There's officially just four matchdays to go in the 2026 MLS campaign, and the races for seeding and playoff positioning are really starting to heat up.
While Toronto is right in the thick of the jumbled Eastern playoff picture, Montréal has long fallen out of that race. Out West, the Whitecaps took a big step in securing top spot in the conference this week, but still have work to do in order to finish the job.
Here's a look at what stuck out in MLS' matchday 31.
No more Texas Blues
They say everything's bigger in Texas. For Vancouver, their come-from-behind win over Austin is as big as they come.
Revenge was on the mind after Austin took a shock win at BC Place last month, and a nice Ryan Gauld header alongside a Yadaly Diaby screamer helped the road side take all three points to take a four-point lead atop the Western conference.
The 'Caps still seem to be tinkering with what their best XI is as they prepare for the postseason, and missing Thomas Müller through injury doesn't help them figure that out. That said, the advantage of having a deep squad means you can rotate at the end of a three-game week and still come away with a big result.
Ryan Gauld looks comfortable and healthy, and it's important to note he's now gone 90 minutes in four straight games as the importance of the season ramps up.
Having the Scot fit and firing heading into the postseason is important, and there's probably a checklist of other things they'd like to have ironed out in the next four matches.
Getting Müller healthy is obviously top of that list, as is figuring out who starts on the wings, who starts on the back line, and getting Brian White back in goalscoring form will help as well.
Jesper Sørensen will hope to check off all of those things between now and their opening playoff fixture, though Diaby's wonder goal off the bench against Austin might make the winger question an even bigger headache. Not the worst problem to have.
With a four-point gap on a St. Louis side that also has the U.S. Open Cup final to worry about, a few more wins should be enough to secure that top seed in the West, and hosting priority all the way through the conference final.
Suffering for success
Toronto's 2-0 win over Red Bull New York on Saturday capped off an impressive seven-point week that kept their playoff hopes alive and kicking.
While the first two matches of the week included a dramatic 2-1 comeback over Montréal, and a wild 3-3 draw against Orlando at BMO Field on Wednesday, this game was a lot more measured and relaxed in its approach, one that paid off for a shorthanded side that needed nothing less than three points to stay in the race.
With no Richie Laryea, Benjamín Kuscevic and Walker Zimmerman, it was a completely makeshift back line for the Reds as they travelled to New Jersey.
The plan was clearly to sit in and defend the box as much as possible, and then use pace on the break to get in behind New York's slower fullbacks to create danger that way.
That worked out pretty early on, as the red-hot Theo Corbeanu was played down the right, beat his man and fired a low cross to the back post. Josh Sargent was there to tap it home, but it ended up bundling off Red Bulls defender Justin Che and into the goal.
From there, it was a lot of suffering out of possession. Niklas Dorsch's addition to the midfield has evolved this team in many ways, and the ground he covers defensively is probably the biggest one of those.
The German's presence allowed the makeshift centre-back partnership of Nicksoen Gomis and Zane Monlouis to really hold their own, as the pair stayed error-free on the night and were able to prevent any big chances in the box.
The wingers helped the fullbacks defend all night, Sargent worked hard holding the ball up, and as Dániel Sallói came off the bench and was played in behind with New York having 10 men pushed up on a corner, he made no mistake, icing the game at 2-0.
Assistant coach Wolde Harris led from the sideline in this one with Robin Fraser suspended, and the entire team bought in to get the biggest result of the season.
They'll have to dig in again next week in Columbus to get an even bigger one.
A legitimate result
If a rotated Montréal side went to Seattle and lost 5-0 this weekend, nobody would've really batted an eye.
The playoffs are long gone, the Canadian Championship final on Wednesday is on everyone's mind, and a trip to face a Western Conference team isn't exactly moving any needles.
But the group that got the start went out there, played hard, and ended up playing spoiler as they brought home a 1-1 draw over a Seattle team looking to climb the table.
Hennadiy Synchuk is a player who has done good things this year and looks good to the eye test, but has really struggled to put the final action together to be really goal-dangerous. Finding the net in this one is a nice boost, as is Noah Streit picking up the assist.
Now, every MLS game left this season, including this one, will be pretty forgettable for the Impact. Wednesday is really all that matters, but maybe a good performance here can go a long way in terms of boosting morale ahead of the final.
