2012 Major League Soccer season

(Redirected from 2012 MLS season)

The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.

Major League Soccer
Season2012
MLS CupLos Angeles Galaxy (4th title)
Supporters' ShieldSan Jose Earthquakes (2nd shield)
Champions League (U.S.)San Jose Earthquakes
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
Sporting Kansas City (via U.S. Open Cup)
Champions League (Canada)Toronto FC (via Canadian Championship)
Matches played323
Goals scored854 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorerChris Wondolowski
(27 goals)
Biggest home winSJ 5–0 RSL
(July 14)
DAL 5–0 POR
(July 21)
Biggest away winCHV 0–4 LA
(August 12)
CHV 2–6 SEA
(August 25)
CHV 0-4 RSL
(September 29)
Highest scoring8 goals:
SJ 5–3 DC
(May 2)
POR 3–5 LA
(July 14)
CHV 2–6 SEA
(August 25)
Longest winning run7 matches:[1]
Sporting KC
(March 10 – April 18)
Longest unbeaten run11 matches:[1]
Sporting KC
(August 4 – October 24)
Longest winless run14 matches:
Toronto FC
(July 28 – October 28)
Longest losing run9 matches:[1]
Toronto FC
(March 17 – May 19)
Highest attendance66,452
POR @ SEA
(October 7)
Lowest attendance6,149
COL @ NE
(May 2)
Average attendance18,807[1]
2011
2013
2012 Major League Soccer season is located in the United States
D.C. United
D.C.
United
New York Red Bulls
New York
Red Bulls
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
New England Revolution
New England Revolution
Chicago Fire
Chicago
Fire
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union
Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
FC Dallas
Chivas USA
Chivas USA
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
Real
Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle
Sounders FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver
Whitecaps FC
Locations of teams for the 2012 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

The regular season began on March 10, when Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated the expansion team Montreal Impact 2–0 at BC Place, and concluded with the host Los Angeles Galaxy defeating the Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 on October 28 at The Home Depot Center. The season also featured the 2012 MLS All-Star Game on July 28, when MLS All-Stars defeated the Chelsea 3–2 at PPL Park (hosted by the Philadelphia Union). The San Jose Earthquakes would go on to become the Supporters' Shield champions by earning the most points of any team throughout the regular season. The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs ran from October 31 until December 1, when the Los Angeles Galaxy claimed their fourth MLS Cup title by defeating Houston Dynamo 3–1 in MLS Cup 2012 at Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.[2]

Changes from 2011 edit

The 2012 MLS season features several significant on- and off-field changes from 2011:[2]

  • The Montreal Impact became the 19th MLS franchise, replacing a same-named Montreal club that previously played in the North American Soccer League in 2011 and in the USL First Division before that. The Impact made their on-field debut on March 10 in a 2–0 loss at Vancouver. The Impact's home debut, a 1–1 draw with the Chicago Fire on March 17, attracted 58,912 to Olympic Stadium, setting the all-time record crowd for professional soccer in Montreal.[3] A 1–1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 12 attracted 60,860, setting the all-time attendance record for professional soccer in Canada.[4]
  • The Impact joined MLS as the 10th team in the Eastern Conference; the Western Conference remains at 9 teams.
  • Each of the 19 teams plays a 34-game regular season schedule, one that employs a new unbalanced format that gives greater emphasis on in-conference matchups.[5]
    • Western Conference clubs will play each conference rival three times, and play once against each Eastern Conference club.
    • Eastern Conference clubs will play seven of their conference rivals three times, the remaining two conference rivals twice, and each Western Conference club once.
    • The span of the regular season will be the longest in MLS history, beginning with 5 matches on March 10 and ending with 3 matches on October 28.[6]
  • A change to the Designated Player Rule regarding international players took effect with the start of the 2012 season. The salary cap charge for international designated players (i.e., players not from the U.S. or Canada) will depend on the players' ages:
    • age 20 and younger: $150,000[7]
    • ages 21 to 23: $200,000[7]
    • over 23 years of age: $350,000[7]
  • The league gained a new U.S. TV partner in NBC Sports, whose 3-year deal was announced in August 2011 (replacing expired deals with Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes)[8] and began on March 11 with an NBC Sports Network broadcast of the New York Red Bulls/FC Dallas match.[9] As part of the deal, NBC Sports Network will air 38 regular season and 3 playoff matches, while the main NBC network will air 3 regular season and 2 playoff matches (the first time since 2002 that that many MLS games will be broadcast on English-language network television). NBC and NBCSN will also air United States men's national soccer team matches (2 on each network). Previous deals with U.S. partners ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and Galavisión continue in 2012, as do deals with Canadian partners TSN, TSN2, and GolTV.
  • The MLS Cup Playoffs setup will undergo several changes, as will the Championship Game, which will be played on its latest date ever, December 1.[6] (see MLS Cup below)

Teams, stadiums, and personnel edit

Stadiums and locations edit

Chicago Fire Chivas USA/

Los Angeles Galaxy

Colorado Rapids Columbus Crew D.C. United FC Dallas
Toyota Park The Home Depot Center Dick's Sporting Goods Park Crew Stadium RFK Memorial Stadium FC Dallas Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 19,680 Capacity: 20,145 Capacity: 19,467 Capacity: 21,193
           
Houston Dynamo Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York Red Bulls Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers
BBVA Compass Stadium Saputo Stadium[a] Gillette Stadium Red Bull Arena PPL Park Jeld-Wen Field
Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 20,801 Capacity: 22,385 Capacity: 25,189 Capacity: 18,500 Capacity: 20,323
           
Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City Toronto FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Rio Tinto Stadium Buck Shaw Stadium CenturyLink Field Livestrong Sporting Park BMO Field BC Place
Capacity: 20,213 Capacity: 10,525 Capacity: 38,500 Capacity: 18,467 Capacity: 21,859 Capacity: 21,000
           

Personnel and sponsorship edit

Five MLS teams saw changes in jersey sponsorship for the 2012 season:

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire   Frank Klopas   Logan Pause Quaker
Chivas USA   Robin Fraser   Alejandro Moreno Corona
Colorado Rapids   Óscar Pareja   Pablo Mastroeni
Columbus Crew   Robert Warzycha   Chad Marshall Barbasol
D.C. United   Ben Olsen   Dwayne De Rosario Volkswagen
FC Dallas   Schellas Hyndman   Ugo Ihemelu AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo   Dominic Kinnear   Brian Ching Greenstar Recycling
Los Angeles Galaxy   Bruce Arena   Landon Donovan Herbalife
Montreal Impact   Jesse Marsch   Davy Arnaud Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution   Jay Heaps   Matt Reis UnitedHealthcare
New York Red Bulls   Hans Backe   Thierry Henry Red Bull
Philadelphia Union   John Hackworth   Carlos Valdés Bimbo
Portland Timbers   Gavin Wilkinson   Jack Jewsbury Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake   Jason Kreis   Kyle Beckerman XanGo
San Jose Earthquakes   Frank Yallop   Ramiro Corrales
Seattle Sounders FC   Sigi Schmid   Mauro Rosales Xbox
Sporting Kansas City   Peter Vermes   Jimmy Nielsen
Toronto FC   Paul Mariner   Torsten Frings Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Martin Rennie   Jay DeMerit Bell Canada

Player transfers edit

Major League Soccer employs no fewer than 12 methods to acquire players. These include: signing players on transfers/free transfers as is done in most of the world; via trades; drafting players through mechanisms such as the MLS SuperDraft, MLS Supplemental Draft, or MLS Re-Entry Draft; rarely used methods which cover extreme hardship and injury replacement; signing players as Designated Players or Homegrown Players; placing a discovery claim on players; waivers; and methods peculiar to MLS such as through allocation or a weighted lottery.[16]

Allocation ranking edit

The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the League after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. The allocation rankings may also be used in the event two or more clubs file a request for the same player on the same day. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2011 season, taking playoff performance into account.

Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking. At all times, each club is assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS League season.[16]

Original Ranking Club Date Allocation Used Player Signed Player Nation Previous Club Club Nation Ref
1 Montreal Impact February 17, 2012 Eddie Johnson   United States Fulham   England [17]
2 Philadelphia Union June 26, 2012 Bakary Soumaré   Mali US Boulogne   France [18]
3 New England Revolution August 27, 2012 Juan Toja   Colombia Aris   Greece [19]
4 Seattle Sounders FC September 14, 2012 Marcus Hahnemann   United States Everton   England [20]
5 Chivas USA
6 San Jose Earthquakes
7 D.C. United
8 Portland Timbers
9 Chicago Fire
10 Columbus Crew
11 Colorado Rapids March 28, 2012 Kamani Hill   United States Vitória   Portugal [21]
12 FC Dallas
13 New York Red Bulls August 8, 2012 Luis Robles   United States Karlsruher SC   Germany [22]

† Montreal immediately traded Johnson to Seattle in exchange for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle.

‡Vancouver originally had the No. 2 ranking, but traded it to Philadelphia on June 26.

∞Toronto originally had the No. 4 ranking, but traded it to Seattle on September 14.

The remaining order after FC Dallas is: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (from Philadelphia), Toronto FC (from Seattle), Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy. In the unlikely event that all clubs use an allocation, the order begins anew with Montreal Impact, Colorado Rapids, Philadelphia Union, New York Red Bulls New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders FC.

Weighted lottery edit

Some players are assigned to MLS teams via a weighted lottery process. A team can only acquire one player per year through a weighted lottery. The players made available through lotteries include: (i) Generation adidas players signed after the MLS SuperDraft; and (ii) Draft eligible players to whom an MLS contract was offered but who failed to sign with the League prior to the SuperDraft.

The team with the worst record over its last 30 regular season games (dating back to previous season if necessary and taking playoff performance into account) will have the greatest probability of winning the lottery. Teams are not required to participate in a lottery. Players are assigned via the lottery system in order to prevent a player from potentially influencing his destination club with a strategic holdout.

The results of 2012 weighted lotteries thus far:

Lottery Date Player Player Nation Position Winning Club Other Clubs Participating Ref
December 15, 2011 Lee Nguyen   USA MF Vancouver Whitecaps FC Toronto FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy [23]
September 13, 2012 Marcus Tracy   USA FW San Jose Earthquakes New England Revolution, FC Dallas, Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders FC

Ownership changes edit

Club New owner Previous owner Date
DC United Erick Thohir and Jason Levien D.C. United Holdings July 10, 2012

Regular season standings edit

Conferences edit

Eastern Conference edit

Pos Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 Sporting Kansas City (E1) 34 18 7 9 42 27 +15 63 2012 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 D.C. United 34 17 10 7 53 43 +10 58
3 New York Red Bulls 34 16 9 9 57 46 +11 57
4 Chicago Fire 34 17 11 6 46 41 +5 57 2012 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Houston Dynamo 34 14 9 11 48 41 +7 53
6 Columbus Crew 34 15 12 7 44 44 0 52
7 Montreal Impact 34 12 16 6 45 51 −6 42
8 Philadelphia Union 34 10 18 6 37 45 −8 36
9 New England Revolution 34 9 17 8 39 44 −5 35
10 Toronto FC 34 5 21 8 36 62 −26 23
Updated to match(es) played on 18:04 EDT October 28, 2012. Source: MLS

(E1) = Eastern Conference champion

Western Conference edit

Pos Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 San Jose Earthquakes (SS, W1) 34 19 6 9 72 43 +29 66 2012 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Real Salt Lake 34 17 11 6 46 35 +11 57
3 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 8 11 51 33 +18 56
4 LA Galaxy 34 16 12 6 59 47 +12 54 2012 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 11 13 10 35 41 −6 43
6 FC Dallas 34 9 13 12 42 47 −5 39
7 Colorado Rapids 34 11 19 4 44 50 −6 37
8 Portland Timbers 34 8 16 10 34 56 −22 34
9 Chivas USA 34 7 18 9 24 58 −34 30
Updated to match(es) played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLS

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (W1) = Western Conference champion

Overall table edit

Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, seeding in the 2013 Canadian Championship, and 2013 MLS draft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying for the playoffs.

Pos Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 San Jose Earthquakes (SS) 34 19 6 9 72 43 +29 66 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League 1
2 Sporting Kansas City 34 18 7 9 42 27 +15 63
3 D.C. United 34 17 10 7 53 43 +10 58
4 New York Red Bulls 34 16 9 9 57 46 +11 57
5 Real Salt Lake 34 17 11 6 46 35 +11 57
6 Chicago Fire 34 17 11 6 46 41 +5 57
7 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 8 11 51 33 +18 56
8 LA Galaxy (C) 34 16 12 6 59 47 +12 54 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League 1
9 Houston Dynamo 34 14 9 11 48 41 +7 53
10 Columbus Crew 34 15 12 7 44 44 0 52
11 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 11 13 10 35 41 −6 43
12 Montreal Impact 34 12 16 6 45 51 −6 42 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League 2
13 FC Dallas 34 9 13 12 42 47 −5 39
14 Colorado Rapids 34 11 19 4 44 50 −6 37
15 Philadelphia Union 34 10 18 6 37 45 −8 36
16 New England Revolution 34 9 17 8 39 44 −5 35
17 Portland Timbers 34 8 16 10 34 56 −22 34
18 Chivas USA 34 7 18 9 24 58 −34 30
19 Toronto FC 34 5 21 8 36 62 −26 23
Updated to match(es) played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com

(C) = MLS Cup champion (SS) = Supporters Shield winner

Tiebreak rules edit

When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules[24] apply:

  1. Goals for
  2. Goal differential
  3. Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table Archived August 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (foul - 1 pt, first yellow - 3 pts, second yellow - 5 pts, straight red - 6 pts, disciplinary commission suspension - 6 pts, etc.)
  4. Road goals
  5. Road goal differential
  6. Coin toss (2 teams) or drawing of lots (3 or more teams)

Playoff bracket edit

Wildcard Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
E1 Kansas City 0 1 1
E4 Chicago 1 E5 Houston 2 0 2
E5 Houston 2 Eastern ConferenceE5 Houston 3 1 4
E2 D.C. United 1 1 2
E2 D.C. United 1 1 2
E3 New York 1 0 1
E5 Houston 1
W4 Los Angeles 3
W1 San Jose 1 1 2
W4 Los Angeles 2 W4 Los Angeles 0 3 3
W5 Vancouver    1 Western ConferenceW4 Los Angeles 3 1 4
W3 Seattle 0 2 2
W2 Salt Lake 0 0 0
W3 Seattle 0 1 1

[25]


Statistical leaders edit

Full article: MLS Golden Boot

Top goalkeepers edit

(Minimum of 1,500 minutes played)

Rank Goalkeeper Nation Club
GAA SV GA Mins GP ShO
1 Michael Gspurning   AUT Seattle Sounders FC 0.70 63 15 1935 22 9
2 Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City 0.79 77 27 3060 34 15
3 Bill Hamid   USA D.C. United 1.03 90 25 2177 25 8
Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake 1.03 88 33 2880 32 13
5 Tally Hall   USA Houston Dynamo 1.19 88 39 2946 33 12
6 Sean Johnson   USA Chicago Fire 1.24 108 38 2766 31 5
7 Andy Gruenebaum   USA Columbus Crew 1.26 124 41 2920 33 8
8 Josh Saunders   PRI Los Angeles Galaxy 1.33 80 36 2430 27 9
9 Joe Cannon   USA Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1.34 73 34 2277 26 8
Zac MacMath   USA Philadelphia Union 1.34 93 43 2880 32 8

Source:[28]

Individual awards edit

Monthly awards edit

Month MLS Player of the Month
Player Nation Club Link
March Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls 5G 3A Archived November 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
April Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes 4G 2A Archived July 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
May Dwayne De Rosario   CAN D.C. United 4G 3A Archived May 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
June Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes 3G 0A
July Robbie Keane   IRL Los Angeles Galaxy 5G 4A
August Patrice Bernier   CAN Montreal Impact 3G 3A
September Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes 4G 2A Archived August 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
October Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes 5G 0A Archived June 29, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Weekly awards edit

Week Player of the Week AT&T Goal of the Week MLS Save of the Week
Player Nat Club Player Nat Club Player Nat Club
Week 1 Kalif Alhassan   GHA Portland Timbers Kris Boyd   SCO Portland Timbers Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 2 David Estrada   USA Seattle Sounders FC Ryan Johnson   JAM Toronto FC Joe Cannon   USA Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 3 Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Joe Cannon   USA Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 4 Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Darlington Nagbe   LBR Portland Timbers Paolo Tornaghi   ITA Chicago Fire
Week 5 Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Álvaro Saborío   CRC Real Salt Lake Donovan Ricketts   JAM Montreal Impact
Week 6 Dan Kennedy   USA Chivas USA David Beckham   ENG Los Angeles Galaxy Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 7 Chris Pontius   USA D.C. United Kyle Beckerman   USA Real Salt Lake Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 8 Steven Lenhart   USA San Jose Earthquakes Marco Pappa   GUA Chicago Fire Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 9 Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes Fredy Montero   COL Seattle Sounders FC Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 10 Lee Nguyen   USA New England Revolution David Beckham   ENG Los Angeles Galaxy Sean Johnson   USA Chicago Fire
Week 11 Dwayne De Rosario   CAN D.C. United Fredy Montero   COL Seattle Sounders FC Andy Gruenebaum   USA Columbus Crew
Week 12 Emilio Rentería   VEN Columbus Crew C. J. Sapong   USA Sporting Kansas City Troy Perkins   USA Portland Timbers
Week 13–15 Patrice Bernier   CAN Montreal Impact Júlio César   BRA Sporting Kansas City Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 16 Landon Donovan   USA Los Angeles Galaxy Patrick Ianni   USA Seattle Sounders FC Jason Hernandez   USA San Jose Earthquakes
Week 17 Danny Koevermans   NED Toronto FC Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes Josh Saunders   PUR Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 18 Álvaro Saborío   CRC Real Salt Lake Jack McInerney   USA Philadelphia Union Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 19 Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes David Beckham   ENG Los Angeles Galaxy Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 20 Calen Carr   USA Houston Dynamo Jose Villarreal   USA Los Angeles Galaxy Matt Reis   USA New England Revolution
Week 21 Jairo Arrieta   CRC Columbus Crew Saër Sène   FRA New England Revolution Sean Johnson   USA Chicago Fire
Week 22 Eddie Johnson   USA Seattle Sounders FC Felipe Martins   BRA Montreal Impact Kevin Hartman   USA FC Dallas
Week 23 Landon Donovan   USA Los Angeles Galaxy Sanna Nyassi   GAM Montreal Impact Troy Perkins   USA Montreal Impact
Week 24 David Ferreira   COL FC Dallas Lamar Neagle   USA Montreal Impact Donovan Ricketts   JAM Portland Timbers
Week 25 Federico Higuaín   ARG Columbus Crew Marco Di Vaio   ITA Montreal Impact Steven Smith   SCO Portland Timbers
Week 26 Federico Higuaín   ARG Columbus Crew David Beckham   ENG Los Angeles Galaxy Matt Pickens   USA Colorado Rapids
Week 27 Eddie Johnson   USA Seattle Sounders FC Eddie Johnson   USA Seattle Sounders FC Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 28 Sean Johnson   USA Chicago Fire Fredy Montero   COL Seattle Sounders FC Marcelo Sarvas   BRA Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 29 Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Javier Morales   ARG Real Salt Lake Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 30 Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes Álvaro Saborío   CRC Real Salt Lake Nick Rimando   USA Real Salt Lake
Week 31 Thierry Henry   FRA New York Red Bulls Robbie Keane   IRE Los Angeles Galaxy Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 32 Chris Wondolowski   USA San Jose Earthquakes Jack Jewsbury   USA Portland Timbers Jimmy Nielsen   DEN Sporting Kansas City
Week 33 Brad Evans   USA Seattle Sounders FC Jacob Peterson   USA Sporting Kansas City
Week 34 Kenny Cooper   USA New York Red Bulls

Scoring edit

Discipline edit

Related competitions edit

International competitions and friendlies edit

CONCACAF Champions League edit

Prior to the start of the MLS regular season, Toronto FC defeated Los Angeles Galaxy while Mexican side Santos Laguna defeated Seattle Sounders FC in two of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series. Toronto FC then lost 3–7 on aggregate in the semifinal with Santos Laguna.[29]

In the 2012–13 CCL, Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake earned group stage spots (the preliminary round has been eliminated). The Canadian representative, determined by the 2012 Canadian Championship, was Toronto FC.

At the end of the groups stages, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, and Houston Dynamo qualified for the quarterfinals, which will be played in March 2013.

MLS All-Star Game edit

The 2012 MLS All-Star Game was played on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, home stadium of the Philadelphia Union. As has been the format every year since 2005, the MLS All-Stars played an international club; the 2012 opponent was England's Chelsea FC, 2012 champions of both the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League and visiting side in the 2006 MLS All-Star Game (when they lost to the All-Stars, 1–0, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois).[30] The MLS All-Stars won the game 3–2.

Domestic competitions edit

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup edit

For the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament, U.S. Soccer has increased the size of the main tournament from 40 to 64 clubs, assembling the competition so that all U.S.-based Major League Soccer clubs gain entry.[31] On August 8, 2012, Sporting Kansas City defeated the Seattle Sounders on penalties to win the franchise's second open cup title.[32]

Canadian Championship edit

The three Canadian-based MLS clubs, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, along with NASL club FC Edmonton, competed for the Voyageurs Cup, Canada's national championship trophy. The tournament is organized in a knockout format with two-legged ties in both the semifinals and final, with the away goals rule in place. Toronto defeated Vancouver in the finals, their fourth consecutive national championship, and qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League.

League Competitions edit

MLS Cup edit

The MLS Cup playoffs took place after the conclusion of the regular season. For 2012, the playoff structure underwent several changes:

  • The playoffs will no longer feature wild cards and the possibility of "crossovers" (i.e. teams from opposite conferences playing in the early rounds). Instead, the top five clubs in each conference's standings will qualify for the playoffs and will play in the following manner:
    • The 4th place team will host the 5th place team in a single "play-in" match, with the winner advancing to the conference semifinals.
    • The Conference Semifinals will again be a two-game aggregate goal setup as before (with extra time and penalty kicks employed if the aggregate is level after 180 minutes). The 1st place team will play the winner of the 4th/5th game, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams play each other. The lower-seeded team will host the first leg of each semifinal.
    • The semifinal winners will play each other in the Conference Finals, which will be altered to a two-game aggregate series patterned after the semifinal round (before this year, this round was a single-game format).
  • The Conference Final winners will advance to the MLS Cup Championship Game, which for the first time will be played at the home stadium of the finalist with the better regular season point total; before this season, the game was played at a predetermined site.

Coaches edit

Eastern Conference edit

Western Conference edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The Impact's first home game at Saputo Stadium was played on June 16, 2012.[10] The team's first five home games were played at Olympic Stadium while Saputo Stadium underwent expansion.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "2012 MLS Standings & Leaders" (PDF). October 29, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "MLS announces changes for 2012 season," from The Score, November 20, 2011
  3. ^ "Impact draws 1–1 with Chicago Fire..." Archived September 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from ImpactMontreal.com, March 17, 2012
  4. ^ "Report: Impact ties LA Galaxy 1–1 in front of 60,860 spectators at Olympic Stadium". Montreal Impact. May 12, 2012. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  5. ^ "MLS will have unbalanced schedule in 2012," from The Score, 11/10/2011
  6. ^ a b "MLS releases 2012 schedule; Cup final Dec. 1," from The Score, 1/5/2012
  7. ^ a b c MLSSoccer.com. "2012 MLS Roster Rules". Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  8. ^ "MLS, NBC announce three-year broadcast deal," Archived October 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from MLSSoccer.com, 8/10/2011
  9. ^ "NBC networks to air 41 regular-season matches in 2012," Archived March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from MLSsoccer.com, 1/5/2012
  10. ^ "Impact beats Seattle Sounders 4–1 in Stade Saputo home opener," from ImpactMontreal.com, June 16, 2012
  11. ^ "The Montreal Impact unveils its schedule for the 2012 season," from ImpactMontreal.com, posted 1/5/2012
  12. ^ "BMO to become Impact's lead MLS sponsor". Sportsnet. June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  13. ^ "Feeling their oats: Fire get jersey sponsorship deal with Quaker," from Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2012
  14. ^ McCarthy, Jack (February 15, 2012). "Crew partner with Barbasol as new jersey sponsor". MLS. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  15. ^ "FC Dallas signs multi-year, multi-million dollar jersey deal with AdvoCare". June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  16. ^ a b "2012 MLS Roster Rules | Major League Soccer". Mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  17. ^ "Montreal send Johnson to Seattle for Neagle, Fucito". MLSsoccer.com. February 17, 2012. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  18. ^ "Union sign central defender Bakary Soumare". philadelphiaunion.com. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  19. ^ "Revolution acquire former All-Star Juan Toja via allocation". MLSsoccer.com. August 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  20. ^ Freedman, Jonah (September 14, 2012). "Hahnemann returns to MLS, lands with hometown Seattle". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  21. ^ "Rapids sign forward Kamani Hill". coloradorapids.com. March 28, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  22. ^ "Red Bulls Acquire Goalkeeper Luis Robles". newyorkredbulls.com. August 8, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  23. ^ "Whitecaps get US international Nguyen in weighted lottery". MLSsoccer.com. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  24. ^ "Competition Rules and Regulations". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  25. ^ "MLS Cup Playoffs 2012". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  26. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".
  27. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".
  28. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".
  29. ^ "CONCACAF unveils 2011/12 Champions League quarterfinal schedule". CONCACAF.com. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011.
  30. ^ "All-Star Game: Chelsea return for grudge match at PPL," Archived June 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from MLSsoccer.com, 4/11/2012
  31. ^ "Source: 2012 US Open Cup format proposal calls for 64 teams..." from TheCup.us, 11/9/2011[failed verification]
  32. ^ "Sporting Kansas City Claims 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup After Penalty Shootout Victory Against Three-Time Defending Champion Seattle Sounders FC " Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine from ussoccer.com, 8/9/2012