2009 MLS Cup Playoffs

2009 MLS Cup Playoffs

Country	United States
Teams	8
Defending champions	Columbus Crew
Champions	Real Salt Lake (1st title)
Runners-up	Los Angeles Galaxy
Semi-finalists	Chicago Fire Houston Dynamo
Matches played	11
Goals scored	21 (1.91 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Landon Donovan Robbie Findley (3 goals each)
← 2008 2010 →

The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2009 season. MLS Cup 2009 concluded the season on November 22, 2009 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. Real Salt Lake won the Cup in penalties over the L.A. Galaxy.

Format

At the 2009 season's end, the top two teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next four highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was 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 2009 MLS Supporters' Shield (Columbus Crew) and the winner of MLS Cup 2009 (Real Salt Lake) qualified for the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. The runner-up of MLS Cup 2009 (Los Angeles Galaxy) and the winner of the 2009 U.S. Open Cup (Seattle Sounders) qualified for the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round.
  
• ^Note 3 - SuperLiga 2010 berths are awarded to the top 4 finishing teams from MLS who do not qualify for Champions League (Houston, Chicago, Chivas USA and New England).

Bracket

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.

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

Columbus Crew v Real Salt Lake

October 31, 2009 4:30PM MDT

Columbus Crew	0 – 1	Real Salt Lake
Carroll  19'	Report	38' Beckerman  88' Findley

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah Attendance: 11,499 Referee: Mark Geiger

Real Salt Lake v Columbus Crew

November 5, 2009 8:00PM EST

Real Salt Lake	3 – 2	Columbus Crew
Morales  37' Findley  45+2' (pen.) Olave  68' Williams  77'	Report	17', 35' Barros Schelotto  48' O'Rourke  59' Moreno

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 10,109 Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Real Salt Lake advances 4–2 on aggregate.

Chicago Fire v New England Revolution

November 1, 2009 2:00PM EST

Chicago Fire	1 – 2	New England Revolution
Rolfe  17' Husidic  90+3'	Report	41' Alston  45+1' Osei  75' Joseph

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 7,416 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

New England Revolution v Chicago Fire

November 7, 2009 7:30PM CST

New England Revolution	0 – 2	Chicago Fire
Mansally  17' Jankauskas  36' Larentowicz  85'	Report	35' Thorrington  83' Blanco

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois Attendance: 21,528 Referee: Alex Prus

Chicago Fire advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Western Conference

Los Angeles Galaxy v Chivas USA

November 1, 2009 8:00PM PST

Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 2	Chivas USA
Magee  14' Birchall  27' Donovan  41'	Report	4' Santos  50' Galindo  81' Saragosa

Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 25,218 Referee: Kevin Stott

Chivas USA v Los Angeles Galaxy

November 8, 2009 4:30PM PST

Chivas USA	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy
Talley  39' Thornton  72' Nagamura  79' Cuesta  79' Kljestan  90'	Report	60' Franklin  73' (pen.) Donovan

Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Los Angeles Galaxy advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders FC

October 29, 2009 7:00PM PDT

Houston Dynamo	0 – 0	Seattle Sounders FC
Onstad  16' Mullan  71' Chabala  75'	Report	16' Montero  64' Alonso  68' Evans

Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 35,807 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Seattle Sounders FC v Houston Dynamo

November 8, 2009 3:00PM CST

Seattle Sounders FC	0 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Houston Dynamo
Marshall  24' Riley  120' Ljungberg  120'	Report	44' Chabala  93' Cameron  96' Ching

Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas Attendance: 27,465 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

Houston Dynamo advances 1–0 on aggregate.

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire

November 14, 2009 7:00PM CST

Real Salt Lake	0 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Chicago Fire
Morales  39' Wingert  75' Beckerman  99' Johnson  110'	Report	Thorrington  92' Prideaux  101' Blanco  116'
	Penalties
Mathis Morales Findley Beckerman Johnson Espíndola Grabavoy	5 – 4	Blanco McBride Conde Thorrington Brown Pause Prideaux

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois Attendance: 21,723 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Real Salt Lake advances 5–4 on penalties.

Western Conference

Houston Dynamo v Los Angeles Galaxy

November 13, 2009 8:00PM PST

Houston Dynamo	0 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Los Angeles Galaxy
Mullan  26' Boswell  111' Landín  119'	Report	77' Kovalenko  89' Donovan  103' Berhalter  109' (pen.) Donovan

Home Depot Center, Carson, California Attendance: 25,373 Referee: Terry Vaughn

Los Angeles Galaxy advances.

MLS Cup

Los Angeles Galaxy v Real Salt Lake

November 22, 2009 5:30 p.m. PST

Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Real Salt Lake
Birchall  39' Magee  41'	Report	Johnson  14' Findley  64'
	Penalties
Beckham Berhalter Kirovski Donovan Magee Klein Buddle	4 – 5	Mathis Findley Beckerman Grabavoy Williams Wingert Russell

Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 46,011 Referee: Kevin Stott

See also

• 2009 Major League Soccer season

References

{{2008–09 in North and Central America, and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF)}} {{2009–10 in North and Central America, and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF)}}