Thank Denis: RSL clinches 2023 MLS Cup playoff berth as LAFC snaps winless skid
Denis Bouanga had a first-half hat trick to lead LAFC to a 5-1 win over Minnesota United, clinching a postseason bid for Real Salt Lake.
Real Salt Lake didn’t play Wednesday night in Major League Soccer’s Matchday 36. But that didn’t stop the Utah club from being one of the bigger winners of the night.
As a result of LAFC’s 4-1 win over Minnesota United FC — and the first-half hat trick from Denis Bouanga that went with it — the Claret-and-Cobalt have officially clinched a spot in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years.
LAFC’s first win in five matches across all competitions perhaps most benefited the team that handed the Angelenos their most recent loss via Chicho Arango’s header against his former club.
In a Western Conference growing increasingly crowded, with just six points separating second and eighth behind division-leading St. Louis, RSL’s spot in the postseason is secured with a 13-11-7 record, 46 points and three matches remaining.
It’s the first time RSL has made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons since becoming postseason-eligible during a seven-year stretch from 2008-14.
There was a bit of that going around Wednesday night, when as many as five teams around MLS had postseason-clinching possibilities. Seattle clinched a playoff spot with a last-gasp 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy via Cristian Roldan’s goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The Sounders are the first expansion team to qualify for the postseason in 14 different seasons.
Vancouver also clinched a playoff berth due to Minnesota’s loss, combined with a startling 3-0 win over St. Louis.
All that’s left to determine in the final three matches is seeding, and that begins with Saturday’s regular-season home finale against rival Sporting Kansas City (10-14-8, 38 points) (7:30 p.m. MT, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
All three of RSL’s final three matches, in fact, come against teams below them in the table, including the LA Galaxy (West 13th) and Colorado Rapids (West 14th).
After Wednesday night’s matches, RSL are tied for fourth — ahead of Vancouver on tiebreakers — among the six teams in the Western Conference that have booked passage to the postseason.
St. Louis, Seattle, LAFC, Salt Lake, Vancouver and Houston are confirmed. That leaves seven teams fighting for three playoff bids out west, while seven teams fight for two spots in the east.
Does anyone know what’s going on with Scott Caldwell? Haven’t seen him in a while but haven’t heard any news.