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2012 MLS Standings: Playoff field set heading into final week

The 10 spots in the 2012 MLS playoffs have been clinched, but the final week still features a number of battles for seeding heading into the postseason.

By John.Wilkinson
Bob Levey

With one week left to play in the MLS season, the playoff fields in both conference's are set and as long known, the Philadelphia Union will not be making their second consecutive postseason appearance.

The seeding in the Eastern Conference is still very much up for grabs with just seven points separating first and fifth place. Sporting Kansas City still sits in first place in the East, but D.C. United is just three points behind and could snag the top seed or fall to fourth depending on the final week's results. The Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls are currently in third and fourth place, respectively, but could move as high as second. The Houston Dynamo are the last team in after their 3-1 win over the Union on Saturday.

The Western Conference, on the other hand is little more locked in after Sunday's results. San Jose, the 2012 Supporters' Shield winner is the runaway No. 1 seed. Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders are locked into the second and third seeds, but could flip positions depending on the results of the final weekend. The L.A. Galaxy are guaranteed to finish in fourth place, with the Vancouver Whitecaps rounding out the playoff field, making them the first Canadian team to make the MLS playoffs.

Below are the full standings. The top five teams from each conference will begin the 2012 playoffs in the first week of November with the No. 4 and No. 5 teams in each conference playing a single game knockout round to advance to the Conference Semifinals.

Eastern Conference

1) Sporting Kansas City (60)
2) D.C. United (57)
3) Chicago Fire (56)
4) New York Red Bulls (54)
5) Houston Dynamo (53)
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6) Columbus Crew (49)
7) Montreal Impact (42)
8) Philadelphia Union (36)
9) New England Revolution (32)
10) Toronto FC (23)

Western Conference

1) San Jose Earthquakes (65)
2) Seattle Sounders FC (56)
3) Real Salt Lake (56)
4) LA Galaxy (51)
5) Vancouver Whitecaps FC (42)
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6) FC Dallas (38)
7) Colorado Rapids (34)
8) Portland Timbers (33)
9) Chivas USA (29)