FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls both clinched spots in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League by virtue of securing the top spot in their respective conferences.
Dallas did the deed thanks to Saturday's 1-0 win at Real Salt Lake, which gave them their first regular season Western Conference crown since 2006. RBNY secured their second Eastern Conference title in three years thanks to Sunday's emphatic 4-1 win over Philadelphia at Red Bull Arena.
They'll join US Open Cup winners Sporting Kansas City in next year's CCL, with the final USSF slot awarded to whichever team wins MLS Cup.
The USSF are allotted four CCL spots for each tournament. If any team occupies more than one slot, or any slot is occupied by a Canadian team (i.e. if Kansas City, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal or a regular-season conference champion goes on to win MLS Cup), then US teams who have not qualified otherwise are ranked according to regular-season record, with the unqualified team(s) with the next best record(s) receiving entry into the CCL.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have also qualified for the 2016-17 CCL, claiming the lone slot allocated to the CSA by virtue of their first-ever Canadian Championship win, back in August. The Canadian MLS teams can not gain entry via any of the USSF mechanisms.
New York and Dallas are also Nos. 1 and 2 in the Supporters' Shield race, and the only teams in MLS left with a chance at that hardware. The Red Bulls travel to Chicago next Sunday, while FCD host San Jose.
2016-17 CCL berths | ||||
Spot | Team | |||
2015 MLS Cup champion | ? | |||
2015 Supporters' Shield champion | RBNY or FC Dallas | |||
2015 conference regular-season winner | RBNY or FC Dallas | |||
2015 US Open Cup champion | Sporting Kansas City | |||
2015 Canadian Championship champion | Vancouver Whitecaps |