2011 MLS Cup Playoffs

2011 MLS Cup Playoffs

Country	United States  Canada
Teams	10
Champions	Los Angeles Galaxy
Runners-up	Houston Dynamo
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The 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs was the sixteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 26 with the play-in round and concluded on November 20 with the championship match. It was the first playoff series to include ten clubs, two more than the traditional eight. Six of the ten teams earned a direct bye into the conference semifinals, while the four wildcard teams played a single-elimination match to earn a berth into the conference semis. These eight clubs played in a single-elimination tournament en route to playoffs championship MLS Cup 2011, which doubles as the league championship for the 2011 MLS season altogether.

The defending MLS Cup champions were the Colorado Rapids, who beat FC Dallas 2–1 in the 2010 championship.

As the preliminary round was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League, both finalists directly entered 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage, along with the Supporters' Shield winner for the regular season and the 2011 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's two Canadian teams, which instead participated in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Format

The format for the tournament was announced on February 23, 2011.^[1] The top three clubs in each of the league's two conferences will earn the six automatic spots in the quarterfinals.^[1] The wild-card entrants, seeded seventh through tenth, will enter based upon their overall position in a single table of the league standings.^[1] The new format is assembled so that the weakest seed to qualify out of the wild-card rounds will have to play the Supporters' Shield winner.^[1] The other entrant will play the conference champion that did not win the Shield.^[1]

The playoffs will begin with the Play-in round, which will contain the wildcard seeds. The first and second-placed wildcard seeds (seventh and eight place, respectively) will host the third and fourth-placed wildcard seeds (ninth and tenth place, respectively). The winners of each play-in proper will earn a berth into the conference semifinals, or the quarterfinals, of the playoffs.

Following the play-in round, will be the conference semifinals, where the two play-in round winners will join the six clubs that earned a direct bye into this round. The conference semifinals, will be a two-legged, aggregate series, in which each team plays their opponent twice: once at home, and once away. The team with the most goals accumulated over the two-match series will win the series and qualify for the conference championship. In this round, the lowest seeded wildcard team to advance will play against the MLS Supporters' Shield winner (regular season champion). The other wildcard seed will play against either the Eastern or Western Conference regular season champion, depending on which conference champion wins the Supporters' Shield. Also in the conference semifinals, feature the conference runners-up and third place finishes from both the Eastern and Western Conference.^[1]

The semifinal round, or the conference championship, will feature the winners from the conference semifinals. This round will be a one-legged affair, in which the higher seeded club will host the lower seed. The winner of this match, earns a berth into the 2011 MLS Cup championship, as well as a guaranteed berth in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League.

The Eastern Conference and Western Conference bracket winners will meet in the MLS Cup final, which will be held at the pre-determined neutral venue. This year, the final will be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.^[1] The MLS Cup winner will be crowned league champion for the 2011 MLS season.^[1]

Qualification

The top three clubs from each conference, based on final point totals, will qualify for the playoffs. From among the remaining clubs, the top 4 qualify as wild cards, and will have a 2-leg play-in round to narrow the field to 8. The Los Angeles Galaxy were the first MLS club to qualify for the playoffs, qualifying with a 1–0 win over Colorado Rapids on September 9.^[2]

Conference standings

Eastern table

Headers for the following tables are incorrect, and should be Pos Team Pts GP W L T GF GA GD Qualification

Source: MLSSoccer.com
(E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (E2) = Eastern Conference runner-up; (E3) = Eastern Conference third seed; (WC) = Qualifies for playoffs via wild-card.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not yet to the particular round indicated; (E) = Eliminated from playoff contention.

• ^Note 1 - The top three clubs in each conference are guaranteed spots in the 2011 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals. The other four clubs in the playoffs enter via-wild card entrees, regardless of their conference, based on their overall standings in a single table.

Western table

Source: MLSSoccer.com
(W1) = Western Conference champion; (WC) = Qualifies for playoffs via wild-card.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not yet to the particular round indicated; (E) = Eliminated from playoff contention.

• ^Note 1 - The top three clubs in each conference are guaranteed spots in the 2011 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals. The other four clubs in the playoffs enter via wild card entrees, regardless of their conference, based on their overall standings in a single table.

Overall standings

Source: MLSSoccer.com
(SS) = MLS Supporters' Shield; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not yet to the particular round indicated; (E) = Eliminated from playoff contention.

• ^Note 1 Teams qualify for the MLS Cup Conference Semifinals by finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their respective conferences.
• ^Note 2 Since the Los Angeles Galaxy won both the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield and the 2011 MLS Cup, a place in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League became available. The Seattle Sounders, the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up, had already qualified as they also won the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. Therefore, the CCL place went to Real Salt Lake, the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield third place. Houston Dynamo, the 2011 MLS Cup runner-up, also qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League. All four teams directly enter the Group Stage as the Preliminary Round has been eliminated from CCL.

Tiebreakers

1. Head-to-Head (Points-per-match average)
2. Overall Goal Differential
3. Overall Total Goals Scored
4. Tiebreakers 1–3 applied only to matches on the road
5. Tiebreakers 1–3 applied only to matches at home
6. Fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table
7. Coin toss

If more than two clubs are tied, once a club advances through any step, the process reverts to Tiebreaker 1 among the remaining tied clubs recursively until all ties are resolved.^[3]

Bracket

Note: The Los Angeles Galaxy, as MLS Supporters Shield winners, were assured of playing the lower seeded Wild Card series winner (New York Red Bulls) in the Conference Semifinals, while Sporting Kansas City would play the higher seeded Wild Card series winner (Colorado Rapids).

Schedule

Major League Schedule released the schedule for its playoffs on August 9, 2011.^[4]

Key

• SS = MLS Supporters' Shield winner
• E1/W1 = Eastern or Western Conference winner
• E2/W2 = Eastern or Western Conference runner-up
• E3/W3 = Eastern or Western Conference third place
• WC1 = Top wildcard seed (7th place overall)
• WC2 = Second wildcard seed (8th place overall)
• WC3 = Third wildcard seed (9th place overall)
• WC4 = Fourth wildcard seed (10th place overall)

Play-in round

October 26, 2011 20:00 CDT	FC Dallas	0 – 2	New York Red Bulls	Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas Attendance: 10,017 Referee: Ricardo Salazar
		Report	Lindpere  61' Henry  90+8'

October 27, 2011 20:00 MDT	Colorado Rapids	1 – 0	Columbus Crew	Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO Attendance: 7,803 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
	Cummings  45+1'	Report

Conference semifinals

Eastern conference

October 30, 2011 19:30 EDT	Colorado Rapids	0 – 2	Sporting Kansas City	Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO Attendance: 8,601 Referee: Baldomero Toledo
		Report	Bunbury  49', 59' (pen.)

November 2, 2011 19:00 CDT	Sporting Kansas City	2 – 0	Colorado Rapids	Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas Attendance: 18,565 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Collin  28' Sapong  76'	Report

October 30, 2011 17:00 EDT	Philadelphia Union	1 – 2	Houston Dynamo	PPL Park, Chester, Pennsylvania Attendance: 18,539 (SO) Referee: Jair Marrufo
	Le Toux  7'	Report	Hainault  6' Carr  30'

November 3, 2011 19:30 CDT	Houston Dynamo	1 – 0	Philadelphia Union	Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas Attendance: 24,749 Referee: Ricardo Salazar
	Ching  45+3'	Report

Western conference

October 30, 2011 15:00 EDT	New York Red Bulls	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey Attendance: 22,663 Referee: Alex Prus
		Report	Magee  15'

November 3, 2011 20:00 PDT	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 1	New York Red Bulls	Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Hilario Grajeda
	Magee  42' Donovan  75' (pen.)	Report	Rodgers  4'

October 29, 2011 20:00 MDT	Real Salt Lake	3 – 0	Seattle Sounders FC	Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah Attendance: 17,067 Referee: Mark Geiger
	Saborío  41', 53' Grabavoy  88'	Report

November 2, 2011 19:00 PDT	Seattle Sounders FC	2 – 0	Real Salt Lake	CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 36,021 Referee: Jair Marrufo
	Alonso  56' (pen.) Neagle  61'	Report

Conference finals

Host will depend on the higher seeded team. Single elimination match.^[4]

November 6, 2011 18:00 PST	Los Angeles Galaxy	3 – 1	Real Salt Lake	The Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 23,437 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
	Donovan  23' (pen.) Magee  58' Keane  68'	Report	Saborío  25'

November 6, 2011 16:30 CST	Sporting Kansas City	0 – 2	Houston Dynamo	Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas Attendance: 20,839 Referee: Mark Geiger
		Report	Hainault  53' Costly  87'

Championship

November 20, 2011 18:00 PST	Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 0	Houston Dynamo	The Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 30,281 Referee: Ricardo Salazar
	Donovan  72'	Report

Post-season statistical leaders

Note: Statistics only for post-season games.^[5]

Top scorers Rank Scorer Club Goals 1 Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 3 Mike Magee Los Angeles Galaxy 3 Álvaro Saborío Real Salt Lake 3 4 Teal Bunbury Sporting Kansas City 2 André Hainault Houston Dynamo 2 6 Osvaldo Alonso Seattle Sounders FC 1 Calen Carr Houston Dynamo 1 Aurélien Collin Sporting Kansas City 1 Carlos Costly Houston Dynamo 1 Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 1 Ned Grabavoy Real Salt Lake 1 Thierry Henry New York Red Bulls 1 Robbie Keane Los Angeles Galaxy 1 Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union 1 Joel Lindpere New York Red Bulls 1 Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC 1 Luke Rodgers New York Red Bulls 1 C. J. Sapong Sporting Kansas City 1

Most assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 David Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy 3 2 Graham Zusi Sporting Kansas City 2 3 Mehdi Ballouchy New York Red Bulls 1 Luiz Camargo Houston Dynamo 1 Júlio César Sporting Kansas City 1 Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 1 Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 1 Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 1 Michael Farfan Philadelphia Union 1 Thierry Henry New York Red Bulls 1 Robbie Keane Los Angeles Galaxy 1 Kosuke Kimura Colorado Rapids 1 Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 1 Javier Morales Real Salt Lake 1 Jamison Olave Real Salt Lake 1 Chris Wingert Real Salt Lake 1

References

External links

• Major League Soccer: MLS Cup Playoffs