Saturday is Decision Day in MLS, the day that 18 teams can start planning for the playoffs.
But when Sporting Kansas City visit San Diego FC for a late-afternoon fixture, the only thing these teams need to plan is next week’s exit interviews.
Neither will be part of the playoff field. San Diego (9-13-11, 38 points) followed up an expansion year in which it finished atop the West table by going winless in 10 straight matches before recording a 1-0 victory over St. Louis City SC on Oct. 31.
Kansas City (6-22-5, 23 points) never got that close. It limped out to a 1-8-2 record and won consecutive matches just once all year. The club is riding a seven-match winless skid after its 1-1 draw on Oct. 31 with FC Dallas.
But San Diego coach Mikey Varas said his team still has plenty to play for, even if a postseason spot isn’t possible.
“First and foremost is the honor of the city and the fans,” he said. “The second one is because it’s our duty as competitors. The third one is because we start winning next season right now and the fourth one is out of personal pride for ourselves and the families we represent.”
Anders Dreyer netted the only San Diego goal in St. Louis, giving him 14 for the season and 33 in his two seasons with the club. Dreyer might be good for another tally or two since Kansas City has allowed an MLS-high 81 goals.
It could have been 82 but goalie Stefan Cleveland stopped Dallas’ Petar Musa on a penalty late in the match to prevent another loss. It was one of the few highlights lately for SKC, which has used 20 new players this year to varying degrees of success.
“We started the year with a thin roster and we had some injuries which made things tricky,” coach Raphael Wicky said. “You almost never had a full team to work with, to have a preseason with. We’ve been competitive in a lot of games but the results haven’t gone our way.”
–Field Level Media
