play spoiler, as they defeated Sporting KC on the road on Wednesday. Seattle hosts a Real Salt Lake team that is playing for nothing at CenturyLink Field. A win seems likely for Sigi Schmid's side.
The battle for the No. 6 seed will be where all the drama occurs. Sporting KC is ahead of San Jose by one point, and both teams are set to take on the two best teams in the West. Peter Vermes' club will be treating the match like a final, and the qualifying process is simple, as a win would lock them into the postseason. A draw would only hurt them if San Jose wins, and a loss would put their fate on the shoulders of San Jose's result.
But since this is MLS, where the unexpected becomes the expected, there is a possibility four teams will be deadlocked on 51 points in third through sixth after Sunday's games. Soccer By Ives' Ives Galarcep detailed that possible scenario:
No matter what the final results are on Sunday, a ton of praise should be given to the league office for scheduling all the matches on one day. In past years, games have been played on different days, thus silencing the drama during the final week of the regular season.
With live look-ins planned on each national television broadcast and kickoffs synchronized, the league can't fail in terms of Sunday's excitement. This should be the format for every season after 2015. All that's left for us to do is set up multiple screens and enjoy the action.
Decision Day Schedule
Toronto FC at Montreal Impact (5 p.m. ET)
New England Revolution at New York City FC (5 p.m. ET)
D.C. United at Columbus Crew (5 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)
Orlando City at Philadelphia Union (5 p.m. ET)
New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire (7 p.m. ET)
Houston Dynamo at Vancouver Whitecaps (7 p.m. ET)
Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders (7 p.m. ET)
San Jose Earthquakes at FC Dallas (7 p.m. ET)
Colorado Rapids at Portland Timbers (7 p.m. ET)
LA Galaxy at Sporting Kansas City (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Players to Watch
Federico Higuain, CAM, Columbus Crew
The Crew will be at a disadvantage on Sunday as leading scorer Kei Kamara is serving a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
That means most of the pressure to produce chances will fall on the shoulders of Federico Higuain, who will sit behind either Aaron Schoenfeld or Jack McInerney in Columbus' 4-2-3-1 formation.
Higuain has plenty of trust in wingers Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram, and he will have to contribute plenty of quality passes to the pair on the outside to open up the organized D.C. defense. If Higuain can effectively run the Columbus attack, the Crew will have a good chance of locking up the No. 2 seed in the East.
Omar Gonzalez and Leonardo, CB, LA Galaxy
After getting thumped by Portland in the final 25 minutes of the second half in Week 33, the LA Galaxy center back duo of Omar Gonzalez and Leonardo must do better against Sporting KC in order to earn the best seed possible in the playoffs.
Gonzalez and Leonardo were torn apart by Portland's post-up forward Fanendo Adi and creative midfielder Diego Valeri in that 5-2 defeat at home. The pair will face a similar threat in the form of Dom Dwyer and Benny Feilhaber at Sporting Park.
Taking Feilhaber out of the game is more important to the Galaxy's success than Dwyer's involvement, which means we should see one of the two step up and disrupt Feilhaber as he surges into the box. If Feilhaber is contained, Gonzalez and Leonardo should be able to deal with the physical nature of Dwyer without a key passing outlet.
Chris Wondolowski, FW San Jose Earthquakes
Outside of Chris Wondolowski, the San Jose Earthquakes do not have a consistent scoring threat. That means the United States international will be counted on to score in the key road clash with FC Dallas.
The scorer of 16 goals in 2015 did not fare well in his previous meetings with Oscar Pareja's side this season, going scoreless against the FC Dallas defense on two occasions.
Scoring, or even finding space, against the FC Dallas back four will be a difficult task for Wondolowski since FC Dallas have three clean sheets in their last three contests.
Game of the Week
LA Galaxy at Sporting Kansas City
With all due respect to the great slate of games on Decision Day, LA's road trip to Sporting Park is the marquee showdown.
After looking like one of the top two teams in the West for most of the year, the Galaxy have limped to the finish line and are in danger of playing in the knockout round during the middle of next week.
In order to avoid that possibility, with Vancouver playing an easy game at home versus Houston, the Galaxy must correct their putrid road form. Bruce Arena's side has two wins in 16 road contests in 2015.
The good news for the Galaxy coming into Sunday is Sporting KC have suffered from the same type of late-season slump. Unfortunately for the one-time favorites to hoist the Supporters' Shield, they must win in order to safely secure passage into the postseason.
Vermes' side will be highly motivated to record three points in front of their home fans after suffering a disappointing loss at Sporting Park to Colorado on Wednesday.
A draw does neither side any good, so expect a strong attacking pulse in this game from the start as both teams look to secure the highest seed possible in the West.
Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com Source: Click Here
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