San Jose, Houston and Chicago clinch MLS playoff berths as Vancouver keeps pace in the West in Matchday 31 results

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Major League Soccer’s Matchday 31 pushed the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs picture further into focus, with three additional clubs officially clinching postseason berths after midweek results had already moved Dallas, New England, Miami and St. Louis closer to the clinch. With elimination and Xs/E markers now appearing across the league’s standings, San Jose, Houston and Chicago became the latest teams to lock in their spots, extending the countdown to next month’s regular-season finale.

San Jose Earthquakes clinched a playoff position by rallying from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC at PayPal Park. The match featured an opener by Hany Mukhtar for Nashville, followed by San Jose’s equalizer through Preston Judd, who scored after battling a seeing-eye header off a seeing-eye service that capped the Quakes’ response. The MLS Cup Playoffs berth marks a notable milestone for Bruce Arena’s second campaign in San Jose, with the team having missed out on the wins tiebreaker in 2025, when they finished just short under the same head coach.

The Earthquakes’ result also carried playoff and Supporters’ Shield implications, as the draw prevented Nashville from lifting the Supporters’ Shield during Matchday 31. According to the league’s account of the weekend’s slate, Nashville was still on track to secure the Supporters’ Shield later, but San Jose ensured it could not be finalized immediately.

Houston Dynamo FC also reached the postseason threshold after a 2-2 home draw against FC Dallas at Shell Energy Stadium. The derby began with FC Dallas drawing level through a corner-kick equalizer finished by Héctor Herrera, and Houston appeared to have seized momentum late when Mateusz Bogusz scored on a 94th-minute penalty kick that looked to secure three points. The match ultimately shifted again in stoppage time, with Dallas midfielder Ran Binyamin earning a last-gasp penalty after a challenge by Duncan McGuire, setting up the Dynamo to settle for a point rather than claim full derby spoils.

In Chicago, Fire FC clinched a playoff spot as well, with the official playoff qualification coming through results elsewhere after Chicago fell 1-0 at New England. MLS described the match as a narrow difference-maker performance in which Matt Polster’s goal separated the sides while Matt Turner made six saves for New England. The league also noted that Chicago created a higher expected-goals profile and had the superior share of statistical categories despite coming up short in the final scoreline.

Matchday 31 continued to shape both the playoff race and team momentum beyond the clinch announcements. St. Louis CITY’s long unbeaten run ended on Saturday when Minnesota United fell behind early but staged a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at Allianz Field, snapping a stretch in which St. Louis had been unbeaten through multiple competitions and regular-season matches. The MLS write-up highlighted that Aziel Jackson sparked Minnesota’s turnaround just after halftime, before Marcus Caldeira scored four minutes from full time to complete the comeback, while the result set up another key midweek storyline for St. Louis heading into the US Open Cup final.

In Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Union’s eight-match winning run ended in a 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC at Subaru Park, a match played with playoff intensity, according to MLS. Milan Iloski scored for Philadelphia, while Charlotte answered through Rodolfo Aloko and Idan Toklomati. Bruno Damiani then added a second-half equalizer for the Union, who remained unbeaten overall in a broader run even as the winning streak ended.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Matchday 31 results were central to the league’s Western Conference narrative, with the MLS account emphasizing that the Whitecaps maintained a strong position in the standings despite a second half that fell short of earlier expectations. Ryan Gauld delivered an early component of the comeback story at Austin FC by scoring from a pinpoint header to level the match, and Vancouver then took the lead through newcomer Yadaly Diaby, who scored a curling winner off the far post. The league’s recap credited Diaby’s strike with leaving Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver helpless, and Vancouver ultimately earned a 2-1 comeback win.

According to MLS, Vancouver remains atop the Western Conference and entered the final stretch four points clear of its nearest pursuer, giving the club a cushion as regular-season games tighten. The Whitecaps’ result also served as a reminder that, even with form varying through the season’s second half, the club is still positioned to control its own path toward playoff placement through the remaining fixtures.

In the Eastern Conference playoff chase, Columbus Crew’s 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on Sunday night completed what MLS characterized as a season sweep for the state-capital club. The league also connected that result to the standings, explaining that FC Cincinnati’s playoff status sat precariously on wins tiebreakers with Toronto FC now level on points, while New York City FC and D.C. United remained in the mix for the final positions.

Elsewhere in the Western race and title conversation, MLS described the Seattle Sounders as having dropped points at home to CF Montréal, playing to a 1-1 draw that leaves Seattle seventh with four games remaining. Montréal, as part of the same account, also received a positional storyline tied to upcoming midweek Canadian Championship final action versus Forge FC at Stade Saputo, with the league noting the potential for Canadian Championship qualification pathways that can extend into Concacaf Champions Cup eligibility.

The Matchday 31 weekend also included marquee attacking storylines highlighted by MLS beyond the clinch announcements. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, for example, were described as building momentum into their next stretch with a 3-1 win over Atlanta United, and the league’s recap linked the performance to a late-game sequence in which Messi produced his team’s third goal, in a match that featured a 2-2 road draw outcome in the earlier reverse fixture at Nu Stadium.

In Orlando, Antoine Griezmann and Orlando City’s 4-1 win over D.C. United was presented as a standout offensive display, with the league reporting that Griezmann scored twice, including his 11th and 12th MLS goals across 14 appearances, and that Marco Pašalić characterized Martin Ojeda’s goal as especially memorable. With the playoff race now expanding to nine qualified teams and more points required to finalize the bracket, Matchday 31’s results intensified the pressure for clubs still outside postseason positions as Decision Day approaches next month.

For Vancouver supporters following the Whitecaps in the final phase, the key consequence is straightforward: the club’s 2-1 win at Austin FC preserved its margin at the top of the West while other results continued to define who qualifies and who must still earn postseason status in the final games of the regular season. With multiple teams already clinched and others still fighting for the last places, the remaining fixtures now carry added urgency for any club trying to secure home-field advantages or avoid the tiebreaker swings described across the league’s standings.