With two regular season matches left to play, the Montreal Impact, NSC Minnesota and Puerto Rico Islanders clinched a playoff spot Wednesday , following a 4-2 loss by St. Louis versus Miami FC, in Fort Lauderdale.
The Montreal Impact will have the chance to defend its 2009 championship title. The Impact also won the championship in 1994 and 2004. NSC Minnesota qualifies for the playoffs in their first year of existence and the Puerto Rico Islanders have qualified five consecutive seasons.
The first round of the playoffs will be played during the week of October 4 in the following format: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. The matchups consist of an aggregate home-and-away series. The semi-final series are scheduled for the week of October 11.
Should there be a tie between two teams in the standings, the following tie-breakers will determine the final standings: head-to-head results, season goal differential and total goals scored.
