Last year, MLS’s Western Conference had a rough go of things. The top five clubs out east all would have finished first in the west, a dramatic turn from years of western dominance. Until Toronto FC swept the league en route to their 2017 treble, no current Eastern Conference team had won MLS Cup since the Crew in 2008, and before TFC, the Red Bulls were the only east club to win the Supporters’ Shield in the 2010s decade.
Reasons for the west’s 2017 decline are myriad. TFC’s rise into a true juggernaut coincided with the Chicago Fire and NYCFC growing into top-tier sides on the backs of elite No.