Sporting KC chasing San Jose in MLS standings

The "Treble" is not yet out of the question for Sporting Kansas City ahead of their game against the Chicago Fire on Friday.

With the US Open Cup in hand and the MLS Cup playoffs about to begin with the Sporks in prime position to take the top prize of the league, the only trophy that they seem out of is the Supporters' Shield. The Shield is awarded to the top team in MLS points-wise every year, and the San Jose Earthquakes have had a stranglehold on it for most of the year.

KC isn't quite out of the race yet, though. They face a five-point deficit with four matches to go, which is certainly doable. A loss to the Chicago Fire would dent the hopes, but they have some winnable games against Columbus and Philadelphia to end the season after that.

If there's anything that's going to keep the Sporks away from the Shield, it's that San Jose has a fairly easy schedule to close out the year as well. They finish with games against three of the worst teams in the Western conference in FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers. At this point, it will be up to KC to catch up and leave things in the hands of San Jose.

The team only has one Supporters' Shield in their history, won in 2000 along with the MLS Cup when the team was still called the Wizards.