There will be a new MLS Cup champion in 2014.

The New York Red Bulls' thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over defending champion Sporting Kansas City wrapped up the knockout round and trimmed the remaining field down to eight clubs.

If the conference semifinals produce similar drama, we are in store for a special tournament. Let's take a look at when to catch all the action.

Schedule

Note: Schedule courtesy of MLSSoccer.com

Western Conference Predictions: Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy

The Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy have not only been the class of the West, but the class of the entire MLS.

En route to their first Supporters' Shield in a very brief-yet-successful MLS history, Sigi Schmid's squad lost two in a row just twice all season and finished with 64 points. Only the 2011 Galaxy and 2012 San Jose Earthquakes have scored more since the move to 34 games in a campaign.

While the Sounders' defense—especially at the start of matches—has been shaky, it's difficult to bet against the multitude of attacking options.

The combination of Clint Dempsey and MVP candidate Obafemi Martins is especially dangerous. With Dempsey's mesmerizing dribbling and Martins strength and speed off the ball, they are a terror to stop when working well together.

DeAndre Yedlin, via Fox Sports' Kyle McCarthy, put it simply:

Yedlin himself is quite video-game-esque, himself. Possessing some of the fastest wheels in the world, the future Tottenham right back has the propensity to embarrass defenders down the sideline.

Those are the three big names, but the Sounders have depth, too. Chad Marshall is a rock in the central defense. Brad Evans is an experienced Team USA contributor. Osvaldo Alonso is the engine in the middle, distributing passes. Marco Pappa has improved as the season has worn on, evidenced by this goal (there's that Dempsey magic on the ball):

Then you have the Galaxy, a constant fixture at the top of MLS. While they came up short against Seattle for the Supporters' Shield, they had, in terms of goal differential (plus-32), the best season in 16 years, per Alex Olshansky:

American legend Landon Donovan, in his last MLS season, has tallied 10 goals and 19 assists, while Robbie Keane is another legitimate MVP candidate after bagging 19 goals and 14 assists in just 29 appearances.

"They’re a scary team," Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando said, via The Salt Lake Tribune's Christopher Kamrani. "They’re a good, dynamic team that scores goals from every angle. Every week, you’re going to see a Goal of the Week candidate from L.A."

Real Salt Lake has been tremendous defensively this season, giving up just 39 goals. But Donovan, Keane and emerging star striker Gyasi Zardes will be too much to handle.

Eastern Conference Predictions: New England Revolution and DC United

The New England Revolution acquired World Cup star Jermaine Jones on August 24. In the 10 matches he has appeared in since that date, they are 8-1-1.

A physical box-to-box midfielder, Jones has tallied two goals and two assists to go with 2.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per match, via WhoScored.com. But while he has made his impact all over the pitch, Columbus Crew midfielder Tony Tchani directed the respect elsewhere, via MLSSoccer.com:

I don’t know why people talk about Jermaine Jones like he’s the main guy. The main guy is Lee Nguyen. If you shut that guy down, I think we can win the game.

I didn’t know Jermaine Jones until the World Cup. He was a guy I had heard of, but I knew Michael Bradley and I didn’t know Jermaine Jones.

Lee Nguyen has been one of the best players in MLS this season, so it's easy to see where Tchani is coming from. But either way, there's arguably no better midfield in the league than New England's. That advantage will propel the Revs to the next round.

The other matchup is incredibly tantalizing: an unstoppable force against an immovable object.

Latter of those is DC United, who finished at the top of the East on the strength of their defense. Despite facing the eighth-most shots per match in the league, United are tied with L.A. for fewest number of goals allowed.

For that, they can thank 23-year-old Bill Hamid, who won't likely surpass Rimando for Goalkeeper of the Year but is certainly deserving to be in the conversation.

He and his back four will have their hands full against the Red Bulls. Fueled by legend Thierry Henry and record-setting goal-scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York scored 55 goals in the regular season, most in the East.

That was on display Thursday night, as Wright-Phillips scored a brace in 13 minutes to shock Kansas City:

DC United was able to hold New York to just one goal in three matches during the regular season, though, and they'll be able to do it again in November.

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The latest chapter in the storied rivalry between the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United will see the two sides collide in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

The last time the Atlantic Cup rivals played each other in the postseason was 2012, when the Black and Red won a famous, snow-infused series 2-1 on aggregate. 

Snow is not in the forecast for Sunday's first leg at Red Bull Arena, but a spirited affair between two of the oldest clubs in the league is in the cards. 

Here is a look at the key issues that will shape Sunday's match at the home of the Red Bulls.

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The New York Red Bulls came from behind to win 2-1 at home against Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference knockout round on Thursday night.

Dom Dwyer scored the opening goal before Bradley Wright-Phillips completed a brace to clinch the victory for the Red Bulls. New York will face first-seed D.C. United in the conference semifinals.

Here are five things we learned from Thursday's match at Red Bull Arena.

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In the space of roughly 13 minutes, the New York Red Bulls went from the outhouse to the penthouse, clawing back from a 1-0 deficit to pick up a 2-1 win over reigning MLS Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City. The loss eliminated Sporting K.C. from the 2014 MLS Cup.

When things began looking bleak for New York, Bradley Wright-Phillips atoned for an earlier miss, poking home the equalizer past Eric Kronberg in the 77th minute. Thierry Henry did well to thread the assist through the legs of Sporting center back Aurelien Collin.

MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle felt that right back has been an area of concern for Sporting K.C. since Chance Myers' injury, and it came back to bite them in a big way there:

The match looked destined for extra time until Wright-Phillips delivered the winner in the 90th minute:

Both the goal and the cross leading to the goal looked somewhat accidental, with Ambroise Oyongo hitting his cross poorly and Wright-Phillips looking to have mistimed his header, only for the ball to bounce in the back of the net.

Trevor Hayward of the North American Soccer Network didn't care about style points—a goal is a goal:

That was enough to secure the victory.

Before the match, Henry made the case to MLSSoccer.com's Franco Panizo that Wright-Phillips has been the most valuable player in MLS this year—he tied Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski's single-season scoring record:

He played well from the beginning. And the [MVP award] is for the player of the season. Player of the season, not the last three months, not the middle months, not the five first games. Player of the season. Did you play well the whole season? How many games has Bradley had? Thirty-two. That’s why for me he will get my vote.

After the match, it's even harder to argue with the Frenchman.

Although the Red Bulls still have a ways to go to capture their first MLS Cup, Thursday's win was massive for the franchise and also for the legacies of Henry and Tim Cahill.

Sports Illustrated's Brian Straus commended the two for what they've done for New York and the league as a whole, but their collective playoff failure remains an albatross around their MLS careers:

On the balance of the full 90 minutes, New York was the deserved victor.

The Red Bulls could've had a one-goal or even a two-goal lead going into halftime. Wright-Phillips and Cahill both spoiled what were golden opportunities to give their club the advantage.

In the 17th minute, Cahill was only three or four yards out with the goal mouth gaping wide open. Somehow, his shot sailed high above the crossbar. It was a miss of epic proportions:

MLSSoccer.com's Andrew Wiebe tracked the path of the shot, and it ended up well into the stands:

Wright-Phillips' wasted chance wasn't nearly as egregious but disappointing nonetheless. New York winger Lloyd Sam found some space down the right and fired in a perfect cross for Wright-Phillips, whose free header missed the target altogether.

Given the striker's prodigious goal-scoring record during the regular season, many would've expected the header to end up in the back of the net.

Sporting K.C. weren't without scoring opportunities, either. Their first came courtesy of midfielder Paulo Nagamura, whose shot from the center of the 18-yard box was saved by Luis Robles in the 35th minute. Ten minutes later, Sporting forward Dom Dwyer had a close effort blocked by New York center back Jamison Olave:

Much like last night's knockout round fixture, Thursday's match was rather dull in the first 45. Neither the Red Bulls nor Sporting owned a discernible advantage over the other. Despite New York having those two great chances, it didn't offer a consistent threat going forward, which arguably played to Sporting's advantage since they were on the road.

Sporting K.C. used that advantage to great effect in the 53rd minute, when Dwyer put his team ahead with a well-placed shot into the left post. Midfielder Benny Feilhaber created the goal when he won possession off Eric Alexander and proceeded to begin the counterattack. Feilhaber threaded a perfect ball through to Dwyer.

American Soccer Now's Brian Sciaretta thought the pass outshone the goal:

Doyle noted that Feilhaber and Dwyer were among Kansas City's best players, so the goal was their just reward:

Unfortunately for Sporting, they couldn't find the insurance goal that would've eased the pressure in the second half. Their defense let them down in the final 20 minutes, and the club's title defense is officially over.

The Red Bulls move on to play No. 1 seed D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The semifinals are played over two legs, so winning or losing the first match won't secure passage into the conference finals.

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Major League Soccer announced its plan to add a second franchise in the Los Angeles area with the formation of the Los Angeles Football Club.   

The team's official site states the current plan is to begin playing as part of the 2017 season. Supporters will play a large role in determining the club's direction, highlighted at the outset by helping come up with the name, logo and kits:

With your help, over the next two years, we'll build the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC). A world class MLS franchise for the fans, and for Greater Los Angeles. As an ownership group and stewards of American soccer, we will build a world-class venue and a first-class team.

The club also sent out its first tweet:

Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times notes LAFC is just the placeholder name for now:

That said, Los Angeles FC already has a star-studded leadership group in place.

Among those listed as owners are former NBA superstar and current Los Angeles Dodgers owner Magic Johnson, women's soccer pioneer Mia Hamm Garciaparra, her husband and former MLB star Nomar Garciaparra and Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan.

Johnson talked about his excitement on Twitter:

In terms of other titles beyond owner, Henry Nguyen is the executive chairman, Tom Penn is the president and Peter Guber is named as a managing partner.

Nguyen talked about the league's aspirations on Thursday, according to Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated:

Cristian Nyari weighed in on the ownership group put together in Los Angeles:

One particular point of interest is whether the market can handle two MLS clubs. The Los Angeles Galaxy were founded in 1995 and were one of the league's original franchises. Now they will face renewed competition for fans after the exit of Chivas USA.

The official press release from MLS included comments from commissioner Don Garber, who stated the move was the next step toward competing on a global level.

"We are thrilled to welcome Henry Nguyen, Peter Guber, Tom Penn and their owner partners to Major League Soccer," he said. "This visionary ownership group will chart a course that will further elevate the sport in this great city and, combined with a new state-of-the-art stadium, accelerate us down the path toward becoming one of the top soccer leagues in the world."

Also noted is the fact the league is now expected to feature 22 teams by 2017 with the club from Atlanta joining at the same time. Two more expansion teams are then expected in time for the 2020 campaign.

As LAFC readily notes, there are still plenty of decisions to make before they begin competition. But the formation process is complete. Now it's about working out the details, seemingly with plenty of input from the fanbase.

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The first of four two-legged conference semifinals in the Major League Soccer playoffs will get underway at Crew Stadium Saturday afternoon, as Columbus hosts New England. 

The two Eastern Conference squads put together terrific ends to their respective seasons, and there is a strong case to be made that these are the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. 

If the last four regular-season matches between the two clubs are any indicator as to how this series will end up, we are in for a close battle to determine one of the two finalists in the East. 

Here is a look at the key issues that will shape Saturday's first leg in Ohio. 

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FC Dallas advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Toyota Park on Wednesday night, setting up a meeting with the Seattle Sounders in the next round.

Tesho Akindele opened the scoring and Erik Hurtado equalized in the second half, but with less than 10 minutes left, Kendall Waston conceded a penalty where he was adjudged to have committed a handball in the box. Michel converted from the spot to clinch the win for Dallas.

Here are five things that we learned from the Western Conference knockout round.

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The Vancouver Whitecaps' stay in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs is over a mere 90 minutes after it began, with FC Dallas winning the Western Conference knockout-round fixture, 2-1, on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas.

The match looked destined for extra time until referee Mark Geiger blew his whistle and pointed to the spot in the 82nd minute for a handball on Vancouver center back Kendall Waston. Nobody will argue with the fact that the ball hit Waston's arm, but many took exception to Geiger's decision to award the penalty.

Opta's Ben Jata felt that Waston's arm was in a natural position, thus it was a ball-to-hand situation rather than hand-to-ball:

MLSSoccer.com's Dan Itel couldn't believe the 26-year-old's luck, considering he had played well for so much of the match:

Regardless of the dissenting opinion, Geiger's call was final, and FC Dallas midfielder Michel drove home the penalty in the 84th minute to hand his team a place in the next round:

For FC Dallas, this run to the MLS Cup Playoffs is a chance to undo years of disappointment. After losing to the Colorado Rapids in the 2010 MLS Cup Final, they fell to the New York Red Bulls in the 2011 wild-card game and missed out on the postseason altogether in 2012 and 2013.

Dallas manager Oscar Pareja wanted to ensure that his players didn't squander this opportunity, per Goal's Jon Arnold:

It’s a young roster with a lot of players who have not been in the playoffs before. In that case, my approach to them is just get one game at a time with the same intensity and importance. Sometimes it’s a difficult task to accomplish, but that way I can make them understand that’s the way you have to play the age is always with urgency and responsibility.

FC Dallas dodged a major bullet on Wednesday. Had the game gone into extra time or a penalty shootout, it's anybody's guess as to what would've happened. FC Dallas didn't play particularly well, but that's not necessarily an indictment as to its MLS Cup chances.

Every eventual champion rides its luck at some point, and the Dallas players will likely use Wednesday's win as a learning opportunity going forward. With a team like Dallas that's been out of the postseason for a few years, a learning curve is to be expected.

Maybe the FC Dallas players can get a few words of wisdom from Dirk Nowitzki, who's won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks. Nowitzki watched the match at home and did what he could to support his local side:

Shouts of "Tor!" were likely heard from the Nowitzki household after FC Dallas winger Tesho Akindele scored the opening goal in the 40th minute. Dallas caught Vancouver on the counter, getting numbers in the attacking third. The Whitecaps defense was sucked into the middle of the pitch by the run of Mauro Diaz, which opened up Akindele to the right, and Akindele fired his shot into the far post.

Diaz deserves a ton of credit for the goal. He made things about as easy as possible for Akindele by getting both Whitecaps center backs Waston and Andy O'Brien to try to check his run. Jata laid plenty of blame at the feet of Waston and O'Brien, whose miscommunication left Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted on his own:

Both teams looked very tentative in the first half, with neither side creating much in the final third. When that happens, creative players like Diaz are expected to provide the breakthrough, and he duly delivered. His assist was all the more impressive considering that he was battling injury not too long ago.

The problem for Dallas is that it couldn't muster any more in the attack. The Whitecaps defense recovered quickly and shut down the passing lanes for FC Dallas players in the final third.

That wasn't so much of an issue in the first half, during which Vancouver failed to string more than three or four passes together. Once the whistle blew for the second half, however, the Whitecaps were a different team. They were much more fluid and began posing a greater threat near the Dallas goal.

This was no more evident than by Mauro Rosales' free kick that caromed off the crossbar in the 47th minute:

That shot breathed life into the Whitecaps and in the minutes immediately following Rosales' close call, they attacked with a renewed confidence. You could feel a goal coming, and it arrived in the 64th minute, courtesy of Erik Hurtado.

FC Dallas did a poor job of clearing away a free kick, and eventually the ball fell to Hurtado, who had time and space to measure up his right-footed shot, which found the right corner. Arnold documented the various events leading up to the goal:

Devang Desai, who writes for Toronto FC, felt that the goal was lacking in beauty:

Vancouver was arguably the better side in the second half, but it failed to build upon the momentum created by Hurtado's equalizer. The Whitecaps had Dallas on the ropes, but they didn't go for the jugular. As a result, they opened the door for something fluky late in the game—Waston's handball—to end up providing the final nail in their coffin.

Dallas moves on to play the top-seeded Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference Semifinals. The winner of that game will get the winner of the other semifinal between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.

Both the conference semifinals and finals are over two legs, so the sense of urgency won't be quite as acute for Dallas as it was on Wednesday. The club can have a bad first leg and still manage to go through on aggregate.

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Just four days after playing each other in their last regular-season match, the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City will square off on Thursday at Red Bull Arena in the Eastern Conference knockout round.

The winner of the game will face first-seed D.C. United in the Eastern Conference semifinals. There are several storylines entering this match, which will be examined in this slideshow.

Here are the keys to the Eastern Conference knockout round.

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The MLS playoffs begin on Wednesday, with FC Dallas hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference knockout round. The winner will face the Seattle Sounders in the conference semifinals.

Dallas and Vancouver split the season series. Each team earned a win, a draw and a loss in three matches. However, the Hoops have won all five games at Toyota Stadium against Vancouver since they entered the league.

That makes this matchup all the more intriguing. Here are the main storylines and keys to the game.

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