MLS Cup Playoffs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Championship game. Eight teams from the league's two conferences qualify for the tournament based on regular season records, and a tiebreaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. It ends with the MLS Cup, the league's championship game.
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[edit] Playoff System
Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The lower seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game. The winners of those four series advance to single-game Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup Finalists.
The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-home series advances to the single elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal 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. The team with the higher seed between the two Conference finalists will host the Conference Championship game.
In the case of ties after 90 minutes of regulation in the Eastern and Western Conference Championship games and MLS Cup, 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary, to determine the winners.
[edit] Qualification
Eight teams will qualify for the playoffs - the top two teams in each conference plus the remaining four teams, regardless of conference, that have the most points in the standings upon the completion of the their 30-game regular season.
The seeding is as follows[1]:
4 teams:
- Conference Champion with highest point total (Supporters Shield Winner)
- The other Conference Champion
- Conference runner up with higher point total
- Conference runner up with lower point total
Of the remaining 10 teams, an additional 4 teams will qualify as follows:
- Team with the highest point total (regardless of conference)
- Team with 2nd highest point total (regardless of conference)
- Team with 3rd highest point total (regardless of conference)
- Team with 4th highest point total (regardless of conference)
[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.
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.
