HARRISON, N.J. -- To say the Union limped into the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs wouldnt be accurate. After stumbling over a curious late-season tie to Toronto FC and stunning 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Thursday, the Union fell backwards into it.
And now, with the regular season ending with a sudden, unforgiving flop and the Union now forced to wait for results around the league to decide whether they earn a bye or face the wild-card gauntlet, things could get decidedly more difficult and they have no one to blame but themselves.
I dont want to say its devastating and I dont want to say were down as a team, said 16-year old Zach Pfeffer, who made the start in Thursdays contest. Were still confident. Obviously, its a blow, we want to control our own destiny and now we have to wait and see. You never want to put your fate in someone elses hands, but at the same time, were in the playoffs.
There was a time when all was right with the Unions world. With a brilliant, 2-0 road win over the mighty Seattle Sounders on Oct. 8, the future appeared golden for the second-year club trying to not just claim a playoff berth, but plant their flag on the peak of the Eastern Conference.
All they had to do was win one of the final two games to get a top-three seed in the East as well as a pass through the wild-card round. The path of least resistance through the post season was available for the Union, who may have passed it up with shaky play.
The players, however, are staying confident. But what else can they do but hope the tone of their play changes once the bright lights of playoff soccer switch on?
We are only thinking about what is coming and thinking about what we want to do, said defender Carlos Valdes, dismissing the concept of finding favorable match-ups. If we want to win the championship, we have to defeat everyone we have in front of us. We are working hard and are only concentrating on our jobs. We know its going to be hard but we believe in what we can do.
The Union finish the season with 48 points. Should the Columbus Crew, a team with 47 points, earn a draw or victory against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, the Union can reach no higher than the third seed in the East behind both them and Sporting Kansas City. This could set the Union up with a two-game aggregate series against the Sounders, who hold the second-place spot in the West.
Not ideal.
However, if the 46-point Houston Dynamo get a win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday, the Union would fall out of the top-three and enter the wildcard round, where they would likely play the Colorado Rapids on either Wednesday or Thursday.
The defeat was not part of our plans but these are things that happen in soccer, said Valdes. But we are calm because we know we are doing things right and that we are going to give a fight in the playoffs.