The 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs (officially the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 20th post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 28 with D.C. United defeating New England Revolution and culminated on December 6, 2015, with MLS Cup 2015, the twentieth league championship match for MLS.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | LA Galaxy |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Portland Timbers (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Columbus Crew SC |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 17 |
| Goals scored | 46 (2.71 per match) |
| Attendance | 388,289 (22,841 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Kei Kamara(4 goals) |
Twelve teams[2] (top 6 per conference) competed, up from 10 the last 3 seasons. The first round of each conference had the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed, while the fourth-seed hosts the fifth, in a single match to determine who advances to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the second seed plays the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Conference Finals.
Both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals are played as two-legged aggregate series. If teams are level at the end of the second leg, the away goals rule will be used in attempt to determine a winner. If the away goals rule does not resolve the deadlock, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, but the away goals rule will not be applied after extra time. If scores are still level following extra time, a penalty shootout will be conducted.
The winners advance to the MLS Cup final, a single match hosted by the participant with the better regular season record.[3]
The winner of MLS Cup 2015, Portland Timbers qualified for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. If a Canadian team were to win the MLS Cup, the next-best team from the United States will take their place.[4]
On March 6, 2015, Audi was announced as the official sponsor of the playoffs starting in 2015.[1]
The Portland Timbers won the MLS Cup by defeating the Columbus Crew SC by a score of 2–1. The Timbers' Diego Valeri scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds after Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark, made a fundamental error after he miscontrolled his defender's back-pass; allowing Valeri to strike at the opportunity.[5]
2015 MLS Conference standings edit
The top 6 teams from each conference advance to the MLS Cup playoffs. Green background denotes also qualified for 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.
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Eastern Conference
Source: MLS
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Western Conference
Source: MLS
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Bracket edit
| Knockout round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | MLS Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Stade Saputo | E3 | Montreal Impact | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Toronto FC | 0 | E2 | Columbus Crew (a.e.t.) | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Impact | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – RFK Stadium | E4 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| December 6 – Mapfre Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| E5 | New England Revolution | 1 | E1 | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Columbus Crew | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Providence Park | W3 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Sporting Kansas City | 2 (6) | W2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers (p) | 2 (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | FC Dallas | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – CenturyLink Field | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 3 (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | LA Galaxy | 2 | W1 | FC Dallas (p) | 1 | 2 | 3 (4) | |||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [6]
Schedule edit
Knockout round edit
Eastern Conference edit
| D.C. United | 2–1 | New England Revolution |
|---|---|---|
Pontius  45' Rolfe 83' |
Report | Agudelo 15' |
| Montreal Impact | 3–0 | Toronto FC |
|---|---|---|
| Bernier 18' Piatti 33' Drogba 39' |
Report |
Western Conference edit
Conference semifinals edit
Eastern Conference edit
New York Red Bulls win 2–0 on aggregate
| Montreal Impact | 2–1 | Columbus Crew SC |
|---|---|---|
| Bernier 37' Venegas 77' |
Report | Higuaín 33' |
| Columbus Crew SC | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Montreal Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Kamara 4', 111' Finlay 77' |
Report | Duka 40' |
Columbus Crew wins 4–3 on aggregate
Western Conference edit
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Adi 31' Chara 90+4' |
Portland Timbers win 2–0 on aggregate
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | FC Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| Ivanschitz 67' Dempsey 86' |
Report | Castillo 18' |
| FC Dallas | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Seattle Sounders FC |
|---|---|---|
| Akindele 84' Zimmerman 90+1' |
Report | Marshall 90' |
| Penalties | ||
Diaz  Hollingshead Akindele Zimmerman |
4–2 | Dempsey Ivanschitz Barrett Rose |
FC Dallas wins 4–2 on penalties after 3–3 draw on aggregate
Conference finals edit
Eastern Conference edit
| Columbus Crew SC | 2–0 | New York Red Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Meram 1' Kamara 85' |
Report |
Columbus Crew wins 2–1 on aggregate
Western Conference edit
| FC Dallas | 2–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Hollingshead 68' Pérez 73' |
Report | Adi 54' Melano 90+5' |
Portland Timbers win 5–3 on aggregate
MLS Cup edit
| Columbus Crew | 1–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Kamara 18' |
Report | Valeri 1' Wallace 7' |
Goalscorers edit
References edit
- ^ a b "MLS announces partnership with Audi, including presenting sponsorship of MLS Cup Playoffs". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ "Armchair Analyst: Ranking the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoff teams, 1-through-12". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ "Audi MLS Cup Playoffs 101: Everything you need to know about the postseason". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ Kingston, Gary (August 25, 2015). "Whitecaps face fine balancing act in settling on Voyageurs Cup lineup". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- ^ "Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri Scores Fastest Goal In MLS Cup History (Video)". NESN. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- ^ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "Schedule". MLSsoccer.com.