The 2014 MLS regular season came to a close on Sunday at Sporting Park -- 323 games in 232 days -- and Sporting KC is now one of 10 teams in pursuit of a berth in MLS Cup 2014 on Dec. 7. The reigning champions will be tasked with navigating the postseason gauntlet as the Eastern Conference's fifth and final seed. First up? A rematch with the New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 30 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The winner will advance to host No. 1 seed D.C. United at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday (tickets).
With the playoff field and match-ups set, what does #SKCnation think? Leave a comment below and make a prediction in MLS Cup Pick'em. Here are my 10 thoughts with the postseason upon us...
1. Rest and recover. The Knockout Round fixture offers no respite during a grueling 2014 schedule for Sporting KC, who will take the field a 43rd time in 33 weeks on Thursday. That's the most of any team in MLS and doesn't include international duty for the likes of Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, both of whom made 10 appearances for the U.S. Men's National Team in 2014 (tied with Alejandro Bedoya for most on the squad). The next closest team? Portland at 41 games played across all competition. The Timbers also finished with 49 points but on the outside of the playoff field after finishing first in the West in 2013.
2. Fresh start. After going 11-5-5 to begin the season, Sporting KC finished the campaign with a 3-8-2 record since Aug. 1. Of the five positive results, only the scoreless draw at D.C. United earlier this month came against a playoff team. That's how a club that hadn't fallen below third in the Eastern Conference since Week 3 in March winds up dropping to No. 5 in the East and No. 10 overall on the final day of the season. Fatigue and poor form aside, Sporting KC are now given a reprieve. Ninety minutes -- or perhaps 120, as Sporting KC twice needed in the 2013 MLS Cup title run -- on Thursday to send a statement to the Eastern Conference side of the bracket.
3. Flip the script. The last time a playoff team lost their final two regular season matches? The 2010 FC Dallas team that reached MLS Cup, where they fell to a fifth-place finisher (Colorado). And speaking of five seeds, Sporting KC fans will all remember Houston overcoming the odds in 2012 to make it to MLS Cup as the Eastern Conference's final qualifier. Look no further than this year's MLB World Series -- featuring two Wild Card participants -- for a reminder to never count out the least likely of contenders.
4. Frequent fliers. By the time the team lands in Newark on Wednesday, Sporting KC will have logged more than 5,000 travel miles...in the past week, thanks to last week's CCL jaunt to Costa Rica. To put that number in perspective: Manchester United will travel less than 5,000 miles during the entirety of their 2014-15 Premier League campaign.
5. Road warriors. Sporting KC's regular season road form can not be questioned after Manager Peter Vermes led his team to eight road wins and a +3 goal difference away from home this year. Both marks were best in MLS. However, Sporting KC only has two postseason road wins in team history with their last such victory coming on Oct. 30, 2011 -- three years to the day of Thursday's decisive Knockout Round encounter.
6. Day of destiny? Sporting KC has twice played on the eve of Halloween and twice earned playoff victories. The first came in a dramatic 3-0 win over reigning MLS Cup champions San Jose at Arrowhead Stadium in 2004 with Jack Jewsbury's stoppage-time goal giving KC the 3-2 aggregate advantage. The second was the aforementioned 2-0 victory over Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in 2011. By contrast, New York is 1-2-0 on Oct. 30 with postseason losses in 2004 and 2011 to go along with a win in 2010.
7. Heartbreak in Harrison. Since opening Red Bull Arena in 2010, New York has lost all four home playoff games held at the venue. That's tied with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny for the longest home postseason losing streak in MLS history. Their last home playoff win came all the way back on Oct. 22, 2005 at Giants Stadium. The stretch of seven games without a win at home in the playoffs is tied with D.C. United for the longest all-time in Major League Soccer. Mike Petke's side will be looking to end a six-game playoff winless streak dating back to 2011 on Thursday.
8. Postseason paths cross at long last. It took 19 years for Kansas CIty and New York -- two MLS originals -- to meet in the playoffs. The Red Bulls are the only active MLS charter club that Sporting KC has not played in the postseason. A 2006 regular season finale between the two sides was the closest it came as New York defeated KC 3-2 to finish one point ahead, clinching the East's fifth seed and keeping KC out of the playoffs. Robb Heineman was named team president the following week and Peter Vermes would be appointed technical director a month later.
9. Defend. Together. New York was the top scoring team in the East during the regular season and much of the damage was done at Red Bull Arena, where they scored 38 goals in 17 games. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored four times against Sporting KC in 2014 en route to a record-tying 27-goal campaign. And then's there Thierry Henry -- who missed Sunday's match with inflammation in his Achilles, but was second in MLS with 14 assists -- and Tim Cahill, two of the top-paid players in MLS at more than $3.5 million each.
10. Unlikely hero? With Sporting KC's offense in need of a spark after back-to-back 2-0 losses and just a single shot on goal yesterday, recent history suggests it could be a defender that comes to the rescue in the postseason. Aurelien Collin led all players with three goals in the playoffs a year ago and Seth Sinovic has scored in two straight postseasons despite five regular season campaigns without a goal. Look to Graham Zusi as the potential playmaker. He has five assists in 10 career appearances against New York. While Sporting KC has shuffled through three goalkeepers in 2014, Luis Robles has played every minute for New York and was second in MLS with 111 saves in 2014.
