Arace: When it comes to MLS playoffs, more is better, even when it comes down to kicks
Counting the two wild card games on either side of the draw, as many as 56 playoff games will be played before the Eastern and Western Conference champions meet for the MLS Cup on Dec. 9. The league’s expanded playoff format carries with it a couple of new and interesting wrinkles: First-round series are best-of-three, and first-round games that end in a regulation tie go directly to penalty kicks.
The wild card games, played Wednesday, were also designed to skip extra time and go directly to kicks, if needed. The need was there in the West play-in game between Sporting Kansas City and visiting San Jose, which stood at 0-0 at the end of regulation. SKC’s Tim Melia stopped the first San Jose shooter. The second San Jose shooter sailed his kick over the bar, and that was that. SKC won 4-2 on kicks and San Jose’s season ended with a ball in orbit. It’s a tough way to go out but, dang, it was dramatic.
Melia, 37, is 7-0 in penalty shootouts. Look out.
Playing on three days’ rest, SKC performed what may be an autopsy on its new archrival Sunday night. The No. 8 seed went into City Park in St. Louis and beat the West’s top seed 4-1. It was a Peter Vermes coaching clinic, and it was the only Game 1 played over the weekend in which the home team won. St. Louis City, whose expectations soared higher and higher as its inaugural year advanced, now faces a must-win Game 2 in KC on Sunday. Maybe it'll come down to kicks.
Beginning with the conference semifinals (the second round), the format shifts to single elimination. Higher seeds get the home field. Games tied at the end of regulation will get two 15-minute extra time periods with no golden goal. Then, if needed, there will be kicks.
Is this a perfect format? No. There is no such thing as a perfect format for soccer tournaments, and there is no shortage of formats. MLS has been tinkering since its inception, and it should go right on tinkering.
Now that the league has grown to 29 teams (San Diego, coming online in 2025, will even out the conferences), the expansion of the playoff field and an increase in the number of postseason games makes sense (and more money). More is better.
A best-of-three format in the first round that can appeal to a wider audience is good for soccer in America (even if Crew captain Darlington Nagbe, who grew up in Ohio, is confused by it). MLS shouldn’t conform. It should stand out.
Our country’s premier club league is often chided for having a different soccer calendar than the rest of the world. Bah. Over the coming weeks it has an international stage for its postseason which will include as many as 24 must-win games before the championship game is contested. Must-win is not a gimmick. It’s terrific theater. You know who would have loved it? Lionel Messi. See ya next year.
The only problem, locally, is the scheduling. Game 1 between the Crew, the No. 3 seed in the East, and No. 6 seed Atlanta is at the new Crew stadium on Wednesday. Game 2 is in Atlanta next Tuesday and Game 3, if needed, is back here on Nov. 11. It’s one of two first-round series that doesn’t have a weekend date for either of its first two matches. This may have something to do with the Atlanta Falcons’ date with the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 5. But if you want to think the league doesn’t like Columbus, well, there’s a track record there.
As the first round got underway over the weekend, the two teams that met in last year’s thrilling MLS Cup final, which was decided on kicks, served notice that they will not be easy outs in 2023. Defending champion LAFC hammered Vancouver 5-2 and Philadelphia beat New England 3-1.
Don’t sleep on Philadelphia in the East. With captain Alejandro Bedoya and wing back Kai Wagner on expiring contracts and foreign interest in forward Julian Carranza, Philly’s roster might be missing some key pieces next season. Coach Jim Curtin is not discouraging anyone who wants to call the Union’s run “The Last Dance” or “The Last Waltz.” Any form of motivation is welcome this time of year. Out West, the Seattle Sounders, with star Nicolas Lodeiro on an expiring contract, have a similar aura about them.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Arace: When it comes to MLS playoffs, more is better
