The bottom three teams in the playoff picture were the only Eastern Conference storylines that really mattered going into Decision Day.  Columbus entered the day sitting in ninth place, desperately needing a win to try and avoid the midweek play-in game against Chicago or Orlando.  The Crew knew even with a win, they’d need some help from the other two games, and that’s just what they got.  Orlando was dismantled at the hands of Toronto FC north of the border 4-2 and Chicago squeaked out a draw in New England.  Columbus used goals from Marcelo Herrera, Daniel Gazdag, and Ibrahim Aliyu to bury the already eliminated NY Red Bulls.  The Crew’s win set up a dream first round matchup for neutral fans, as we’ll get to see a Hell Is Real derby against FC Cincinnati.  It may be the tastiest matchup we have in the first round, actually.  Any time these two play against each other, there’s always drama and a genuine distaste for the in-state rivals.  Columbus will hope a couple more key players in Diego Rossi and Wessam Abou Ali can get healthy at the right time and potentially suit up for the postseason.  If they’re able to get healthy, Hell Is Real might be the best series for an upset across either Conference.

Orlando City SC were rolled over by TFC in Toronto on Decision Day by a score of 4-2.  A TFC team that’s failed to score consistently completely overran the Orlando defense, led by summer DP signing Djordje Mihailovic and captain Jonathan Osorio.  Orlando are crawling into the playoffs and now will be forced to head up to Chicago to play the Fire in… you guessed it, Bridgeview.  No Soldier Field welcome for the Lions on Wednesday.

The Chicago Fire, like the other two, knew coming into Saturday that a win was the first step to avoiding the play-in round however a draw was all they could muster in New England.  The Fire conceded within the first minute mark, and weren’t able to equalize until the 82nd through Philip Zinckernagel (whom, if Anders Dreyer didn’t exist, would surely be my favorite for newcomer of the year).  The Fire saw their hopes flash before their eyes in the 90+6 when Dor Turgeman scored his third in three games for the Revs, however a Turgeman own goal three minutes later leveled the game for good.  The Fire will have to play in the play-in round, however it will be from the comforts of home at least.

Well, they did it.  San Diego completed the best regular season ever for an expansion side.  Heading into Decision Day, San Diego needed to beat Portland and see Vancouver lose at home to Dallas.  From early on in their game, San Diego left no doubt they’d take care of their business.  Amahl Pellegrino and Anders Dreyer each tallied two goals and the visitors beat the Timbers 4-0.  Meanwhile in Vancouver, the anticipation of a monumental night for the Whitecaps took a massive hit within 15 minutes when Mathias Laborda was sent off for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.  Dallas eventually took the lead, and although Thomas Müller tied it up before halftime, Dallas scored the winner through Kaick Ferreira to spoil Vancouver’s special night.  The result handed control of the one seed in the Western Conference to San Diego, who will get the winner of Real Salt Lake and the aforementioned Portland Timbers.

We mentioned Dallas’ win in Vancouver—  That was the big shock result on Decision Day.  The win not only knocked Vancouver out of the one seed, but solidified Dallas’ playoff future as well.  Not only did they make it into the field, but with the Portland loss to San Diego, they actually avoided the play-in game.   Portland fell into the play-in round where they will welcome Real Salt Lake to the Pacific Northwest.  Real Salt Lake had the perfect road heading into the weekend.  A matchup away in St Louis is all that stood in the way of Salt Lake and their postseason dreams.  Two goals from Victor Olatunji were erased by Eduard Löwen and Joao Klauss and the game ended in a draw.  Turns out, a draw was all RSL needed.  One point was enough to hold off San Jose and Colorado’s 2-2 draw against LAFC wasn’t enough to overtake Salt Lake.

The Fire will welcome ice cold Orlando City to the cold, windy tundra of SeatGeek Stadium on Wednesday night for a chance to make it into the real playoff field.  Chicago came surging down the stretch just to make it into the play-in round, and their hard work has awarded them a home game.  Orlando City have been on a horrid run, and vibes out of the camp don’t necessarily sound strike confidence into Lions fans.  Playing at home could make all the difference in this one, as Chicago will look to continue their strong form and get a three game series with the Philadelphia Union.

Portland, having fallen into the play-in round, will have to pick themselves up for the quick turnaround match with RSL.  RSL surely have the emotional advantage heading into this one.  They’re on the high of getting into the play-in on the final day, and Portland are coming off a real beatdown at the hands of San Diego.  Portland will have that raucous Providence Park crowd behind them, but we remember what happened last year when the Whitecaps came into Portland in the play-in round.  The Timbers are a different team now than they were a year ago, but the Timbers faithful will still have scars from last year’s early exit.