2012 Major League Soccer season

The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.

The regular season began on March 10, when the Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated the expansion team Montreal Impact 2–0 at BC Place, and concluded with the host Los Angeles Galaxy defeating the Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 on October 28 at The Home Depot Center. The season also featured the 2012 MLS All-Star Game on July 28, when MLS All-Stars defeated the Chelsea 3–2 at PPL Park (hosted by the Philadelphia Union). The San Jose Earthquakes would go on to become the Supporters' Shield champions by earning the most points of any team throughout the regular season. The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs ran from October 31 until December 1, when the Los Angeles Galaxy claimed their fourth MLS Cup title by defeating Houston Dynamo 3–1 in MLS Cup 2012 at Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.^[2]

Changes from 2011

The 2012 MLS season features several significant on- and off-field changes from 2011:^[2]

• The Montreal Impact became the 19th MLS franchise, replacing a same-named Montreal club that previously played in the North American Soccer League in 2011 and in the USL First Division before that. The Impact made their on-field debut on March 10 in a 2–0 loss at Vancouver. The Impact's home debut, a 1–1 draw with the Chicago Fire on March 17, attracted 58,912 to Olympic Stadium, setting the all-time record crowd for professional soccer in Montreal.^[3] A 1–1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 12 attracted 60,860, setting the all-time attendance record for professional soccer in Canada.^[4]
• The Impact joined MLS as the 10th team in the Eastern Conference; the Western Conference remains at 9 teams.
• Each of the 19 teams plays a 34-game regular season schedule, one that employs a new unbalanced format that gives greater emphasis on in-conference matchups.^[5]
  • Western Conference clubs will play each conference rival three times, and play once against each Eastern Conference club.
  • Eastern Conference clubs will play seven of their conference rivals three times, the remaining two conference rivals twice, and each Western Conference club once.
  • The span of the regular season will be the longest in MLS history, beginning with 5 matches on March 10 and ending with 3 matches on October 28.^[6]
• A change to the Designated Player Rule regarding international players took effect with the start of the 2012 season. The salary cap charge for international designated players (i.e., players not from the U.S. or Canada) will depend on the players' ages:
  • age 20 and younger: $150,000^[7]
  • ages 21 to 23: $200,000^[7]
  • over 23 years of age: $350,000^[7]
• The league gained a new U.S. TV partner in NBC Sports, whose 3-year deal was announced in August 2011 (replacing expired deals with Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes)^[8] and began on March 11 with a NBC Sports Network broadcast of the New York Red Bulls/FC Dallas match.^[9] As part of the deal, NBC Sports Network will air 38 regular season and 3 playoff matches, while the main NBC network will air 3 regular season and 2 playoff matches (the first time since 2002 that that many MLS games will be broadcast on English-language network television). NBC and NBCSN will also air United States men's national soccer team matches (2 on each network). Previous deals with U.S. partners ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and Galavisión continue in 2012, as do deals with Canadian partners TSN, TSN2, and GolTV.
• The MLS Cup Playoffs setup will undergo several changes, as will the Championship Game, which will be played on its latest date ever, December 1.^[6] (see MLS Cup below)

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Chicago Fire	Chivas USA/ Los Angeles Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	Columbus Crew	D.C. United	FC Dallas
Toyota Park	The Home Depot Center	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	Crew Stadium	RFK Memorial Stadium	FC Dallas Stadium
Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 27,000	Capacity: 19,680	Capacity: 20,145	Capacity: 19,467	Capacity: 21,193

Houston Dynamo	Montreal Impact	New England Revolution	New York Red Bulls	Philadelphia Union	Portland Timbers
BBVA Compass Stadium	Saputo Stadium[lower-alpha 1]	Gillette Stadium	Red Bull Arena	PPL Park	Jeld-Wen Field
Capacity: 22,000	Capacity: 20,801	Capacity: 22,385	Capacity: 25,189	Capacity: 18,500	Capacity: 20,323

Real Salt Lake	San Jose Earthquakes	Seattle Sounders FC	Sporting Kansas City	Toronto FC	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Rio Tinto Stadium	Buck Shaw Stadium	CenturyLink Field	Livestrong Sporting Park	BMO Field	BC Place
Capacity: 20,213	Capacity: 10,525	Capacity: 38,500	Capacity: 18,467	Capacity: 21,859	Capacity: 21,000

Fire

Chivas USA

Rapids

Crew

D.C. United

FC Dallas

Dynamo

Galaxy

Impact

Revolution

Red Bulls

Union

Timbers

Real Salt Lake

Earthquakes

Sounders FC

Sporting KC

Toronto FC

Whitecaps FC

Locations of teams for the 2012 Major League Soccer season. Orange: Western Conference members, Blue: Eastern Conference members.

Personnel and sponsorship

Five MLS teams saw changes in jersey sponsorship for the 2012 season:

• Bank of Montreal became the first shirt sponsor for the Montreal Impact.^[12]
• The Chicago Fire, who went without a jersey sponsor in 2011, gained one in Quaker Oats Company.^[13]
• The Columbus Crew, who also did not have a 2011 jersey sponsor, gained sponsorship from Barbasol.^[14]
• Amway Global declined to renew its sponsorship of the San Jose Earthquakes, which has yet to find a replacement.
• On June 27, it was announced that AdvoCare had reached an agreement with FC Dallas to become the first shirt sponsor in club history.^[15]

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Klopas, FrankFrank Klopas	Pause, LoganLogan Pause	Quaker
Chivas USA	Fraser, RobinRobin Fraser	Moreno, AlejandroAlejandro Moreno	Corona
Colorado Rapids	Pareja, ÓscarÓscar Pareja	Mastroeni, PabloPablo Mastroeni	n/a
Columbus Crew	Warzycha, RobertRobert Warzycha	Marshall, ChadChad Marshall	Barbasol
D.C. United	Olsen, BenBen Olsen	De Rosario, DwayneDwayne De Rosario	Volkswagen
FC Dallas	Hyndman, SchellasSchellas Hyndman	Ihemelu, UgoUgo Ihemelu	AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo	Kinnear, DominicDominic Kinnear	Ching, BrianBrian Ching	Greenstar
Los Angeles Galaxy	Arena, BruceBruce Arena	Donovan, LandonLandon Donovan	Herbalife
Montreal Impact	Marsch, JesseJesse Marsch	Arnaud, DavyDavy Arnaud	Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution	Heaps, JayJay Heaps	Reis, MattMatt Reis	UnitedHealthcare
New York Red Bulls	Backe, HansHans Backe	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry	Red Bull
Philadelphia Union	Hackworth, JohnJohn Hackworth	Valdés, CarlosCarlos Valdés	Bimbo
Portland Timbers	Wilkinson, GavinGavin Wilkinson	Jewsbury, JackJack Jewsbury	Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake	Kreis, JasonJason Kreis	Beckerman, KyleKyle Beckerman	XanGo
San Jose Earthquakes	Yallop, FrankFrank Yallop	Corrales, RamiroRamiro Corrales	n/a
Seattle Sounders FC	Schmid, SigiSigi Schmid	Rosales, MauroMauro Rosales	Xbox
Sporting Kansas City	Vermes, PeterPeter Vermes	Nielsen, JimmyJimmy Nielsen	n/a
Toronto FC	Mariner, PaulPaul Mariner	Frings, TorstenTorsten Frings	Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Rennie, MartinMartin Rennie	DeMerit, JayJay DeMerit	Bell Canada

Player transfers

Major League Soccer employs no fewer than 12 methods to acquire players. These include: signing players on transfers/free transfers as is done in most of the world; via trades; drafting players through mechanisms such as the MLS SuperDraft, MLS Supplemental Draft, or MLS Re-Entry Draft; rarely used methods which cover extreme hardship and injury replacement; signing players as Designated Players or Homegrown Players; placing a discovery claim on players; waivers; and methods peculiar to MLS such as through allocation or a weighted lottery.^[16]

Allocation ranking

The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the League after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. The allocation rankings may also be used in the event two or more clubs file a request for the same player on the same day. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2011 season, taking playoff performance into account.

Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club’s ranking. At all times, each club is assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS League season.^[16]

Original Ranking	Club	Date Allocation Used	Player Signed	Player Nation	Previous Club	Club Nation	Ref
1	Montreal Impact	February 17, 2012	Eddie Johnson	United States	Fulham	England	[17]
2	Philadelphia Union	June 26, 2012	Bakary Soumaré	Mali	US Boulogne	France	[18]
3	New England Revolution	August 27, 2012	Juan Toja	Colombia	Aris	Greece	[19]
4	Seattle Sounders FC∞	September 14, 2012	Marcus Hahnemann	United States	Everton	England	[20]
5	Chivas USA
6	San Jose Earthquakes
7	D.C. United
8	Portland Timbers
9	Chicago Fire
10	Columbus Crew
11	Colorado Rapids	March 28, 2012	Kamani Hill	United States	Vitória	Portugal	[21]
12	FC Dallas
13	New York Red Bulls	August 8, 2012	Luis Robles	United States	Karlsruher SC	Germany	[22]

Montreal immediately traded Johnson to Seattle in exchange for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle.

Vancouver originally had the No. 2 ranking, but traded it to Philadelphia on June 26.

∞Toronto originally had the No. 4 ranking, but traded it to Seattle on September 14.

The remaining order after FC Dallas is: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (from Philadelphia), Toronto FC (from Seattle), Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy. In the unlikely event that all clubs use an allocation, the order begins anew with Montreal Impact, Colorado Rapids, Philadelphia Union, New York Red Bulls New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders FC.

Weighted lottery

Some players are assigned to MLS teams via a weighted lottery process. A team can only acquire one player per year through a weighted lottery. The players made available through lotteries include: (i) Generation adidas players signed after the MLS SuperDraft; and (ii) Draft eligible players to whom an MLS contract was offered but who failed to sign with the League prior to the SuperDraft.

The team with the worst record over its last 30 regular season games (dating back to previous season if necessary and taking playoff performance into account) will have the greatest probability of winning the lottery. Teams are not required to participate in a lottery. Players are assigned via the lottery system in order to prevent a player from potentially influencing his destination club with a strategic holdout.

The results of 2012 weighted lotteries thus far:

Lottery Date	Player	Player Nation	Position	Winning Club	Other Clubs Participating	Ref
December 15, 2011	Lee Nguyen	USA	MF	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Toronto FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy	[23]
September 13, 2012	Marcus Tracy	USA	FW	San Jose Earthquakes	New England Revolution, FC Dallas, Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders FC

Ownership changes

Regular season standings

Conferences

Eastern Conference

Updated to matches played on 18:04 EDT October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com
Notation Key:

(E1) = Eastern Conference champion

Western Conference

Updated to matches played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com
Notation Key:

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner

(W1) = Western Conference champion

Overall table

Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, seeding in the 2013 Canadian Championship, and 2013 MLS draft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying for the playoffs.

Updated to matches played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com
Notation Key:

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner

¹The highest ranked U.S.-based MLS club qualifies to the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League (placed in Pot A). The other U.S. representatives in the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League are:

²Toronto FC qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2012 Canadian Championship.

Tiebreak rules

When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules^[24] apply:

1. Goals for
2. Goal differential
3. Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table (foul - 1 pt, first yellow - 3 pts, second yellow - 5 pts, straight red - 6 pts, disciplinary commission suspension - 6 pts, etc.)
4. Road goals
5. Road goal differential
6. Coin toss (2 teams) or drawing of lots (3 or more teams)

Playoff bracket

^[25]

Statistical leaders

Full article: MLS Golden Boot

Top scorers Rank Player Nation Club Goals 1 Chris Wondolowski  USA San Jose Earthquakes 27 2 Kenny Cooper  USA New York Red Bulls 18 3 Álvaro Saborío  CRC Real Salt Lake 17 4 Robbie Keane  IRE Los Angeles Galaxy 16 5 Thierry Henry  FRA New York Red Bulls 15 6 Eddie Johnson  USA Seattle Sounders FC 14 7 Alan Gordon  USA San Jose Earthquakes 13 Fredy Montero  COL Seattle Sounders FC 13 9 Will Bruin  USA Houston Dynamo 12 Chris Pontius  USA D.C. United 12 11 Kei Kamara  SLE Sporting Kansas City 11 Saër Sène  FRA New England Revolution 11 Source:[26]

Top assists Rank Player Nation Club Assists 1 Graham Zusi  USA Sporting Kansas City 15 2 Landon Donovan  USA Los Angeles Galaxy 14 3 Marvin Chávez  HON San Jose Earthquakes 13 Mauro Rosales  ARG Seattle Sounders FC 13 5 Brad Davis  USA Houston Dynamo 12 Dwayne De Rosario  CAN D.C. United 12 Thierry Henry  FRA New York Red Bulls 12 8 Felipe Martins  BRA Montreal Impact 10 9 David Beckham  ENG Los Angeles Galaxy 9 David Ferreira  COL FC Dallas 9 Robbie Keane  IRE Los Angeles Galaxy 9 Javier Morales  ARG Real Salt Lake 9 Source:[27]

Top goalkeepers

(Minimum of 1,500 minutes played)

Rank	Goalkeeper	Nation	Club	GAA	SV	GA	Mins	GP	ShO
1	Michael Gspurning	AUT	Seattle Sounders FC	0.70	63	15	1935	22	9
2	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City	0.79	77	27	3060	34	15
3	Bill Hamid	USA	D.C. United	1.03	90	25	2177	25	8
	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake	1.03	88	33	2880	32	13
5	Tally Hall	USA	Houston Dynamo	1.19	88	39	2946	33	12
6	Sean Johnson	USA	Chicago Fire	1.24	108	38	2766	31	5
7	Andy Gruenebaum	USA	Columbus Crew	1.26	124	41	2920	33	8
8	Josh Saunders	PRI	Los Angeles Galaxy	1.33	80	36	2430	27	9
9	Joe Cannon	USA	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1.34	73	34	2277	26	8
	Zac MacMath	USA	Philadelphia Union	1.34	93	43	2880	32	8

Source:^[28]

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Month	MLS Player of the Month
	Player	Nation	Club	Link
March	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	5G 3A
April	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	4G 2A
May	Dwayne De Rosario	CAN	D.C. United	4G 3A
June	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	3G 0A
July	Robbie Keane	IRL	Los Angeles Galaxy	5G 4A
August	Patrice Bernier	CAN	Montreal Impact	3G 3A
September	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	4G 2A
October	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	5G 0A

Weekly awards

Week	Player of the Week			AT&T Goal of the Week			MLS Save of the Week
	Player	Nat	Club	Player	Nat	Club	Player	Nat	Club
Week 1	Kalif Alhassan	GHA	Portland Timbers	Kris Boyd	SCO	Portland Timbers	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 2	David Estrada	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Ryan Johnson	JAM	Toronto FC	Joe Cannon	USA	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 3	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Joe Cannon	USA	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 4	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Darlington Nagbe	LBR	Portland Timbers	Paolo Tornaghi	ITA	Chicago Fire
Week 5	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Álvaro Saborío	CRC	Real Salt Lake	Donovan Ricketts	JAM	Montreal Impact
Week 6	Dan Kennedy	USA	Chivas USA	David Beckham	ENG	Los Angeles Galaxy	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 7	Chris Pontius	USA	D.C. United	Kyle Beckerman	USA	Real Salt Lake	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 8	Steven Lenhart	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	Marco Pappa	GUA	Chicago Fire	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 9	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	Fredy Montero	COL	Seattle Sounders FC	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 10	Lee Nguyen	USA	New England Revolution	David Beckham	ENG	Los Angeles Galaxy	Sean Johnson	USA	Chicago Fire
Week 11	Dwayne De Rosario	CAN	D.C. United	Fredy Montero	COL	Seattle Sounders FC	Andy Gruenebaum	USA	Columbus Crew
Week 12	Emilio Rentería	VEN	Columbus Crew	C. J. Sapong	USA	Sporting Kansas City	Troy Perkins	USA	Portland Timbers
Week 13–15	Patrice Bernier	CAN	Montreal Impact	Júlio César	BRA	Sporting Kansas City	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 16	Landon Donovan	USA	Los Angeles Galaxy	Patrick Ianni	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Jason Hernandez	USA	San Jose Earthquakes
Week 17	Danny Koevermans	NED	Toronto FC	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	Josh Saunders	PUR	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 18	Álvaro Saborío	CRC	Real Salt Lake	Jack McInerney	USA	Philadelphia Union	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 19	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	David Beckham	ENG	Los Angeles Galaxy	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 20	Calen Carr	USA	Houston Dynamo	Jose Villarreal	USA	Los Angeles Galaxy	Matt Reis	USA	New England Revolution
Week 21	Jairo Arrieta	CRC	Columbus Crew	Saër Sène	FRA	New England Revolution	Sean Johnson	USA	Chicago Fire
Week 22	Eddie Johnson	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Felipe Martins	BRA	Montreal Impact	Kevin Hartman	USA	FC Dallas
Week 23	Landon Donovan	USA	Los Angeles Galaxy	Sanna Nyassi	GAM	Montreal Impact	Troy Perkins	USA	Montreal Impact
Week 24	David Ferreira	COL	FC Dallas	Lamar Neagle	USA	Montreal Impact	Donovan Ricketts	JAM	Portland Timbers
Week 25	Federico Higuaín	ARG	Columbus Crew	Marco Di Vaio	ITA	Montreal Impact	Steven Smith	SCO	Portland Timbers
Week 26	Federico Higuaín	ARG	Columbus Crew	David Beckham	ENG	Los Angeles Galaxy	Matt Pickens	USA	Colorado Rapids
Week 27	Eddie Johnson	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Eddie Johnson	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 28	Sean Johnson	USA	Chicago Fire	Fredy Montero	COL	Seattle Sounders FC	Marcelo Sarvas	BRA	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 29	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Javier Morales	ARG	Real Salt Lake	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 30	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	Álvaro Saborío	CRC	Real Salt Lake	Nick Rimando	USA	Real Salt Lake
Week 31	Thierry Henry	FRA	New York Red Bulls	Robbie Keane	IRE	Los Angeles Galaxy	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 32	Chris Wondolowski	USA	San Jose Earthquakes	Jack Jewsbury	USA	Portland Timbers	Jimmy Nielsen	DEN	Sporting Kansas City
Week 33	Brad Evans	USA	Seattle Sounders FC	Jacob Peterson	USA	Sporting Kansas City
Week 34	Kenny Cooper	USA	New York Red Bulls

Scoring

• First goal of the season: Sébastien Le Toux for Vancouver Whitecaps FC against Montreal Impact, 3 minutes 1 second (March 10, 2012)
• Hat-tricks of the season:
  • David Estrada for Seattle Sounders FC against Toronto FC (March 17, 2012)
  • Thierry Henry for New York Red Bulls against Montreal Impact (March 31, 2012)
  • Chris Pontius for D.C. United against New York Red Bulls (April 22, 2012)
  • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Portland Timbers (July 7, 2012)
  • Chris Wondolowski for San Jose Earthquakes against Real Salt Lake (July 14, 2012)
  • Fredy Montero for Seattle Sounders FC against Chivas USA (August 25, 2012)
  • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Chivas USA (September 29, 2012)
  • Chris Wondolowski for San Jose Earthquakes against Colorado Rapids (October 6, 2012)
• Fastest hat-trick of the season:
  • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Portland Timbers, 16 minutes and 8 seconds (July 7, 2012)

Discipline

• First yellow card of the season: Milovan Mirošević for Columbus Crew against Colorado Rapids, 40 minutes (March 10, 2012)
• First red card of the season: Stephen McCarthy for New England Revolution against Sporting Kansas City, 14 minutes (March 17, 2012)

Related competitions

International competitions and friendlies

CONCACAF Champions League

Main articles: 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League and 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League

Prior to the start of the MLS regular season, Toronto FC defeated Los Angeles Galaxy while Mexican side Santos Laguna defeated Seattle Sounders FC in two of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series. Toronto FC then lost 3–7 on aggregate in the semifinal with Santos Laguna.^[29]

In the 2012–13 CCL, Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake earned group stage spots (the preliminary round has been eliminated). The Canadian representative, determined by the 2012 Canadian Championship, was Toronto FC.

At the end of the groups stages, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, and Houston Dynamo qualified for the quarterfinals, which will be played in March 2013.

MLS All-Star Game

Main article: 2012 MLS All-Star Game

The 2012 MLS All-Star Game was played on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, home stadium of the Philadelphia Union. As has been the format every year since 2005, the MLS All-Stars played an international club; the 2012 opponent was England's Chelsea FC, 2012 champions of both the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League and visiting side in the 2006 MLS All-Star Game (when they lost to the All-Stars, 1–0, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois).^[30] The MLS All-Stars won the game 3–2.

Domestic competitions

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Main articles: 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification

For the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament, U.S. Soccer has increased the size of the main tournament from 40 to 64 clubs, assembling the competition so that all U.S.-based Major League Soccer clubs gain entry.^[31] On August 8, 2012, Sporting Kansas City defeated the Seattle Sounders on penalties to win the franchise's second open cup title.^[32]

Canadian Championship

Main article: 2012 Canadian Championship

The three Canadian-based MLS clubs, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, along with NASL club FC Edmonton, competed for the Voyageurs Cup, Canada's national championship trophy. The tournament is organized in a knockout format with two-legged ties in both the semifinals and final, with the away goals rule in place. Toronto defeated Vancouver in the finals, their fourth consecutive national championship, and qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League.

League Competitions

MLS Cup

Main article: 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs

The MLS Cup playoffs took place after the conclusion of the regular season. For 2012, the playoff structure underwent several changes:

• The playoffs will no longer feature wild cards and the possibility of "crossovers" (i.e. teams from opposite conferences playing in the early rounds). Instead, the top five clubs in each conference's standings will qualify for the playoffs and will play in the following manner:
  • The 4th place team will host the 5th place team in a single "play-in" match, with the winner advancing to the conference semifinals.
  • The Conference Semifinals will again be a two-game aggregate goal setup as before (with extra time and penalty kicks employed if the aggregate is level after 180 minutes). The 1st place team will play the winner of the 4th/5th game, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams play each other. The lower-seeded team will host the first leg of each semifinal.
  • The semifinal winners will play each other in the Conference Finals, which will be altered to a two-game aggregate series patterned after the semifinal round (before this year, this round was a single-game format).
• The Conference Final winners will advance to the MLS Cup Championship Game, which for the first time will be played at the home stadium of the finalist with the better regular season point total; before this season, the game was played at a predetermined site.

Notes

1. ↑ The Impact's first home game at Saputo Stadium was played on June 16, 2012.^[10] The team's first five home games were played at Olympic Stadium while Saputo Stadium underwent expansion.^[11]

References

1. 1 2 3 4 "2012 MLS Standings & Leaders" (PDF). October 29, 2012. 
2. 1 2 "MLS announces changes for 2012 season," from The Score, November 20, 2011
3. ↑ "Impact draws 1–1 with Chicago Fire..." from ImpactMontreal.com, March 17, 2012
4. ↑ "Report: Impact ties LA Galaxy 1–1 in front of 60,860 spectators at Olympic Stadium". Montreal Impact. May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012. 
5. ↑ "MLS will have unbalanced schedule in 2012," from The Score, 11/10/2011
6. 1 2 "MLS releases 2012 schedule; Cup final Dec. 1," from The Score, 1/5/2012
7. 1 2 3 MLSSoccer.com. "2012 MLS Roster Rules". Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012. 
8. ↑ "MLS, NBC announce three-year broadcast deal," from MLSSoccer.com, 8/10/2011
9. ↑ "NBC networks to air 41 regular-season matches in 2012," from MLSsoccer.com, 1/5/2012
10. ↑ "Impact beats Seattle Sounders 4–1 in Stade Saputo home opener," from ImpactMontreal.com, June 16, 2012
11. ↑ "The Montreal Impact unveils its schedule for the 2012 season," from ImpactMontreal.com, posted 1/5/2012
12. ↑ "BMO to become Impact's lead MLS sponsor". Sportsnet. June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2012. 
13. ↑ "Feeling their oats: Fire get jersey sponsorship deal with Quaker," from Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2012
14. ↑ McCarthy, Jack (February 15, 2012). "Crew partner with Barbasol as new jersey sponsor". MLS. Retrieved February 15, 2012. 
15. ↑ "FC Dallas signs multi-year, multi-million dollar jersey deal with AdvoCare". June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012. 
16. 1 2 "2012 MLS Roster Rules | Major League Soccer". Mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012. 
17. ↑ "Montreal send Johnson to Seattle for Neagle, Fucito". MLSsoccer.com. February 17, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012. 
18. ↑ "Union sign central defender Bakary Soumare". philadelphiaunion.com. June 26, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012. 
19. ↑ "Revolution acquire former All-Star Juan Toja via allocation". MLSsoccer.com. August 27, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012. 
20. ↑ Freedman, Jonah (September 14, 2012). "Hahnemann returns to MLS, lands with hometown Seattle". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012. 
21. ↑ "Rapids sign forward Kamani Hill". coloradorapids.com. March 28, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012. 
22. ↑ "Red Bulls Acquire Goalkeeper Luis Robles". newyorkredbulls.com. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012. 
23. ↑ "Whitecaps get US international Nguyen in weighted lottery". MLSsoccer.com. December 15, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012. 
24. ↑ "Competition Rules and Regulations". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 17, 2012. 
25. ↑ "MLS Cup Playoffs 2012". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 2012-11-02. 
26. ↑ "Major League Soccer Statistics". 
27. ↑ "Major League Soccer Statistics". 
28. ↑ "Major League Soccer Statistics". 
29. ↑ "CONCACAF unveils 2011/12 Champions League quarterfinal schedule". CONCACAF.com. November 15, 2011. 
30. ↑ "All-Star Game: Chelsea return for grudge match at PPL," from MLSsoccer.com, 4/11/2012
31. ↑ "Source: 2012 US Open Cup format proposal calls for 64 teams..." from TheCup.us, 11/9/2011
32. ↑ "Sporting Kansas City Claims 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup After Penalty Shootout Victory Against Three-Time Defending Champion Seattle Sounders FC " from ussoccer.com, 8/9/2012

Major League Soccer
Seasons 2017 season Records and statistics (Hat-tricks) Players Union Rivalry cups History USSF CSA
Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlanta United FC Chicago Fire Columbus Crew SC D.C. United Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York City FC New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union Toronto FC   Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Houston Dynamo LA Galaxy Minnesota United FC Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Future teams	Los Angeles FC (2018) Miami (TBA)
Former teams	Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–2001) Miami Fusion (1998–2001) Chivas USA (2005–2014)
Personnel	Foreign Capped Designated Player Homegrown Player Generation Adidas Cup Transfers Coaches
Competition	MLS Cup Playoffs Champions Draft Stadiums Attendance Television Broadcasters MLS Cup
Associated competitions	Supporters' Shield All-Star Game (Homegrown Game) CONCACAF Champions League U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship Reserve League
Other	MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions League
Category Portal Multimedia

Major League Soccer seasons
1990s	1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

2012 MLS season by team
SuperDraft Supplemental Draft All-Star Game Playoffs MLS Cup Transfers
Eastern	Chicago Fire Columbus Crew D.C. United Houston Dynamo Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York Red Bulls Philadelphia Union Sporting Kansas City Toronto FC
Western	Chivas USA Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Los Angeles Galaxy Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2011–12 in North and Central America and Caribbean association football (CONCACAF)
« 2010–11 Club tournaments in CONCACAF member countries between July 2011 and June 2012 2012–13 »
Domestic leagues	Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Belize '12 Bermuda Canada '11 '12 Cayman Islands Costa Rica Curaçao '10–11 El Salvador '11 A '12 C Guatemala Haiti '11 Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico '11 Saint Lucia '11 Suriname Trinidad and Tobago United States '11 '12
Domestic cups	Canada '11 '12 Trinidad and Tobago United States '11 '12
CONCACAF competitions	Champions League (Preliminary round, Group stage, Championship round, Final) CFU Club Championship

2012–13 in North and Central America and Caribbean association football (CONCACAF)
« 2011–12 Club tournaments in CONCACAF member countries between July 2012 and June 2013 2013–14 »
Domestic leagues	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados '12 '13 Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Canada '12 '13 Cayman Islands Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao '12 '13 Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador '12 A '13 C French Guiana Grenada '12 '13 Guadeloupe Guatemala Guyana Haiti '12 '13 Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico '12 '13 Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia '12 '13 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname '11–'12 '12–'13 Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States '12 '13 United States Virgin Islands
Domestic cups	Canada Mexico '12 A '13 C Trinidad and Tobago United States '12 '13
CONCACAF competitions	Champions League (Group stage, Championship stage, Finals) CFU Club Championship

2012 in American soccer
« 2011 2013 »
Leagues	Men Major League Soccer MLS Cup Playoffs MLS Reserve NASL Playoffs Soccer Bowl USL Pro PDL MISL 2011–12 2012–13 PASL 2011–12 2012–13 NPSL SPSL NCAA Division I Women WPSL Elite W-League WPSL WLS
Cups	U.S. Open Cup Qualification Final College Cup WDW Pro Soccer Classic Carolina Challenge Cup Desert Diamond Cup Hawaiian Islands Invitational National Women's Cup
Other	MLS All-Star Game MLS transfers
International
Club competitions	CONCACAF Champions League 2011–12 2012–13
National teams	Men 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round Women Olympic Qualifying Tournament Algarve Cup Kirin Challenge Cup Sweden Invitational Women's Olympic Football Tournament
Team seasons
Men
MLS	East Chicago Fire Columbus Crew D.C. United Houston Dynamo Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York Red Bulls Philadelphia Union Sporting Kansas City Toronto FC West Chivas USA Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Los Angeles Galaxy Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC
NASL	Atlanta Silverbacks Carolina RailHawks FC FC Edmonton Fort Lauderdale Strikers Minnesota Stars FC Puerto Rico Islanders San Antonio Scorpions Tampa Bay Rowdies
USL Pro	Antigua Barracuda Charleston Battery Charlotte Eagles Dayton Dutch Lions Harrisburg City Islanders Los Angeles Blues Orlando City Pittsburgh Riverhounds Richmond Kickers Rochester Rhinos Wilmington Hammerheads
PDL	Austin Aztex FC Tucson
Women
W-League	D.C. United Women
WPSL EL	Boston Breakers Chicago Red Stars FC Indiana Western New York Flash
Indoor
PASL	Anaheim Bolts Arizona Storm Chicago Mustangs Cincinnati Kings Dallas Sidekicks Detroit Waza Harrisburg Heat Illinois Piasa Las Vegas Legends Ohio Vortex Real Phoenix Rio Grande Valley Flash Rockford Rampage Sacramento Surge San Diego Sockers Tacoma Stars Texas Strikers Toros Mexico Turlock Express

2012 in Canadian soccer
Men's Leagues	Major League Soccer (MLS Reserve) NASL Canadian Soccer League PDL PASL (2011–12 only)
Women's Leagues	WPS W-League WPSL
Cups	Canadian Championship The Challenge Trophy MLS Cup (Playoffs)
Other	MLS All-Star Game MLS transfers
International
Club competitions	CONCACAF Champions League 2011–12 2012–13
National teams	Men 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification Men's Summer Olympic Qualifier Women Women's Summer Olympic Qualifier 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Team seasons
Club seasons	FC Edmonton Montreal Impact Toronto FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC