By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor
THE EXORCISTS: Los Angeles scored in stoppage time to down the Quakes, 1-0, and became the first team this season to win three straight.
On more than two dozen previous occasions, teams with two consecutive wins had failed to notch No. 3. The weirdest example came on Aug. 31 when Columbus and New England rode into a meeting with two-game winning streaks and tied, 0-0.
But the curse wasn't exorcised cleanly. Carlos Ruiz received the ball from Cobi Jones in an offside position prior to drilling it low past San Jose keeper Joe Cannon.
FELIZ CUMPLEANOS!: Ruiz scored his 23rd goal of the season the day before his 23rd birthday.
GOAL OF THE WEEK: John Spencer wrongfooted Wizards defender Nick Garcia and fired a shot under him for the winning goal in a 2-1 Rapids win.
Chris Henderson's short pass was first-timed by Carlos Valderrama through several defenders to Spencer, who slipped past Garcia to hammer a low shot past Tony Meola a foot inside the far post.
MATCHUP I: Six of the eight playoff seeds are undetermined and three playoff spots are still up for grabs, but Colorado (42 points) and Dallas (40) know their fates.
They will meet in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds but which team fills which slot won't be known until Kansas City plays at Colorado Friday night.
The Rapids' two-point edge could be wiped out if the Burn can beat D.C. United Thursday at RFK Stadium.
If the teams finish tied at 43 points, Dallas would get the No. 4 seed on the first tiebreaker (head-to-head results) since it won the season series 2-1-1.
MATCHUP II: Only by beating the Galaxy (48 points) at Spartan Stadium Saturday can San Jose (45) capture the Western Conference title and the No. 1 overall seed.
Since the Quakes are 12-0-1 at home this season and are gunning to be the first team in league history to complete its home record unbeaten, they would seem to have a good shot.
However, L.A. beat San Jose, 1-0, at Spartan Aug. 7 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on an overtime goal by (who else?) Ruiz.
If the teams tie on points, they would also be tied in the season series 2-2-0. San Jose (plus 11) would edge L.A. (plus 10) on goal difference, the second tiebreaker.
FLICKERING FIRE: Chicago has plummeted out of the top eight by losing four straight but can still reach the playoffs by winning its finale at home Sunday against Columbus.
Regardless of other results, Chicago (34 points) qualifies if it wins, since it would finish ahead of D.C. United (32) and both the MetroStars (35) and New England (35) could not finish ahead of the Fire since they play each other at Gillette Stadium Saturday.
Chicago can also sneak in with a tie if it finishes tied with any team with 35 points. It has the advantage of playing Sunday in the final game of the season. It will know what it has to do.
The Fire holds the edge in tiebreakers against New England (2-1-1) and the MetroStars (3-1-0). It tied the season series with Kansas City 1-1-0, but holds a huge edge over the Wizards in the second tiebreaker, goal differential (plus 4 to minus 8). It holds the same goal differential edge over D.C. United, against which it went 1-1-2.
TALE OF TWO KEEPERS: A couple of weak plays by Zach Thornton and stellar saves by Jon Busch helped the Crew beat the Fire, 2-0.
Busch repelled a Hristo Stoitchkov penalty kick in the 73rd minute and turned away a sizzling shot from DaMarcus Beasley.
Thornton let a rising shot by Eric Denton slip through his hands and inside the post for the first Crew goal. A long-range, bouncing shot by Duncan Oughton handcuffed him and Jeff Cunningham tapped in the rebound to make it 2-0.
REVS ROLL: New England heads into a finale fraught with incongruity.
It will clinch a playoff spot by beating the Metros at home Saturday and could still win the conference. Or it could miss the playoffs entirely by losing.
The Revs lose the head-to-head tiebreakers with the Metros (0-3-0), Chicago (1-2-1) and Kansas City (0-2-0) but it would edge D.C. United (3-1-0).
New England knocked off Dallas, 2-1, in the Cotton Bowl Saturday with another pair of goals from Taylor Twellman, giving him seven goals in the past four games after he went goalless in the previous four.
New England is unbeaten in its last five games. To win the conference it would have to beat the Metros by enough goals to overtake the Crew in goal difference should Columbus (38 points) lose to Chicago.
Columbus is plus 2 and the Revs are minus 3. If the Crew loses by two goals and the Revs win by three, they would be tied with a zero goal difference and New England would win the conference on the third tiebreaker, total goals scored, which it current leads, 46-43.
Hey, it could happen. The Revs are hot, the Metros have lost two in a row and won't have Clint Mathis or Tim Howard; both were ejected in the 2-1 loss to D.C.
D.C. NOT DEAD: United can reach the postseason by beating Dallas if Chicago and the Metros lose.
It wins the first tiebreaker against the Metros (3-1-0) but would lose out to the Wizards (1-2-1) even if K.C. fails to get a point Friday in Denver. It has also lost the season series to New England (1-3-0) and Chicago (1-2-1).
ONE OTHER THING: If more than two teams are tied on points, the tiebreaker procedures are applied, in order, amongst the tied teams until only two teams remained tied. Then they are compared head-to-head.