League Focus: Who Will Win the Race for MLS Supporters' Shield?

To the outsider, the Supporters’ Shield is a peculiar accolade. Awarded to the team with the best regular season record (essentially, whichever team finishes atop the league standings) it would be Major League Soccer’s crowning achievement, were it not for the play-offs. And so in the grand scheme of things, the Shield means little.

Still, there is a prestige to picking up the trophy as a recognition of consistency and sustainability - and with CONCACAF Champions League entry also attached for the winners it has become a legitimate target for MLS sides.

And so with the play-offs now coming into sight the race for this season’s Supporters’ Shield is hotting up, with as many as six or seven teams still within distance of the trophy. With so many teams carrying momentum into the final stages of the regular season, the play-offs should make for compelling competition, but who stands the best chance of lifting the Shield?

On the basis of pure points, the Vancouver Whitecaps currently sit atop the pile in the Shield standings, with 48 points to show for their 28 games played so far. Carl Robinson’s side’s form has been fairly consistent over the course of the season, with their only real dip coming in a three-game stretch over July during which they failed to beat the Colorado Rapids, Sporting KC and the Portland Timbers.

The Caps’ form has been based on defensive resolution at BC Place, with the Canadians keeping clean sheets in each of their last four home fixtures. Kendall Watson has proved the bedrock of their solidity at the back, with the Costa Rican averaging 3.8 interceptions per game - higher than any other Vancouver player this season.

Matias Laba has also been a central part of the Whitecaps’ side this term, with the Argentinean averaging 5.2 tackles per game from his position at the base of midfield - making him MLS’ most prolific tackler. It’s in Vancouver’s defensive spine that their strength can be found.

The New England Revolution have also found form at the right time, with last season’s MLS Cup runners-up stringing together six consecutive wins to take them to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Their resurgence - after a dismal spell over the summer - has coincided with the improvement in form of Lee Nguyen, Jermaine Jones and Scott Caldwell. Nguyen in particular has been the driving force behind the Revolution’s surge towards the regular season, with the US international tallying eight assists for the campaign so far. And at the back Andrew Farrell has provided a solid basis for New England’s midfield unit, making a team-high of 3.3 interceptions per game for the season.

Then there’s the LA Galaxy - MLS’ perennial challengers and winners of three of the last four MLS Cups. Recent defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes and a draw at home to the Montreal Impact have handicapped their Supporters’ Shield charge, but Bruce Arena’s side - for all their struggles in the early part of the season - are still only one point behind Vancouver.

Robbie Keane is still their defining star, tallying 15 goals and seven assists for the season so far. The mid-season addition of Giovani Dos Santos has also given the Galaxy more edge in the final third, with the Mexican averaging 2.6 shots on goal per game. His 1.8 key passes per outing also makes him one of LA’s most productive players in attack, too.

And with Steven Gerrard alongside Juninho in the centre of midfield, Arena also has one of the best passing platforms in the league - with the duo averaging 109.9 overall passes per game between them. That gives them the kind of control that will serve them well in the play-offs.

With two games in-hand and just a point behind the Vancouver Whitecaps, FC Dallas are also in the hunt for this year’s Supporters’ Shield. Oscar Pareja has opted for youth in recent games, but Mauro Diaz is the creative hub in the attacking midfield position around which everything revolves for the Texans - with the Argentine averaging 2.3 key passes per game. Fabian Castillo has also given them a cutting edge in the final third having scored nine goals and contributed four assists from his position as something of a wide forward.

Wednesday’s defeat at Gillette Stadium knocked the New York Red Bulls off top spot in the Eastern Conference, but Jesse March’s side are only one point off the pace. As was the case last season, Bradley Wright-Phillips has provided RBNY with finishing instinct in front of goal - with the former Brentford man tallying 14 goals for the campaign so far.

Of course, with Thierry Henry now retired even more attacking onus is on Wright-Phillips, but he has so far coped with that well. That might well be down to the improved support he now has playing behind him, with the addition of US international Sacha Kljestan giving the Red Bulls creativity and invention around the edge of the box.

The former Anderlecht midfielder has averaged 2.4 key passes per game until this point, tallying eight assists for the season so far - making him one of the league’s most prolific assist-makers. Kljestan has also had Brazilian midfielder Felipe backing him up from a deeper position, chipping in with an average of two key passes per game himself. Under Marsch the Harrison side have become a dynamic outfit.

But Matt Miazga has been the Red Bulls’ best player in 2015 – with a WhoScored,com rating of 7.55 - even if his performances have often been understated. The centre-back has averaged 3.3 interceptions per game this season, also making 2.6 tackles. Alongside Damien Perrinelle they form arguably the best defensive pairing in MLS.

DC United, the Columbus Crew, the Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC are all still in the Supporters’ Shield picture - although with fixtures tapering towards the play-offs time is running for a slight outsider to make a regular season run. However, MLS is inherently one of world football’s most unpredictable leagues, and so nothing is settled.

Who do you think will win the Supporters' Shield? Let us know in the comments below