Highlights and context: Chicago keeps climbing the ladder in the East

Sep 12, 2012, 10:11 PM EDT

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If it wasn’t for a remarkable “how did he see it through all that traffic” save late from Sean Johnson, this one would have ended 2-2, which would have been an amazing considering how much better Chicago were. The Fire went up two early, missed some chances to really put this away, and let Toronto ease back into the match during the second half. Thanks to Johnson, there was no harm done, though Frank Kloppas nearly had cause for a post-game eruption.

With the loss, Toronto becomes the first team to be eliminated for the MLS playoff race. They stay on 21 points, bottom of the Eastern Conference, now 4-8-6 since Paul Mariner took over.

For Chicago, the win vaults them second in the East with 47 points. Amazingly (give preseason expectations), the Fire have pulled themselves to the brink of first, sitting only three back of East-leading Sporting Kansas City.

And here’s how they did it:

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tylerbetts - Sep 13, 2012 at 9:54 AM

The East is heading for an incredible weekend. I didn’t realize how incredible until, after this post, I checked the standings and the schedule. 6 of the top seven teams in the East (and 6 of the only 7 given any chance of qualifying for MLS Cup per PlayoffStatus.com) are playing against each other in three games.

Sporting KC has Houston in a game that is huge to both teams. Houston is in danger of dropping out of the “currently in” zone, and KC needs to keep winning if they want the top seed, and high chance of getting the MLS Cup final in LSP alive. Houston has the added pressure of having an extra game played than all others around them, giving them far less margin for error.

Meanwhile, Chicago get Montreal, a team still fighting for some life and hoping for a miracle. Chicago is in good position to avoid a 4/5 game, but any slip up could be costly in that chase, and a desperate team like Montreal could be what is needed to get that slip up.

Then, you have Columbus at Red Bull. Columbus have flickering hopes of getting to the #3 spot and avoiding a wildcard game, but can’t afford to drop points. Meanwhile, RBNY know that they have enjoyed a significant homefield edge this year, and while qualification for MLS Cup doesn’t seem too far off, they’ll want to position themselves as high in the East as possible to try to get the Cup Final in RBA.

Great weekend. Pick one of those games and take one of your Eurosnob, MLS-hating buddies to a bar to watch it with you. It might be good for the domestic game.

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Steve Davis - Sep 13, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Well said, Tyler … especially that last part!

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