It’s been quite the season for Major League Soccer, at least in terms of parity. Coming into Saturday’s activity, only Columbus had laid claim to one of the eight MLS Cup playoffs spots, and every single team in the league remained mathematically alive in the chase for the playoffs.

The glass half full assessment: the fates in command of D.C. United certainly chose a good year to force so many injuries and absences to their key performers. The glass half empty assessment: any more performances like Saturday night’s, and United might just find themselves on the outside looking in, regardless of the scenario. Lacking their usual one-two punch of Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio, United’s offensively-challenged squad suffered one of their most frustrating losses of the year to Chivas USA, 3-0.