They have to make it there first...baby steps. However, if everything comes together, I'll be there in person for Orlando City's first home game in the CCL.
Montreal and Vancouver tied the first leg of the Canadian Championship final 2-2. The away-goals rule is in effect, so Montreal will have to win or tie 2-2 or higher in Vancouver on the 26th to keep their Canadian three-peat hopes alive. Also, the US Open Cup Final is set: the Philadelphia Union will host Sporting Kansas City on September 30 for the first US berth.
One of the longest-running jokes in CONCACAF must finally be put to rest: the Vancouver Whitecaps, formerly the eternal runner-up of Canada, overcame a 10-man Montreal Impact 2-0 (4-2 agg.) at BC Place to capture their first-ever Voyageurs' Cup in 14 tries and ensure a return to the continental stage next year. 2016-17 CCL Qualifiers 1. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN]
After eight rounds of PKs, Sporting KC finally overcame the hosts Philadelphia Union 7-6 following a 1-1 tie in the US Open Cup Final. Philly might be starting to developing an RSL vibe with cup finals at home... I'll just put the new qualifiers up here without seeding (i.e. USA1 through USA4), as the pots are determined solely by country in the current format - I'll change it up once CONCACAF does. 2016-17 CCL Qualifiers 1. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN] 2. Sporting Kansas City [USA]
True, the current regulations don't specify that "USA1"-type thing anymore. When the PK's go to extra's, it usually happens that the team kicking first will make a kick, then the second team shanks it.
A quick update from the US: in the MLS Eastern Conference, the NY Red Bulls practically have the #1 spot wrapped up, holding a six-point lead over DC United with two games left in the season and an overwhelming GD advantage of +15 to -1 for their archrivals (Toronto FC are left out of the conversation as a Canadian club). We'll officially throw them on the list this Sunday unless DC win at home against Chicago AND NY lose at home to Philadelphia. As for the West...the first tiebreaker in the MLS regular season table is total wins, so FC Dallas could clinch #1 with a win at Real Salt Lake on Saturday, leaving them with a total 57 points and 17 wins on the season, a bar that neither LA or Sporting Kansas City can reach.
I wonder. If the conference winner is Canadian, does the "conference champion" bid automatically go to the top American club in that conference, or does it go back into the "drop-down USA pool" for the top USA teams league-wide? Of course, it's nearly impossible for the second-place conference team to finish fifth overall (or sixth if Vancouver gets factored in) but the point of it being "official" as a second-place conference team getting the bid.
Interesting timing. MLS released this today: "If any team occupies more than one slot, or any slot is occupied by a Canadian team (i.e. if Kansas City, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal or a regular-season conference champion goes on to win MLS Cup), then US teams who have not qualified otherwise are ranked according to regular-season record, with the unqualified team(s) with the next best record(s) receiving entry into the CCL." So "drop-down USA pool" it is!
Good points, and thanks for the correction. So if TFC overtake NY for #1 in the East, and two Western teams finish ahead of NY in the regular season table, the Red Bulls could yet enter the playoffs without a Champions League ticket in hand. Man, this was so much easier to explain back when Canadian teams made up the numbers...
Dallas has clinched the MLS Western Conference. Only the L. A. Galaxy can tie them in the standings, but the first tie-break is most wins, and even if LA gets two wins, Dallas would still beat that.
NY emphatically clinched #1 in the East with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union. In other years, the Red Bull's ongoing race with FC Dallas for the Supporters' Shield (NY have a slight advantage on GD) would have CCL implications; now, it will only determine where a potential NY Red Bulls-FC Dallas MLS Cup Final would take place. The final day of the MLS season will also determine which of DC, LA or Columbus will be in line to catch a hand-me-down spot should NY, Dallas or KC win the league championship. 2016-17 CCL Qualifiers 1. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN] 2. Sporting Kansas City [USA] 3. FC Dallas [USA] 4. New York Red Bulls [USA]
Should that be "which of DC, LA, Columbus, or Portland will be in line to catch a hand-me-down spot should NY, Dallas, KC, or a Canadian team win the league championship" ? Note that either DC or C'bus will have at least 52 points, so only American teams with at 49 points are in the discussion. A tie between DC and LA at 52 or 54 points goes to DC, based on number of wins A tie at 53 points between Columbus and Portland goes to goal differential, currently C'bus at zero and Portland at minus-1; meaning, that Portland would know what they would have to do based on the earlier Eastern results. A tie in GD would then go to C'bus based on GF. (And an off-the-topic question: since New England and Orland are going for the last Eastern playoff spot, why is Fox Sports 1 not broadcasting the games involving them? The DC-C'bus game does play a role in this drop-down, many MLS fans wouldn't understand that.)
DC and Columbus are playing for a first-round bye, and New England is in barring an 8-goal swing. DC - Columbus is far more compelling.
Scenarios for the Eastern Conference 2 seed: D.C. will get the 2 seed with a win or with a draw and a draw or loss by Toronto Columbus will get the 2 seed with a win Toronto will get the 2 seed with a win and a D.C.-Columbus draw. Toronto would have the wins tiebreaker over D.C.
Of course, this would be more appropriate for the 2017-18 qualifiers thread (assuming CONCACAF hasn't carried out the proposed schedule change by then), but: while the seeding among Canadian MLS teams for the next Voyageurs' Cup is up in the air, with the three teams separated by only two points ahead of Sunday, the Ottawa Fury hold a 21-point lead over FC Edmonton with two games to go in the NASL regular season, so for once they'll host the second leg of the play-in series.
They couldn't even make up 21 points under the olde thyme "six points for a win and three bonus points for three goals" method.
So it looks like Columbus (if what we were saying is correct) would get the USA-hand-down spot, if one of the already-qualified USA teams (or any Canadian team) wins MLS Cup.
Correct. On another note: assuming no expansion, the 2016 Canadian Championship is set (first team listed hosts second leg). Play-in Round: Ottawa Fury vs. FC Edmonton Semifinals: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Play-in winner Impact de Montréal vs. Toronto FC
How many cup tournaments require a round-robin? I know the Copa MX does, but I'm not personally aware of others. Makes sense for a league, less so for a knockout tournament.