2006 Major League Soccer season

2006 Major League Soccer season

Season	2006
MLS Cup	Houston Dynamo (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	D.C. United (3rd shield)
Matches played	192
Goals scored	503 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake Goals: 16
Biggest home win	NY 6–0 RSL
Biggest away win	NY 1–4 DCU LA 0–3 RSL DCU 2–5 LA
Highest scoring	NY 5–4 CHV
Longest winning run	D.C. United Wins: 6 (06/21 – 07/15)
Longest unbeaten run	D.C. United Wins: 14 (05/13 – 07/22)
Longest losing run	K.C. Wizards Loss: 7 (06/24 – 07/22) Los Angeles Galaxy Loss: 7 (05/06 -06/08)
Highest attendance	Los Angeles Galaxy Season: 333,016 Game avg.: 20,814
Lowest attendance	K.C. Wizards Season: 177,322 Game avg.: 11,083
Average attendance	MLS Season: 2,976,787 Game avg.: 15,504
← 2005 2007 →

The 2006 Major League Soccer season was the 11th season in the history of Major League Soccer. It began on April 1, 2006, and ended with MLS Cup 2006 on November 12, 2006, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, for the second consecutive year.

Changes from 2005 season[]

• The MetroStars were bought by Austrian company Red Bull and rebranded as Red Bull New York, with the playing squad known as the New York Red Bulls.
• The San Jose Earthquakes players and head coach Dominic Kinnear moved to Houston, Texas, due to owner AEG being unable to secure a soccer specific stadium in San Jose, California. The team was to be renamed Houston 1836, but later changed its name to the Houston Dynamo.
• In June, the Chicago Fire moved into their new soccer-specific stadium, Toyota Park, in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Final standings[]

Eastern Conference[]

Eastern Conference v t
Pos	Club	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
1	D.C. United	55	32	15	7	10	52	38	+14
2	New England Revolution	48	32	12	8	12	39	35	+4
3	Chicago Fire	47	32	13	11	8	43	41	+2
4	New York Red Bulls	39	32	9	11	12	41	41	0
5	Kansas City Wizards	38	32	10	14	8	43	45	–2
6	Columbus Crew	33	32	8	15	9	30	42	–12

	MLS Supporters' Shield, 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs
	2006 MLS Cup Playoffs

Western Conference[]

Western Conference v t
Pos	Club	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
1	FC Dallas	52	32	16	12	4	48	44	+4
2	Houston Dynamo	46	32	11	8	13	44	40	+4
3	Chivas USA	43	32	10	9	13	45	42	+3
4	Colorado Rapids	41	32	11	13	8	36	49	–13
5	Los Angeles Galaxy	39	32	11	15	6	37	37	0
6	Real Salt Lake	39	32	10	13	9	45	49	–4

	MLS Supporters' Shield runner up, 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs
	2006 MLS Cup Playoffs

Overall[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	D.C. United (SS, E1)	32	15	7	10	52	38	+14	55	2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2	FC Dallas (W1)	32	16	12	4	48	44	+4	52	2007 North American SuperLiga
3	New England Revolution	32	12	8	12	39	35	+4	48
4	Chicago Fire	32	13	11	8	43	41	+2	47	2006 MLS Cup Playoffs
5	Houston Dynamo	32	11	8	13	44	40	+4	46	2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6	Chivas USA	32	10	9	13	45	42	+3	43	2006 MLS Cup Playoffs
7	Colorado Rapids	32	11	13	8	36	49	−13	41
8	New York Red Bulls	32	9	11	12	41	41	0	39
9	LA Galaxy	32	11	15	6	37	37	0	39	2007 North American SuperLiga
10	Real Salt Lake	32	10	13	9	45	49	−4	39
11	Kansas City Wizards	32	10	14	8	43	45	−2	38
12	Columbus Crew	32	8	15	9	30	42	−12	33

MLS Cup playoffs[]

	Conference Semifinals						Conference Finals					MLS Cup 2006
	E1	D.C. United	1	1
	E4	New York	0	1
							E1	D.C. United	0
	Eastern Conference
							E2	New England	1
	E3	Chicago	1	1 (2)
	E2	New England (p)	0	2 (4)
												E2	New England	1 (3)
												W2	Houston (p)	1 (4)
	W1	Dallas	2	2 (4)
	W4	Colorado (p)	1	3 (5)
							W4	Colorado	1
	Western Conference
							W2	Houston	3
	W3	Chivas USA	2	0
	W2	Houston	1	2

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Conference semifinals[]

D.C. United advance 2–1 on aggregate.

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New England Revolution advance 4–2 on penalties (2–2 aggregate after extra time).

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Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties (4–4 aggregate after extra time).

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Houston Dynamo advance 3–2 on aggregate.

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Conference finals[]

New England Revolution advances 1–0 in single elimination.

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Houston Dynamo advances 3–1 in single elimination.

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MLS Cup 2006[]

The Houston Dynamo win MLS Cup 4–3 on penalties.

Team awards[]

• MLS Cup: Houston Dynamo
• U.S. Open Cup: Chicago Fire
• MLS Supporters' Shield: D.C. United
• MLS Reserve Division: Colorado Rapids

International competition[]

CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Los Angeles Galaxy
Lost Deportivo Saprissa in quarterfinals.

New England Revolution
Lost LD Alajuelense in quarterfinals.

Individual awards[]

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Christian Gómez	D.C. United
Golden Boot	Jeff Cunningham (16) points	Real Salt Lake
Defender of the Year	Bobby Boswell	D.C. United
Goalkeeper of the Year	Troy Perkins	D.C. United
Rookie of the Year	Jonathan Bornstein	C.D. Chivas USA
Coach of the Year	Bob Bradley	C.D. Chivas USA
Comeback Player of the Year	Richard Mulrooney	FC Dallas
Goal of the Year	Brian Ching	Houston Dynamo
Fair Play Award	Chris Klein	Real Salt Lake
Humanitarian of the Year	Michael Parkhurst	New England Revolution

Top goal scorers[]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Jeff Cunningham	Real Salt Lake	16
2	Christian Gómez	D.C. United	14
	Ante Razov	C.D. Chivas USA	14
3	Carlos Ruíz	FC Dallas	13
4	Landon Donovan	Los Angeles Galaxy	12
5	Jaime Moreno	D.C. United	11
	Dwayne De Rosario	Houston Dynamo	11
	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution	11
	Kenny Cooper	FC Dallas	11
	Brian Ching	Houston Dynamo	11

Goal-scoring totals[]

Club	Overall Record	Goals For	Goals For Avg.	Goals Against	Goals Against Avg.
D.C. United	15–7–10	52	1.63 (1st)	38	1.19 (3rd)
FC Dallas	16–12–4	48	1.50 (2nd)	44	1.38 (9th)
C.D. Chivas USA	10–9–13	45	1.41 (3rd)	42	1.31 (7th)
Real Salt Lake	10–13–9	45	1.41 (4th)	49	1.53 (11th)
Houston Dynamo	11–8–13	44	1.38 (5th)	40	1.25 (4th)
Chicago Fire	13–11–8	43	1.34 (6th)	41	1.28 (5th)
Kansas City Wizards	10–14–8	43	1.34 (7th)	45	1.41 (10th)
New York Red Bulls	9–11–12	41	1.28 (8th)	41	1.28 (5th)
New England Revolution	12–8–12	39	1.22 (9th)	35	1.09 (1st)
Los Angeles Galaxy	11–15–6	37	1.16 (10th)	37	1.16 (2nd)
Colorado Rapids	11–13–8	36	1.13 (11th)	49	1.53 (11th)
Columbus Crew	8–15–9	30	0.94 (12th)	42	1.31 (7th)
Overall Totals		503	2.62

Team attendance totals[]

Club	Stadium	Games	Season	Game avg.
Chicago Fire	Toyota Park	16	225,775	14,111
CD Chivas USA	Home Depot Center	16	317,432	19,840
Colorado Rapids	INVESCO Field	16	192,894	12,056
Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium	16	212,699	13,294
New York Red Bulls	Giants Stadium	16	233,112	14,570
Kansas City Wizards	Arrowhead Stadium	16	177,322	11,083
D.C. United	Robert F. Kennedy Stadium	16	291,442	18,215
New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium	16	188,569	11,786
Los Angeles Galaxy	Home Depot Center	16	333,016	20,814
Houston Dynamo	Robertson Stadium	16	302,957	18,935
FC Dallas	Pizza Hut Park	16	239,714	14,982
Real Salt Lake	Rice-Eccles Stadium	16	261,855	16,366
MLS Totals		192	2,976,787	15,504

Coaches[]

Eastern Conference[]

• D.C. United: Piotr Nowak
• Kansas City Wizards: Bob Gansler and Brian Bliss

Western Conference[]

• Chivas USA: Bob Bradley
• FC Dallas: Colin Clarke
• Houston Dynamo: Dominic Kinnear
• Real Salt Lake: John Ellinger

External links[]

• MLS 2006 Season Stats