With 33 weeks already in the books, it all comes down to Decision Day.
Eleven MLS matches will kick off concurrently at 3 p.m. CT Sunday, drawing a close to the 2017 MLS regular season while finalizing the bracket for the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Among the last round of fixtures is Sporting Kansas City’s visit to Real Salt Lake, a renewed rivalry that carries significant postseason implications for both sides.
Sporting KC has already punched its playoff ticket, but could still finish anywhere between second place — which would secure a knockout-round bye — and fifth place, which would send Manager Peter Vermes’ men on the road for the knockout round in a repeat scenario of the previous three seasons.
Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, sits a point below the playoff line and almost surely needs a win, plus help from elsewhere, to snag the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Throw it all together, and Sunday’s clash on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest has the makings of a barnburner.
“I expect it to be a very difficult match in that it’s going to be fast and furious,” Vermes said earlier this week. “They obviously need to win. We’re in a position where (getting points) gives us an opportunity to possibly have a home (playoff) game. Both teams are fighting for something, so I expect it to be a real battle. And that’s exactly what these games are at the end of the season.”
Indeed, a victory over RSL would guarantee Sporting KC a home playoff game for the first time since hosting the 2013 MLS Cup. A draw or a loss, however, and Sporting KC runs the risk of being leapfrogged by the fifth-place Houston Dynamo, who sit two points lower in the standings but would own the head-to-head tiebreaker should they beat the Chicago Fire at home on Sunday.
The forthcoming battle at Rio Tinto Stadium pits a pair of teams who experienced frustrating results last Sunday night. Sporting KC was held to a scoreless home draw with Houston after goalkeeper Tyler Deric made nine saves, while Real Salt Lake suffered a baffling 1-0 defeat at the Colorado Rapids despite enjoying 72 percent possession and outshooting the Rapids 30-2.
“I think that we’ve been playing games pretty well, we’re just missing the goal,” Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza said. “We need to be more clinical in front of goal. But it happens, teams go through that, and it’s better to happen now than in the playoffs. We’re going to go to Salt Lake and try and get the fixed.”
Taking all three points in Utah won’t be easy, as Real Salt Lake has caught fire during the second half of the season after stuttering to a 5-12-2 start. Head coach Mike Petke’s men have won four straight home games, outscoring opponents 12-2 during the stretch, which suggests the best backline in MLS will be put to the test.
Anchored by center backs Matt Besler and Ike Opara, Sporting KC has conceded a league-low 27 goals this season. A shutout on Sunday would tie the all-time MLS record for fewest goals allowed in a 34-game regular season. Full backs Graham Zusi and Seth Sinovic have also contributed to the cause, as has goalkeeper Tim Melia, who will miss his third straight game Sunday with a hamstring injury.
MLS veteran Andrew Dykstra has filled in for Melia in each of the last two games. He recorded his first Sporting KC clean sheet last Sunday and is laser-focused on the next task at hand.
“At Sporting we do a good job of taking one game at a time,” Dykstra said. “I don’t think anybody’s thinking beyond Salt Lake. The intensity this week in practice is raised, and the expectation is to get some goals and keep (RSL) out of the net. I would expect the demand on one another to be very high, but it’s just the next game. We’re just trying to focus on that and raise the bar for it.”
