2006 Major League Soccer season

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2006 Major League Soccer season
Season2006
Teams12
MLS Cup Houston Dynamo (1st title)
Supporters' Shield D.C. United (3rd shield)
2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Houston Dynamo
D.C. United
Matches played192
Goals scored503 (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 Kansas City Wizards
Season: 177,322
Game avg.: 11,083
Total attendance2,976,787
Average attendance15,504
← 2005
2007 →
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Locations of teams for the 2006 Major League Soccer season
ButtonRed.svg Western Conference   ButtonBlue.svg Eastern Conference

The 2006 Major League Soccer season was the 11th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 94th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 28th with a national first-division league.

Contents

The MetroStars were bought by Austrian company Red Bull and rebranded as the New York Red Bulls.

Due to owner AEG being unable to secure a soccer specific stadium in San Jose, the Earthquakes ceased operations and had their personnel transferred to the expansion Houston Dynamo.

In June, the Chicago Fire moved into their new soccer-specific stadium, Toyota Park, in Bridgeview, Illinois.

The regular season began on April 1, and concluded on October 15. The 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 21, and concluded with MLS Cup 2006 on November 12. Houston marked their inaugural season with a league championship by defeating the New England Revolution on penalties in MLS Cup.

Overview

Season format

The season began on April 1 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 12. The 12 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, and every team in the opposite conference twice.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions' Cup, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Qualification for the inaugural SuperLiga was also awarded to the MLS Cup Champion and Supporters' Shield winner, as well two invited teams, FC Dallas and LA Galaxy.

Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top three finishers in each conference. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.

Stadiums and locations

TeamStadiumCapacity
Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000
Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000
Colorado Rapids Invesco Field at Mile High 76,125
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
FC Dallas Pizza Hut Park 21,193
Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium 32,000
Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756
New York Red Bulls Giants Stadium 80,200
Real Salt Lake Rice-Eccles Stadium 45,017

Personnel and sponsorships

TeamHead coachCaptainShirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Flag of the United States.svg Dave Sarachan Honda
Chivas USA Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bradley —
Colorado Rapids Flag of the United States.svg Fernando Clavijo —
Columbus Crew Flag of the United States.svg Sigi Schmid Flag of the United States.svg Robin Fraser —
D.C. United Flag of Poland.svg Piotr Nowak Sierra Mist
FC Dallas Ulster Banner.svg Colin Clarke RadioShack
Houston Dynamo Flag of the United States.svg Dominic Kinnear Flag of the United States.svg Wade Barrett —
Kansas City Wizards Flag of the United States.svg Brian Bliss U.S. Soccer Foundation
Los Angeles Galaxy Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Frank Yallop Budweiser
New England Revolution Flag of Scotland.svg Steve Nicol Sierra Mist
New York Red Bulls Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg Amado Guevara Red Bull
Real Salt Lake Flag of the United States.svg John Ellinger Flag of the United States.svg Jason Kreis —

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy Flag of the United States.svg Steve Sampson FiredJune 6, 2006 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Frank Yallop June 7, 2006
New York Red Bulls Flag of Scotland.svg Mo Johnston FiredJune 27, 2006 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Williams June 28, 2006
New York Red Bulls Flag of the United States.svg Richie Williams End of interim periodJuly 18, 2006 Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena July 18, 2006
Kansas City Wizards Flag of the United States.svg Bob Gansler ResignedJuly 19, 2006 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Bliss July 19, 2006

Standings

Eastern Conference

PosTeam
PldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 D.C. United 32157105238+1455 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 New England Revolution 32128123935+448
3 Chicago Fire 32131184341+247
4 New York Red Bulls 32911124141039
5 Kansas City Wizards 32101484345−238
6 Columbus Crew 3281593042−1233
Source: MLS

Western Conference

PosTeam
PldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 FC Dallas 32161244844+452 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Houston Dynamo 32118134440+446
3 Chivas USA 32109134542+343
4 Colorado Rapids 32111383649−1341
5 Los Angeles Galaxy 32111563737039
6 Real Salt Lake 32101394549−439
Source: MLS

Overall standings

PosTeam
PldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 D.C. United (S)32157105238+1455 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 FC Dallas 32161244844+452 North American SuperLiga
3 New England Revolution 32128123935+448
4 Chicago Fire 32131184341+247
5 Houston Dynamo (C)32118134440+446 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6 Chivas USA 32109134542+343
7 Colorado Rapids 32111383649−1341
8 New York Red Bulls 32911124141039
9 Los Angeles Galaxy 32111563737039 North American SuperLiga
10 Real Salt Lake 32101394549−439
11 Kansas City Wizards 32101484345−238
12 Columbus Crew 3281593042−1233
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoff Bracket

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
          
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

Conference semifinals

D.C. United 1–0 New York Red Bulls
Gómez Soccerball shade.svg77' Report
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 8,630
Referee: Michael Kennedy
New York Red Bulls 1–1 D.C. United
Altidore Soccerball shade.svg70' Report Gómez Soccerball shade.svg86'
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 21,455
Referee: Tim Weyland

D.C. United advance 2–1 on aggregate.

New England Revolution 0–1 Chicago Fire
Report Mapp Soccerball shade.svg35'
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, Illinois
Attendance: 10,217
Referee: Tim Weyland

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

FC Dallas 2–1 Colorado Rapids
Ruíz Soccerball shade.svg15'
Thompson Soccerball shade.svg55'		 Report Cooke Soccerball shade.svg23'
Martins Red card.svg 88'
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 4,176
Referee: Hilario Grajeda

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

Houston Dynamo 1–2 Chivas USA
Ching Soccerball shade.svg75' Report Razov Soccerball shade.svg45'
Palencia Soccerball shade.svg68'
Home Depot Center
Carson, California
Attendance: 15,110
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Chivas USA 0–2 Houston Dynamo
Palencia Yellow card.svg 57' Yellow-red card.svg 58' Report Davis Soccerball shade.svg64' (pen.)
Ching Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Robertson Stadium
Houston, Texas
Attendance: 17,440
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Houston Dynamo advance 3–2 on aggregate.

Conference finals

New England Revolution 1–0 D.C. United
Twellman Soccerball shade.svg4' Report
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 19,552
Referee: Kevin Stott

New England Revolution advances 1–0 in single elimination.

Colorado Rapids 1–3 Houston Dynamo
Kirovski Soccerball shade.svg4' Report Dalglish Soccerball shade.svg10', 21'
Mullan Soccerball shade.svg71'
Robertson Stadium
Houston, Texas
Attendance: 23,107
Referee: Brian Hall

Houston Dynamo advances 3–1 in single elimination.

MLS Cup

Player statistics

Goals

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 16
2 Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez D.C. United 14
Flag of the United States.svg Ante Razov Chivas USA
4 Flag of Guatemala.svg Carlos Ruiz FC Dallas 13
5 Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 12
6 Flag of Bolivia.svg Jaime Moreno D.C. United 11
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario Houston Dynamo
Flag of the United States.svg Taylor Twellman New England Revolution
Flag of the United States.svg Kenny Cooper FC Dallas
Flag of the United States.svg Brian Ching Houston Dynamo

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Flag of the United States.svg Brian Ching Houston Dynamo Colorado Rapids 5–2April 2
Flag of Haiti.svg Peguero Jean Philippe New York Red Bulls Chivas USA 5–4May 20
Flag of the United States.svg Edson Buddle New York Red Bulls Real Salt Lake 6–0August 26
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Amado Guevara New York Red Bulls Kansas City Wizards 3–2October 14

Assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Flag of the United States.svg Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9
2 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 8
Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg José Burciaga Jr. Kansas City Wizards
Flag of the United States.svg Justin Mapp Chicago Fire
Flag of the United States.svg Carey Talley Real Salt Lake
Flag of Ireland.svg Ronnie O'Brien FC Dallas
Flag of England.svg Terry Cooke Colorado Rapids
9 Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 7
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Andy Dorman New England Revolution
Flag of the United States.svg Sasha Victorine Kansas City Wizards

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets
1 Flag of the United States.svg Matt Reis New England Revolution 10
2 Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy 9
3 Flag of the United States.svg Troy Perkins D.C. United 8
4 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Cannon Colorado Rapids 7
Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton Chicago Fire
6 Flag of the United States.svg Preston Burpo Chivas USA 5
Flag of the United States.svg Jon Conway New York Red Bulls
Flag of the United States.svg Brad Guzan Chivas USA
Flag of the United States.svg Tony Meola New York Red Bulls
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
Flag of the United States.svg Bo Oshoniyi Kansas City Wizards
Flag of Argentina.svg Darío Sala FC Dallas

Awards

Individual awards

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

Best XI

GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Flag of the United States.svg Troy Perkins, D.C. United Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Boswell, D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg José Burciaga Jr., Kansas City
Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City 		Flag of the United States.svg Ricardo Clark, Houston
Flag of the United States.svg Clint Dempsey, New England
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario, Houston
Flag of Argentina.svg Christian Gómez, D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg Justin Mapp, Chicago 		Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham, Salt Lake
Flag of Bolivia.svg Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Attendance

ClubGamesTotalAverage
Los Angeles Galaxy 16333,01620,814
Chivas USA 16317,43219,840
Houston Dynamo 16302,95718,935
D.C. United 16291,44218,215
Real Salt Lake 16261,85516,366
FC Dallas 16239,71414,982
New York Red Bulls 16233,11214,570
Chicago Fire 16225,77514,111
Columbus Crew 16212,69913,294
Colorado Rapids 16192,89412,056
New England Revolution 16188,56911,786
Kansas City Wizards 16177,32211,083
Totals1922,976,78715,504
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