🔬 The West’s Decision Day Debrief as LAFC seal top spot in 101st minute

The 2024 MLS regular season has officially wrapped up after a plethora of games on Decision Day.

Saturday’s early results saw Inter Miami break the all-time points record and Christian Benteke claim the MLS Golden Boot.

Now, here is what went down on the final night of action across the West.

What happened

All eyes were on the top two in the Western Conference as rivals LA Galaxy and LAFC battled it out for first. And wow, did the big boys deliver the drama.

San Jose Earthquakes stunned LAFC less than 10 minutes in, and Houston Dynamo also grabbed the lead over the Galaxy. However, thrilling stoppage-time scenes decided the game.

Denis Bouanga kicked off an impressive comeback, and LAFC were up 3-1 in stoppage time with one hand on the title. Their dreams were paused when Gabriel Pec’s penalty in the 96th minute swung the title back into the Galaxy’s hands, but a 101st-minute goal saw Houston win 2-1 and LAFC prevail by the skin of their teeth on goal differential.

Looking elsewhere, FC Dallas pulled off a routine 2-1 victory despite a late rally from Sporting KC, and Colorado Rapids succumbed 3-2 in Austin after Djordje Mihailovic was stretchered off the pitch less than 10 minutes in.

Minnesota United let the goals fly at home to beat St. Louis 4-1 and put some misery on the teams in Cascadia. Their thumping win, combined with Vancouver’s 2-1 loss away to Real Salt Lake, pushed the Whitecaps into the Wild Card spot.

A derby thriller then saw 10-man Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers split the points in a 1-1 draw. The Timbers still haven’t lost in Seattle for 2703 days and claimed the 2024 Cascadia Cup.

Stats of the night

LAFC fans will love what they saw from Denis Bouanga this season who finished yet again with 20 goals to his name. He’s an MLS all-timer, that’s for sure.

Then, one positive for the Whitecaps is that Ryan Gauld continues to put the club on his shoulders, becoming the first player to register 10 goals and 10 assists multiple times.

Turning our attention toward the bottom of the table, San Jose set a new MLS single-season worst defensive record with 78 goals conceded.

Player of the night

It was not the headline-making name you would have thought of, but we’re handing this award to Daniel Steres.

The Houston Dynamo defender only had one goal in MLS regular season play this year before scoring in the 101st minute to deny LA Galaxy their title and hand it to LAFC.

Talk about being a catalyst on the biggest stage.

What this means

LAFC will ride the high of stealing first seed from their rivals and given how convincing they can be when they have confidence, MLS playoff clubs must be on high alert.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy see their winning streak and title dreams crushed. Not the best way to start looking toward the postseason.

Real Salt Lake secured third seed and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.  Seattle Sounders finished fourth, Houston Dynamo fifth and Minnesota’s big win moved them up to sixth ahead of Colorado.

The Wild Card game will be another Cascadian event, as Vancouver (eighth) faces Portland Timbers (ninth). However, despite finishing as the higher seed, the Whitecaps will not host the game due to scheduling conflicts in the city.

What comes next?

• LA Galaxy vs. Colorado Rapids

• Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United

• Seattle Sounders vs. Houston Dynamo

• LAFC vs. Wild Card winner (Vancouver Whitecaps/Portland Timbers).

OneFootball will bring you more MLS coverage from the playoffs to the MLS Cup showdown starting on Tuesday.

Keep checking back for more!

Feature image credit: © Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images