MLS Player Rankings: Toronto Trio Take Up Top Spots After Dominant Showings

Toronto FC's designated players dominated the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal against New York City FC on Sunday. Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley all made significant contributions to push the Reds into the Eastern Conference final.  The trio of high-paid stars were just a few of the big names who shined during Sunday's four-game slate in which the field for the MLS Cup was cut in half to four.  Ignacio Piatti, Laurent Ciman and Tim Howard were among the other high-profile stars who shined brightest as Montreal, Colorado and Seattle joined Toronto in the conference final round that begins on November 22.  Our playoff player rankings take into account every postseason match played by each individual, with the most recent performance holding the most weight.  Continue reading to see which player from the tremendous Toronto trio secured the top spot in the Bleacher Report MLS Postseason Player Rankings after the conference semifinal round.Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Giovinco, Piatti Power Clubs into Conference Finals

Three of the four Major League Soccer clubs that took an advantage into the second leg of the conference semi-final round on Sunday moved on to the conference final stage of the postseason. Montreal, Toronto and Seattle all put together strong performances on the road to knock off three of the best teams from the regular season. The Colorado Rapids were the lone home team to make it through to the next round. Since the other three top seeds were bounced on Sunday, the Rapids are currently in line to host MLS Cup on December 10 if they move past Seattle in the Western Conference final.  The standout individual from Sunday's play was Sebastian Giovinco. The Atomic Ant unleashed a hat-trick in Toronto's demolishing of New York City FC. Continue reading to see who joined Giovinco in our best XI from the conference semi-final second legs. Begin Slideshow

Previewing the 2nd Legs of the MLS Conference Semifinals

The home teams had their way during the first legs of the Major League Soccer conference semifinals, but that may not be the case during the quartet of second-leg showdowns on Sunday.  The L.A. Galaxy, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders head into their Sunday road trips with key advantages in their respective series, and most importantly, none of the leading sides conceded away goals.  Colorado, FC Dallas and both New York clubs, City and the Red Bulls, have certain things they need to fix in order to secure a berth in the conference final round, especially FC Dallas, who enter Sunday with the largest deficit. Below is an in-depth look at each of Sunday's second-leg matches.        LA Galaxy at Colorado Rapids (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)  The Galaxy benefited from a fortuitous bounce on a Giovani dos Santos shot to pull ahead of the Rapids in the No. 3 vs. No. 2 matchup in the Western Conference.  Robbie Keane is still working his way back to full fitness, which means the hot combination of Alan Gordon and Dos Santos should start at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  Gordon's physical presence up top will once again be needed to combat the height and strength of the ...

MLS Player Rankings: Mancosu, Altidore Lead After 1st Weekend of Postseason

A number of unexpected heroes appeared during the first week of the Major League Soccer playoffs.  The L.A. Galaxy, Seattle Sounders and Montreal Impact received significant contributions from a few players who were dormant in front of the net for long stretches of the regular season.  In addition to the unlikely stars of the week, a few of the league's big names continued their impressive seasons with strong performances for their respective sides.  Our postseason player rankings take into account showings from both the knockout round and Sunday's first legs of the conference semifinal round. We also trimmed our list to 10 for the postseason due to the smaller sample size we have to choose from. Continue reading to see who topped the first MLS Player Rankings of the postseason. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Altidore and Valdez Dazzle in Postseason

The home teams were thoroughly dominant during the opening two rounds of the Major League Soccer postseason.  Three of the four home sides advanced out of the knockout round by a combined score of 9-6. Only the Montreal Impact were able to pull out a result on the road.  The results were even more lopsided on Sunday as Montreal, LA, Toronto and Seattle outscored their opponents 7-0 on home soil in the first leg of the conference semi-finals.  Seattle, led by unexpected hero Nelson Valdez, came closest to securing a spot in the next round, as they defeated FC Dallas 3-0 at CenturyLink Field.  We considered performances from both the knockout round and first leg of the conference semi-final round for our MLS Team of the Week. Continue reading to see who fit into our best XI from the first week of the MLS play-offs. Begin Slideshow

Previewing the 1st Leg of the MLS Conference Semifinals

The conference semifinal stage of the MLS Cup Playoffs begins on Sunday with four first-leg contests between the eight remaining sides in the competition.  New York Red Bulls and New York City FC will head to Canada to face Montreal Impact and Toronto FC respectively in the Eastern Conference.  FC Dallas visit the Seattle Sounders and the L.A. Galaxy host the Colorado Rapids in the two Western Conference showdowns on Sunday.  Below we took a look at each of the individual matchups and what each team needs to do to take an upper hand into the second leg.        New York Red Bulls at Montreal Impact  Plenty of people will point to the other Eastern Conference semifinal as the one with the most attacking firepower, but the matchup between the Red Bulls and Impact carries three of the front-runners for the Most Valuable Player award.  Bradley Wright-Phillips earned his second MLS Golden Boot in three years with 24 regular-season goals, while teammate Sacha Kljestan led the league in assists, with 19.  The pair of Red Bulls playmakers are surrounded by plenty of experience with Dax McCarty, Felipe and Mike Grella a part of the midfield setup. Academy product Alex Muyl may be the most impressive player ...

MLS Player Rankings: Golden Boot Winner BWP Ends Regular Season on Top

In a league in which parity and competition reign supreme, one player has been able to dominate the headlines since the middle of the summer.  Bradley Wright-Phillips of the New York Red Bulls won his second Golden Boot in three years behind one of the best scoring runs in league history.  The scorer of 24 goals is once again the top man in our Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings. The Englishman faced stiff competition from David Villa, Jozy Altidore, Ignacio Piatti and teammate Sacha Kljestan for the top spot, but none of them could keep up with him every week.  Our player rankings take into account the last four performances from a specific player, with the most recent one holding more value. Continue reading to see who landed where beneath Wright-Phillips in the final Bleacher Report MLS Player Rankings of the regular season.Begin Slideshow

MLS Cup Playoffs 2016: Dates, Schedule, Odds, Bracket and Live-Stream Info

There will be a new MLS Cup winner in 2016. Both the Portland Timbers—the reigning champions—and 2015 runners-up Columbus Crew SC failed to qualify for the playoffs, marking the first time in MLS history that neither finalist has made it to the postseason, per Alicia Rodriguez of the league's official website. FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids, the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC have already booked places in their respective conference semi-finals. They are waiting for the winners of Wednesday's and Thursday's fixtures. The LA Galaxy are the favourites for their match against Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, DC United don't expect to be troubled by the Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference.   Here are the schedule and streaming details:   2016 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule Date Time Conference Match TV Live Stream Wednesday, Oct. 26 7:30 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. BST) East Toronto FC vs. Philadelphia Union ESPN 2, UniMas, TSN 2/Sky Sports 2 WatchESPN Wednesday, Oct. 26 10:30 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. BST) West LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake UniMas/Sky Sports 2 MLS Live Thursday, Oct. 27 7:30 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. BST) East DC United vs. Montreal Impact UniMas, RDS2/Sky Sports 3 MLS Live Thursday, Oct. 27 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST) West Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting KC Fox Sports 1, UniMas/Sky Sports 3 Fox Sports Go MLSSoccer.com Here are the live-stream links: MLS Live, WatchESPN, Fox Sports Go. For the full ...

MLS Team of the Week: Kaka, Molino, Giovinco Impress on Decision Day

The final day of the Major League Soccer regular season was supposed to hand us 90 minutes of drama-filled action with playoff berths on the line.  However, instead of the final playoff positions being determined late on, they were sealed long before the final whistle thanks to a few spoilers.  The Vancouver Whitecaps were the biggest spoiler on Sunday as they trounced Portland. Two of the other impressive showings on Decision Day came out of eliminated sides Orlando City and New England.  Due to the offensive outburst on Decision Day, we aligned our team selection in a 3-4-3 formation. Continue reading to see who was named to the season's final Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week.Begin Slideshow

D.C. United Emerging as Dark-Horse MLS Cup Contender as Regular Season Ends

When you start compiling a shortlist of MLS Cup contenders, the teams that easily come to mind are FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls, who lead the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively. Maybe you're drawn to the Colorado Rapids' worst-to-first story and the club's grind-it-out defensive mindset. Some will talk about star-studded Toronto FC and a second-year New York City FC club led by David Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard.  You can't count out Bruce Arena and the LA Galaxy either anytime the postseason rolls around, especially with the star power they can trot out on to the pitch any given week combined with the former United States head coach's managerial genius. But there's one other team you should add to the mix among the perennial favorites and top teams from the 2016 regular season.  They definitely aren't the sexy pick to be crowned champions on December 10, but D.C. United are a team to look at as a serious MLS Cup contender.  Under the guidance of manager Ben Olsen, D.C. have put together a six-game unbeaten run and have lost just once since July 31.  The Black and Red were left for dead along with the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire, who ...