We asked a few of our writers what they thought would happen in this year's MLS playoffs. Who will win the West? Who will win the East? Who will win the Cup? That and more, after the jump.
Western Conference Winner
Max Aguirre – Portland (Yes, I'm a homer). LA upsets RSL and the Timbers beat LA.
Phillip Bupp – Portland Timbers have had 5 losses all year and it's tough to get eliminated if you don't lose.
Seth Macomber – LA Galaxy. The road to the playoffs matters little in comparison to how you perform once you get there. Bruce Arena has led the LA Galaxy to back-to-back championships and he could seal a third if Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan get hot.
Mike Drickel – Portland Timbers. The Timbers, in their third season in MLS, have reached the promised land under first year coach Caleb Porter. Porter has an unbelieveably dangerous team in the attack between Diego Valleri, Darlington Nagbee, Rodney Wallace, Ryan Johnson, and Valencia. The possibility of a first round matchup against hated rivals Seattle shouldn’t scare Portland having lost 1-0 and tied 1-1 on the road there. With Will Johnson in the midfield and Ricketts in net, Portland will be a tough out for any of the Western Conference sides. The only team I give a realistic shot at taking them out is two time defending MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy.
Dustyn Richardson – Real Salt Lake. No one believed in them at the beginning of the year when they lost so many key players. Jason Kreis proved everyone wrong and I think he’ll do it again in the playoffs.
Eastern Conference Winner
Max Aguirre – New York Red Bulls
Phillip Bupp – Sporting Kansas City has a realistic chance to avoid their playoff kryptonite Houston Dynamo and if that happens, they can make the Final.
Seth Macomber – New York Red Bulls. Now that the Curse of Caricola has been lifted, the experienced core of Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry and Fabian Espindola will help the Red Bulls to their second ever MLS Cup appearance.
Mike Drickel – New York Red Bulls: A homer pick, yes, but no team is in better form than the Red Bulls heading into the playoffs. With the 2013 Support’er Shield in the confines of Red Bull Arena, Mike Petke should not have a problem keeping his team motivated for more hardware. Since Red Bull Arena opened, the Red Bulls have not won a single match in the confines of the Cathedral of Soccer. In the past, NY has lost matches against the SJ Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, and DC United. Those were Hans Backe’s Red Bulls and this is Mike Petke’s team now. Only a road game at Gillette Stadium should strike fear into Red Bulls fans hearts.
Dustyn Richardson – Sporting Kansas City. I think they handle New England pretty easily and then get New York in the conference final. They’ve got holes but I just have a feeling this is their year.
MLS Cup Champion
Max Aguirre – New York Red Bulls
Phillip Bupp – Portland Timbers has shown they can go into Sporting Park and win already, they can easily do it again.
Seth Macomber – New York Red Bulls. The New York Red Bulls make it a season to remember by filling their cabinet with two of the most valued pieces of MLS hardware. After the cup presentation, MLS decides to show a promo for NYCFC to help build the hype.
Mike Drickel – New York Red Bulls: When the 20313 MLS season opened, Mike Petke and Caled Porter faced off at Jeld-Wen field and both won their first point in their coaching careers. With a Portland v NY match set, and a Porter v Petke first year coach bowl; MLS Cup 2013 will be an extremely exciting affair with NYC as its backdrop. Portland’s midfield will look to control the tempo but it will be New York’s team defending that will win the day, with the help of some magical Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry play.
Dustyn Richardson – Sporting Kansas City – The MLS Cup Final at Sporting Park would be electric. RSL is a tough match up for them but they have the stars to lead them on a run to the cup.
Possible Upset
Max Aguirre – New England over Sporting KC. Social media begs Faguendez to wait for citizenship and play for the US.
Phillip Bupp – New England Revolution is getting hot at the right time and are playing against a highly favored Sporting KC.
Seth Macomber – New England Revolution over Sporting KC. With a six-game unbeaten streak, Revs enter playoffs as the hottest team in MLS. If Juan Agudelo and Jose Goncalves can stay healthy, the Revs have a realistic chance at upsetting Sporting KC.
Mike Drickel – Colorado Rapids over Seattle Sounders: Neither team is in its best form of the season and besides Montreal, Seattle has the worst record over the last five coming into the playoffs. That being said, Seattle has big time players who have played in plenty of pressure situations before, while the Rapids are a team of youngsters, who despite earning their place, no one pegged them to be. It will not be ideal conditions for a Rapids team who just traveled to Vancouver and have to travel to Seattle, midweek, to play on a turf field in front of 60,000 plus fans screaming for your blood. If the Rapids can pull off the win, not only do they make a run at Portland, but possibly the West as well.
Dustyn Richardson – I already mentioned SKC beating New York and RSL coming out of the West so those would be the upsets I see happening. If Seattle can get by Colorado, I think they will, the series with Portland could be an upset as well.
2 Players to Watch
Max Aguirre – Futty Danso – Air defense is make or break for PDX. Marco Di Vaio – #3 in goals, #2 in shots, and #3 in SOG. If Di Vaio pulls a Camilo, then the Impact beat Houston.
Phillip Bupp – Ike Opara – He's going to start if (well when) Aurelien Collin gets suspended for yellow cards. Sporting allows 1 goal every 166 minutes when Opara is on the pitch. Donovan Ricketts – He's 2nd in Goals Allowed Average to Jimmy Nielsen (.97 to .88, only two goalkeepers averaging less than a goal allowed per game) but Ricketts faced 126 shots to Nielsen's 100 and has a higher save percentage than Nielsen (73% to 68%).
Seth Macomber – Juan Agudelo – It doesn't matter if he calls it "Joga Bonito" or "Colombian Swag," Agudelo is fun to watch. With talented players like Diego Fagundez and Lee Nguyen supporting him, the future Stoke player could leave MLS in style. Clint Dempsey – Dempsey ended a 590 minute scoring drought on Sunday night. Will a scoring Dempsey be enough to right the ship? – that's the $9 million question.
Mike Drickel – Diego Fagundez – SKC has fizzled out of the playoffs the last two seasons while having one of the better defenses all regular season. If New England wants to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, production will need to come from Fagundez. Sure he will need to rely on the service of Kellen Rowe and Lee Nguyen, but the Revs have had problems finishing, and I think its Fagundez, not Agudelo, who gets them to the Conference Finals. Peguy Luyindula – Pressure is not something that should bother Luyindula as he has had success in France and Europe throughout his career. However, this success came as a forward and not in the center of the midfield where Mike Petke has started playing him over the last few weeks. He absolutely killed Chicago on Sunday, spread the Dynamo midfield and defense thin the previous week, and held onto possession when it needed to be held onto the most in Seattle. With the opponent either being the Dynamo or the ageing Impact, Mike Petke has to be writing Luyindula’s name in ink on the team sheet today.
Dustyn Richardson – Dom Dwyer and Luis Gil. If SKC are going to make the run to the cup I expect they will, they’ll need one of their forwards to break out. Dwyer had a huge year in USL Pro and I think he’ll find form in the playoffs. Gil is one of the best young players in MLS and I think he shows that this month.
Controvery We'll Be Discussing
Max Aguirre – Henry playing or not playing on turf. Long shot: A call for goal line technology involving Deuce.
Phillip Bupp – A MLS referee will make a bad call directly determining the outcome of the MLS Cup Final. It's bound to happen with these refs.
Seth Macomber – When the Colorado Rapids defeat the Seattle Sounders, MLS officials will call for a replay. Either that or we see the protests for goal-line technology grow after a blown call.
Mike Drickel – Will USMNT players who are called up turn it down if their teams are in the middle of the Conference Finals? If Seattle and New England advance through the post season, how much will their NFL counterpart’s home schedule hurt them?
Dustyn Richardson – Someone is going to lose on penalties that would have won had the “away goals rule” been in place. I know some people don’t like the rule but in my opinion it’s the best, most fair way to settle a tie.
