United took care of its business Sunday, posting a 3-1 victory at Toronto FC on the strength of Ola Kamara’s two-goal performance, and received help from Orlando, which defeated Montreal, 2-0.
But the last piece — the rival New York Red Bulls losing in Nashville — failed to materialize as New York (13-12-9, 48 points) earned a 1-1 draw to finish one point ahead of United (14-15-5, 47). Had the teams finished even, D.C. would have claimed the seventh and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference on the first tiebreaker (victories).
To close its first season under Coach Hernán Losada, United won for just the second time in its last seven matches, a rut that saw the club tumble from third place.