MLS Week 27: Mostly dead

"I'm not dead."
"He says he's not dead."
"I don't want to go on the cart."
"Oh, don't be such a baby"

Los Angeles refuses to go on the cart. And if the luck they have demonstrated throughout the season holds, they will make it to the brink of the playoffs, raising the hopes of their fans and all the MLS execs praying for a Beckham postseason ... before they are unceremoniously eliminated the final weekend. It's just surprising that we are even still talking about the possibility of a LA post-season in week 27. But they did manage to stay alive. RSL and Toronto weren't so lucky.

In the Supporter's Shield race, Chivas USA is now hot on the heels of DC United, who drew against the hapless Wizards. New England, meanwhile, suffered an LHOC championship hangover against Chicago and will now need help to get back into the Shield race.

OCT. 7
Los Angeles 2-1 Houston
Ok, I'm not one for conspiracy theories but this result is a head scratcher. LA goes into Houston and takes down the defending MLS Cup champs 2-1, with goals from Carlos Pavon and the recently red-hot Gavin Glinton. With three matches still to play, the Galaxy are now just six points away from the last playoff spot, and will finish against Toronto, New York and Chicago (who currently hold the final spot in the playoffs). Now I'm not saying anything dirty or underhanded is in the works, but it's just naive to think that Don Garber isn't routing for a Chicago, Colorado and Columbus collapse. WIth B-ham up and running with the team recently, I bet that MLS execs are praying nightly (and perhaps sending Blanco strippers at 2am).
Full Match Recap

Toronto 0-1 Colorado
Despite being down a man for a majority of the match, Colorado continues to try to save Fernando Clavijo's job, as they pick up the 1-0 win at home against already eliminated Toronto FC. The only goal was courtesy of USMNTer-once-upon-a-time Jovan Kirovski, who beat Kenny Stamatopoulos (aka The Gyro Salad) from the penalty spot. The win puts the Rapids four points behind the final playoff spot with two matches to play (@ Chivas USA, vs. RSL).
Full Match Recap

OCT. 6
FC Dallas 3-1 Columbus
FC Dallas punched their ticket to the MLS post-season with an impressive second half on the road against the Columbus Crew. The Crew's Eddie Gaven put his side up in the 31st minute, only to see the wheels come off the big yellow school bus in the second half, as Arturo Alvarez equalized three minutes after the whistle and Abe Thompson score two in the final four minutes. The Crew is still on the outside looking in, trailing the final spot in the playoffs by five points with two matches to play. And that's the good news. The bad news is that they will need to get those points from DC and New England who are locked in a Supporters' Shield race.
Full Match Recap

New England 1-2 Chicago
Chicago strengthened their hold on the final playoff spot, with an impressive win over the Open Cup champion Revolution at home on Saturday. Goals from Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett were enough to collect the result after the Fire went down 1-0 early in the contest after a long-distance strike from Jeff Larentowicz. Whether it was an Open Cup hang over or not, New England lost ground in the race for the East and now has to hope that United loses its last two matches.
Full Match Recap

Chivas USA 3-2 Real Salt Lake
The inevitable conclusion of RSL's season came to pass in a 3-2 home loss to red-hot Chivas USA, as a brace by John Cunliffe and a third from Paulo Nagamura was enough to fend off a first half goal from Chris Brown and a 63rd minute goal by Robbie Findley. Chivas now leads the West, whiel RSL were eliminated from the playoffs thanks to Chicago's 2-1 win. Chivas has the Supporters' Shield in their sights, with FC Dallas, Colorado and Houston left to play.
Full Match Recap

OCT. 5
DC United 1-1 Kansas City
MLSnet bills it as a possible playoff preview, but not unless Kansas City continues to get goals from players not named Eddie Johnson. They did in this draw, as forward Scott Sealy scored just before halftime. DC United's Christian Gomez made sure the Supporters' Shield favorites didn't leave Arrowhead empty handed, equalizing in the 56th minute with a superbly struck shot. With two matches to play, DC is just three points ahead of Chivas USA, who have a game in hand. DC's magic number for winning the East is one.
Full Match Recap.

OCT. 4
New York 1-2 Toronto
Despite breaking their 12-game winless streak, TFC's 2-1 upset of New York was all for nothing as Chicago's win a few days later mathematically eliminated them from the post-season. It's unfortunate, not only for MoJo and the Canucks, but for MLS, which would have enjoyed the atmosphere of BMO Field in the playoffs. But with the win came a possible glimpse of the future, as Maurice Edu scored his fourth goal of the season and TFC held a potent Red Bulls attack without a shot on goal in the first half. An own goal by (MLS's worst) defender Chris Leitch in the 66th and a Dane Richards strike for New York in the 75th minute rounded out the scoring.
Full Match Recap.