Major League Soccer calls the day of the final game of the regular season “Decision Day” because it is the day when the final standings of the league’s 18-team playoff tournament are determined.
Only two of those spots remain unclaimed, but that doesn’t make this decision day any less unpleasant. LAFC and Galaxy both enter their finale on Saturday with a much easier path to MLS Cup berths with a chance to finish first in the Western Conference and secure home-field advantage through the first three rounds of the postseason. Make it.
The Galaxy (19-7-7) are in first place with 64 points and will win their first conference title in 13 seasons with at least a tie in Houston. However, a loss would open the door for LAFC (18-8-7) to leapfrog its rivals by defeating San Jose at home and closing the two-goal gap on goal difference, an important tiebreaker.
“We don’t spend a lot of time discussing scenarios. The important thing for us is to do what we can and focus on it,” LAFC’s Steve Cerundolo said. He is seeking to become the first manager since New England’s Steve Nichol from 2005 to 2007 to lead a team to three consecutive MLS Cup finals.
Home field advantage will make that task much easier, as LAFC’s 10 home wins in MLS play are just behind the Galaxy’s 13. On the road, LAFC is a mediocre 8-6-3.
The Galaxy’s home road split is even more pronounced, with Greg Vanney’s team unbeaten in 16 games at Dignity Health Sports Park, but 6-6-4 on the road. Still, it’s a far cry from last season, when the team won just eight times and finished 13th in the 14-team conference table.
“We changed the group a lot from last year. We brought in players who made a difference,” midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said of the team, which has added eight star players since the beginning of the 2023 season.
The Galaxy head into decision day with a lead, but they also face bigger challenges. Not only are they on the road, but they’ll also be facing a Houston team vying for favorable postseason seeding, with suspended midfielder Marco Delgado and likely winger Joseph Paintl (hamstring ) will be missing. Another midfielder, Marco Reus, has limited playing time due to a hamstring injury.
“We’re here, we have everything in front of us to play for,” Vanney said. “We want to win this game and make the playoffs on our home field as much as possible. We’ll go there to get a result and try to solidify our position.”
LAFC will play at home against the league’s worst team, which has conceded an MLS record 75 goals. But the Black and Gold, making their 99th appearance since the start of the 2023 season, will look inward, midfielder Timothy Tillman said.
“If we don’t do our job, it doesn’t matter what the Galaxy does,” he said. “If we do a good job, everything is in our hands.”
The only playoff spots yet to be confirmed ahead of Decision Day are the final two spots in the Eastern Conference, currently occupied by DC United and Montreal. Philadelphia and Atlanta, who are separated by three points, can advance if DC and Montreal lose or if both teams win.
The playoffs begin on Tuesday with a wild card game between the eighth and ninth place teams in each conference. The first round of the best-of-three competition begins on October 25th.
