The MLS playoff field is set.
After a wild decision day that saw multiple teams in the East earn results away from home, the Philadelphia Union hung on to the top seed there, which will give them a bye past the first round and into the conference semifinals.
LAFC, which already clinched the Supporters’ Shield and the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, fell 1-0 to Nashville SC in the West, which saw a lot of movement in seeds No. 3-7 as the day went on.
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Out West, Real Salt Lake dominated Portland Timbers in a 3-1 win that saw Salt Lake sneak into the last playoff spot by a single point over the Timbers. Minnesota United’s solid 2-0 win over Vancouver eliminated the longshot Whitecaps, while the Galaxy’s own 3-1 win over Houston secured a home playoff game against Nashville SC.
The bulk of excitement on Decision Day in the East came in the Columbus Crew vs. Orlando City SC game, where Orlando came back from a goal down for a 2-1 win over Columbus thanks to a penalty kick, called because of a Milos Degenek hand ball in the box late in the second half. Facundo Torres buried the resulting spot kick, which was enough to put Orlando into the playoffs over Columbus. The loss continued the Crew’s season-long trend of losing points from winning positions one last time — in all, Columbus lost 24 points in 2022 from those positions.
Elsewhere on in the East, New York Red Bulls eased past Charlotte FC to assure themselves of hosting their first-round playoff game, NYCFC won 2-1 at Atlanta to do the same, and Montreal defeated Inter Miami 3-1. Cincinnati had a convincing victory of their own, defeating D.C. United 5-2 at Audi Field to assure itself of the club’s first-ever playoff berth.
Here are the playoff matchups — kickoff dates and times to come. Home teams listed first.
First Round:
(2) CF Montréal vs. (7) Orlando City (10/16 at 8 p.m ET)
(3) NYCFC vs. (6) Inter Miami (10/17 at 7 p.m. ET)
(4) RBNY vs. (5) FC Cincinnati (10/15 at 12 p.m. ET)
Conference Semifinals:
(1) Philadelphia vs. RBNY or FC Cincinnati
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
First Round:
(2) Austin FC vs. (7) Real Salt Lake (10/16 at 3 p.m. ET)
(3) FC Dallas vs. (6) Minnesota United (10/17 at 9:30 p.m. ET)
(4) LA Galaxy vs. (5) Nashville SC (10/15 at 3 p.m. ET)
Conference semifinals:
(1) LAFC vs. LA Galaxy or Nashville SC
(Photo: Kyle Ross / USA Today)