Lions can’t earn playoff bid

Orlando City officially was eliminated from playoff contention during the weekend as the New York Red Bulls clinched the sixth and final spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Red Bulls (13-12-7, 46 points) beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 to grab three points and freeze out the Lions, Philadelphia, New England and Montreal, each of whom has 39 points with two regular-season games left.

Orlando City (10-13-9, 39 points) had been a long shot to make the playoffs for quite some time but saw a revival of hope last week when MLS looked into an FC Dallas roster violation.

Dallas used an ineligible player during a draw with Orlando City. Had the league forced a forfeit, Orlando City would have received two additional points and still had a shot at a postseason. Dallas received a fine instead, and the following day Orlando City mathematically was eliminated.

Orlando City currently is 10th out of 11 teams in the East.

The Lions will use their final two matches — home against Columbus at 5 p.m. Sunday and on the road in Philadelphia at 4 p.m. Oct. 22 — to climb higher in the table before what’s expected to be a busy offseason. The No. 1 seed North Carolina Courage will play the No. 2 seed Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League championship game to be played at Orlando City Stadium Saturday.

The Courage’s Denise O’Sullivan scored in the 89th minute, hitting a shot that bounced off the shin of Red Stars midfielder Julie Ertz and past goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to lift host North Carolina to a 1-0 win over Chicago in their NWSL semifinal Sunday.

The Orlando Pride fell 4-1 to the Portland Thorns in the other semifinal Saturday, ending the Pride’s season one game short of playing for a title on their home pitch.