This is the time of the year when MLS likes to measure itself against the rest of the world. The MLS All-Star Game vs. Champions League winner Chelsea takes place Wednesday, and D.C. United hosts Qatar-funded, free-spending Paris Saint-Germain next weekend.
But the MLS’ Eastern Conference is where the action is. Thanks to this year’s unbalanced schedule, conference matches will play a bigger role than ever before in determining playoff positioning. (The top five teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.)
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The current top five teams in the East — New York, Sporting Kansas City, Houston, D.C. United and Chicago — will play a combined three nonconference league games (New York vs. Portland, Kansas City vs. Seattle, Chicago vs. San Jose) in the next six weeks.
The slate is particularly crowded for D.C. United (10-7-3), which dropped to fourth place with a 1-0 loss at Columbus on Saturday. That was its second defeat in a row and third in four games. After five MLS matches total in June and July, D.C. United will play six times in August, all against conference rivals. In addition, only three of United’s final 14 regular-season games will come against teams from the West.
Eastern Conference teams are already responsible for five of United’s seven defeats. United will have the chance to avenge losses to the Crew (Aug. 4 at RFK Stadium), Kansas City (Aug. 11 at Livestrong Sporting Park) and New York (Aug. 29 at RFK). After the two recent losses, those games become even more important.
– Craig Stouffer
