Every MLS Cup playoff-clinching scenario for the Colorado Rapids begins with avoiding defeat to the Los Angeles Football Club on Saturday.
The final regular-season action of 2025 for both teams kicks off the latter portion of Decision Day, when seven conference games will simultaneously unfold west of the Mississippi River.
From the division title battle between Vancouver and San Diego, to bracket seeding, to finalizing which two teams out of Dallas, Salt Lake, the Rapids and San Jose meet in the wild-card round, and for individual accolades, too, the scenarios are abundant.
LAFC is obviously interested in its own prospects. After losing at Austin for the first time in seven game Sunday, that no longer includes the chance of a third Western Conference title in four seasons with Steve Cherundolo as head coach.
The highest LAFC (17-8-8, 59 points) can finish in Cherundolo’s last season with the club is second. The lowest, fourth.
A win locks them in where they currently stand, in third place.
A win coupled with dropped points by San Diego would elevate the Black & Gold to the No. 2 seed.
A draw or a loss carries the risk of dropping a spot should Minnesota win at the Galaxy.
Then there’s the Golden Boot watch. Lionel Messi leads Denis Bouanga by two because the Argentine legend returned early to Inter Miami during the FIFA break and bagged a couple to give him 26.
Bouanga, a goal away from his 100th with LAFC, resumed training this week following two World Cup qualifiers with Gabon in Africa.
Following friendlies in South Korea versus Brazil and Paraguay, Son Heung-min can also make a bit of MLS history. If the 33-year-old superstar connects on a brace, he would be the third player in league history to score 10 times in his first 10 games.
The duo combined for an MLS-record 18 consecutive goals prior to the international window.
Coming off international duty, a full-strength LAFC also has Nathan Ordaz (El Salvador) and Mathieu Choinière (Canada) available for selection.
On Thursday, LAFC announced the re-signing of Ordaz, 21, a homegrown player from Encino, through 2029 with an option for another year.
The young forward scored in LAFC’s previous regular-season meeting against the Rapids, one of his seven goals in all club competitions this year.
Should Colorado offset LAFC’s high-powered attack and manage a result, its fate will then be determined by how others around them fared.
Rapids head coach Chris Armas and his players were already fortunate that Dallas and RSL lost last weekend. They needed the help in the midst of a 1-6-1 spell, and several outcomes must break their way again to clinch a wild-card berth.
“You can be confident we’re not playing it safe on Saturday night,” promised Armas, whose team is 8-5-3 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in league play. “We’re not going to play not to make mistakes. We’re going to go after them. It’s the only way you can do it against LAFC. We want to give our fans something to be proud of once again, which is a trip to the playoffs, and especially that we go after the game.”
Managing his second season for the Rapids, Armas is 2-4 in all competitions against LAFC over that stretch.
As LAFC did during a 3-0 win against the Rapids at BMO Stadium this summer, Cherundolo said his team must stay connected and make it difficult for Armas’ players to create transition moments where they are at their most dangerous.
The Rapids (11-15-7, 40 points) opened the season in February at home on a freezing evening to begin CONCACAF Champions Cup competition against LAFC. The Rapids won 2-1, but did not do enough in the second leg to advance.
In addition to all the MLS scenarios, LAFC has an outside shot of qualifying for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup based on regular-season point totals. But if not, only the club’s second MLS Cup would seal its place in the continental tournament field for a fourth consecutive year.
LAFC AT COLORADO RAPIDS
When: 6 p.m. PT Saturday
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
TV/Radio: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass), Xfinity, DirecTV/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM
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