2009 Major League Soccer season

Last updated

Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer MLS wordmark 2007.svg
Season2009
MLS Cup Real Salt Lake (1st title)
Supporters' Shield Columbus Crew (3rd shield)
Champions League Columbus Crew
Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy
Seattle Sounders FC
SuperLiga Houston Dynamo
Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
New England Revolution
Matches played226
Goals scored571 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorer Jeff Cunningham
FC Dallas
Goals: 17
Biggest home win RSL 6–0 NE
(April 25) [1]
DAL 6–0 KC
(August 1)
Biggest away win CHI 0–3 DAL
(May 31)
SJ 0–3 CLB
(August 8)
Highest scoring LA 3–6 DAL
(September 12) [2]
Longest winning run5 wins:
Houston Dynamo
(May 23 – Jun 13)
Columbus Crew
(Jul 18 – Aug 15)
Longest unbeaten run11 matches:
Chicago Fire
(Mar 21 – May 28)
Houston Dynamo
(Apr 11 – Jun 20)
Longest winless run13 matches:
New York Red Bulls
(May 16 – Aug 15)
Longest losing run6 losses:
New York Red Bulls
(Jun 24 – Aug 15)
Highest attendance CLB @ SJ: 61,572
Lowest attendance SJ @ DAL: 5,724
Total attendance3,562,847
Average attendance16,037
2008
2010

The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league.

Contents

The Seattle Sounders FC debuted as the league's 15th club and were the second team in history to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. The club set a league record for attendance and averaged 30,943 per regular season match at Qwest Field. [3]

After three seasons, the MLS Reserve League was discontinued. As a result, each team's Developmental Roster spots were reduced from 10 to four, and each team's Senior Roster spots were increased from 18 to 20. This had the effect of reducing each team's total roster from 28 to 24 players.

The regular season began on March 19, and concluded on October 25. The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 29, and concluded with MLS Cup 2009 on November 22. Real Salt Lake won their first MLS Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in a penalty shootout.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 19 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 22. The 15 teams were split into two conferences with 7 playing in the Eastern Conference and 8 playing in the Western Conference. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 28 games. The remaining two games were played against four regional rivals, one at home and one away.

The top two teams from each conference automatically qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In addition, the four highest remaining point totals, regardless of conference, also qualified. 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 League. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions League, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Also, Toronto FC, as a Canadian-based team, could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS, and had to instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.

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

Qualification for the SuperLiga was awarded to the top four overall finishers not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Stadiums and locations

TeamStadiumCapacity
Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000
Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000
Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061
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 CommunityAmerica Ballpark 10,385
LA Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756
New York Red Bulls Giants Stadium 80,200
Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213
San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525
Seattle Sounders FC Qwest Field 68,740
Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566

Personnel and sponsorships

TeamHead coachCaptainShirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Flag of Costa Rica.svg Denis Hamlett Flag of the United States.svg C. J. Brown Best Buy
Chivas USA Flag of the United States.svg Preki Flag of Mexico.svg Claudio Suárez Comex
Colorado Rapids Flag of England.svg Gary Smith Flag of the United States.svg Pablo Mastroeni
Columbus Crew Flag of Poland.svg Robert Warzycha Flag of the United States.svg Frankie Hejduk Glidden
D.C. United Flag of the United States.svg Tom Soehn Flag of Bolivia.svg Jaime Moreno Volkswagen
FC Dallas Flag of the United States.svg Schellas Hyndman Flag of Argentina.svg Pablo Ricchetti
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 Peter Vermes Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Conrad
LA Galaxy Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan Herbalife
New England Revolution Flag of Scotland.svg Steve Nicol Flag of the United States.svg Steve Ralston
New York Red Bulls Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Carlos Osorio Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Pablo Ángel Red Bull
Real Salt Lake Flag of the United States.svg Jason Kreis Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Beckerman XanGo
San Jose Earthquakes Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Frank Yallop Flag of the United States.svg Ramiro Corrales Amway Global
Seattle Sounders FC Flag of the United States.svg Sigi Schmid Flag of the United States.svg Kasey Keller Xbox
Toronto FC Flag of England.svg John Carver Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jim Brennan

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Kansas City Wizards Flag of the United States.svg Curt Onalfo FiredAugust 3, 2009 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Vermes August 4, 2009

Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Chicago Fire – CHI • Chivas USA – CHV • Colorado Rapids – COL • Columbus Crew – CLB • D.C. United – DC
FC Dallas – DAL • Houston Dynamo – HOU • Kansas City Wizards – KC • Los Angeles Galaxy – LA • New England Revolution – NE
New York Red Bulls – NY • Real Salt Lake – RSL • San Jose Earthquakes – SJ • Seattle Sounders FC – SEA • Toronto FC – TOR
Win Loss Tie Home
ClubMatch
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Chicago Fire DAL DCNYSJKCCLBSEANETORNYCHV DAL HOUDCCOLCLBSJSEARSLHOUKCLACOLDCRSLCLBTORLANECHV
3-11-10-13-32-22-21-11-12-01-03-23-01-01-22-10-00-20-00-12-32-02-02-31-01-12-22-20-10-00-1
Chivas USA COLDALCLB LA SEATORDALSJRSLDCKCCHISEAHOUCLB LA NECOLNYTORRSL LA NESEANYDCKCSJCHIHOU
1-22-01-20-00-20-10-21-00-12-21-13-20-10-11-21-00-20-42-00-20-40-10-20-01-12-00-22-20-13-2
Colorado Rapids CHVKCLACLBHOULA RSL NESEANY RSL DCDALSEACHIDALDCNYCLBCHVCHIHOUTORTORSJSJKCNEDAL RSL
1-21-23-21-10-11-10-21-12-23-21-10-31-10-32-10-11-30-41-00-42-30-10-12-31-11-10-01-11-20-3
Columbus Crew HOU TOR RSLCHVCOLCHI TOR KCLASJSEAKCCHVDALNYDCCHIRSL TOR COLSJDALNYHOUCHILASEANEDCNE
1-11-11-41-21-12-21-12-31-11-21-12-01-21-20-11-10-01-32-31-03-00-20-11-22-20-21-01-00-11-0
D.C. United LACHIHOURSLNE NY DALKCTORCHVRSLNE NY CHISEACOLCLBCOLSJHOUTORLACHIDALKCSEASJCHVCLBKC
2-21-10-11-21-13-21-21-13-32-20-01-20-21-23-30-31-11-32-23-40-20-01-02-20-12-12-12-00-12-2
FC Dallas CHI CHVNETORTORCHVDC HOU SEALA CHI SJ HOU CLBCOLNYCOLRSLKC HOU CLBNYDCLAKCRSLNESJCOLSEA
3-12-01-21-12-30-21-20-11-11-13-02-23-11-21-11-20-12-40-60-10-22-32-26-32-30-30-12-11-21-2
Houston Dynamo CLBSJDCNYCOLNE DAL NYSJTORCHICHV DAL RSLLAKCSEATORNEDC DAL CHIRSLSEACOLCLBRSLKCLACHV
1-12-30-10-00-12-00-11-11-30-31-00-13-11-10-11-01-21-11-03-41-02-30-01-10-11-22-31-10-03-2
Kansas City Wizards TORCOLSJSEACHINYTORDCCLBRSLCHVLACLBNEHOUNELADALCHISJRSLNEDCNYDALCOLHOUCHVSEADC
3-21-20-21-02-20-10-11-12-32-01-11-12-01-31-00-01-10-62-00-11-04-20-11-02-30-01-10-23-22-2
Los Angeles Galaxy DCCOL CHV SJ COLNYRSLSEACLBDALKCTORRSL SJ HOUNE CHV NYKCNESEACHIDC CHV DALTORCLBCHIHOU SJ
2-23-20-01-11-10-12-21-11-11-11-12-12-01-20-10-11-03-11-12-12-02-00-00-16-30-20-20-10-00-2
New England Revolution SJNYDALDCRSLHOUCHICOLTORDCNYKCLAKCCHVHOUTORLASEARSLSJKCCHVNYSEADALCOLCLBCHICLB
1-01-11-21-10-62-01-11-11-31-20-41-30-10-00-21-01-12-11-01-31-24-20-21-11-20-11-11-00-01-0
New York Red Bulls SEANECHIHOURSLKC DC LASJHOUCHICOL DC NETORSEATORCLBDALLACOLCHVDALCLBKCNECHVSJRSLTOR
0-31-10-10-00-20-13-20-11-41-11-03-20-20-41-31-10-20-11-23-10-42-02-30-11-01-11-10-10-20-5
Real Salt Lake SEACLBDCNYNE COL LACHVKCDCSJ COL LAHOUTORSJCLBDALCHISEAHOUNECHVKCCHIHOUDALNYTOR COL
0-21-41-20-20-60-22-20-12-00-01-21-12-01-10-31-11-32-40-10-10-01-30-41-01-12-30-30-20-10-3
San Jose Earthquakes NEHOUKCCHI LA SEA CHVNYHOUCLBRSLDAL SEA LA RSLTORCHIDC SEA CLBKCNECOLCOLDCNYDALTORCHV LA
1-02-30-23-31-10-21-01-41-31-21-22-21-21-21-13-10-22-20-43-00-11-21-11-12-10-12-11-12-20-2
Seattle Sounders FC NYRSLTORKCCHV SJ CHILADALCOLCLBCHV SJ DCNYCOLHOUCHI SJ RSLLANEHOUTORDCCHVNECLBKCDAL
0-30-22-01-00-20-21-11-11-12-21-10-11-23-31-10-31-20-00-40-12-01-01-10-02-10-01-21-03-21-2
Toronto FC KC CLB SEADALDALCHVKC CLB DCCHINEHOULANYNYRSLSJHOU CLB NEDCCHVSEACOLCOLLACHISJRSLNY
3-21-12-01-12-30-10-11-13-32-01-30-32-11-20-20-33-11-12-31-10-20-20-00-12-30-22-21-10-10-5

Standings

Eastern Conference

PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Columbus Crew 30137104131+1049 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Chicago Fire 30117123934+545
3 New England Revolution 30111093337442
4 D.C. United 3098134344140
5 Toronto FC 30101193746939
6 Kansas City Wizards 3081393342933
7 New York Red Bulls 30519627472021
Source: MLS

Western Conference

PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 LA Galaxy 30126123631+548 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Houston Dynamo 3013893929+1048
3 Seattle Sounders FC 30127113829+947
4 Chivas USA 30131163431+345
5 Real Salt Lake 30111274335+840
6 Colorado Rapids 301010104238+440
7 FC Dallas 30111365047+339
8 San Jose Earthquakes 30714936501430
Source: MLS

Overall standings

PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Columbus Crew (S)30137104131+1049 CONCACAF Champions League
2 LA Galaxy 30126123631+548
3 Houston Dynamo 3013893929+1048 North American SuperLiga
4 Seattle Sounders FC 30127113829+947 CONCACAF Champions League
5 Chicago Fire 30117123934+545 North American SuperLiga
6 Chivas USA 30131163431+345
7 New England Revolution 30111093337442
8 Real Salt Lake (C)30111274335+840 CONCACAF Champions League
9 Colorado Rapids 301010104238+440
10 D.C. United 3098134344140
11 FC Dallas 30111365047+339
12 Toronto FC 30101193746939 CONCACAF Champions League
13 Kansas City Wizards 3081393342933
14 San Jose Earthquakes 30714936501430
15 New York Red Bulls 30519627472021
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 Playoffs

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
          
E1 Columbus 0 2
E4 Salt Lake 13
E4 Salt Lake (AET) (PEN) (0)5
Eastern Conference
E2 Chicago (0)4
E3 New England 2 0
E2 Chicago 12
E4 Salt Lake (AET) (PEN) (1)5
W1 Los Angeles (1)4
W1 Los Angeles 21
W4 Chivas USA 2 0
W1 Los Angeles (AET) 2
Western Conference
W2 Houston 0
W3 Seattle 0 0
W2 Houston (AET) 01

Player statistics

Goals

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 17
2 Flag of the United States.svg Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 16
3 Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 12
Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Flag of the United States.svg Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake
Flag of Colombia.svg Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls
8 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario Toronto FC 11
Flag of Jamaica.svg Ryan Johnson San Jose Earthquakes
Flag of the United States.svg Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards

Assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Flag of Jamaica.svg Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 11
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dave van den Bergh FC Dallas 10
3 Flag of the United States.svg Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9
4 Flag of Mexico.svg Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire 8
5 Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 6
Flag of the United States.svg Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Grenada.svg Shalrie Joseph New England Revolution
Flag of Argentina.svg Claudio López Kansas City Wizards
Flag of Argentina.svg Javier Morales Real Salt Lake
1010 players5

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets
1 Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton Chivas USA 12
2 Flag of the United States.svg Jon Busch Chicago Fire 10
Flag of the United States.svg Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
5 Flag of Jamaica.svg Donovan Ricketts LA Galaxy 9
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
7 Flag of the United States.svg Matt Reis New England Revolution 8
8 Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman Kansas City Wizards 7
Flag of the United States.svg Will Hesmer Columbus Crew
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Pickens Colorado Rapids

Awards

Individual awards

AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable Player Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Defender of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Chad Marshall Columbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton Chivas USA
Coach of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena LA Galaxy
Rookie of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Omar Gonzalez LA Galaxy
Newcomer of the Year Flag of Colombia.svg Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
Comeback Player of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton Chivas USA
Golden Boot Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas
Goal of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Save of the Year Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
Fair Play Award Flag of the United States.svg Steve Ralston New England Revolution
Humanitarian of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Conrad
Flag of the United States.svg Logan Pause
Kansas City Wizards
Chicago Fire

Best XI

GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Flag of the United States.svg Zach Thornton, Chivas USA Flag of the United States.svg Geoff Cameron, Houston
Flag of Colombia.svg Wilman Conde, Chicago
Flag of the United States.svg Chad Marshall, Columbus
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto
Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
Flag of the United States.svg Stuart Holden, Houston
Flag of Grenada.svg Shalrie Joseph, New England
Flag of Sweden.svg Freddie Ljungberg, Seattle
Flag of the United States.svg Conor Casey, Colorado
Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham, Dallas

Weekly awards

Save of the week was first introduced during week 10 of the 2009 season. [4]

Monthly awards

Player of the Month
WeekPlayerClub
March Flag of Colombia.svg Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
April Flag of the United States.svg Brian McBride Chicago Fire
May Flag of the United States.svg Conor Casey Colorado Rapids
June Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew
July Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
August Flag of the United States.svg Chad Marshall Columbus Crew
September Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas
October Flag of Sweden.svg Freddie Ljungberg Seattle Sounders FC

Attendance

ClubGamesSeasonGame Avg.
Seattle Sounders FC 15499,26230,897
Los Angeles Galaxy 15333,23920,827
Toronto FC 15305,16720,344
Real Salt Lake 15303,13817,831
Houston Dynamo 15264,36817,624
Chivas USA 15251,61115,725
D.C. United 15202,60515,585
Chicago Fire 15247,90815,487
Columbus Crew 15226,80814,175
Colorado Rapids 15195,28213,018
New York Red Bulls 15165,67212,744
New England Revolution 15173,98512,427
San Jose Earthquakes 15134,28310,329
Kansas City Wizards 15150,80210,053
FC Dallas 15108,7179,883
Totals2253,562,84716,120

See also

References

  1. Coon, John (April 25, 2009). "RSL's record-setting rout dooms Revs". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  2. King, Jeffrey J. (September 13, 2009). "Dallas earns crucial win over Galaxy". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 17, 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. Romero, José Miguel (January 27, 2010). "Keeping Sounders FC together is key to long-range success". The Seattle Times . Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  4. "Save of the Week". MLSNet.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.