2010 MLS Cup Playoffs

2010 MLS Cup Playoffs

Country	United States  Canada
Teams	8
Champions	Colorado Rapids
Runner-up	FC Dallas
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The 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs was the postseason tournament subsequent to Major League Soccer's 2010 season. The Colorado Rapids defeated FC Dallas 2–1 at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

The playoffs began on Oct. 30, with the Los Angeles Galaxy defeating the Seattle Sounders FC in the quarterfinal-round. Three weeks later, the Rapids defeated Dallas 2-1 in the Cup final. It was Colorado's first title and second MLS Cup final appearance, and it was FC Dallas's first appearance in an MLS Cup final.

Of the eight MLS clubs to earn qualification into the tournament, only four of them qualified the season beforehand; Columbus Crew, Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders FC, and the defending-champions, Real Salt Lake. The San Jose Earthquakes were making their first playoff appearance since 2005, Dallas' since 2007. It was Colorado's and New York Red Bulls's first time since 2008.

Format

At the 2010 season's end, the top two teams of each conference will make the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next six highest point totals, regardless of conference, will be added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate (total) goals over two matches will determine the winners; the Conference Championships will be one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method will be two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule is not used.^[1]

Standings

Conference standings

Overall standings

• ^Note 1 - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the U.S. Open Cup, as it is a Canadian-based team. If they qualify for an automatic berth into the U.S. Open Cup, the next highest placed team not already qualified will be given a berth. Similarly, they cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS. Rather, they can qualify through the Canadian Soccer Championship. If they qualify for the Champions League through MLS, then the highest placed team not already qualified will qualify.

• ^Note 2 - The winner of the 2010 MLS Supporters' Shield (Los Angeles Galaxy) and the winner of MLS Cup 2010 (Colorado Rapids) qualified for the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. The runner-up of MLS Cup 2010 (FC Dallas) and the winner of the 2010 U.S. Open Cup (Seattle Sounders) qualified for the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round.
  

• ^Note 3 - 2011 SuperLiga berths are awarded to the top 4 finishing teams from MLS who do not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Bracket

Conference Semifinals

October 30, 2010 7:00PM PDT	New York Red Bulls	1–0	San Jose Earthquakes	Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara, California Attendance: 10,525 Referee: Paul Ward
	Ballouchy 46' Lindpere  56' Miller 71' Coundoul 83'	Report	Wondolowski 65'

November 4, 2010 8:00PM EDT	San Jose Earthquakes	3–1	New York Red Bulls	Red Bull Arena Harrison, New Jersey Attendance: 22,839 Referee: Mark Geiger
	Corrales 32' Convey  8', 76' Wondolowski  81' Busch 81'	Report	Ángel  78'

San Jose Earthquakes advance 3–2 on aggregate

October 28, 2010 7:00PM MDT	Columbus Crew	0–1	Colorado Rapids	Dick's Sporting Goods Park Commerce City, Colorado Attendance: 11,872 Referee: Jair Marrufo
	Carroll 57'	Report	Mastroeni  23' Mastroeni 90+2'

November 6, 2010 4:00PM EDT	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 10,322 Referee: Michael Kennedy
	Mullan 38' Casey 48' Casey  84'	Report	Gaven  22' Schelotto 31' Ekpo 52' Carroll 56' Francis 64' Rogers 70' Rogers 70'
		Penalties
	Casey Kandji Larentowicz Lopez Baudet	5–4	Schelotto Garey Gaven Brunner Carroll

Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties

October 30, 2010 4:00PM CDT	Real Salt Lake	1–2	FC Dallas	Pizza Hut Park Frisco, Texas Attendance: 11,003 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Espindola  5' Williams 46' Morales  49', 69'	Report	Benitez 25' Cunningham  44' Hernandez 49' Harris  75' Avila  88'

November 6, 2010 8:00PM MDT	FC Dallas	1–1	Real Salt Lake	Rio Tinto Stadium Sandy, Utah Attendance: 19,324 Referee: Jorge González
	McCarty  17' Chavez 27' Loyd 84'	Report	Olave 25' Grabavoy 29' Borchers 34' Findley  79'

FC Dallas advance 3–2 on aggregate

October 31, 2010 5:00PM PDT	Los Angeles Galaxy	1–0	Seattle Sounders FC	Qwest Field Seattle, Washington Attendance: 35,521 Referee: Alex Prus
	Buddle  38' Juninho 48' Kovalenko 65' Kirovski 82'	Report	Montero 49' Nkufo 90+4'

November 7, 2010 6:00PM PST	Seattle Sounders FC	1–2	Los Angeles Galaxy	Home Depot Center Carson, California Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Baldomero Toledo
	Ianni 65' Zakuani  86'	Report	Beckham 8' Buddle  19' Gonzalez  27'

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 3–1 on aggregate

Conference Finals

November 13, 2010 7:30PM MST	San Jose Earthquakes	0–1	Colorado Rapids	Dick's Sporting Goods Park Commerce City, Colorado Attendance: 17,779 Referee: Jorge González
		Report	Kimura  42'

November 14, 2010 6:00PM PST	FC Dallas	3–0	Los Angeles Galaxy	Home Depot Center Carson, California Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Jair Marrufo
	Ferreira  26' John  54' Chavez  73' Lloyd 85'	Report	Kovalenko 31' Beckham 73' Birchall 82' Cazumba 84'

MLS Cup 2010

November 21, 2010 8:30PM EST	FC Dallas	1 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Colorado Rapids	BMO Field Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 21,700 Referee: Baldomero Toledo
	Ferreira  35' Benitez 84'	Report	Wallace 41' Smith 51' Casey  57' Casey 84' John  106' (o.g.)

External links

• MLS Cup Playoffs at MLSsoccer.com

References