2013 MLS Cup 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,[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.

Main article: 2013 Major League Soccer season

2013 MLS Cup Playoffs
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams10
Defending championsLos Angeles Galaxy
ChampionsSporting Kansas City (2nd title)
Runners-upReal Salt Lake
Semi-finalists
Matches played15
Goals scored42 (2.8 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Aurélien Collin
(3 goals)
← 2012
2014 →

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 MLS Cup championship will once again remain a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record will host the final at their home venue.[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. The lower-seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game, and the higher seed hosts the second. 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

Pos Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 New York Red Bulls (SS, E1) 34 17 9 8 58 41 +17 59 2013 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Sporting Kansas City 34 17 10 7 47 30 +17 58
3 New England Revolution 34 14 11 9 49 38 +11 51
4 Houston Dynamo 34 14 11 9 41 41 0 51 2013 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Montreal Impact 34 14 13 7 50 49 +1 49
6 Chicago Fire 34 14 13 7 47 52 −5 49
7 Philadelphia Union 34 12 12 10 42 44 −2 46
8 Columbus Crew 34 12 17 5 42 46 −4 41
9 Toronto FC 34 6 17 11 30 47 −17 29
10 D.C. United 34 3 24 7 22 59 −37 16
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

Pos Team Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts
1 Portland Timbers (W1) 34 14 5 15 54 33 +21 57 2013 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Real Salt Lake 34 16 10 8 57 41 +16 56
3 LA Galaxy 34 15 11 8 53 38 +15 53
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 12 7 42 42 0 52 2013 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Colorado Rapids 34 14 11 9 45 38 +7 51
6 San Jose Earthquakes 34 14 11 9 35 42 −7 51
7 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 13 12 9 53 45 +8 48
8 FC Dallas 34 11 12 11 48 52 −4 44
9 Chivas USA 34 6 20 8 30 67 −37 26
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 (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
East Knockout
   
E4 Houston 3
E5 Montreal 0
West Knockout
   
W4 Seattle 2
W5 Colorado 0
  Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup 2013
                                     
E1 New York 2 1 3  
E4 Houston (a.e.t.) 2 2 4  
  E4 Houston 0 1 1  
Eastern Conference
  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 1 2 3  
  W1 Portland 2 0 2
Western Conference
  W2 Salt Lake 4 1 5  
W2 Salt Lake (a.e.t.) 0 2 2
W3 Los Angeles 1 0 1  

Schedule

Eastern Conference
Houston Dynamo3–0Montreal Impact
Bruin  16', 72'
García  27' (pen.)		 Report
Attendance: 10,476
Referee: Mark Geiger

Western Conference
Seattle Sounders FC2–0Colorado Rapids
Evans  28'
Johnson  90+3'		 Report
Attendance: 32,204

Eastern Conference
New England Revolution2–1Sporting Kansas City
Dorman  55'
Rowe  67'		 Report Collin  69'
Attendance: 15,164
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Sporting Kansas City3–1 (a.e.t.)New England Revolution
Collin  41'
Sinovic  79'
Bieler  113'		 Report Imbongo  70'
Attendance: 19,031
Referee: Mark Geiger

Sporting Kansas City won 4–3 on aggregate

Houston Dynamo2–2New York Red Bulls
Clark  51'
Cummings  90+2'		 Report Cahill  22'
Alexander  32'
Attendance: 20,626
New York Red Bulls1–2 (a.e.t.)Houston Dynamo
Wright-Phillips  23' Report Davis  36'
Cummings  104'
Attendance: 22,264

Houston Dynamo won 4–3 on aggregate

Western Conference
Seattle Sounders FC1–2Portland Timbers
Alonso  90' Report Johnson  15'
Nagbe  67'
Attendance: 38,507
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Portland Timbers3–2Seattle Sounders FC
Johnson  29' (pen.)
Valeri  44'
Danso  47'		 Report Yedlin  74'
Johnson  76'
Attendance: 20,674

Portland Timbers won 5–3 on aggregate

Los Angeles Galaxy1–0Real Salt Lake
Franklin  48' Report
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Kevin Stott
Real Salt Lake2–0 (a.e.t.)Los Angeles Galaxy
Velásquez  35'
Schuler  102'		 Report
Attendance: 19,042
Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Real Salt Lake won 2–1 on aggregate

Conference Finals
Houston Dynamo0–0Sporting Kansas City
Report
Attendance: 22,107
Referee: Kevin Stott
Sporting Kansas City2–1Houston Dynamo
Sapong  14'
Dwyer  63'		 Report Garcia  3'
Attendance: 21,650
Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Sporting Kansas City won 2–1 on aggregate

Real Salt Lake4–2Portland Timbers
Schuler  35'
Findley  41'
Sandoval  48'
Morales  82'		 Report Johnson  14'
Piquionne  90+4'
Attendance: 17,333
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Portland Timbers0–1Real Salt Lake
Report Findley  29'
Attendance: 20,674
Referee: Mark Geiger

Real Salt Lake won 5–2 on aggregate

MLS Cup
Main article: MLS Cup 2013

Result
MLS Cup
Sporting Kansas City1 – 1 (a.e.t.)Real Salt Lake
Collin  76' Report Saborío  52'
Penalties
Bieler
Nagamura
Besler
Feilhaber
Zusi
Sinovic
Sapong
Olum
Myers
Collin 		7–6 Saborío
Grabavoy
Beckerman
Plata
Morales
Schuler
Beltran
Velásquez
Borchers
Palmer
Attendance: 21,650

See also

References
  1. "Competition Rules and Regulations". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  2. "Big changes for MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2012". MLSsoccer.com. November 20, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  3. "Portland Timbers headed to 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League after USSF rule change approved". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  4. "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.
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