COLUMBUS, Ohio – CF Montréal closes out the regular season this Saturday at Lower.com Field with a visit to the Columbus Crew on MLS Decision Day (Free on MLS Season Pass, BPM Sports, CJAD 800).
With 41 points in the bank and a 12-16-5 record, CF Montréal will be aiming to preserve its position in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, which would give the Club hosting rights for the playoff Wild Card match against the ninth-place team.
MLS Decision Day will be a hotly contested battle with five teams all mathematically still in the running for the final two playoff spots in the East. Just behind Montreal (41 points) are the New York Red Bulls (40 points), Chicago Fire (40 points), Charlotte FC (40 points) and NYCFC (38 points). Although currently above the red line, D.C. United has already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention despite collecting 40 points. As a reminder, CF Montréal holds the tie-breaker advantage over all teams involved.
As such, Montreal will arrive in Ohio largely in control of its destiny with an overall 9-12-5 record against the Crew. A win at Lower.com Field would give the Bleu-blanc-noir 44 points and a guaranteed eighth-place finish, regardless of the evening’s other results.
However, a draw or defeat in Columbus could see the other teams move ahead of Montreal. In this scenario, Montreal could only finish eighth should the New York Red Bulls (at Nashville), Chicago Fire (at NYCFC) and Charlotte FC (at Miami) all fail to win. Montreal would slip to ninth place with one of three following outcomes: a New York Red Bulls win, a Chicago win or a Charlotte win. Finally, Montreal would be eliminated in the event two of those three teams won their games.
Following its October 7 victory over Portland, Montreal managed to seal its tenth home win of the season, its first since 2018, when the team won 11 times on home soil.
Montreal also managed to set a new record for fewest goals conceded at home in a single season: 12 for a goals-against average of 0.705. The previous MLS record was 16 goals allowed in 2018.
Finally, to cap off MLS Decision Day action, the Club is hosting an official #FanFini viewing party presented by BMO at Burgundy Lion Pub on Saturday, starting at 5pm.
