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2012 MLS Cup playoffs

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2012 MLS Cup playoffs
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
Canada
Teams10
Final positions
ChampionsLos Angeles Galaxy (4th title)
Runners-upHouston Dynamo
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Matches played15
Goals scored34 (2.27 per match)
Attendance335,348 (22,357 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane
(6 goals)
← 2011
2013 →

The 2012 MLS Cup playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31,[1] and culminated on December 1, 2012[1] with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 over the Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams,[2] and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not cross-conference brackets.[3] 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.

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 first time in MLS Cup playoffs history, each conference championship was also a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match.[3] The MLS Cup championship still remained a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record, the Los Angeles Galaxy, hosted the final at their home venue.[2]

The LA Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 in last year's championship.[4]

Both finalists directly entered the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League, with the champion earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by the San Jose Earthquakes, the Supporters' Shield winner, and Sporting Kansas City, the 2012 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.[5]

Format

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For 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 top five teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs and the two conference brackets were entirely separate. The first round of each conference was a one-off match between the fourth and fifth-placed teams, similar to the previous wild card system, with the fourth-placed team hosting. The first round winners advanced to play the teams with their respective conference's best regular season records in the conference semifinals.[1][2]

The conference semifinals and conference finals were conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If the teams were tied after two games, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The away goals rule or golden goal were not used.[1]

In the case of ties in the first round and MLS Cup, extra time and a penalty shoot-out would be used in the same manner as above.[2]

Qualified teams

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Eastern Conference

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sporting Kansas City 34 18 7 9 42 27 +15 63 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 D.C. United 34 17 10 7 53 43 +10 58
3 New York Red Bulls 34 16 9 9 57 46 +11 57
4 Chicago Fire 34 17 11 6 46 41 +5 57 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Houston Dynamo 34 14 9 11 48 41 +7 53
6 Columbus Crew 34 15 12 7 44 44 0 52
7 Montreal Impact 34 12 16 6 45 51 −6 42
8 Philadelphia Union 34 10 18 6 37 45 −8 36
9 New England Revolution 34 9 17 8 39 44 −5 35
10 Toronto FC 34 5 21 8 36 62 −26 23
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 San Jose Earthquakes 34 19 6 9 72 43 +29 66 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Real Salt Lake 34 17 11 6 46 35 +11 57
3 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 8 11 51 33 +18 56
4 LA Galaxy 34 16 12 6 59 47 +12 54 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 11 13 10 35 41 −6 43
6 FC Dallas 34 9 13 12 42 47 −5 39
7 Colorado Rapids 34 11 19 4 44 50 −6 37
8 Portland Timbers 34 8 16 10 34 56 −22 34
9 Chivas USA 34 7 18 9 24 58 −34 30
Source: MLS

Tiebreak rules

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If two or more teams were tied in standings on points, the following tiebreak rules applied:[2][6]

  1. Goals scored
  2. Goal differential
  3. 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.)
  4. Away goals scored
  5. Away goal differential
  6. Home goals scored
  7. Home goal differential
  8. Coin toss (two teams) or drawing of lots (three or more teams)

Bracket

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Knockout round Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
E1 Sporting Kansas City 0 1 1
E4 Chicago Fire 1 E5 Houston Dynamo 2 0 2
E5 Houston Dynamo 2 Eastern ConferenceE5 Houston Dynamo 3 1 4
E2 D.C. United 1 1 2
E2 D.C. United 1 1 2
E3 New York Red Bulls 1 0 1
E5 Houston Dynamo 1
W4 Los Angeles Galaxy 3
W1 San Jose Earthquakes 1 1 2
W4 Los Angeles Galaxy 2 W4 Los Angeles Galaxy 0 3 3
W5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC    1 Western ConferenceW4 Los Angeles Galaxy 3 1 4
W3 Seattle Sounders FC 0 2 2
W2 Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
W3 Seattle Sounders FC 0 1 1

Knockout round

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Eastern Conference

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Chicago Fire1–2Houston Dynamo
Alex 83' Report Bruin 12', 46'
Attendance: 10,923

Western Conference

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Conference semifinals

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Eastern Conference

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Houston Dynamo won 2–1 on aggregate.

D.C. United1–1New York Red Bulls
Miller red-colored football 61' (o.g.) Report Hamid red-colored football 65' (o.g.)
Attendance: 17,556
Referee: Jair Marrufo
New York Red Bulls0–1D.C. United
Recap DeLeon 88'
Attendance: 14,035
Referee: Mark Geiger

D.C. United won 2–1 on aggregate.

Note: While D.C. United won the right to host the second leg as the higher seed, the order of the legs was reversed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.[7] The second leg was originally scheduled for November 7, but was postponed by one day due to snow.[8]

Western Conference

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Los Angeles Galaxy won 3–2 on aggregate.

Real Salt Lake0–1Seattle Sounders FC
Report Martínez 81'
Attendance: 19,657
Referee: Chris Penso

Seattle Sounders won 1–0 on aggregate.

Conference finals

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Eastern Conference

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Houston Dynamo3–1D.C. United
Hainault 51'
Bruin 68'
Sarkodie 81'		 Report DeLeon 27'
Attendance: 22,101
D.C. United1–1Houston Dynamo
Bošković 83' Report García 34'
Attendance: 20,015

Houston Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate.

Western Conference

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Los Angeles Galaxy won 4–2 on aggregate.

MLS Cup 2012

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Los Angeles Galaxy3–1Houston Dynamo
 Report
Attendance: 30,510

Player statistics

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Note: Statistics only for post-season games.

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "2012 MLS Cup Playoffs". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Competition Rules and Regulations". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Big changes for MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2012". Major League Soccer. November 20, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  4. ↑ "History: MLS Cup 2011". Major League Soccer. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Champions League Qualifying 2013-14". CONCACAF. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  6. ↑ "New tiebreakers designed to encourage attacking play". MLS Communications. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Hurricane Sandy forces Red Bulls, D.C. United to switch home dates for playoff series". NJ.com. November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Snow postpones Red Bulls-DC United". ESPN FC.
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