MLS Cup Playoffs
 |
This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (December 2011) |
 |
|
| Founded | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Region | Canada United States |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Current champions | Los Angeles Galaxy (3 titles) |
| Most successful club | D.C. United (4 titles) |
 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs |
|
The MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer held at the end of the regular season en route to the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. 10 teams in total from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference qualify for the tournament based on regular-season records, and a tiebreaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. Awarding the league championship through a postseason tournament differs from most other soccer leagues around the world. In these cases, the team with the most points at the end of the season is deemed champion. However, MLS awards the "regular season" winners with the Supporters' Shield and a direct berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, the continental tournament.
Contents |
[edit] Playoff system
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 will qualify for the playoffs, in which the two brackets are entirely separate. The First Round of each conference is a one-off match between the 4th- and 5th-place teams, with the 4th-place team hosting. The First Round winner advances to play the conference's top seed in the Conference Semifinals.
Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-away, aggregate-goal format. The lower-seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game. The winners of those four series advance to the home-and-away, total-goals Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup finalists.
The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-away series advances to the 2-game, total-goals Conference Championship. In this round the lower-seeded team hosts Game 1, and vice versa. If the teams are tied after two games (180 minutes) in the Conference Semifinal or Championship series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary.
In the case of ties after 90 minutes of regulation in the First Round and MLS Cup, 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by penalty kicks, if necessary, to determine the winners.
[edit] Qualification
10 teams will qualify for the playoffs – the top 5 teams in each conference, that have the most points in the standings upon the completion of the 36-game regular season.
The seeding is as follows[1]:
- The top 5 teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1-5 in their respective 5-team playoff conference brackets. The top 3 teams receive a bye.
- The 4th and 5th place teams in each conference play in the First Round.
[edit] Team standings tie-breaking procedures
In the event that two teams finish the regular season with an equal number of points, the following system will be used to break the tie:
- The highest position shall be awarded to the team with the better win–loss record in current regular-season games against all other teams equal in points. (head-to-head competition)
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team with the greater goal difference against all other teams during the regular season. (goal differential)
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team scoring the greatest number of total goals against all other teams during the regular season. (total goals)
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the procedures described in this section shall be applied only to games played on the road by each team against all other teams during the regular season. (road 1-3)
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the procedures described in this section shall be applied only to games played at home by each team against all other teams during the regular season. (home 1-3)
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team with the fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table during the regular season.
- If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position in the standings shall be determined by the toss of a coin.
- The first tiebreaker in a three-way tie is also head-to-head, but it is determined via points-per-game versus the other two teams. If two teams are tied in points-per-game head-to-head, the next tie breaker is goal difference.
NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Additional references
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
