2015 MLS Cup Playoffs

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Main article: 2015 Major League Soccer season

2015 MLS Cup Playoffs
2015 MLS Cup Playoffs Logo.svg
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams12
Defending championsLA Galaxy
ChampionsPortland Timbers (1st title)
Runners-upColumbus Crew SC
Semi-finalists
  • FC Dallas
  • New York Red Bulls
Matches played17
Goals scored46 (2.71 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Sierra Leone Kei Kamara
(4 goals)
← 2014
2016 →

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.

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 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[]

The top 6 teams from each conference advance to the MLS Cup playoffs. Green background denotes also qualified for 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.

Bracket[]

                                           
Knockout Round
  • v
  • t
 Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
October 29 – Stade Saputo              
E6  Toronto FC  0
E3  Montreal Impact  2  1  3
E3  Montreal Impact  3      
E2  Columbus Crew (a.e.t.)  1  3  4  
Eastern Conference
October 28 – RFK Stadium E2  Columbus Crew  2  0  2
 
  E1  New York Red Bulls  0  1  1  
E5  New England Revolution  1
E4  D.C. United  0  0  0
E4  D.C. United  2   December 6 – Mapfre Stadium
E1  New York Red Bulls  1  1  2  
 
October 29 – Providence Park E2  Columbus Crew  1
 
  W3  Portland Timbers  2
W6  Sporting Kansas City  2 (6)
W3  Portland Timbers  0  2  2
W3  Portland Timbers (p)  2 (7)      
W2  Vancouver Whitecaps FC  0  0  0  
Western Conference
October 28 – CenturyLink Field W3  Portland Timbers  3  2  5
 
  W1  FC Dallas  1  2  3  
W5  LA Galaxy  2
W4  Seattle Sounders FC  2  1  3 (2)
W4  Seattle Sounders FC  3  
W1  FC Dallas (p)  1  2  3 (4)  

Source: [6]

Schedule[]

Knockout Round[]

Eastern Conference[]

D.C. United2–1New England Revolution
Pontius Goal 45'
Rolfe Goal 83'		 Report Agudelo Goal 15'
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 11,554
Referee: Mark Geiger
Montreal Impact3–0Toronto FC
Bernier Goal 18'
Piatti Goal 33'
Drogba Goal 39'		 Report
Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
Attendance: 18,069

Western Conference[]

Seattle Sounders FC3–2LA Galaxy
Dempsey Goal 5'
Valdez Goal 12'
Friberg Goal 77'		 Report Lletget Goal 6'
Zardes Goal 22'
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 39,537
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Portland Timbers2–2 (a.e.t.)Sporting Kansas City
Wallace Goal 57'
Urruti Goal 118'		 Report Ellis Goal 87'
Németh Goal 96'
Penalties
Valeri Penalty missed
Borchers Penalty scored
Ridgewell Penalty scored
Jewsbury Penalty missed
Urruti Penalty scored
Villafaña Penalty missed
Asprilla Penalty scored
Nagbe Penalty scored
Powell Penalty missed
Fochive Penalty scored
Kwarasey Penalty scored		 7–6 Penalty scored Feilhaber
Penalty missed Dwyer
Penalty scored Zusi
Penalty missed Besler
Penalty scored Nagamura
Penalty missed Ellis
Penalty scored Mustivar
Penalty scored Peterson
Penalty missed Abdul-Salaam
Penalty scored Dia
Penalty missed Kempin
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 21,144
Referee:

Conference Semifinals[]

Eastern Conference[]

D.C. United0–1New York Red Bulls
Report McCarty Goal 72'
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 19,525
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
New York Red Bulls1–0D.C. United
Wright-Phillips Goal 90+2' Report
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 25,219
Referee: Ted Unkel

New York Red Bulls win 2–0 on aggregate

Montreal Impact2–1Columbus Crew SC
Bernier Goal 37'
Venegas Goal 77'		 Report Higuaín Goal 33'
Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
Attendance: 17,655
Referee: Chris Penso
Columbus Crew SC3–1 (a.e.t.)Montreal Impact
Kamara Goal 4', 111'
Finlay Goal 77'		 Report Duka Goal 40'
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 19,026
Referee:

Columbus Crew wins 4–3 on aggregate

Western Conference[]

Portland Timbers0–0Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Report
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Allen Chapman
Vancouver Whitecaps FC0–2Portland Timbers
Report Adi Goal 31'
Chara Goal 90+4'
BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia
Attendance: 27,837
Referee: Ismail Elfath

Portland Timbers win 2–0 on aggregate

Seattle Sounders FC2–1FC Dallas
Ivanschitz Goal 67'
Dempsey Goal 86'		 Report Castillo Goal 18'
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 39,599
Referee: Kevin Stott
FC Dallas2–1 (a.e.t.)Seattle Sounders FC
Akindele Goal 84'
Zimmerman Goal 90+1'		 Report Marshall Goal 90'
Penalties
Diaz Penalty scored
Hollingshead Penalty scored
Akindele Penalty scored
Zimmerman Penalty scored		 4–2 Penalty scored Dempsey
Penalty missed Ivanschitz
Penalty missed Barrett
Penalty scored Rose
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Attendance: 17,287

FC Dallas wins 4–2 on penalties after 3–3 draw on aggregate

Conference Finals[]

Eastern Conference[]

Columbus Crew SC2–0New York Red Bulls
Meram Goal 1'
Kamara Goal 85'		 Report
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 21,617
Referee: Allen Chapman
New York Red Bulls1–0Columbus Crew SC
Abang Goal 90+3' Report
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 25,219

Columbus Crew wins 2–1 on aggregate

Western Conference[]

Portland Timbers3–1FC Dallas
Ridgewell Goal 23'
Asprilla Goal 53'
Borchers Goal 90+1'		 Report Texeira Goal 62'
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Ted Unkel
FC Dallas2–2Portland Timbers
Hollingshead Goal 68'
Pérez Goal 73'		 Report Adi Goal 54'
Melano Goal 90+5'
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Attendance: 20,966
Referee: Ismail Elfath

Portland Timbers win 5–3 on aggregate

MLS Cup[]

Main article: MLS Cup 2015
Columbus Crew1–2Portland Timbers
Kamara Goal 18' Report Valeri Goal 1'
Wallace Goal 7'
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 21,747
Referee: Jair Marrufo

Goalscorers[]

Rank Player Club Goals [7]
1 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew SC 4
2 Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers 2
Canada Patrice Bernier Montreal Impact
United States Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC
Costa Rica Rodney Wallace Portland Timbers
6 Cameroon Anatole Abang New York Red Bulls 1
United States Juan Agudelo New England Revolution
Canada Tesho Akindele FC Dallas
Colombia Dairon Asprilla Portland Timbers
United States Nat Borchers Portland Timbers
Colombia Fabian Castillo FC Dallas
Colombia Diego Chará Portland Timbers
Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact
United States Dilly Duka Montreal Impact
United States Kevin Ellis Sporting Kansas City
United States Ethan Finlay Columbus Crew SC
Sweden Erik Friberg Seattle Sounders FC
Argentina Federico Higuaín Columbus Crew SC
United States Ryan Hollingshead FC Dallas
Austria Andreas Ivanschitz Seattle Sounders FC
United States Sebastian Lletget LA Galaxy
United States Chad Marshall Seattle Sounders FC
Argentina Lucas Melano Portland Timbers
United States Dax McCarty New York Red Bulls
Iraq Justin Meram Columbus Crew SC
Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City
Panama Blas Pérez FC Dallas
Argentina Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact
United States Chris Pontius D.C. United
England Liam Ridgewell Portland Timbers
United States Chris Rolfe D.C. United
Uruguay David Texeira FC Dallas
Argentina Maximiliano Urruti Portland Timbers
Paraguay Nelson Valdez Seattle Sounders FC
Argentina Diego Valeri Portland Timbers
Costa Rica Johan Venegas Montreal Impact
England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls
United States Gyasi Zardes LA Galaxy
United States Walker Zimmerman FC Dallas

References[]

  1. ^ a b "MLS announces partnership with Audi, including presenting sponsorship of MLS Cup Playoffs". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  2. ^ "Armchair Analyst: Ranking the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoff teams, 1-through-12". MLSsoccer.com.
  3. ^ "Audi MLS Cup Playoffs 101: Everything you need to know about the postseason". MLSsoccer.com.
  4. ^ Kingston, Gary (August 25, 2015). "Whitecaps face fine balancing act in settling on Voyageurs Cup lineup". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri Scores Fastest Goal In MLS Cup History (Video)". NESN. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  6. ^ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  7. ^ "Schedule". MLSsoccer.com.
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