By Charles Boehm
We’ve entered a thrilling, devastating period of the MLS season: The time of lowercase Xs and Es.
If you’re unfamiliar, tap the header at the top of the page titled ‘Standings’ and open it in a new window. Clubs that have clinched an Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs spot earn an X next to their name, and those eliminated get branded with an E.
In some cases it’s a formality, like how runaway league leaders Nashville SC have already clinched first place in the Eastern Conference. Or at the other end, like how Wooden Spoon ‘winners’ in waiting Sporting Kansas City are the first team ruled ineligible for the postseason party. Others in between will have to sweat for their place right down to Decision Day, next month’s regular-season finale.
However you splice it, we’re now up to nine teams in and one team out. That’s a decent enough place for us to start our Matchday 31 rundown.
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose: IN
After Dallas, New England, Miami and St. Louis booked their playoff spots midweek, three more teams officially clinched this weekend.
The San Jose Earthquakes did so by rallying from a goal down to hold imperious Nashville to a 1-1 draw at PayPal Park, with Quakes marksman Preston Judd contorting himself to nod home a seeing-eye header after Hany Mukhtar’s viciously-struck opener.
We can be sure head coach Bruce Arena wants more, much more, out of his second campaign in San Jose. But qualification is a noteworthy milestone after the Quakes fell agonizingly short on the wins tiebreaker in 2025, his first season in charge. They’ve only done so three times in the previous 13 years, after all.
There's also the fact that San Jose denied Nashville's hopes of lifting the Supporters' Shield during Matchday 31. The Music City club will do that in short order, surely, but the Earthquakes didn't make it easy Saturday night and reminded everyone they remain a tough out.
HIGHLIGHTS: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Nashville SC | October 17, 2026
Houston Dynamo FC
Houston: IN
Houston Dynamo FC, too, are playoffs-bound after a 2-2 home draw with Texas Derby rivals FC Dallas. La Naranja surely aren’t too pleased with how the night ended at Shell Energy Stadium, however.
After Mexican crack Héctor Herrera headed home a corner-kick equalizer, Mateusz Bogusz's 94th-minute penalty kick seemed to have claimed all three points for H-town. But this derby had one more twist in store…
That’s Dallas midfielder Ran Binyamin making the most of a very untimely challenge by Duncan McGuire to win a last-gasp penalty for his side, a highway robbery of a point – and the Houston crowd’s angry reactions surely only made it that much sweeter for the North Texans.
Chicago Fire FC
Chicago: IN… with questions
Chicago Fire FC are playoffs-bound as well. They backed in via results elsewhere, though, as they lost 1-0 at New England despite producing an expected-goals figure FIVE TIMES that of the Revolution’s and were the superior side in most statistical categories.
But Matt Polster’s goal stood as the difference-maker and Matt Turner made six saves, with this worldie the pick of the litter, and the Fire returned to the Windy City empty-handed.
Much like Arena’s San Jose, Chicago have every right to celebrate postseason qualification, their second straight under head coach Gregg Berhalter, considering how rarely they’ve checked that box in the modern era.
But Berhalter’s team have been discouragingly streaky despite the impact of summer superstar reinforcement Robert Lewandowski, inconsistency that raises questions about what their best version of themselves really looks like, and whether they’ll be able to conjure it up when it’s required: in must-win situations next month.
Inter Miami CF
More Messi magic, with a smidge of malice
As if Lionel Messi wasn’t already richly blessed with talent and drive by the higher powers that be, the Argentine icon also happens to have a photographic memory when it comes to even the most minor of slights in his direction.
It’s a trait reminiscent of NBA legend Michael Jordan, another GOAT in his field, and Atlanta United well and truly got the horns when Messi and Inter Miami visited Mercedes-Benz Stadium – defender Júnior Alonso first and foremost.
Alonso, you see, made a game-saving block of a late Messi shot in the reverse fixture at Nu Stadium last month, where ATLUTD worked their tails off to snatch a 2-2 road draw despite the ongoing difficulties of a rebuilding year under former Miami boss Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino. At the time, Messi took exception to the manner in which the Paraguayan international celebrated said block.
We’re pretty certain it was no accident that IMCF’s maestro so thoroughly sliced and diced Alonso one-on-one in the open field to score his team’s third goal of the night, and his second, in the Herons’ comfortable 3-1 win over the Five Stripes. Just to drive home the point, Messi appeared to tease his adversary with a ‘you’re still spinning’ jibe afterwards.
After a five-game winless slide, Miami have now won three straight, and with an ongoing streak of goal contributions in 13 straight matches, Messi is pulling away in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 25g/15a.
The lesson, as always: Don’t make this man angry. But given his propensity for finding fuel in every nook and cranny, maybe that’s impossible.
HIGHLIGHTS: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami CF | October 17, 2026
Orlando City
Showtime in Orlando
Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann keeps sparkling.
The Frenchman and Orlando City were irresistible in a 4-1 trouncing of D.C. United, the FIFA World Cup winner hitting a brace, his 11th and 12th goals in just 14 MLS games, the first via an effervescent passing combination keyed by Argentine playmaker Martín Ojeda.
Griezmann returned the favor minutes later, setting the stage for Ojeda to produce a golazo that you’ll want to watch on repeat:
Even Marco Pašalić, who scored Orlando’s fourth, freely admitted that the tally by ‘Tincho’ is the one fans will most remember.
“It was a crazy goal,” the Croatian told reporters with a laugh. “I have to say to Tincho congratulations. These goals you don’t see every weekend or every game, so I think this is something you have to watch like 100 times, maybe not like 10 times like my goal.”
He’s right. Here’s another angle or two to enjoy:
Minnesota United FC
Loons end the streak
After 167 days, 19 regular-season matches, two US Open Cup fixtures, 51 goals scored and a hatful of new club and league records, St. Louis CITY's remarkable unbeaten run ended on Saturday afternoon.
Truthfully, few of us would have guessed the team that snapped the streak, or the dramatic fashion in which they did so.
It's been a season of frustration for Minnesota United, and that’s putting it mildly. The Loons had not won a match of any sort since August, and had not tasted victory in a league game at their Allianz Field home since April 18 (!) as they welcomed STL this weekend.
Then they fell behind 2-0 to MLS’s hottest team in the opening 10 minutes. Not auspicious! Yet that only made their second-half resurrection that much more impressive.
Former CITY SC midfielder Aziel Jackson sparked the fightback just after halftime, scoring the first of three unanswered MNUFC goals that lifted them and their long-suffering supporters from desperate to delighted, with rising Canadian talent Marcus Caldeira applying the coup de grace four minutes from full time for the 3-2 win.
And finally, at long last, the Loons faithful got their traditional ‘Wonderwall’ singalong after an epic victory no one in the building will forget any time soon. St. Louis, meanwhile, must lick their wounds and recover quickly, as Wednesday’s Open Cup final at Columbus looms.
WATCH: Minnesota snap St. Louis CITY’s record streak in stunning rally
Philadelphia Union
A banger in Chester
Speaking of streaks… another one met its demise on Saturday.
Saturday’s MLS marathon kicked off with an eminently watchable 2-2 draw between the Philadelphia Union and Charlotte FC that crackled with playoff-type intensity.
Milan Iloski scored his seventh goal in Philly’s last five games, but The Crown responded with well-constructed tallies by Rodolfo Aloko and Idan Toklomati, forcing Bruno Damiani to dig out a second-half equalizer at Subaru Park.
That means the Union’s eight-match winning run is no more, although their 15-game unbeaten run rolls on (12W-0L-3D). They’re still just one point behind Charlotte in the table, and both teams will believe they can pass Chicago to climb into the East’s top four. The race for that fourth-place spot, which grants home-field advantage in a Round One Best-of-3 Series, is tight as piano wire.
HIGHLIGHTS: Philadelphia Union vs. Charlotte FC | October 17, 2026
Around the grounds
→ Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps FC reminded everyone what stern stuff they’re made of, despite a second half of the season that’s fallen short of their own lofty expectations.
Ryan Gauld got the 2-1 comeback win at Austin FC started with a pinpoint header to level the score, then newcomer Yadaly Diaby thumped an insane curling winner off the far post that left even Brad Stuver, one of MLS’s elite goalkeepers, absolutely helpless:
Yes, they’ve looked a great deal more mortal since the World Cup break. Yet Vancouver remain tops in the West, four points clear of their nearest pursuer.
→ Ohio is black and gold in 2026, thanks to the Columbus Crew’s 2-0 win at FC Cincinnati on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Audi, which completes a Hell is Real season sweep for the team from the state capital.
If only slumping Cincy had produced the level of heat their supporters produced in this epic tifo, inspired by the spooky tales of “Satan’s Hollow,” said to be a portal to Hell in a series of drainage tunnels in the city’s suburbs:
The Crew are now just one point below the red line with four games left. They’ve also dealt their rivals a heavy blow: FCC are clinging to the East's ninth and final playoff spot, but only on the wins tiebreaker, as surging Toronto FC are now level with them on points, with New York City FC and D.C. United also still in the mix.
Cincy really need four or even six points from their back-to-back meetings with D.C. this coming week, a scheduling quirk created by a match postponed by severe rainfall in Ohio last month.
WATCH: Columbus Crew cruise past FC Cincinnati in Hell is Real
→ Will the Seattle Sounders come to regret dropping two points at home vs. basement dwellers CF Montréal? The Rave Green harbored ambitions of climbing into the West’s top four, yet that looks like a long shot after this 1-1 draw, which leaves them seventh with only four games to go.
“A wake-up call,” said Cristian Roldan postgame. “We haven’t done anything yet, and if we want to do something in the playoffs, then we have to have complete performances.”
Conversely, it’s an ideal prelude to Montréal's midweek Canadian Championship final clash vs. Forge FC at Stade Saputo. Amazingly, they could finish last in MLS and still hoist a trophy this year – all while qualifying for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup – with a win over their Canadian Premier League opponents.
HIGHLIGHTS: Seattle Sounders FC vs. CF Montréal | October 17, 2026
→ On paper, LAFC’s 1-1 draw at NYCFC is a decent result given the long-haul travel involved and the unique challenges of playing at Citi Field.
On grass, however, it still feels like the Angelenos are scrambling to find themselves under interim coach Xavi Tamarit, and time is slipping away in their race to find form before the business end of the season.
And amid all that meta discourse, newly-arrived creator Leo Walta looks quite intriguing. The Finn practically hit Saturday’s opener from the next borough over: