To at least partially make up for my major screw-up in telling the world we were out when we’re not, here’s a quick recap of the playoff run and how and why we can still make it. (In my defense, I spent the entire afternoon at Urgent Care with a son and his sprained ankle, so cut me a little slack, okay?)
Okay, first off, tiebreaks. If two or more teams tie, the first tiebreak is head-to-head record. If they’re still tied, it’s goal differential.
Before this weekend, there were four teams still in contention for two spots: KC (37 points), Chicago (37 points), Colorado (35 points), and LA (34 points.) Columbus ended the season with 37 points after today’s (Saturday’s) win, but their season record left them out of contention before this weekend based on tiebreaks.
So as things stand at this moment:
KC beat Dallas and is now definitely in with 40 points.
Colorado lost to RSL (thanks, Robbie Findley!!) and is definitely out with 35 points.
That leaves one playoff spot for either LA (34) or Chicago (37). If Chicago wins, they have 40 points and the Galaxy have 34. Chicago is in. If LA and Chicago tie, it’s Chicago 38 and LA 35. Chicago is in.
BUT if LA wins, Chicago and LA both have 37, and LA gets in on tiebreaks due to a better head-to-head record because we beat Chicago last time we met. (On July 4. Remember that game where all the cynics said Kyle Martino was a diver? Well, thank you Kyle.)
Make sense?