SEATTLE (AP) — Nicolas Lodeiro and Raul Ruidiaz scored two minutes apart early in the second half, and the Seattle Sounders beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-1 on Sunday in the MLS regular-season finale for both teams.
Seattle’s victory combined with Portland’s draw against LAFC vaulted the Sounders (11-5-6) into second place in the Western Conference standings. Seattle will face No. 7 seed LAFC in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference final.
San Jose (8-9-6) had already clinched a playoff spot and needed a victory and a lot of help to avoid being the No. 8 seed. The Earthquakes will open the playoffs against No. 1 seed Sporting Kansas City.
SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2, REAL SALT LAKE 0
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Khiry Shelton and Erik Hurtado sandwiched a pair of goals around intermission, and Sporting KC beat Real Salt Lake in the snow.
Sporting KC (12-6-3) clinched the top seed in the Western Conference with the win. The club enters the postseason having won six of eight.
Shelton scored in a scrum in the 45th minute. After halftime, Hurtado beat sliding keeper David Ochoa.
Real Salt Lake finished with a 5-10-7 record.
TIMBERS 1, LAFC 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jorge Villafana scored in the 90th minute, and the Timbers played to a draw against.
LAFC’s Diego Rossi claimed the league’s Golden Boot with 14 goals in the coronavirus-shortened season. He had a chance to up his final total against the Timbers, but he hit the post twice.
LAFC (9-8-5) finished seventh in the Western Conference standings and will visit Minnesota United in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Timbers (11-6-6) finished third and will host FC Dallas.
Carlos Vela made his first start since Aug. 22 and scored on a rebound goal in the fifth minute. Vela was working his way back from an MCL injury.
NEW YORK CITY FC 4, FIRE 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Valentín Castellanos had a goal and an assist, sending New York City FC to the win.
NYCFC will play Orlando City in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Chicago (5-10-8), which is winless in its last six games, was eliminated from MLS playoff contention.
Castellanos ran onto a misplayed ball by Chicago’s Miguel Ángel Navarro and tapped in a roller from near the spot for the tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute.
New York City (12-8-3) has won four consecutive games for the first time since a five-game win streak from Aug. 17-Sept. 7 of last season.
Przemyslaw Frankowski had two goals for the Fire. Robert Beric also scored.
UNION 2, REVOLUTION 0
CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Sergio Santos and Cory Burke scored, and Philadelphia captured its first-ever Supporters’ Shield with a victory over New England.
The Union had a chance to secure the trophy last weekend, but a 2-1 loss to Columbus put the celebration on hold. Philadelphia (14-4-5) finished with 47 points to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage through the playoffs.
New England (8-7-8) will face Montreal in the play-in round.
Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead into the break after Santos scored on a shot that rebounded off the crossbar and landed at his feet in the 42nd minute. Burke added a goal for the Union in the 69th minute.
IMPACT 3, D.C. UNITED 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Romell Quioto scored in the 88th minute, helping Montreal secure a playoff berth.
The Impact (8-13-2) will be the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. D.C. United (5-12-6) was eliminated from playoff contention.
Montreal snapped a three-game losing streak with its first victory since a 2-1 win against Inter Miami on Oct. 17.
Quioto took a center from Mason Toye and tapped it in for the game-winner. Victor Wanyama tied it at 2 in the 74th minute off a feed from Quioto.
Donovan Pines and Ola Kamara scored for D.C. United.
RED BULLS 2, TORONTO FC 1
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Tom Barlow and Brian White scored about two minutes apart, leading the Red Bulls to the victory.
Barlow put away a header from point-blank range to open the scoring in the 24th minute. Sean Davis lobbed an arcing ball to Kyle Duncan, who played a header across the area to White for a tap-in goal in the 26th.
New York (9-9-5), which has just one loss in its last seven games, will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed and play the third-seeded Columbus Crew in the conference semifinals.
Toronto’s Tsubasa Endoh scored his first goal of the season in the 50th minute.
Toronto (13-5-5) has lost three of its last four games. It will be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
RAPIDS 2, DYNAMO 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Diego Rubio scored in extra time, lifting the Rapids to the victory.
Colorado (8-6-4), which clinched a playoff berth with a 1-0 win over Portland on Wednesday, is headed for postseason play for the first time since 2016. The Rapids are the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed.
Houston (4-9-9) ended the season without a win in its last seven contests.
Younes Namli put the Rapids up in the 61st minute. Mauro Manotas evened the score for Houston eight minutes later.
MINNESOTA UNITED 3, FC DALLAS 0
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kevin Molino scored twice for Minnesota United, and Emanuel Reynoso had a goal and two assists.
Minnesota will be the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and will host a first-round playoff game.
Minnesota (9-5-7) has won three of its last four games and is unbeaten in its last eight, dating to a 2-1 loss to Columbus on Sept. 23.
Dallas (9-6-7) had won three in a row.
Dayne St. Clair, the No. 7 pick in the 2019 SuperDraft, had four saves for Minnesota, and defender Brent Kallman headed a clearance off the crossbar in the 31st minute.
CREW 2, ATLANTA UNITED 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Lucas Zelarayán and Gyasi Zardes scored, leading Columbus to the victory.
The Crew secured a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference and will host a first-round playoff game. Atlanta was eliminated from playoff contention.
Zelarayán took a pass from Milton Valenzuela at the top of the area, split two defenders, and then chipped in a shot from point-blank range in the 28th minute. Zardes rolled in a left-footer to make it 2-0 in the 55th.
Columbus (12-6-5) won for just the second time in the last five games.
Marcelino Moreno converted from the penalty spot for Atlanta in the 59th minute.
Atlanta (6-13-4) has recorded just one win in its last eight games.
INTER MIAMI 2, FC CINCINNATI 1
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Mikey Ambrose and Leandro González Pirez scored four minutes apart, helping Inter Miami clinch a playoff berth.
Inter Miami (7-13-3) earned the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Cincinnati (4-15-4) entered the match as the only team in the East to have been eliminated from the postseason.
Joseph-Claude Gyau scored at the 66th minute for FC Cincinnati.
NASHVILLE SC 3, ORLANDO CITY 2
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jhonder Cadiz scored in stoppage time and Nashville SC rallied for the win.
Orlando had already secured its first MLS playoff appearance, with just one loss in its previous 16 matches. But the result landed Orlando (11-4-8) in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Lions will face fifth-place finisher NYCFC in the opening round.
Nashville (8-7-8) will face fellow expansion team Inter Miami in a play-in match.
Nashville rallied late, tying the game on Hany Mukhtar’s goal in the 88th minute before Cadiz’s winner.
WHITECAPS 3, GALAXY 0
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Fredy Montero scored twice and the Whitecaps wrapped up the season with a victory over the Galaxy.
Both teams went into the match already eliminated from the playoffs.
Vancouver (9-14-0) had an especially tough season. Because of travel restrictions, the Whitecaps had to play “home” games at Portland’s Providence Park, home of the Timbers.
Looking to finish on a high note, the Whitecaps took the lead on Lucas Cavallini’s goal in the 24th minute. Montero added a second goal in the 43rd and closed out scoring with another in stoppage time.
The Galaxy wrap up the season with a 6-12-4 record.
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