2015 MLS Cup Playoffs
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.
 | |
| Country | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | LA Galaxy |
| Champions | Portland Timbers (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Columbus Crew SC |
| Semi-finalists | |
| Matches played | 17 |
| Goals scored | 46 (2.71 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  (4 goals) |
← 2014 2016 → | |
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 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.
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Eastern Conference
Source: MLS
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Western Conference
Source: MLS
|
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Bracket
| Knockout Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | MLS Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Stade Saputo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Toronto FC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Impact | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Impact | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Columbus Crew (a.e.t.) | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – RFK Stadium | E2 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E5 | New England Revolution | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 2 | December 6 – Mapfre Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Providence Park | E2 | Columbus Crew | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Sporting Kansas City | 2 (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers (p) | 2 (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – CenturyLink Field | W3 | Portland Timbers | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | FC Dallas | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W5 | LA Galaxy | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 3 (2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | FC Dallas (p) | 1 | 2 | 3 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
Source: [6]
Schedule
Knockout Round
Eastern Conference
| D.C. United | 2–1 | New England Revolution |
|---|---|---|
Pontius  Rolfe |
Report | Agudelo |
| Montreal Impact | 3–0 | Toronto FC |
|---|---|---|
| Bernier Piatti Drogba |
Report |
Western Conference
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
New York Red Bulls win 2–0 on aggregate
| Montreal Impact | 2–1 | Columbus Crew SC |
|---|---|---|
| Bernier Venegas |
Report | Higuaín |
| Columbus Crew SC | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Montreal Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Kamara Finlay |
Report | Duka |
Columbus Crew wins 4–3 on aggregate
Western Conference
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Adi Chara |
Portland Timbers win 2–0 on aggregate
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | FC Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| Ivanschitz Dempsey |
Report | Castillo |
| FC Dallas | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Seattle Sounders FC |
|---|---|---|
| Akindele Zimmerman |
Report | Marshall |
| Penalties | ||
Diaz  Hollingshead Akindele Zimmerman |
4–2 |  |
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 Kamara |
Report |
Columbus Crew wins 2–1 on aggregate
Western Conference
| FC Dallas | 2–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Hollingshead Pérez |
Report | Adi Melano |
Portland Timbers win 5–3 on aggregate
MLS Cup
| Columbus Crew | 1–2 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Kamara |
Report | Valeri Wallace |
Goalscorers
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References
- "MLS announces partnership with Audi, including presenting sponsorship of MLS Cup Playoffs". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- "Armchair Analyst: Ranking the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoff teams, 1-through-12". MLSsoccer.com.
- "Audi MLS Cup Playoffs 101: Everything you need to know about the postseason". MLSsoccer.com.
- Kingston, Gary (August 25, 2015). "Whitecaps face fine balancing act in settling on Voyageurs Cup lineup". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- "Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri Scores Fastest Goal In MLS Cup History (Video)". NESN. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- "Schedule". MLSsoccer.com.