FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Just four weeks out from the start of the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, virtually nothing has been decided with regards to postseason seeding.
In fact, only one team – the New York Red Bulls – has officially secured a place in the playoffs, leaving a whopping 11 postseason berths unclaimed in the final month of the regular season.
The New England Revolution are on the verge of sealing one of those spots – a win or draw this weekend at Toyota Park would do the trick – but even so, they could finish the weekend anywhere from first to fourth in the East depending on results around the league.
Those kinds of potential swings on a week-to-week basis make every game of vital importance.
“You can lose a game and drop so much, or you can win and go to first,” said Diego Fagundez, hoping to make a third straight postseason appearance with the Revolution. “It’s huge.”
The Revs enter October one of six teams in MLS within three points of the Supporters’ Shield lead, so there’s everything to play for in meetings with the Chicago Fire, Montreal Impact and New York City FC.
But there are other critical benchmarks beyond the Shield. The league’s new playoff system rewards the top two seeds in each conference with a bye to the conference semifinals, while seeds three through six must endure a midweek, one-game play-in match simply to stay in the postseason.
New England enters the weekend tied with Columbus Crew SC for that precious second seed – the Revs currently hold the advantage on goal differential – so they know that the nine points still on offer in the regular season will go a long way in determining their playoff fate.
“We just have to make sure we don’t lose any points,” said Fagundez. “We have to try to get as many points as possible. Of course, the most important game is our game. We can see what other teams are doing, but if we win our game, we know we’re there.”
Juan Agudelo expressed a similar sentiment, admitting that the players do a bit of scoreboard watching at this time of the season, but all while maintaining focus on the task at hand.
“This is when it gets fun,” Agudelo said. “We’re keeping track of every other team, whether they’re winning or losing, but most importantly we’re keeping track of ourselves and understanding that if we’re able to win and come out with three points, it’ll be huge in the standings.”
