Sporting Kansas City won the 2011 MLS Eastern Conference playoff race on 51 points, 2 points ahead of Houston Dynamo FC. It came down to the final days: Sporting Kansas City did not lead for good until October 15, 2011.
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Eastern standings, 2011
Team
W
L
T
PTS
L10
Streak
Sporting Kansas City (SKC)
13
9
12
51
5-2-3
W2
Houston Dynamo FC (HOU)
12
9
13
49
5-2-3
W2
Philadelphia Union (PHI)
11
8
15
48
3-2-5
L1
Columbus Crew (CLB)
13
13
8
47
3-6-1
L1
Red Bull New York (RBNY)
10
8
16
46
4-2-4
W1
Chicago Fire FC (CHI)
9
9
16
43
7-2-1
W2
D.C. United (DC)
9
13
12
39
2-6-2
L1
Toronto FC (TOR)
6
13
15
33
3-2-5
T3
New England Revolution (NE)
5
16
13
28
1-5-4
T1
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 18 times.
Sporting Kansas City trailed by as many as 15 points on May 28, 2011.
Sporting Kansas City took first place for good on October 15, 2011.
Columbus Crew led by 5 points as late as August 20, 2011.
Sporting Kansas City went 5-0-4 from June 11, 2011 to July 23, 2011, turning a deficit of 15 points into a deficit of 5 points.
The top two ended the day within three points of each other on 87 of the 91 days played.
Nine teams held first place.
Columbus Crew held first place for 56 straight days, the season's longest run.
Sporting Kansas City spent 30 of the season's 223 charted days in first place.