2012 MLS Cup playoffs

The 2012 MLS Cup playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31, and culminated on December 1, 2012 with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 over the Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams, and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not cross-conference brackets. The top five teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences of the league earned berths, with the top three clubs in each conference earning direct byes to the conference semifinals. The fourth and fifth-place finishers of both conferences played in a single-elimination play-in match. The play-in winner played their respective conference regular season champion in the conference semifinals, which was a two-leg aggregate series, without the away goals rule enforced. For the first time in MLS Cup playoffs history, each conference championship was also a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match. The MLS Cup championship still remained a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record, the Los Angeles Galaxy, hosted the final at their home venue. The LA Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 in last year's championship. Both finalists directly entered the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League, with the champion earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by the San Jose Earthquakes, the Supporters' Shield winner, and Sporting Kansas City, the 2012 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's three Canadian teams, which instead participated in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. == Format == For 2012, the league's previous system of "wild card" qualification—which had the potential for "crossover" series in which one team could play in the other conference's bracket—was scrapped. Instead, the top five teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs and the two conference brackets were entirely separate. The first round of each conference was a one-off match between the fourth and fifth-placed teams, similar to the previous wild card system, with the fourth-placed team hosting. The first round winners advanced to play the teams with their respective conference's best regular season records in the conference semifinals. The conference semifinals and conference finals were conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If the teams were tied after two games, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The away goals rule or golden goal were not used. In the case of ties in the first round and MLS Cup, extra time and a penalty shoot-out would be used in the same manner as above. == Qualified teams == Eastern Conference Western Conference === Tiebreak rules === If two or more teams were tied in standings on points, the following tiebreak rules applied: Goals scored Goal differential Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table Archived August 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (foul – 1 pt, first yellow – 3 pts, second yellow – 5 pts, straight red – 6 pts, disciplinary commission suspension – 6 pts, etc.) Away goals scored Away goal differential Home goals scored Home goal differential Coin toss (two teams) or drawing of lots (three or more teams) == Bracket == == Knockout round == === Eastern Conference === === Western Conference === == Conference semifinals == === Eastern Conference === Houston Dynamo won 2–1 on aggregate. D.C. United won 2–1 on aggregate. Note: While D.C. United won the right to host the second leg as the higher seed, the order of the legs was reversed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The second leg was originally scheduled for November 7, but was postponed by one day due to snow. === Western Conference === Los Angeles Galaxy won 3–2 on aggregate. Seattle Sounders won 1–0 on aggregate. == Conference finals == === Eastern Conference === Houston Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate. === Western Conference === Los Angeles Galaxy won 4–2 on aggregate. == MLS Cup 2012 == == Player statistics == Note: Statistics only for post-season games. == See also == 2012 in American soccer 2012 U.S. Open Cup == References ==