2008 MLS Cup playoffs

2008 MLS Cup Playoffs
Tournament details
Country	United States
Teams	8
Defending champions	Houston Dynamo
Final positions
Champions	Columbus Crew (1st title)
Runner-up	New York Red Bulls
Semifinalists	Chicago Fire ; Real Salt Lake ;
Tournament statistics
Matches played	11
Goals scored	25 (2.27 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Juan Pablo Ángel ; Chad Marshall ; John Wolyniec ; (2 goals each)
	← 2007 2009 →

Last updated August 09, 2024

The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs were the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2008 season, and culminated with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23, 2008 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Format

At the 2008 season's end, the top three teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.

Standings

Conference standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46
3	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
5	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39
6	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37
7	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35

Source: MLS

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
3	Real Salt Lake	30	10	10	10	40	39	+1	40
4	Colorado Rapids	30	11	14	5	44	45	−1	38
5	FC Dallas	30	8	10	12	45	41	+4	36
6	LA Galaxy	30	8	13	9	55	62	−7	33
7	San Jose Earthquakes	30	8	13	9	32	38	−6	33

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (C, S)	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51	CONCACAF Champions League
3	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46	North American SuperLiga
4	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
5	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
6	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
7	Real Salt Lake	30	10	10	10	40	39	+1	40
8	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39	CONCACAF Champions League
9	Colorado Rapids	30	11	14	5	44	45	−1	38
10	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37	CONCACAF Champions League
11	FC Dallas	30	8	10	12	45	41	+4	36
12	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35	CONCACAF Champions League ^{[lower-alpha 1]}
13	LA Galaxy	30	8	13	9	55	62	−7	33
14	San Jose Earthquakes	30	8	13	9	32	38	−6	33

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
Notes:

↑ As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

Bracket

Conference semifinals				Conference finals			MLS Cup

E1	Columbus	1	2

E4	Kansas City	1	0
				E1	Columbus	2
Eastern Conference
				E2	Chicago	1
E3	New England	0	0

E2	Chicago	0	3
							E1	Columbus	3

							W4	New York	1
W1	Houston	1	0

W4	New York	1	3
				W4	New York	1
Western Conference
				W3	Salt Lake	0
W3	Salt Lake	1	2

W2	Chivas USA	0	2

¹ The New York Red Bulls earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs.

Conference semifinals

November 1, 2008
7:00 PM CDT

Columbus Crew	1 – 1	Kansas City Wizards
Padula 84' Lenhart 90+2' Carroll 90+3'		Jewsbury 40' Arnaud 53' Gomez 75'

Community America Ballpark, Kansas City, Kansas

Attendance: 10,385

Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

November 8, 2008
7:30 PM EST

Kansas City Wizards	0 – 2	Columbus Crew
Arnaud 39' Wahl 49'		Evans 7' 63' Rogers 57' 66' Hejduk 87' Ekpo 90'

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 11,153

Referee: Ricardo Salazar

October 30, 2008
7:30 PM EDT

Chicago Fire	0 – 0	New England Revolution
Soumare 16' Pause 59' Blanco 69'		Mansally 42' Castro 73'

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 5,221

Referee: Alex Prus

November 6, 2008
7:30 PM CST

New England Revolution	0 – 3	Chicago Fire
Albright 7' 83' Igwe 45+2' Joseph 53'		Thorrington 36' Rolfe 45+2' Conde 47' Busch 62' Segares 74'

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois

Attendance: 17,312

Referee: Jair Marrufo

November 1, 2008
4:00 PM EDT

Houston Dynamo	1 – 1	New York Red Bulls
Mullan 53' Kamara 85'		Richards 29' Angel 37'48'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 11,578

Referee: Kevin Stott

November 9, 2008
2:00 PM CST

New York Red Bulls	3 – 0	Houston Dynamo
van den Bergh 5' Richards 25' Goldthwaite 28' Angel 36' (pen.) Sassano 45+2' Wolyniec 81'		Robinson 62' Onstad 69' Mullan 73'

Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas

Attendance: 30,053

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

November 1, 2008
4:00 PM MDT

Chivas USA	0 – 1	Real Salt Lake
Razov 66' Thomas 75'		Williams 29' Beckerman 42' Movsisyan 90'

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah

Attendance: 14,719

Referee: Ricardo Salazar

November 8, 2008
7:30 PM PST

Real Salt Lake	2 – 2	Chivas USA
Mathis 10' Borchers 30' Kovalenko 39' 42' Morales 77'		Nagamura 22' Kljestan 30' (pen.) Bornstein 60' Braun 83' Razov 86' Thomas 90+1'

Home Depot Center, Carson, California

Attendance: 19,256

Referee: Michael Kennedy

Conference finals

November 13, 2008
7:30PM EST

Chicago Fire	1–2	Columbus Crew
Soumare 22' McBride 29' Segares 48' Prideaux 67'		Marshall 49' Gaven 55' O'Rourke 57' Hesmer 90+2'

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 14,688

Referee: Terry Vaughn

November 15, 2008
7:30PM MST

New York Red Bulls	1–0	Real Salt Lake
van den Bergh 28' Goldthwaite 45' Rojas 64' Leitch 90+4'

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah

Attendance: 20,008

Referee: Jair Marrufo

MLS Cup

November 23, 2008
12:30 PM PST

New York Red Bulls	1–3	Columbus Crew
Leitch 4' Wolyniec 51'		Moreno 31' Marshall 53' Padula 68' Hejduk 82'

Home Depot Center, Carson, California

Attendance: 27,000

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

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[table_note_res_CAN0.63291120744912-1] As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

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