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2015 Major League Soccer season

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Major League Soccer
Season2015
← 2014

The 2015 Major League Soccer season will be the 103rd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 37th with a national first-division league, and the 20th season of Major League Soccer. The season will feature 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season will be held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup playoffs will be held from October 28 to early December. The defending MLS Cup champions are the LA Galaxy, while Seattle Sounders FC are the defending Supporters Shield winner. It will be the first season for expansion teams Orlando City SC and New York City F.C., who both join the Eastern Conference.

Changes from 2014 season

Franchises and realignment

The 2015 MLS season will feature the addition of two expansion sides, New York City FC and Orlando City SC. New York City FC will be the second MLS team in the New York metropolitan area (joining the New Jersey-based New York Red Bulls), as well as the first based within New York City itself (the team will play its inaugural season at Yankee Stadium). Orlando will be a new market for MLS, which returns to Florida for the first time since folding their Miami and Tampa Bay franchises before the 2002 season; the Lions' ownership previously owned Orlando's USL Pro team from 2010–2014, a team that will relocate to Louisville for 2015.

While MLS will add two teams, the league also folded one franchise, Chivas USA, which had called the Los Angeles area home since 2005 and shared the StubHub Center with the LA Galaxy. The Goats had been owned by Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, who sold the club back to MLS in 2014. The league folded Chivas in October 2014, after the conclusion of the regular season, though it plans to add a second LA-area club in 2017.[1]

With the addition and subtraction of the above mentioned teams, the 2015 season will see a realignment of MLS' Eastern and Western conferences, which will each have 10 teams: NYCFC and Orlando City will join the East, while Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City will move from the East to the West.[1]

Each team will play 34 regular season matches: two or three against conference rivals and once against teams from the opposite conference.

The MLS Cup Playoffs will have 12 teams, up from 10 the last 3 seasons. The top six teams per conference will qualify. The first round per conference has the third-seed hosting the sixth-seed, and the fourth hosting the fifth. In the Conference Semifinals the top seed plays lowest remaining seed and the second playing the next-lowest.

The regular season will conclude with all teams playing at the same schedule time, a league first.[2]

Television

The 2015 season will see the launch of a new United States television and media rights deal with English-language ESPN and Fox Sports and Spanish-language Univision Deportes. The deal continues MLS' relationship with ESPN and Univision, while it reestablishes one with Fox Sports, whose Fox Soccer channel carried MLS games until 2011 (NBC Sports carried MLS broadcasts from 2012–2014). The deal, formally announced in May 2014, will see regular weekly game broadcasts on ESPN2 (Sunday afternoons) and Fox Sports 1 (Sunday evenings), as well as a regular Friday night match on UniMás and/or Univision Deportes Network. The networks will share coverage of the MLS Cup Playoffs, while ESPN and Fox will alternate English language carriage of the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup championship match each year. As part of the deal, the networks will also share coverage of the US Soccer men's and women's national teams.[3]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Chicago Fire Colorado Rapids Columbus Crew D.C. United FC Dallas
Toyota Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park Crew Stadium RFK Memorial Stadium Toyota Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 19,680 Capacity: 20,145 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 20,500
Houston Dynamo LA Galaxy Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York City FC
BBVA Compass Stadium StubHub Center Saputo Stadium Gillette Stadium Yankee Stadium
Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 21,300 Capacity: 22,385 Capacity: 27,470
New York Red Bulls Orlando City Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake
Red Bull Arena Citrus Bowl PPL Park Providence Park Rio Tinto Stadium
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 19,500 Capacity: 18,500 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 20,000
San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City Toronto FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Avaya Stadium CenturyLink Field Sporting Park BMO Field BC Place
Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 38,000 Capacity: 18,500 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 21,000
Bmo field.jpg
class=notpageimage|
Locations of teams for the 2015 Major League Soccer season. Orange: Western Conference members, Blue: Eastern Conference members.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Canada Frank Yallop Quaker
Colorado Rapids United States Pablo Mastroeni Ciao Telecom
Columbus Crew United States Gregg Berhalter Barbasol
D.C. United United States Ben Olsen Leidos
FC Dallas Colombia Óscar Pareja AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle BHP Billiton
LA Galaxy United States Bruce Arena Herbalife
Montreal Impact United States Frank Klopas Canada Patrice Bernier Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution United States Jay Heaps UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC United States Jason Kreis Spain David Villa Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls United States Jesse Marsch Red Bull
Orlando City SC England Adrian Heath Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union United States Jim Curtin Bimbo
Portland Timbers United States Caleb Porter Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake United States Jeff Cassar LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes United States Dominic Kinnear
Seattle Sounders FC United States Sigi Schmid Xbox
Sporting Kansas City United States Peter Vermes Ivy Funds
Toronto FC United States Greg Vanney United States Michael Bradley
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Wales Carl Robinson Bell Canada

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
San Jose Earthquakes Canada Mark Watson Fired Oct, 2014 Preseason United States Dominic Kinnear Oct 16, 2014[4]
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear Signed by San Jose Earthquakes Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle Dec 8, 2014[5]
New York Red Bulls United States Mike Petke Fired Jan 7, 2015[6] United States Jesse Marsch Jan 7, 2015[7]

Player transfers

Allocation ranking

The allocation ranking[8] is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. The allocation rankings may also be used in the event two or more clubs file a request for the same player on the same day. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2014 season, taking playoff performance into account.

Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list. A ranking can be traded provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club’s ranking. At all times each club is assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS season.

Original Ranking Club Date Allocation Used Player Signed Previous Club Ref
1 New York City FC January 13, 2015 United States Mix Diskerud Norway Rosenborg [9]
2 Orlando City SC December 19, 2014 United States Brek Shea England Stoke City [10]
3 New York Red Bulls‡ January 28, 2015 United States Sacha Kljestan Belgium Anderlecht [11][12]
4 San Jose Earthquakes
5 Los Angeles Galaxy† [13]
6 Chicago Fire
7 Houston Dynamo
8 Toronto FC January 16, 2015 United States Jozy Altidore England Sunderland [14]
9 Philadelphia Union
10 Portland Timbers
11 Sporting Kansas City
12 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
13 Columbus Crew SC
14 FC Dallas
15 Real Salt Lake
16 D.C. United February 10, 2015 United States Michael Farfan Mexico Cruz Azul [15]
17 Montreal Impact‡ [11]
18 Seattle Sounders FC
19 New England Revolution
20 Colorado Rapids† [13]
21 New York City FC
22 Orlando City SC February 2, 2015 United States Eric Avila Mexico Santos Laguna [16]

†On January 15, 2015, Los Angeles Galaxy acquired the then-number 3 allocation ranking (original ranking number 5) and allocation money from Colorado Rapids in exchange for the then-number 18 allocation ranking (original ranking number 20), Marcelo Sarvas, and an international roster slot.

‡On January 27, 2015, New York Red Bulls acquired the then-number 1 allocation ranking (original ranking number 3) and Felipe from Montreal Impact in exchange for the then-number 14 allocation ranking (original ranking number 17), Ambroise Oyongo, Eric Alexander, allocation money, and an international roster slot for the 2015 season.

Results

Conference tables

Eastern Conference
Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53
3 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51 MLS Cup Knockout Round
4 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 −2 51
5 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
6 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
7 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 −10 44
8 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 −9 37
9 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 −13 37
10 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 −15 30
Source: MLS
Western Conference
Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53
3 Portland Timbers 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 MLS Cup Knockout Round
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
5 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
6 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51
7 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
8 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 −7 42
9 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 −10 41
10 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 −10 37
Source: MLS

Overall table

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls (S) 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 CONCACAF Champions League
2 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53
4 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53
5 Portland Timbers (C) 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 CONCACAF Champions League
6 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
7 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51
8 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 −2 51
9 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
10 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51 CONCACAF Champions League
11 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
12 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
13 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
14 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 −10 44
15 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 −7 42
16 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 −10 41
17 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 −9 37
18 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 −13 37
19 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 −10 37
20 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 −15 30
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored
(C) MLS Cup Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield

Statistics

Top scorers

Top assists

Goalkeeping

Stefan Frei of the Seattle Sounders is bound to be a great goalkeeper this year, based on his performance last year with the Sounders, bringing them to a MLS Cup appearance.

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b "MLS announces new strategy for Los Angeles market, 2015 conference realignment," from MLSSoccer.com, 10/27/2014
  2. ^ "2015 Major League Soccer national television schedule". www.philly.com. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  3. ^ "MLS, U.S. Soccer sign landmark TV and media rights partnerships with ESPN, FOX & Univision Deportes," from MLSSoccer.com, 5/12/2014
  4. ^ http://www.espnfc.com/major-league-soccer/story/2089805/dominic-kinnear-to-coach-san-jose-earthquakes
  5. ^ http://www.dynamotheory.com/2014/12/8/7352649/reports-coyle-signs-three-year-deal-with-houston-dynamo
  6. ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/01/07/new-york-red-bulls-part-ways-head-coach-mike-petke
  7. ^ http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2015/01/red-bulls-name-jesse-marsch-head-coach-ahead-2015-season
  8. ^ MLS Soccer Media (January 27, 2015). "MLS Allocation Ranking". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  9. ^ MLS Soccer Media (January 13, 2015). "New York City FC ink USMNT playmaker Mix Diskerud ahead of MLS expansion season". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  10. ^ Orlando City SC Media (December 19, 2014). "Brek Shea Signs with Orlando City SC". orlandocitysc.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Impact makes major trade with New York Red Bulls". Montreal Impact. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  12. ^ "Red Bulls sign United States International Sacha Kljestan". New York Red Bulls. January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Two-time MLS Cup winner Marcelo Sarvas joins the Colorado Rapids". Colorado Rapids. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  14. ^ Toronto FC (January 16, 2015). "Toronto FC sign U.S. international Jozy Altidore". TorontoFC.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  15. ^ "Michael Farfan making return to MLS, signs with DC United after season at Cruz Azul". MLSsoccer.com. 10 February 2015.
  16. ^ MLS Soccer staff (February 2, 2015). "Orlando City SC acquire former Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
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