2012 MLS Cup playoffs explained

See main article: 2012 Major League Soccer season.

MLS Cup Playoffs
Year:2012
Country:United States
Canada
Num Teams:10
Defending Champions:Los Angeles Galaxy
Champions:Los Angeles Galaxy (4th title)
Runner-Up:Houston Dynamo
Semi-Finalist1:D.C. United
Semi-Finalist2:Seattle Sounders FC
Matches:15
Goals:34
Attendance:335348
Top Goal Scorer: Robbie Keane
Prevseason:2011
Nextseason:2013

The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31, and culminated on December 1, 2012 with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 over Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams,[1] and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams cannot cross-conference brackets.[2] The top five teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences of the league earned berths, with the top three clubs in each conference earning direct byes to the conference semifinals. The fourth and fifth-place finishers of both conferences played in a single-elimination play-in match.

The play-in winner played their respective conference regular season champion in the conference semifinals, which was a two-leg aggregate series, without the away goals rule enforced. For the first time in MLS Cup Playoffs history, each Conference Championship was also a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match.[2] The MLS Cup championship still remain a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record, the Los Angeles Galaxy, hosting the final at their home venue.

Los Angeles Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 in last year's championship.[3]

Both finalists directly entered the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League, with the champion earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by San Jose Earthquakes, the Supporters' Shield winner, and Sporting Kansas City, the 2012 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's three Canadian teams, which instead participate in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.[4]

Format

For 2012, the league's previous system of "wild card" qualification—which had the potential for "crossover" series in which one team could play in the other conference's bracket—was scrapped. Instead, the top five teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs and the two conference brackets are entirely separate. The First Round of each conference is a one-off match between the 4th and 5th place teams, similar to the previous wild card system, with the 4th-place team hosting. The First Round winner advances to play the conference's best regular season record in the Conference Semifinals.

Conference Semifinals and Conference Championship series are conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If the teams are tied after two games, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. The away goals rule or golden goal is not used.

In the case of ties in the First Round and MLS Cup, extra time and penalty kicks are used in the same manner as above.

Qualification

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Tiebreak rules

When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules[5] apply:

  1. Goals for
  2. Goal differential
  3. Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table (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. Home goals
  7. Home goal differential
  8. Coin toss (2 teams) or drawing of lots (3 or more teams)

Bracket

Schedule

Knockout round

----

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Houston Dynamo won 2 – 1 on aggregate----D.C. United won 2 – 1 on aggregate.Note: While D.C. United won the right to host the second leg as the higher seed, the order of the legs was reversed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.[6] The second leg was originally scheduled for November 7 but was postponed one day due to snow.[7]

Western Conference

Los Angeles Galaxy won 3 – 2 on aggregate----Seattle Sounders won 1 – 0 on aggregate

Conference finals

Houston Dynamo won 4 – 2 on aggregate----Los Angeles Galaxy won 4 – 2 on aggregate

MLS Cup

See main article: MLS Cup 2012.

Post-season statistical leaders

Note: Statistics only for post-season games.

Top scorers

RankScorerClubGoalsMinutes Played
1 Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy6540'
2 Will BruinHouston Dynamo4491'
3 Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy3540'
4 Nick DeLeonD.C. United2360'
Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy2444'
6 Alan GordonSan Jose Earthquakes142'
AlexChicago Fire145'
Darren MattocksVancouver Whitecaps FC159'
Víctor BernárdezSan Jose Earthquakes1102'
Seth SinovicSporting Kansas City1180'
Zach ScottSeattle Sounders FC1183'
Mario MartínezSeattle Sounders FC1201'
Eddie JohnsonSeattle Sounders FC1205'
Andre HainaultHouston Dynamo1215'
Calen CarrHouston Dynamo1251'
Branko BoškovićD.C. United1321'
Adam MoffatHouston Dynamo1456'
Kofi SarkodieHouston Dynamo1527'
Boniek GarciaHouston Dynamo1540'
Omar GonzalezLos Angeles Galaxy1540'

Most assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Sean FranklinLos Angeles Galaxy4
2 Brad DavisHouston Dynamo3
Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy3
4 Calen CarrHouston Dynamo2
JuninhoLos Angeles Galaxy2
5 Adam MoffatHouston Dynamo1
Boniek GarcíaHouston Dynamo1
Brad EvansSeattle Sounders FC1
Christian TiffertSeattle Sounders FC1
Christian WilhelmssonLos Angeles Galaxy1
David BeckhamLos Angeles Galaxy1
Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FC1
Graham ZusiSporting Kansas City1
Justin MorrowSan Jose Earthquakes1
Kei KamaraSporting Kansas City1
Lionard PajoyD.C. United1
Luiz CamargoHouston Dynamo1
Maicon SantosD.C. United1
Matt WatsonVancouver Whitecaps FC1
Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy1
Patrick NyarkoChicago Fire1
Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy1
Robbie RussellD.C. United1
Tommy MeyerLos Angeles Galaxy1
Will BruinHouston Dynamo1
Zach ScottSeattle Sounders FC1

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Competition Rules and Regulations . MLSsoccer.com . October 17, 2012 . September 20, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120920111700/http://pressbox.mlssoccer.com/content/competition-rules-and-regulations . dead .
  2. Web site: Big changes for MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2012 . MLSsoccer.com . November 20, 2011 . November 25, 2012.
  3. Web site: History: MLS Cup 2011. MLSsoccer.com. October 30, 2012.
  4. Web site: Champions League Qualifying 2013-14. CONCACAF. November 4, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120825000044/http://www.concacafchampions.com/page/CL/201314/0,,12856,00.html. August 25, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
  5. Web site: New tiebreakers designed to encourage attacking play. MLS Communications. MLSSoccer.com. October 1, 2012.
  6. Web site: Hurricane Sandy forces Red Bulls, D.C. United to switch home dates for playoff series. NJ.com. November 2012 .
  7. Web site: Snow postpones Red Bulls-DC United. ESPNFC.com.