Just over a week after the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC went on the road and upset the favorites, MLS Cup 2019 is on the horizon as the 24th season in league history comes to a close. CenturyLink Field in Seattle will be the epicenter on Sunday at 3 PM when the two sides face off in the MLS Cup final for the third time in the past four years. 

While the first two rounds of the MLS Playoffs went mostly to script, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC sprung upsets this week, setting up a third meeting between the two clubs in the MLS Cup final. Seattle beat Cup favorites LAFC 3-1 on Tuesday night, before TFC went to Atlanta and walked away 2-1 winners thanks to Nick DeLeon's stunning goal. The result is a November 10 date at CenturyLink Field, the second time the stadium has hosted MLS Cup.

The MLS Conference Finals kick off tonight, with three teams that everyone might have expected to make it this far, and Toronto FC one of the four as the surprise team left. Los Angeles FC and the Seattle Sounders battle for the Western Conference final on Tuesday night, with Atlanta United and TFC set to face off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday to determine who will earn the right to play for the MLS Cup. 

The conference finals are set for the MLS playoffs, and the participants are the runaway favorites, and a "who's who" of recent MLS Cup champions. Los Angeles FC wrapped up the conference semifinals last night in another dramatic edition of El Trafico. A 5-3 win, their first triumph over the LA Galaxy, means that Bob Bradley's side will host the Seattle Sounders next week for a spot in MLS Cup.

It's hard to imagine a more perfect round of playoffs this year for Major League Soccer's new format for the second season. With only one game between sides to determine who moves on, the six games this past weekend were chock-full of attacking soccer, absolutely maddening drama, and results that point to the regular season now being even more important with five of six home teams moving on. You could not have imagined a better weekend for MLS.

The final weekend of MLS play is quickly approaching and we now have a near-complete picture of which sides will be partaking in postseason play. Additionally, over the last week two clubs — Los Angeles FC and New York City — booked their tickets to the 2020 Concacaf Champions League.

D.C. United's winless streak against rivals New York Red Bulls did not come to an end on Sunday, but a positive result at Red Bull Arena put United in the pole position to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference. Bill Hamid's sensational second-half save helped United earn a 0-0 draw in Harrison, NJ, which helped the Black-and-Red stay ahead of the Red Bulls and Toronto FC in the race to host a playoff game in the first round in October.

D.C. United have not won at Red Bull Arena in over eight years and have won just one of the last 15 meetings against the New York Red Bulls. But a win on Sunday could help United finish fourth in MLS' Eastern Conference, a spot which hosts a playoff game in the first round. Despite their poor record recently against the Red Bulls, United will be buoyed by their form of late, having won three games in a row all via shutouts.

Unsurprisingly, the technology that was brought into the game of soccer to help the referees make calls has continued to cause headaches for players and fans alike. Before the advent of video reviews, incidents during a game had to be viewed through one set of four eyes to be called by the referee. With the speed of the game, referees needed help, and video reviews have helped referees get calls on the field correct.

With three consecutive shutout wins, D.C. United have put themselves in a great position to host a first-round game next month during the MLS Playoffs. 

D.C. United made it three consecutive wins for the first time this season, as the Black-and-Red beat the visiting Seattle Sounders for the first time since 2011 in a 2-0 win at Audi Field on Sunday night in Washington, D.C. 

Thanks to two wins in a row away from home and three favorable results on Saturday night, D.C. United host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night having already secured their spot in the 2019 MLS Playoffs. What's left for the Black-and-Red is to determine which seed they'll end up with in the Eastern Conference, currently holding onto the fifth spot with three games left in the season. A third win in a row would see United jump over Toronto FC into fourth place in the conference, the last seed which hosts a game in the first round of the playoffs.

With three games left in the regular season, D.C. United currently sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference ahead of Sunday's game against the Seattle Sounders. The Black-and-Red haven't yet punched their playoff ticket yet, but two results could ensure their qualification this weekend even before they take the field at Audi Field. 

For most of the 2019 season, the MLS Golden Boot has seemed like a forgone conclusion. Los Angeles FC superstar Carlos Vela burst out of the gate with eight goals from the first seven games and has essentially kept that form throughout the year. Vela leads the circuit with 28 goals, just four short of setting a new MLS season record after Atlanta United's Josef Martinez set the record with 31 last year.

A couple of weeks ago D.C. United were struggling through a three-game losing streak and teetering on the edge of the playoff race in MLS' Eastern Conference. After spending much of the year near the top of the division, United came close to almost falling out of a playoff spot, as wins were tough to come by for Ben Olsen's side.