Winners and Losers from MLS Matches from October 24-26
Major League Soccer saw an incredible end to its regular season, and there was plenty of drama over the final three days of play.
Seattle became the first team to bring some clarity to the playoff picture by winning the Supporters' Shield on Saturday afternoon, while a few other sides locked up postseason seeds with major wins.
On the other end of the spectrum, a few sides were forced to suffer a rough end to their respective seasons.
Here's a look at the winners and losers from the final regular-season weekend in MLS.
Winner: Seattle
1 of 10
Thanks to two second-half goals from Marco Pappa, the Seattle Sounders clinched their first Supporters' Shield in franchise history.
Throughout the 2-0 victory, Seattle battled with the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field, but after a move by manager Sigi Schmid to bring on Pappa, the fate of the match changed.
By winning the game, the Sounders also earned home-field advantage in the Western Conference playoffs, and if they make it to the MLS Cup final, they will host the game on December 7.
Winner: Bradley Wright-Phillips
2 of 10
In the final match of the regular season, Bradley Wright-Phillips etched his name in the MLS record book.
The English forward scored two goals in New York's 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City to tie the single-season scoring record of 27 goals, which has only previously been reached by two other players.
The brace was the third of the season for the New York forward, who also turned in three hat-tricks during his incredible 2014 campaign.
Wright-Phillips will now take his terrific scoring record into the playoffs, and he will look to lead the Red Bulls past Sporting KC in the knockout round Thursday.
Winner/Loser: Darlington Nagbe
3 of 10
After missing plenty of gilt-edged chances during his first 31 games of the campaign, Darlington Nagbe finally found the back of the net in the 43rd minute of Portland's 2-0 win over FC Dallas.
Unfortunately for Nagbe and the Timbers, they were eliminated from playoff contention just a few hours later thanks to Vancouver's win over Colorado.
Nagbe did end the season with seven assists, but he failed to match the nine goals and four assists he contributed in 2013.
Loser: Sporting Kansas City
4 of 10
The defending MLS Cup champion will be forced to take the long road to the 2014 MLS Cup final following a 2-0 home defeat to New York.
Sporting Kansas City dropped down to fifth place in the Eastern Conference after their loss and Columbus' win over Philadelphia.
Peter Vermes' side will now have to head to Red Bull Arena in the Eastern Conference knockout round Thursday in order to advance to the semifinals and play D.C. United.
The road to the final is not ideal for Sporting KC, but they do have the playoff pedigree to make a few outsiders believe they can retain the MLS Cup as a No. 5 seed.
Losers: The Officials at Gillette Stadium
5 of 10It took us eight months to find the worst call of the season, but we finally found it Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
The lone goal in New England's 1-0 win over Toronto came following an egregious error by the assistant referee, who appeared to put his flag up to signal Chris Tierney was offside. The play went on, however, and the assistant put his flag down and allowed the match to continue.
As a result of the officiating error, Lee Nguyen scored his 18th goal of the season, and the Toronto players were left shell-shocked by the call.
The win by the Revolution was their 17th of the season, while the Reds ended the season on a low note with their 15th defeat.
Winner: Zach Pfeffer
6 of 10Despite losing 2-1 to Columbus in its season finale, Philadelphia did take a major positive out of Crew Stadium Sunday.
Homegrown player Zach Pfeffer netted his first MLS goal to equalize the match in the 85th minute.
The Union enter the offseason with a need to build for the future, and there is no better way to kick that off than a goal from one of the club's young stars.
Winner: Kendall Waston
7 of 10
Kendall Waston's impact on the Vancouver Whitecaps grew bigger Saturday night when his 70th-minute header bounced into the back of the net.
The goal from the center-back handed Vancouver a 1-0 win over Colorado and fifth place in the Western Conference.
Since his first start on August 30, the Whitecaps have won five games, drawn two and lost just three.
If the towering defender continues to be a key player for Carl Robinson's side in the postseason, Vancouver might just surprise a few people.
Loser: Colorado
8 of 10
Sometimes earning a result just isn't meant to be.
The Rapids ended their season on a 14-game winless streak after they fell 1-0 to playoff-bound Vancouver at BC Place Saturday night.
Colorado's season was ravaged by injuries to the defense, especially the one suffered by center-back Drew Moor, and it never recovered from a handful of disastrous defensive errors during the final weeks of the season.
One has to think Pablo Mastroeni's side will be motivated to get back to the playoffs in 2015, but a lot of work must be done in the offseason for that to happen.
Winner: Marco Di Vaio
9 of 10
Marco Di Vaio finished off his career with a goal in the 26th minute of Montreal's 1-1 draw with D.C. United.
Since coming to MLS in 2012, the 38-year-old Italian has found the back of the net on 34 occasions, including 20 times in 2013.
During that successful 2013 campaign, Di Vaio was named in the Best XI for the season and selected for the MLS All-Star Game.
The Italian did not have a massive impact on Montreal's place in the standings this season, but he did finish up with nine goals in 26 appearances.
Losers: Chivas USA Fans
10 of 10
We may mock the attendance numbers at Chivas USA games on a regular basis, but those who actually show up are true supporters of the club.
Sunday marked a dark day for those supporters, as the Goats played what was presumably their final home game at StubHub Center.
Chivas USA have been in the news over the last few months due to the unknown future of the club.
Back in September, ESPN's Jeff Carlisle reported the club would suspend operations at the end of the season as a new ownership group takes over.
Although nothing has been officially confirmed by the league, most of the fans in attendance treated Sunday's 1-0 win over San Jose as the club's final game.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from MLSSoccer.com.
