2013 MLS Cup Playoffs

Last updated

2013 MLS Cup Playoffs
2013 MLS Cup Playoffs Logo.jpg
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams10
Defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy
Final positions
Champions Sporting Kansas City (2nd title)
Runner-up Real Salt Lake
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Matches played15
Goals scored42 (2.8 per match)
Attendance328,402 (21,893 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Flag of France.svg Aurélien Collin
(3 goals)
  2012
2014  

The 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs was the eighteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began in late October and culminated on December 7, 2013, with MLS Cup 2013, the eighteenth league championship for MLS. This was the third year that the playoffs included ten teams, [1] and the second playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not 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 competed in a single-elimination play-in match.

Contents

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 second year in a row, each Conference Championship will also be a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match. [2] The Conference winners meet in the MLS Cup, a single match hosted by the finalist with the better regular season record. [1]

Los Angeles Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 3–1 in the 2012 MLS Cup.

In a break from previous years, only Sporting Kansas City, the MLS Cup winner, directly entered the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by the New York Red Bulls, the Supporters' Shield winner; the Portland Timbers, the conference winner from the conference opposite the Supporters' Shield winner; and D.C. United, the 2013 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's three Canadian teams, which instead participated in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. The change from the MLS Cup runner-up gaining entry to the CONCACAF Champions League to the opposite conference winner gaining entry was new for 2013. The change was announced after the MLS Cup had been played, with the announcement stating that the teams knew in advance. [3]

Format

For 2013, the league kept the format the same as the 2012 edition. In 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 current system has the top five teams in each conference 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 top seed in the Conference Semifinals. [1] [4]

Conference Semifinals and Conference Championship series are conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, with the higher seed 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. [4]

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. [1]

Qualification

Eastern Conference

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1 New York Red Bulls (SS, E1)3417985841+1759 2013 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Sporting Kansas City 34171074730+1758
3 New England Revolution 34141194938+1151
4 Houston Dynamo 34141194141051 2013 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Montreal Impact 34141375049+149
6 Chicago Fire 34141374752549
7 Philadelphia Union 341212104244246
8 Columbus Crew 34121754246441
9 Toronto FC 346171130471729
10 D.C. United 34324722593716
Updated to match(es) played on October 27, 2013 6:55 p.m. EDT. Source: MLS

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion

Western Conference

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPts
1 Portland Timbers (W1)34145155433+2157 2013 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Real Salt Lake 34161085741+1656
3 LA Galaxy 34151185338+1553
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34151274242052 2013 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Colorado Rapids 34141194538+751
6 San Jose Earthquakes 34141193542751
7 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34131295345+848
8 FC Dallas 341112114852444
9 Chivas USA 34620830673726
Updated to match(es) played on October 27, 2013 8:00 p.m. PDT. Source: MLS

(W1) = Western Conference champion

Tiebreak rules

When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules [1] [5] apply:

  1. Most wins
  2. Goals for
  3. Goal differential
  4. Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table Archived August 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (foul: 1 pt, first yellow: 3 pts, second yellow: 5 pts, straight red: 6 pts, disciplinary commission suspension: 6 pts, etc.)
  5. Road goals
  6. Road goal differential
  7. Home goals
  8. Home goal differential
  9. Coin toss (two teams) or drawing of lots (three or more teams)

Bracket

Knockout Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
E1 New York 2 1 3
E4 Houston 3 E4 Houston (a.e.t.)2 2 4
E5 Montreal 0 Eastern Conference E4 Houston 0 1 1
E2 Kansas City 0 2 2
E2 Kansas City (a.e.t.)1 3 4
E3 New England 2 1 3
E2 Kansas City (p)1 (7)
W2 Salt Lake 1 (6)
W1 Portland 2 3 5
W4 Seattle 2 W4 Seattle 1 2 3
W5 Colorado 0 Western Conference W1 Portland 2 0 2
W2 Salt Lake 4 1 5
W2 Salt Lake (a.e.t.)0 2 2
W3 Los Angeles 1 0 1


Schedule

Knockout round

Eastern Conference

Houston Dynamo 3–0 Montreal Impact
Bruin Soccerball shade.svg16', 72'
García Soccerball shade.svg27' (pen.)
Report
Attendance: 10,476
Referee: Mark Geiger

Western Conference

Seattle Sounders FC 2–0 Colorado Rapids
Evans Soccerball shade.svg28'
Johnson Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Report
Attendance: 32,204
Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference


New England Revolution 2–1 Sporting Kansas City
Dorman Soccerball shade.svg55'
Rowe Soccerball shade.svg67'
Report Collin Soccerball shade.svg69'
Attendance: 15,164
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Sporting Kansas City 3–1 (a.e.t.) New England Revolution
Collin Soccerball shade.svg41'
Sinovic Soccerball shade.svg79'
Bieler Soccerball shade.svg113'
Report Imbongo Soccerball shade.svg70'
Attendance: 19,031
Referee: Mark Geiger

Sporting Kansas City won 4–3 on aggregate


Houston Dynamo 2–2 New York Red Bulls
Clark Soccerball shade.svg51'
Cummings Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Report Cahill Soccerball shade.svg22'
Alexander Soccerball shade.svg32'
Attendance: 20,626
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
New York Red Bulls 1–2 (a.e.t.) Houston Dynamo
Wright-Phillips Soccerball shade.svg23' Report Davis Soccerball shade.svg36'
Cummings Soccerball shade.svg104'
Attendance: 22,264
Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Houston Dynamo won 4–3 on aggregate


Western Conference


Seattle Sounders FC 1–2 Portland Timbers
Alonso Soccerball shade.svg90' Report Johnson Soccerball shade.svg15'
Nagbe Soccerball shade.svg67'
Attendance: 38,507
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Portland Timbers 3–2 Seattle Sounders FC
Johnson Soccerball shade.svg29' (pen.)
Valeri Soccerball shade.svg44'
Danso Soccerball shade.svg47'
Report Yedlin Soccerball shade.svg74'
Johnson Soccerball shade.svg76'
Attendance: 20,674
Referee: Hilario Grajeda

Portland Timbers won 5–3 on aggregate


Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0 Real Salt Lake
Franklin Soccerball shade.svg48' Report
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Kevin Stott
Real Salt Lake 2–0 (a.e.t.) Los Angeles Galaxy
Velásquez Soccerball shade.svg35'
Schuler Soccerball shade.svg102'
Report
Attendance: 19,042
Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Real Salt Lake won 2–1 on aggregate


Conference finals

Houston Dynamo 0–0 Sporting Kansas City
Report
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 22,107
Referee: Kevin Stott
Sporting Kansas City 2–1 Houston Dynamo
Sapong Soccerball shade.svg14'
Dwyer Soccerball shade.svg63'
Report Garcia Soccerball shade.svg3'
Sporting Park, Kansas City
Attendance: 21,650
Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Sporting Kansas City won 2–1 on aggregate


Real Salt Lake 4–2 Portland Timbers
Schuler Soccerball shade.svg35'
Findley Soccerball shade.svg41'
Sandoval Soccerball shade.svg48'
Morales Soccerball shade.svg82'
Report Johnson Soccerball shade.svg14'
Piquionne Soccerball shade.svg90+4'
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy
Attendance: 17,333
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Portland Timbers 0–1 Real Salt Lake
Report Findley Soccerball shade.svg29'
Jeld-Wen Field, Portland
Attendance: 20,674
Referee: Mark Geiger

Real Salt Lake won 5–2 on aggregate

MLS Cup

Result

See also

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References

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  2. 1 2 "Big changes for MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2012". MLSsoccer.com. November 20, 2011. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  3. "Portland Timbers headed to 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League after USSF rule change approved". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "2012 MLS Cup Playoffs". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  5. "New tiebreakers designed to encourage attacking play". MLS Communications. MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved October 1, 2012.