As in the past, the teams with the best six point totals from last season — the defending champion Seattle Sounders, Columbus Crew, Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Chicago Fire and Chivas USA — have all earned automatic berths into the tournament’s third round.
The remaining nine MLS teams, including the debuting Philadelphia Union, will compete in a series of play-in games for two available spots on the roster.
Here are a list of games to be played by the end of April 2010:
- Game A: Philadelphia Union @ New York Red Bulls
- Group B: New England Revolution @ winner of Game A
- Group C: Real Salt Lake at San Jose Earthquakes
- Group D: Colorado Rapids @ Kansas City Wizards
- Group E: FC Dallas @ DC United
The RSL-SJE match will take place April 14 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, it was announced in a separate release by RSL.
By the end of May, the winners of Group B and D games will face off, as will the Group C and E winners with the winning team from both games earning thr two open tournament slots.
