by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Oct 26, 2015

The New York Red Bulls won the MLS Supporters' Shield for the second time in three years with a 2-1 win at Chicago on Sunday, completing a run to the title after a chaotic offseason. The Red Bulls edged FC Dallas on goal difference after both teams won by the same score on Sunday.

Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs:

Conference Knockout Round

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

Eastern Conference: #4 D.C. United vs. #5 New England, 7:30 p.m. ET (UniMas)

Western Conference: #4 Seattle vs. #5 LA Galaxy, 10 p.m. ET (UniMas)



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28

Eastern Conference: #3 Montreal vs. #6 Toronto FC, 7 p.m. ET (UniMas)

Western Conference: #3 Portland vs. #6 Sporting KC, 10 p.m. ET (UniMas)



"I think that this group deserves the Supporters' Shield," said Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch after the 2-1 win over Chicago gave New York its first victory at Chicago since 2005. "I think that in a lot of ways they were the best team throughout the season, they showed that, I think, game in and game out. Obviously, the points add up to mean that we're there. So I'm happy for them to reach this achievement. I said on television, 'In life you don't always get what you deserve,' but here I think they got what they deserve. Now the key is to know that moving forward the next month, we all start from scratch. And actually what it may mean is, we have an even bigger target on our backs. We have to enjoy tonight but absolutely be ready for Monday morning, because it's back to business."



FC Dallas, the Western Conference leader, Crew SC and Vancouver also have first-round byes. The same 12 teams above the red zone before Sunday began made the playoffs as Orlando City and San Jose were eliminated.



The Red Bulls also won the 2013 Supporters' Shield with a 5-2 win over Chicago on the final day of the MLS season. Only three starters in that game -- Luis Robles, Lloyd Sam and Dax McCarty -- are still with the team. Five starters on Sunday night are first-year players -- Kemar Lawrence, Sal Zizzo, Mike Grella, Sacha Kljestan and Felipe.



Bradley Wright-Phillips, who had the first goal against the Fire, was just breaking into the team two years ago.



"It's very special," said BWP, whose 17 goals give him 44 over the last two seasons, tying an MLS record for most goals in two seasons. "Because, you know, at the beginning of the season, even when I remember back to when I was in London in the offseason, I just heard nothing but negative press. What we're going to do about so-called players and we managed to use that as our fuel. This isn't everything but this is a big part of history for us. I'm proud of the boys, every one of them."



MLS Results, Week 34:

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

Columbus 5 D.C. United 0.

Montreal 2 Toronto FC 1

New York City 1 New England 3.

Philadelphia 1 Orlando 0.

Chicago 1 NY Red Bulls 2.

FC Dallas 2 San Jose 1.

Portland 4 Colorado 1

Sporting KC 2 LA Galaxy 1.

Seattle 3 Real Salt Lake 1.

Vancouver 3 Houston 0.

All times ET.



Final MLS Standings:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

PTS (GP) TEAM W-L-T GF/GA

60 (34) *NY Red Bulls 18-10-6 62/43

53 (34) *Crew SC 15-11-8 58/53

51 (34) *Montreal 15-13-6 48/44

51 (34) *D.C. United 15-13-6 43/45

50 (34) *New England 14-12-8 48/47

49 (34) *Toronto FC 15-15-4 58/58

--------------------------------------

44 (34) Orlando City 12-14-8 46/56

37 (34) New York City 10-17-7 49/58

37 (34) Philadelphia 10-17-7 42/55

30 (34) Chicago 8-20-6 43/58

*Clinched playoff berth.



WESTERN CONFERENCE

PTS (GP) TEAM W-L-T GF/GA

60 (34) *FC Dallas 18-10-6 52/39

53 (34) *Vancouver 16-13-5 45/36

53 (34) Portland 15-11-8 41/39

51 (34) Seattle 15-13-6 44/36

51 (34) *LA Galaxy 14-11-9 56/46

51 (34) Sporting KC 14-11-9 48/45

--------------------------------------

47 (34) San Jose 13-13-8 41/39

42 (34) Houston 11-14-9 42/49

41 (34) Real Salt Lake 11-15-8 38/48

37 (34) Colorado 9-15-10 33/43



Leading MLS Scorers:

G PLAYER (TEAM)

22 Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC)

22 Kei Kamara (Crew SC)

20+1 Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)

18+1 David Villa (New York City)

17 Cyle Larin (Orlando City)

17+1 Bradley Wright-Phillips (NY Red Bulls)

16 Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)

16+1 Fanendo Adi (Portland)

15 Obafemi Martins (Seattle)

13+1 Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC)