2015 MLS Cup Playoffs

Last updated

2015 MLS Cup Playoffs
2015 MLS Cup Playoffs Logo.svg
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams12
Defending champions LA Galaxy
Final positions
Champions Portland Timbers (1st title)
Runner-up Columbus Crew SC
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored46 (2.71 per match)
Attendance388,289 (22,841 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Kei Kamara
(4 goals)
←  2014
2016  →

The 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs (officially the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) [1] was the 20th post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 28 with D.C. United defeating New England Revolution and culminated on December 6, 2015 with MLS Cup 2015, the twentieth league championship match for MLS.

Contents

Twelve teams [2] (top 6 per conference) competed, up from 10 the last 3 seasons. The first round of each conference had the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed, while the fourth-seed hosts the fifth, in a single match to determine who advances to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the second seed plays the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Conference Finals.

Both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals are played as two-legged aggregate series. If teams are level at the end of the second leg, the away goals rule will be used in attempt to determine a winner. If the away goals rule does not resolve the deadlock, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, but the away goals rule will not be applied after extra time. If scores are still level following extra time, a penalty shootout will be conducted.

The winners advance to the MLS Cup final, a single match hosted by the participant with the better regular season record. [3]

The winner of MLS Cup 2015, Portland Timbers qualified for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. If a Canadian team were to win the MLS Cup, the next-best team from the United States will take their place. [4]

On March 6, 2015, Audi was announced as the official sponsor of the playoffs starting in 2015. [1]

The Portland Timbers won the MLS Cup by defeating the Columbus Crew SC by a score of 2–1. The Timbers' Diego Valeri scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds after Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark, made a fundamental error after he miscontrolled his defender's back-pass; allowing Valeri to strike at the opportunity. [5]

2015 MLS Conference standings

The top 6 teams from each conference advance to the MLS Cup playoffs. Green background denotes also qualified for 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.

Bracket

Knockout Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
October 29 – Stade Saputo E3 Montreal Impact 213
E6 Toronto FC 0E2 Columbus Crew (a.e.t.)134
E2 Columbus Crew 202
E3 Montreal Impact 3
Eastern Conference
E1 New York Red Bulls 011
October 28 – RFK Stadium E4 D.C. United 000
December 6 – Mapfre Stadium
E5 New England Revolution 1E1 New York Red Bulls 112
E2 Columbus Crew 1
E4 D.C. United 2
W3 Portland Timbers 2
October 29 – Providence Park W3 Portland Timbers 022
W6 Sporting Kansas City 2 (6)W2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 000
W3 Portland Timbers 325
W3 Portland Timbers (p)2 (7)
Western Conference
W1 FC Dallas 123
October 28 – CenturyLink Field W4 Seattle Sounders FC 213 (2)
W5 LA Galaxy 2W1 FC Dallas (p)123 (4)
W4 Seattle Sounders FC 3

Source: [6]

Schedule

Knockout Round

Eastern Conference

D.C. United 2–1 New England Revolution
Pontius Soccerball shade.svg45'
Rolfe Soccerball shade.svg83'		 Report Agudelo Soccerball shade.svg15'
Attendance: 11,554
Referee: Mark Geiger
Montreal Impact 3–0 Toronto FC
Bernier Soccerball shade.svg18'
Piatti Soccerball shade.svg33'
Drogba Soccerball shade.svg39'		 Report
Attendance: 18,069

Western Conference

Seattle Sounders FC 3–2 LA Galaxy
Dempsey Soccerball shade.svg5'
Valdez Soccerball shade.svg12'
Friberg Soccerball shade.svg77'		 Report Lletget Soccerball shade.svg6'
Zardes Soccerball shade.svg22'
Attendance: 39,537
Referee: Jair Marrufo

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

D.C. United 0–1 New York Red Bulls
Report McCarty Soccerball shade.svg72'
Attendance: 19,525
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
New York Red Bulls 1–0 D.C. United
Wright-Phillips Soccerball shade.svg90+2' Report
Attendance: 25,219
Referee: Ted Unkel

New York Red Bulls win 2–0 on aggregate

Montreal Impact 2–1 Columbus Crew SC
Bernier Soccerball shade.svg37'
Venegas Soccerball shade.svg77'		 Report Higuaín Soccerball shade.svg33'
Attendance: 17,655
Referee: Chris Penso
Columbus Crew SC 3–1 (a.e.t.) Montreal Impact
Kamara Soccerball shade.svg4', 111'
Finlay Soccerball shade.svg77'		 Report Duka Soccerball shade.svg40'
Attendance: 19,026

Columbus Crew wins 4–3 on aggregate

Western Conference

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0–2 Portland Timbers
Report Adi Soccerball shade.svg31'
Chara Soccerball shade.svg90+4'
Attendance: 27,837
Referee: Ismail Elfath

Portland Timbers win 2–0 on aggregate

Seattle Sounders FC 2–1 FC Dallas
Ivanschitz Soccerball shade.svg67'
Dempsey Soccerball shade.svg86'		 Report Castillo Soccerball shade.svg18'
Attendance: 39,599
Referee: Kevin Stott

FC Dallas wins 4–2 on penalties after 3–3 draw on aggregate

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Columbus Crew SC 2–0 New York Red Bulls
Meram Soccerball shade.svg1'
Kamara Soccerball shade.svg85'		 Report
Attendance: 21,617
Referee: Allen Chapman
New York Red Bulls 1–0 Columbus Crew SC
Abang Soccerball shade.svg90+3' Report
Attendance: 25,219

Columbus Crew wins 2–1 on aggregate

Western Conference

Portland Timbers 3–1 FC Dallas
Ridgewell Soccerball shade.svg23'
Asprilla Soccerball shade.svg53'
Borchers Soccerball shade.svg90+1'		 Report Texeira Soccerball shade.svg62'
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Ted Unkel
FC Dallas 2–2 Portland Timbers
Hollingshead Soccerball shade.svg68'
Pérez Soccerball shade.svg73'		 Report Adi Soccerball shade.svg54'
Melano Soccerball shade.svg90+5'
Attendance: 20,966
Referee: Ismail Elfath

Portland Timbers win 5–3 on aggregate

MLS Cup

Columbus Crew 1–2 Portland Timbers
Kamara Soccerball shade.svg18' Report Valeri Soccerball shade.svg1'
Wallace Soccerball shade.svg7'
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 21,747
Referee: Jair Marrufo

Goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals [7]
1 Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Kei Kamara Columbus Crew SC 4
2 Flag of Nigeria.svg Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers 2
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrice Bernier Montreal Impact
Flag of the United States.svg Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Rodney Wallace Portland Timbers
6 Flag of Cameroon.svg Anatole Abang New York Red Bulls 1
Flag of the United States.svg Juan Agudelo New England Revolution
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tesho Akindele FC Dallas
Flag of Colombia.svg Dairon Asprilla Portland Timbers
Flag of the United States.svg Nat Borchers Portland Timbers
Flag of Colombia.svg Fabian Castillo FC Dallas
Flag of Colombia.svg Diego Chará Portland Timbers
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Didier Drogba Montreal Impact
Flag of the United States.svg Dilly Duka Montreal Impact
Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Ellis Sporting Kansas City
Flag of the United States.svg Ethan Finlay Columbus Crew SC
Flag of Sweden.svg Erik Friberg Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Argentina.svg Federico Higuaín Columbus Crew SC
Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hollingshead FC Dallas
Flag of Austria.svg Andreas Ivanschitz Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of the United States.svg Sebastian Lletget LA Galaxy
Flag of the United States.svg Chad Marshall Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Argentina.svg Lucas Melano Portland Timbers
Flag of the United States.svg Dax McCarty New York Red Bulls
Flag of Iraq.svg Justin Meram Columbus Crew SC
Flag of Hungary.svg Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City
Flag of Panama.svg Blas Pérez FC Dallas
Flag of Argentina.svg Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact
Flag of the United States.svg Chris Pontius D.C. United
Flag of England.svg Liam Ridgewell Portland Timbers
Flag of the United States.svg Chris Rolfe D.C. United
Flag of Uruguay.svg David Texeira FC Dallas
Flag of Argentina.svg Maximiliano Urruti Portland Timbers
Flag of Paraguay.svg Nelson Valdez Seattle Sounders FC
Flag of Argentina.svg Diego Valeri Portland Timbers
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Johan Venegas Montreal Impact
Flag of England.svg Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls
Flag of the United States.svg Gyasi Zardes LA Galaxy
Flag of the United States.svg Walker Zimmerman FC Dallas

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLS Cup</span> Annual soccer tournament

The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference Final. The MLS Cup winner is awarded the title of league champion.

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.

The 2004 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer League during the summer of 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2009 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2009 season. MLS Cup 2009 concluded the season on November 22, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. Real Salt Lake won the Cup in penalties over the L.A. Galaxy.

The 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs was the postseason tournament subsequent to Major League Soccer's 2010 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2011 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs was the sixteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 26 with the play-in round and concluded on November 20 with the championship match. It was the first playoff series to include ten clubs, two more than the traditional eight. Six of the ten teams earned a direct bye into the conference semifinals, while the four wildcard teams played a single-elimination match to earn a berth into the conference semis. These eight clubs played in a single-elimination tournament en route to playoffs championship MLS Cup 2011, which doubles as the league championship for the 2011 MLS season altogether.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2012 edition of the MLS playoffs

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, and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams cannot cross-conference brackets. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2013 edition of the MLS playoffs

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, and the second playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not cross conference brackets. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2014 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs was the nineteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began in late October and culminated on December 7, 2014 with MLS Cup 2014, the nineteenth league championship for MLS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLS Cup 2015</span> 2015 edition of the MLS Cup

MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 season. The championship was contested on December 6, 2015 between the Columbus Crew SC and the Portland Timbers at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with the latter winning 2–1 and earning a berth into the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2016 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 26, and ended on December 10 with MLS Cup 2016, the 21st league championship match for MLS. This was the 21st version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2017 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 25 and ended on December 9 with MLS Cup 2017, the 22nd league championship match for MLS. This is the 22nd version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. Twelve teams, the top six of each conference, compete in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2018 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31 and ended on December 8 with MLS Cup 2018, the 23rd league championship match for MLS. This was the 23rd version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. Twelve teams, the top six of each conference, competed in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLS Cup 2018</span> 2018 edition of the MLS Cup

MLS Cup 2018 was the 23rd edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on December 8, 2018. It was the final match of the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs and was contested by Atlanta United FC and the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2019 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs was the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2019 regular season. The playoffs began on October 19, 2019, and concluded with MLS Cup 2019 on November 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLS Cup 2020</span> 2020 edition of the MLS Cup

MLS Cup 2020 was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and was played at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The match was originally set to take place on November 7, 2020, but was postponed to December 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the adjusted MLS season schedule. The match was contested by Columbus Crew SC and Seattle Sounders FC, the defending champions from MLS Cup 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2020 edition of the MLS Cup playoffs tournament

The 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. The tournament culminated the 2020 MLS regular season. The playoffs began on November 20 and concluded with MLS Cup 2020 on December 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2021 edition of the MLS Cup playoffs tournament

The 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs was the 26th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. The tournament culminated the 2021 MLS regular season. The tournament began on November 20 and concluded with MLS Cup 2021 on December 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2022 edition of the MLS Cup playoffs tournament

The 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs was the 27th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. The tournament culminated the 2022 MLS regular season. The tournament began on October 15 and concluded with MLS Cup 2022 on November 5, 16 days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 MLS Cup Playoffs</span> 2023 edition of the MLS playoffs

The 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs is the ongoing post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the 28th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2023 regular season. The playoffs began on October 25 and are scheduled to conclude with MLS Cup 2023 on December 9.

References

  1. 1 2 "MLS announces partnership with Audi, including presenting sponsorship of MLS Cup Playoffs". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Armchair Analyst: Ranking the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoff teams, 1-through-12". MLSsoccer.com.
  3. ↑ "Audi MLS Cup Playoffs 101: Everything you need to know about the postseason". MLSsoccer.com.
  4. ↑ Kingston, Gary (August 25, 2015). "Whitecaps face fine balancing act in settling on Voyageurs Cup lineup". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri Scores Fastest Goal In MLS Cup History (Video)". NESN. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Schedule". MLSsoccer.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.