The first round is the Knockout Round. This stage features one-match playoffs between the teams finishing third through sixth in each conference.
The third-place team from the East plays the sixth-place team from the East; the fourth-place team from the East plays the fifth-place team from the East. The same goes for the West. The team with the better regular-season record hosts the match. These matches are played in the middle of the week a few days after the end of the regular season. Away goals do not count in this round. If the match is tied after 90 minutes, two minute extra time periods are played and then, if necessary, penalty kicks.
After the Knockout Round, teams are re-seeded into the Conference Semifinals. Re-seeding ensures the team with the better record between the top two teams in each conference plays the worst remaining seed. The Conference Semifinals consist of two matches, one home and one away for each team. The lower seed hosts the first match while the higher seed hosts the second match, supposedly to have the slight advantage of possibly getting to play extra time at home.
The big showdown will be hosted by the team with the greater number of regular-season points and using the tie-breaker list if both entrants finished the season with the same number of points.
In , for example, Columbus were the No. But because Columbus earned more regular-season points than Seattle or technically, per 's adjusted rules, more points per game , that MLS Cup was held at Historic Crew Stadium rather than Lumen Field. The match will utilize the same extra-time and penalty kick mechanisms to settle regulation draws as the prior rounds. Here are five things to know about this year's playoff format and its single-elimination format.
How many teams qualify? MLS, at its sole discretion, including for competitive reasons, has determined not to reschedule a match. The club has had matches postponed or canceled for other reasons. How does the bracket work? What are the key dates? Heading into MLS Cup, here are the dates you want to circle on your calendar:. Here's how the top nine spots in the team Western Conference finished:. A total of 12 single-elimination matches will leave two finalists, one from each conference, to play for MLS Cup on Dec.
The same extra time rules for the playoffs — 30 minutes of extra time after 90 minutes of regulation, and a penalty-kick shootout, if necessary — apply in the MLS Cup final. The New England Revolution, which amassed the best record in MLS during the regular season, is the favorite going into the postseason.
The Colorado Rapids No. There are some wild disparities in the odds between major sportsbooks, which will all likely revise their numbers as we get closer to the start of the playoffs. TBD 3 p. TBD p. Team Points Wins Goal Diff. Sporting Kansas City is still within shouting distance -- and the two teams play this weekend -- but the top seed is Seattle's to lose. FC Cincinnati : Sure, Cincinnati's elimination from the playoff race was confirmed last weekend, but the hits just keep on coming.
Wednesday's encounter with the Chicago Fire looked destined to end in a draw when Tyler Blackett equalized in stoppage time. But c'mon. It's FCC, and on cue it coughed a stoppage time goal of its own to lose New general manager Chris Albright knows the enormity of the rebuild that lies ahead.
So it proved for Austin, which is currently tied for the second-worst attack in the league alongside FC Cincinnati, with just 29 goals scored. While performances improved after the midseason arrival of Sebastian Driussi , Austin still needs a few more attacking pieces to contend for a playoff spot.
Toronto FC : The Reds' fall from grace was stunning, given that this was a team that finished runners-up in the Supporters' Shield race last year. But overall this was a team that got old in a hurry, making it ill-equipped to play the kind of pressing style that Chris Armas wanted, and it cost him his job. Now it will be up to GM Ali Curtis and whoever is hired to be the next manager to rebuild this roster.
Houston Dynamo FC : Not much was expected from Houston in , and the Dynamo did little over the course of the season to dispel that notion, especially during a game winless streak that spanned all of June, July and August.
The fact that results began to improve once Darwin Quintero was back in the lineup is testament to the fact that there simply aren't enough difference-makers on this team. With new owner Ted Segal now on board, the hope is that the purse strings will be loosened and give manager Tab Ramos some help, assuming he survives of course. Sharp attacking play is undone by mistakes in the back.
A stout defensive performance coincides with a drought in front of goal. Such is the way of things when DPs don't perform up to expectations. Now the Fire is looking for a new manager again after the dismissal of Raphael Wicky, though sporting director Georg Heitz is the man who should be looking over his shoulder. Pepi seems destined to follow other Dallas products to Europe, marking another year where the homegrown-talent pipeline couldn't translate to on-field success.
Luchi Gonzalez, one of the architects of the team's heralded academy, didn't gain much traction as manager and was fired in September. Nashville SC vs. United : Draws were the order of the day on Wednesday, resulting in a bit of shuffling in the standings, but no team getting any separation.
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