2009 Major League Soccer season

Major League Soccer
Season 2009
MLS Cup Real Salt Lake
Supporters' Shield Columbus Crew
Champions League Columbus Crew
Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy
Seattle Sounders FC
SuperLiga Houston Dynamo
Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
N.E. Revolution
Matches played 225
Goals scored 570 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorer Jeff Cunningham
FC Dallas
Goals: 17
Biggest home win RSL 6–0 NE
(April 25)[1]
DAL 6–0 KC
(August 1)
Biggest away win

CHI 0–3 DAL
(May 31)


SJ 0–3 CLB
(August 8)
Highest scoring LA 3–6 DAL
(September 12)[2]
Longest winning run 5 wins:
Houston Dynamo
(May 23 – Jun 13)
Columbus Crew
(Jul 18 – Aug 15)
Longest unbeaten run 11 matches:
Chicago Fire
(Mar 21 – May 28)
Houston Dynamo
(Apr 11 – Jun 20)
Longest winless run 13 matches:
New York Red Bulls
(May 16 - Aug 15)
Longest losing run 6 losses:
New York Red Bulls
(Jun 24 – Aug 15)
Highest attendance CLB @ SJ
Highest Gate: 61,572*
Dbl. Header* (FCB vs. CHV)
Seattle Sounders FC
Season: 464,144
Game Avg.: 30,943
Lowest attendance SJ @ DAL
Lowest Gate: 5,724
Kansas City Wizards
Season: 150,802
Game Avg.: 10,053
Average attendance MLS: 16,037

The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington

Contents

Changes from the 2008 season

The following changes were made since the 2008 season:

Competition format

The format for the 2009 season was as follows:

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.[4]

Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Chicago Fire - CHI • Chivas USA - CHV • Colorado Rapids - COL • Columbus Crew - CLB • D.C. United - DC
FC Dallas - DAL • Houston Dynamo - HOU • Kansas City Wizards - KC • Los Angeles Galaxy - LA • New England Revolution - NE
New York Red Bulls - NY • Real Salt Lake - RSL • San Jose Earthquakes - SJ • Seattle Sounders FC - SEA • Toronto FC - TOR
Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home
Club Match
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Chicago Fire DAL DC NY SJ KC CLB SEA NE TOR NY CHV DAL HOU DC COL CLB SJ SEA RSL HOU KC LA COL DC RSL CLB TOR LA NE CHV
3-1 1-1 0-1 3-3 2-2 2-2 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-0 3-2 3-0 1-0 1-2 2-1 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-1 2-3 2-0 2-0 2-3 1-0 1-1 2-2 2-2 0-1 0-0 0-1
Chivas USA COL DAL CLB LA SEA TOR DAL SJ RSL DC KC CHI SEA HOU CLB LA NE COL NY TOR RSL LA NE SEA NY DC KC SJ CHI HOU
1-2 2-0 1-2 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-2 1-0 0-1 2-2 1-1 3-2 0-1 0-1 1-2 1-0 0-2 0-4 2-0 0-2 0-4 0-1 0-2 0-0 1-1 2-0 0-2 2-2 0-1 3-2
Colorado Rapids CHV KC LA CLB HOU LA RSL NE SEA NY RSL DC DAL SEA CHI DAL DC NY CLB CHV CHI HOU TOR TOR SJ SJ KC NE DAL RSL
1-2 1-2 3-2 1-1 0-1 1-1 0-2 1-1 2-2 3-2 1-1 0-3 1-1 0-3 2-1 0-1 1-3 0-4 1-0 0-4 2-3 0-1 0-1 2-3 1-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-2 0-3
Columbus Crew HOU TOR RSL CHV COL CHI TOR KC LA SJ SEA KC CHV DAL NY DC CHI RSL TOR COL SJ DAL NY HOU CHI LA SEA NE DC NE
1-1 1-1 1-4 1-2 1-1 2-2 1-1 2-3 1-1 1-2 1-1 2-0 1-2 1-2 0-1 1-1 0-0 1-3 2-3 1-0 3-0 0-2 0-1 1-2 2-2 0-2 1-0 1-0 0-1 1-0
D.C. United LA CHI HOU RSL NE NY DAL KC TOR CHV RSL NE NY CHI SEA COL CLB COL SJ HOU TOR LA CHI DAL KC SEA SJ CHV CLB KC
2-2 1-1 0-1 1-2 1-1 3-2 1-2 1-1 3-3 2-2 0-0 1-2 0-2 1-2 3-3 0-3 1-1 1-3 2-2 3-4 0-2 0-0 1-0 2-2 0-1 2-1 2-1 2-0 0-1 2-2
FC Dallas CHI CHV NE TOR TOR CHV DC HOU SEA LA CHI SJ HOU CLB COL NY COL RSL KC HOU CLB NY DC LA KC RSL NE SJ COL SEA
3-1 2-0 1-2 1-1 2-3 0-2 1-2 0-1 1-1 1-1 3-0 2-2 3-1 1-2 1-1 1-2 0-1 2-4 0-6 0-1 0-2 2-3 2-2 6-3 2-3 0-3 0-1 2-1 1-2 1-2
Houston Dynamo CLB SJ DC NY COL NE DAL NY SJ TOR CHI CHV DAL RSL LA KC SEA TOR NE DC DAL CHI RSL SEA COL CLB RSL KC LA CHV
1-1 2-3 0-1 0-0 0-1 2-0 0-1 1-1 1-3 0-3 1-0 0-1 3-1 1-1 0-1 1-0 1-2 1-1 1-0 3-4 1-0 2-3 0-0 1-1 0-1 1-2 2-3 1-1 0-0 3-2
Kansas City Wizards TOR COL SJ SEA CHI NY TOR DC CLB RSL CHV LA CLB NE HOU NE LA DAL CHI SJ RSL NE DC NY DAL COL HOU CHV SEA DC
3-2 1-2 0-2 1-0 2-2 0-1 0-1 1-1 2-3 2-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-3 1-0 0-0 1-1 0-6 2-0 0-1 1-0 4-2 0-1 1-0 2-3 0-0 1-1 0-2 3-2 2-2
Los Angeles Galaxy DC COL CHV SJ COL NY RSL SEA CLB DAL KC TOR RSL SJ HOU NE CHV NY KC NE SEA CHI DC CHV DAL TOR CLB CHI HOU SJ
2-2 3-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 2-1 2-0 1-2 0-1 0-1 1-0 3-1 1-1 2-1 2-0 2-0 0-0 0-1 6-3 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-0 0-2
New England Revolution SJ NY DAL DC RSL HOU CHI COL TOR DC NY KC LA KC CHV HOU TOR LA SEA RSL SJ KC CHV NY SEA DAL COL CLB CHI CLB
1-0 1-1 1-2 1-1 0-6 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-3 1-2 0-4 1-3 0-1 0-0 0-2 1-0 1-1 2-1 1-0 1-3 1-2 4-2 0-2 1-1 1-2 0-1 1-1 1-0 0-0 1-0
New York Red Bulls SEA NE CHI HOU RSL KC DC LA SJ HOU CHI COL DC NE TOR SEA TOR CLB DAL LA COL CHV DAL CLB KC NE CHV SJ RSL TOR
0-3 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-2 0-1 3-2 0-1 1-4 1-1 1-0 3-2 0-2 0-4 1-3 1-1 0-2 0-1 1-2 3-1 0-4 2-0 2-3 0-1 1-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-5
Real Salt Lake SEA CLB DC NY NE COL LA CHV KC DC SJ COL LA HOU TOR SJ CLB DAL CHI SEA HOU NE CHV KC CHI HOU DAL NY TOR COL
0-2 1-4 1-2 0-2 0-6 0-2 2-2 0-1 2-0 0-0 1-2 1-1 2-0 1-1 0-3 1-1 1-3 2-4 0-1 0-1 0-0 1-3 0-4 1-0 1-1 2-3 0-3 0-2 0-1 0-3
San Jose Earthquakes NE HOU KC CHI LA SEA CHV NY HOU CLB RSL DAL SEA LA RSL TOR CHI DC SEA CLB KC NE COL COL DC NY DAL TOR CHV LA
1-0 2-3 0-2 3-3 1-1 0-2 1-0 1-4 1-3 1-2 1-2 2-2 1-2 1-2 1-1 3-1 0-2 2-2 0-4 3-0 0-1 1-2 1-1 1-1 2-1 0-1 2-1 1-1 2-2 0-2
Seattle Sounders FC NY RSL TOR KC CHV SJ CHI LA DAL COL CLB CHV SJ DC NY COL HOU CHI SJ RSL LA NE HOU TOR DC CHV NE CLB KC DAL
0-3 0-2 2-0 1-0 0-2 0-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 2-2 1-1 0-1 1-2 3-3 1-1 0-3 1-2 0-0 0-4 0-1 2-0 1-0 1-1 0-0 2-1 0-0 1-2 1-0 3-2 1-2
Toronto FC KC CLB SEA DAL DAL CHV KC CLB DC CHI NE HOU LA NY NY RSL SJ HOU CLB NE DC CHV SEA COL COL LA CHI SJ RSL NY
3-2 1-1 2-0 1-1 2-3 0-1 0-1 1-1 3-3 2-0 1-3 0-3 2-1 1-2 0-2 0-3 3-1 1-1 2-3 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-1 2-3 0-2 2-2 1-1 0-1 0-5

Standings

For an explanation of the playoff qualifications, see Competition format.

Conference standings

Pos Club Pts GP W L T GF GA GD
1 Columbus Crew 49 30 13 7 10 41 31 +10
2 Chicago Fire 45 30 11 7 12 39 34 +5
3 New England Revolution 42 30 11 10 9 33 37 −4
4 D.C. United 40 30 9 8 13 43 44 −1
5 Toronto FC 39 30 10 11 9 37 46 −9
6 Kansas City Wizards 33 30 8 14 9 33 42 −9
7 New York Red Bulls 21 30 5 19 6 27 47 −20
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card)
Pos Club Pts GP W L T GF GA GD
1 Los Angeles Galaxy 48 30 12 6 12 36 31 +5
2 Houston Dynamo 48 30 13 8 9 39 29 +10
3 Seattle Sounders FC 47 30 12 7 11 38 29 +9
4 Chivas USA 45 30 13 11 6 34 31 +3
5 Real Salt Lake 40 30 11 12 7 43 35 +8
6 Colorado Rapids 40 30 10 10 10 42 38 +4
7 FC Dallas 39 30 11 13 6 50 47 +4
8 San Jose Earthquakes 30 30 7 14 9 36 50 −14
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card)

Overall standings

Pos Club Pts GP W L T GF GA GD
1 Columbus Crew (E1) 49 30 13 7 10 41 31 +10
2 Los Angeles Galaxy2 (W1) 48 30 12 6 12 36 31 +5
3 Houston Dynamo3 (W2) 48 30 13 8 9 39 29 +10
4 Seattle Sounders FC2 47 30 12 7 11 38 29 +9
5 Chicago Fire3 (E2) 45 30 11 7 12 39 34 +5
6 Chivas USA3 45 30 13 11 6 34 31 +3
7 New England Revolution3 42 30 11 10 9 33 37 −4
8 Real Salt Lake2 40 30 11 12 7 43 35 +8
9 Colorado Rapids 40 30 10 10 10 42 38 +4
10 D.C. United 40 30 9 8 13 43 44 −1
11 FC Dallas 39 30 11 13 6 50 47 +4
12 Toronto FC1 39 30 10 11 9 37 46 −9
13 Kansas City Wizards 33 30 8 13 9 33 42 −9
14 San Jose Earthquakes 30 30 7 14 9 36 50 −14
15 New York Red Bulls 21 30 5 19 6 27 47 −20
MLS Supporters' Shield, 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2010 U.S. Open Cup, 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League2
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2010 U.S. Open Cup
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs

Playoffs

  Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup 2009
                             
E1  Columbus Crew 0 2  
E4  Real Salt Lake 1 3  
  E4  Real Salt Lake (AET) (PEN) (0)5  
Eastern Conference
  E2  Chicago Fire (0)4  
E3  New England Revolution 2 0
E2  Chicago Fire 1 2  
  E4  Real Salt Lake (AET) (PEN) (1)5
  W1  Los Angeles Galaxy (1)4
W1  Los Angeles Galaxy 2 1  
W4  Chivas USA 2 0  
  W1  Los Angeles Galaxy (AET) 2
Western Conference
  W2  Houston Dynamo 0  
W3  Seattle Sounders FC 0 0
W2  Houston Dynamo (AET) 0 1  

1 Real Salt Lake earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Western Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Eastern Conference qualified for the playoffs.

Positions by round

Overall

Team \ Round

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Columbus Crew 1
Los Angeles Galaxy 2
Houston Dynamo 3
Seattle Sounders FC 4
Chicago Fire 5
Chivas USA 6
New England Revolution 7
Real Salt Lake 8
Colorado Rapids 9
D.C. United 10
FC Dallas 11
Toronto FC 3 4 7 9 10 3 4 4 6 5 8 10 6 9 6 7 5 8 9 9 9 8 8 11 11 10 11 10 10 12
Sporting Kansas City 13
San Jose Earthquakes 14
New York Red Bulls 15

Last updated: Oct 20, 2009 (EST)
Source: mlssoccer.com

Statistics

Golden Boot

Full article: MLS Golden Boot
Rank Scorer Club GP G A
1 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 28 17 8
2 Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 24 16 1
3 Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 27 12 7
4 Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 25 12 6
5 Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake 27 12 4
6 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 24 12 3
7 Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls 25 12 2
8 Dwayne de Rosario Toronto FC 28 11 6
9 Ryan Johnson San Jose Earthquakes 30 11 2
10 Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards 27 11 0

Stats last updated 24 October 2009.[5]

Goalkeeping leaders

Rank Goalkeeper Club GP MINS SHTS SVS GA GAA W–L–T SHO
1 Zach Thornton Chivas USA 27 2385 111 83 23 0.87 12–9–6 12
2 Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC 29 2549 108 78 26 0.92 12–5–11 10
3 William Hesmer Columbus Crew 19 1710 86 68 18 0.95 9–4–6 7
4 Matt Reis New England Revolution 24 2160 140 114 23 0.96 10–8–6 8
5 Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo 30 2700 121 89 29 0.97 13–8–9 10

Stats last updated October 26, 2009.[6]

Individual awards

Player of the Week

Week Player of the Week Club Week's Statline
Week 1 Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 2 G (12', 75') GWG, A (25')
Week 2 Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC SHO, 5 SVS
Week 3 Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 3 G (1', 49', 84') GWG
Week 4 Donovan Ricketts Los Angeles Galaxy SHO, 5 SVS
Week 5 Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards 2 G (78', 89') GTG
Week 6 Javier Morales Real Salt Lake 2 A (53', 55') GWA
Week 7 Jaime Moreno D.C. United 2 G (56', 66') GWG
Week 8 Macoumba Kandji New York Red Bulls G (40'), 2 A (13', 22') GWA
Week 9 Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards 2 G (20', 67') GWG
Week 10 Amado Guevara Toronto FC 2 G (14', 70')
Week 11 Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 2 G (25', 48')
Week 12 Taylor Twellman New England Revolution 2 G (57', 64')
Week 13 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 2 G (61', 87') GWG
Week 14 Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 2 G (11', 45') GWG, A (49')
Week 15 Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC A (23') GWA, 2 G (48', 68')
Week 16 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 2 G (15', 17') GWG
Week 17 Chad Barrett Toronto FC 2 G (5', 69')
Week 18 Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire A (82') GWA, G (92+')
Week 19 Yura Movsisyan Real Salt Lake 2 G (55', 93+')
Week 20 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 4 G (38', 66', 76', 89'), GWG
Week 21 Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 3 G (4', 23', 47+')
Week 22 Chad Marshall Columbus Crew G (10'), A (87')
Week 23 Kheli Dube New England Revolution 3 G (9', 29', 66')
Week 24 Pablo Campos Real Salt Lake 1 G (43') GWG, 1 G (18') GWG
Week 25 Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards 2 G (73', 91+')
Week 26 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 2 G (25', 86') 2 A (71', 83')
Week 27 Brad Davis Houston Dynamo G (81') GWG, 2 A (2', 5')
Week 28 Shalrie Joseph New England Revolution 2 G (51', 86') GWG
Week 29 Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 1 G (42') GWG
Week 30 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 1 G (81') GWG
Week 31 Freddie Ljungberg Seattle Sounders FC 2 A (69', 76') GWA
Week 32 Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake 2 G (15', 33') GWG

Player of the Month

Month Player of the Month Club Month's Statline
March Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 3 G, 1 A, Sounders 2-0-0 in March
April Brian McBride Chicago Fire 4 G, Fire 1-0-3 in April
May Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 4 G, 1 A, Rapids 2-0-2 in May
June Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 4 G, 2 A, Crew 3-1-0 in June
July Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 1 G, 2 A, Galaxy 3-0-1 in July
August Chad Marshall Columbus Crew 2 G, 3 SHO Crew 3-1-0 in August
September Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 7 G, 3 A, Dallas 3-1-1 in September
October Freddie Ljungberg Seattle Sounders FC 4 A, Sounders 3-0-0 in October

Goal of the Week

Week Scorer Club Goal
Week 1 Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 12'
Week 2 Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 77'
Week 3 Sainey Nyassi New England Revolution 56'
Week 4 Brian McBride Chicago Fire 57'
Week 5 Brian Ching Houston Dynamo 20'
Week 6 Clint Mathis Real Salt Lake 55'
Week 7 Jaime Moreno D.C. United 66'
Week 8 Chris Pontius D.C. United 86'
Week 9 Santino Quaranta D.C. United 85'
Week 10 Claudio López Kansas City Wizards 56'
Week 11 Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC 58'
Week 12 Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 88'
Week 13 Davy Arnaud Kansas City Wizards 19'
Week 14 Eric Avila FC Dallas 80'
Week 15 Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC 48'
Week 16 Marco Pappa Chicago Fire 30'
Week 17 Patrick Ianni Seattle Sounders FC 46'
Week 18 Bryan Namoff DC United 56'
Week 19 Claudio López Kansas City Wizards 26'
Week 20 Fred DC United 74'
Week 21 Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 21'
Week 22 Steve Zakuani Seattle Sounders FC 22'
Week 23 Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC 70'
Week 24 Wells Thompson New England Revolution 73'
Week 25 Edgaras Jankauskas New England Revolution 63'
Week 26 O'Brian White Toronto FC 71'
Week 27 Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 81'
Week 28 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 87'
Week 29 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 71'
Week 30 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 82'
Week 31 George John FC Dallas 4'
Week 32 Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake 33'

Save of the Week

Save of the week was first introduced during week 10 of the 2009 season.[7]

Week Goalkeeper Club Save
Week 10 Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC 34'
Week 11 Kevin Hartman Kansas City Wizards 82'
Week 12 Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo 34'
Week 13 Danny Cepero New York Red Bulls 32'
Week 14 Donovan Ricketts Los Angeles Galaxy 14'
Week 15 Stefan Frei Toronto FC 34'
Week 16 Josh Saunders Los Angeles Galaxy 73'
Week 17 Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo 43'
Week 18 Donovan Ricketts Los Angeles Galaxy 42'
Week 19 Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake 71'
Week 20 Darío Sala FC Dallas 48'
Week 21 Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC 47'
Week 22 Amado Guevara Toronto FC 47'
Week 23 Onstad & Barret Houston Dynamo 4'
Week 24 Stefan Frei Toronto FC 93+'
Week 25 Stefan Frei Toronto FC 24'
Week 26 Stefan Frei Toronto FC 77'
Week 27 Zach Thornton Chivas USA 15'
Week 28 Darío Sala FC Dallas 7'
Week 29 Tyrone Marshall Seattle Sounders FC 70'
Week 30 Dario Sala FC Dallas 53'
Week 31 Geoff Cameron Houston Dynamo 7'
Week 32 Kevin Hartman Kansas City Wizards 51'

Team Attendance Totals

[8]

Club Games Season Game Avg.
Seattle Sounders FC 15 499,262 31,203
Los Angeles Galaxy 15 333,239 20,827
Toronto FC 15 305,167 20,344
Real Salt Lake 15 303,138 17,831
Houston Dynamo 15 264,368 17,624
Chivas USA 15 251,611 15,725
D.C. United 15 202,605 15,585
Chicago Fire 15 247,908 15,487
Columbus Crew 15 226,808 14,175
Colorado Rapids 15 195,282 13,018
New York Red Bulls 15 165,672 12,744
New England Revolution 15 173,985 12,427
San Jose Earthquakes 15 134,283 10,329
Kansas City Wizards 15 150,802 10,053
FC Dallas 15 108,717 9,883
OVERALL 225 3,562,847 16,120

Related competitions

International competitions

CONCACAF Champions League

The Houston Dynamo continued their CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 campaign that began during the previous season. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals over two legs by eventual champions Atlante.

Columbus (MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield winner), Houston (MLS Supporters' Shield Runner-up), New York (MLS Cup runner-up), and D.C. United (U.S. Open Cup winner), will be the representatives in the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10 -- an additional slot from Canada was gained by Toronto by virtue of their Voyageurs Cup win. New York and Toronto were eliminated at the preliminary round, while D.C. advanced to the group stage on penalty kicks. Columbus and Houston qualified directly into the Group stage.[9] Houston and D.C. were eliminated during the group stage, with only Columbus progressing to the knockout rounds.

SuperLiga 2009

Chicago, New England, Chivas USA, and Kansas City were MLS's entrants in SuperLiga 2009, based on their finish in the 2008 regular season as the top four teams not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. Chivas U.S.A. and Kansas City were eliminated in the group stage. Chicago eliminated New England in the semi-finals, only to lose to Tigres in the final.

National competitions

2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

MLS awarded the top six finishers in 2008, regardless of conference, automatic berths into the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup's third round. Columbus, Houston, Chicago Fire, New England, Chivas USA, and Kansas City qualified based on their top-six finish. D.C. United and Seattle qualified via an eight team qualifying tournament.

Each of the qualified MLS teams were matched up against the winner of a second round game, all of whom come from one of the USL's three divisions. Seattle and D.C. eventually emerged to play the final on 2 September at RFK stadium, which Seattle ultimately won.

2009 Canadian Championship

Canada's top three teams, MLS's Toronto FC, USL-1's Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC competed in the Voyageurs Cup. The tournament was played as a double round robin group from May 6 to June 18, and won by Toronto, who gained Canada's berth into the CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10.

All-Star game

MLS All-Star 2009

MLS All-Star 2009 against Everton FC, of the English Premier League, took place on July 29 from Rio Tinto Stadium home of Real Salt Lake. Everton defeated the MLS All-Stars in a penalty shootout 4-3 after the game was tied 1-1. No extra time was played following regular time. Tim Howard, the Everton and U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper, was named the game's MVP.

See also

References

External links