Here are the ten things we learned from the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card round.
1. A Game for the Ages
Weâll be talking about Portlandâs win over Sporting Kansas City forever.
A quick rundown of what happened on Thursday night at Providence Park in a game that was every bit as physical, intense, and controversial as the matchup and stakes promised it would be is as follows.
Portland took a second half lead, Kansas City equalized with time running out to force extra time, Timbers-killer Krisztian Nemeth scored a thunderbolt goal to give Sporting the lead, only to see Maxi Urruti improbably turn in an equalizer that came out of nothing in the penultimate minute of extra time and send the game to penalties.
The shootout went eleven rounds, and was decided on the twenty-second penalty when Kansas Cityâs backup goalkeeper Jon Kempin had his spot-kick turned away by Timbers goalkeeper and hero Adam Larsen Kwarasey.
Itâs possible â though not probable â that Providence Park had been louder before, but impossible that it ever had and ever will again hold as much emotion in its old soul.
Twice in the shootout, the Timbers faced elimination. The first time, Kevin Ellis hit the post. The second time, Saad Abdul-Salaam â a former Timber U-23 and Akron Zip who played for Caleb Porter â hit his penalty off the inside of the left post, the inside of the right post, and just narrowly back out into touch.
Darlington Nagbe sat on the ground five yards behind his teammates with his back to the North End goal, head buried in a towel, unable to watch. Nagbe left his cocoon only once: To slot home his penalty in the eighth round of the shootout.
The game stretched so far into uncharted waters â the longest shootout in MLS playoff history â that instinct took over from all rational thought. Portlandâs heroes â the ultra-cool Kwarasey, Urruti, Nat Borchers, and, somehow, Dairon Asprilla â came from both nowhere and everywhere.
It was unconscionable night that took years off the lives of the people who had a stake in it. Every other fan walking out into the cool Portland night looked positivity gaunt, hands clapped over mouths, unable to close jaws or form speech.
Both teams should have won. Both teams should have lost. No one will ever forget this game.
2. This Format Has A Lot Going For It
MLS is frequently derided for its playoff system, but Wednesday and Thursday were almost impossibly compelling reasons why this country is so fond of its almost-universal postseason format.
The Portland Timbers â Sporting Kansas City game will be remembered forever as one of MLSâ greatest contests, but it obviously wouldnât have happened had the season ended with the lifting of the Supporters' Shield.
There are other notches in the cap of the playoff system today: The best games in both conferences involved number six seeds, making MLSâ decision to expand the playoff format and Wild Card round look like a stroke of genius.
Thereâs something here for those who say the playoffs render the regular season meaningless, too: The home team won all four Wild Card games this year. An away hasnât won on the road in a knockout game since 2012, and a visitor has never won MLS Cup in a true road game.
The point: Home-field advantage matters. A lot. And therefore, the regular season clearly matters too. Like the playoffs or not, this system isnât going anywhere. And after Thursday night, why should it?
3. Geiger Show!
Obviously Jermaine Jones, whose stay with the New England Revolution appears to be over, shouldnât have assaulted referee Mark Geiger in the final minutes of the Revolutionâs Wild Card loss to DC United on Wednesday night.
Making physical contact with a referee is inexcusable and an absolute no fly zone for athletes at any level of any sport.
That being said, Geiger canât be anywhere close to any game of importance for a long time to come. There certainly is a World Cup malaise, but the American referee has had a World Cup meltdown after his stellar work in Brazil last summer.
In the last year and a half, Geiger has far too often made himself the focal point of games with borderline ridiculous calls, inconsistency, and abysmal player and game management.
His Gold Cup semifinal performance in the Mexico â Panama game remains the nadir, but this performance was dĂ©jĂ vu from last yearâs playoffs.
In 2014, Geiger decided a Wild Card game on a bogus late penalty call for FC Dallas that knocked Vancouver out. The same scenario played out at RFK Stadium, when Geiger awarded DC United an extremely questionable second-half penalty and then failed to give New England the same call with time running out â the decision that prompted Jonesâ outburst.
Geiger shouldnât get another assignment in this postseason. Armando Villarreal did a solid job in Portland by keeping 22 players on the field in an intense, physical game â good thing, too, all 22 had to take penalties â and kept himself out of the spotlight. He should be moving on, as should Jair Murrufo and Baldomero Toledo, with the likes of Alan Kelly and Ismael Elfaith waiting in the wings.
In any case, MLS canât afford any more Geiger Shows.
4. The Galaxy Falls Apart
LAâs meltdown this season â from scoring goals with as much or more ease than any MLS team ever in August to barely functioning in October â was remarkable coming from the leagueâs most stable and most respected franchise.
Against Seattle, all the cracks in the armor of Bruce Arenaâs team were on full display. Defensively, the Galaxy was a nightmare â and even though he was dismal on Wednesday night, that wasnât all on Donovan Ricketts.
In hindsight, I think LA would have paid Jaime Penado â but Ricketts has always been a great shot-stopper and poor in open space out of the goalmouth, and, knowing that, Arena decided to gamble on him in the summer. It didnât pan out.
More worryingly, though, was the collapse in form of Omar Gonzalez this season. LAâs defense fell apart around him, and then ahead of him, where the excellent Juninhoâs effectiveness was limited by the rotting albatross that is Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard, who was billed as a good, solid, smart player upon his arrival Stateside, was both notably off the pace on Wednesday as well as notably frustrated. His conduct on Seattleâs second goal was almost criminal, while his lack of connection with Robbie Keane helped keep the Galaxyâs most dangerous player out of the game.
Giovani dos Santos didnât help there either. Gyasi Zardes was played out of position on the wing to accommodate dos Santos up top, even though the Mexican is a winger who canât play his natural position because he canât or wonât defend.
Arena was justifiably disgusted by his teamâs performance against the Sounders, which resulted in LAâs earliest playoff exit since the New Yorkerâs arrival at the club. There could be huge change coming in the offseason in Carson. This club will not take failure lying down.
5. LA Missed Landon Donovan
The absence of Galaxy legend, who seems to be enjoying his first playoff experience of retirement on the couch, was sorely felt.
Not only did Donovan have a good rapport with his teammates and know exactly how to win in MLS and in the postseason, his connection with Keane and ability to give the Galaxy attack a number of different dimensions was badly missed.
Thereâs a reason that Donovan racked up an astounding 21 assists last season. He was an exceptional, exceptional player who was playing some of the best soccer of his career. Gerrard and dos Santos have been downgrades, and while Sebastian Lleget is extremly talented, he was gassed by halftime on Wednesday.
Marcelo Sarvas was dearly missed too. His partnership with Juninho was excellent last season, and without him, LA was too fragile. They didnât respond to adversity well either â once things started going against them in the second half, they looked incapable of drawing themselves back into the game.
That 2014 team might still be MLSâ best, and, considering how far LA fell this year, itâs another example of how talent can be replicated but chemistry cannot be.
6. Montreal Soars
No game in this Wild Card round was easier to call than Montrealâs 3-0 walkover against Toronto on Thursday night at Stade Saputo.
Two major events towards the end of the regular season â the arrival of Didier Drogba and the firing of Frank Klopas â has launched the type of energy in a team and a city that usually results in a generous number of playoff wins.
This team is firing on all cylinders, and belief is flowing through its veins. The Impact feel good, and along those lines, it was no shock at all to see Montreal native Patrice Bernier â who has hardly played this year â scored the first and ultimately game-winning goal against TFC.
His coach, another Montreal native in Mauro Biello, deserves all kinds of credit for calling Bernier for this match, as well as putting faith in the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker and pulling a team that has had all kinds of attitude problems in the last two years together.
Of course, Beillo couldnât have done it without the magnetic force of Drogba â but Montrealâs most important player continues to be Ignacio Piatti, who is finally getting his due as of the leagueâs most talented players. He ravaged a miserable Toronto defense all night long.
This team is going to be hard to stop. My gut feeling is that they beat Columbus, and set up one of hell of a grudge match with the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference Final.
7. Toronto Falls Apart
On the other side of Montrealâs party on Thursday night was Toronto disintegrating once again in a big match.
TFCâs effort against the Impact in the clubâs first ever playoff match was nothing short of embarrassing. Their attack was anemic, and their defense was juvenile.
Most frustratingly, Toronto hardly looked like they cared as their season fell apart in the first half at Stade Saputo. The Reds were either unable or unwilling to pull themselves together. Either way, I donât think Greg Vanney should be retained next year.
New President Bill Manning should hire Jason Kreis, and then maybe this team will have a prayer. Right now, despite all their talent, they donât have a chance at competing for a cup.
Outside of Giovinco, everyone was disappointing this season. Even two of Torontoâs most decorated players, Michael Bradley and Benoit Cheyrou, were absolutely dominated by a far less decorated midfield trio of Bernier, Reo-Coker, and Marco Donadel.
Part of that was tactical, but, as always with this team, thereâs a deeper DNA deficiency lying under the surface. This was a humiliating loss for Toronto. It might have been better if they hadnât made the playoffs at all.
8. Other Thoughts: Seattle, DC, More
Seattle got a gut-check win against the Galaxy, thatâs for sure. They simply couldnât let LA beat them this time, and they did just enough to see the game through.
Sigi Schmid deserves credit for plenty in this game â notably, going to veteran Sounder Zach Scott and shifting Brad Evans to fullback when Leo Gonzalez went down hurt, and completely changing the dynamic of the game at halftime by getting Seattle higher up the field.
That all being said, though, the Sounders still donât look like a force to be reckoned with. This team is far less scary when Osvaldo Alonso isnât fit, as he wasnât against LA, and Clint Dempsey had very little impact out on the wing. If both Alonso and Brad Evans are out against Dallas, Seattle is in serious trouble.
Give DC United a ton of credit. Their big players stepped up to the plate to beat New England â notably Fabian Espindola and Bill Hamid, whose incredible save on Jermaine Jones was probably one of the reasons Jones melted down just seconds later.
Sporting Kansas City still deserves to be in this competition. They were an incredibly, incredibly tough out who also played up to their competition and could always be counted upon to battle.
Going forward, theyâre going to need much, much more from Graham Zusi, who looked much more average player than World Cup player all season. SKC should try to retain Dom Dwyer, and they certainly should retain Tim Melia. Theyâll be back.
9. Univision Problems
Univision had all four Wild Card games, and the result was a predictable disaster for everyone listening to the English-language commentary of Ramses Sandoval.
As itâs been all season, Sandovalâs commentary was comically bad in some of the most intense and dramatic moments of the first four playoff games. From calling Bernier âBernie,â to only identifying players in the Portland-SKC shootout by their numbers, to falling asleep on Urrutiâs goal, MLS fans and the highlights that will be played for a long time to come deserved better.
Not having their English-language team on location for any of the games sent a message in itself, and hurt the already painful commentary. Although ESPN and FOX Sports typically donât want weeknight playoff games, MLS needs to find a way to solve this problem for next season and beyond.
The good news? Univisionâs Spanish commentary was superb â the call of the Portland shootout was a thing of beauty.
10. Conference Semifinal Picks
If the four conference semifinals provide half the drama of the Wild Card games, weâre in for a treat.
I think New York crushes DC United for a number of reasons â this is a bad matchup for DC, Bobby Boswell is suspended for the first leg, Chris Pontius is hurt, the Red Bulls are rested â and marches on with home-field advantage.
Montreal â Columbus should be a terrific series with tons of attacking talent on show, but the Impact look like a team of destiny â and theyâve had the Crewâs number this year.
Dallas is still hugely underrated, and while LA is out of Seattleâs way, there was a reason the Galaxy were the fifth place finishers in the West this year.
How Portland is going to play on Sunday after their exploits on Thursday night remains to be seen, but if they werenât already confident enough, the Timbers have historically hammered the Whitecaps. This should be another tight series, but something special is going on in the Rose City.
Thereâs hardly a moment to rest. Just a handful of hours until the first of four games starts on Sunday.
