2011 MLS Cup playoffs

2011 Major League Soccer season 2011 edition of the MLS playoffs May 2017 June 2017 MLS Cup playoffs 2011 United StatesCanada 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs logo.jpg 10 Los Angeles Galaxy (3rd title) Houston Dynamo Sporting Kansas City Real Salt Lake 13 27 258582 USA Landon DonovanUSA Mike MageeCRC Álvaro Saborío(3 goals each) 2010 2012 The 2011 MLS Cup playoffs was the sixteenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 26 with the play-in round and concluded on November 20 with MLS Cup. It was the first playoff series to include ten clubs, two more than the traditional eight. Six of the ten teams earned a direct bye into the conference semifinals, while the four wildcard teams played a single-elimination match to earn a berth into the conference semis. These eight clubs played in a single-elimination tournament en route to playoffs championship MLS Cup 2011, which doubled as the league championship for the 2011 MLS season altogether. The defending MLS Cup champions were the Colorado Rapids, who beat FC Dallas 2–1 in the 2010 championship. As the preliminary round was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League, both finalists directly entered the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League group stage, along with the Supporters' Shield winner for the regular season and the 2011 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's two Canadian teams, which instead participated in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. Format MLS Cup playoffs The format for the tournament was announced on February 23, 2011. The top three clubs in each of the league's two conferences earned the six automatic spots in the conference semifinals. The wild card entrants, seeded seventh through tenth, entered based upon their overall position in a single table of the league standings. The new format was assembled so that the weakest seed to qualify out of the wild card rounds would have to play the Supporters' Shield winner.MLS reveals expanded playoffs structure for 2011 https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-reveals-expanded-playoffs-structure-2011 July 20, 2024 Major League Soccer The other entrant played the conference champion that did not win the Shield. The playoffs began with the play-in round, which contained the wild card seeds. The first and second-placed wild card seeds (seventh and eight place, respectively) hosted the third and fourth-placed wild card seeds (ninth and tenth place, respectively). The winners of each play-in proper earned a berth into the conference semifinals of the playoffs. Following the play-in round was the conference semifinals, where the two play-in round winners joined the six clubs that earned a direct bye into this round. The conference semifinals were a two-legged, aggregate series, in which each team played their opponent twice: once at home, and once away. The team with the most goals accumulated over the two-match series won the series and qualified for the conference championship. In this round, the lowest-seeded wild card team to advance played against the Supporters' Shield winner (regular season champion). The other wild card seed played against either the Eastern or Western Conference regular season champion, depending on which conference champion won the Supporters' Shield. The conference semifinals also featured the conference runners-up and third-place finishers from both the Eastern and Western Conference. The conference finals featured the winners from the conference semifinals. This round was a one-legged affair, in which the higher seeded club hosted the lower seed. The winner of these matches earned two berths (one from each conference) into the 2011 MLS Cup championship match, and a guaranteed berth in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League. The Eastern Conference and Western Conference bracket winners met in the MLS Cup final, which was held at the pre-determined neutral venue. This year, the final was held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA. The MLS Cup winner was crowned league champion for the 2011 MLS season. Qualified teams The top three clubs from each conference, based on final point totals, qualified for the playoffs. From among the remaining clubs, the top four qualified as wild cards, entering the play-in round to narrow the field to eight. The Los Angeles Galaxy were the first MLS club to secure a playoff berth, qualifying with a 1–0 win over the Colorado Rapids on September 9.Bueno Luis Recap: Galaxy dominant in 1-0 home win over Colorado http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/10/recap-galaxy-dominant-1-0-home-win-over-colorado Major League Soccer September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011 Conference standings Eastern table Western table Overall standings Tiebreakers Head-to-head (points-per-match average) Overall goal differential Overall total goals scored Tiebreakers 1–3 applied only to matches on the road Tiebreakers 1–3 applied only to matches at home Fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table Coin toss If more than two clubs were tied, once a club advanced through any step, the process reverted to Tiebreaker 1 among the remaining tied clubs recursively until all ties were resolved.http://www.mlssoccer.com/playoffstandings Playoff Standings: Complete table (UPDATED) Major League Soccer October 24, 2011 Bracket 1/2/1/1 Play-in round Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup Eastern Conference Western Conference 200px 7 FC Dallas 0 10 New York Red Bulls 2 8 Colorado Rapids 1 9 Columbus Crew 0 E1 Sporting Kansas City 2 2 WC Colorado Rapids 0 0 E2 Houston Dynamo 2 1 E3 Philadelphia Union 1 0 W1 LA Galaxy 1 2 WC New York Red Bulls 0 1 W2 Seattle Sounders FC 0 2 W3 Real Salt Lake 3 0 E1 Sporting Kansas City 0 E2 Houston Dynamo 2 W3 Real Salt Lake 1 W1 LA Galaxy 3 E2 Houston Dynamo 0 W1 LA Galaxy 1 Note: The LA Galaxy, as MLS Supporters' Shield winners, were assured of playing the lower seeded Wild Card series winner (New York Red Bulls) in the Conference Semifinals, while Sporting Kansas City would play the higher seeded Wild Card series winner (Colorado Rapids). Schedule Major League Soccer released the schedule for its playoffs on August 9, 2011.League announces fixture dates for 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/08/09/league-announces-fixture-dates-2011-mls-cup-playoffs MLS Communications MLSSoccer.com August 9, 2011 Key SS = MLS Supporters' Shield winner E1/W1 = Eastern or Western Conference winner E2/W2 = Eastern or Western Conference runner-up E3/W3 = Eastern or Western Conference third place WC1 = Top wildcard seed (7th place overall) WC2 = Second wildcard seed (8th place overall) WC3 = Third wildcard seed (9th place overall) WC4 = Fourth wildcard seed (10th place overall) Play-in round October 26 8:00 pm CDT FC Dallas 0–2 New York Red Bulls Lindpere 61Henry 90+8 Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas 10,017 Ricardo Salazar Report October 27 8:00 pm MDT Colorado Rapids 1–0 Columbus Crew Cummings 45+1 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado 7,803 Jorge Gonzalez Report Conference semifinals Eastern Conference October 30 5:30 pm MDT Colorado Rapids 0–2 Sporting Kansas City Bunbury 49 59 pen. Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado 8,601 Baldomero Toledo Report November 2 7:00 pm CDT Sporting Kansas City 2–0 Colorado Rapids Collin 28Sapong 76 Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas 18,565 Kevin Stott Report Sporting Kansas City won 4–0 on aggregate. October 30 5:00 pm EDT Philadelphia Union 1–2 Houston Dynamo Le Toux 7 Hainault 6Carr 30 PPL Park, Chester, Pennsylvania 18,539 Jair Marrufo Report November 3 7:30 pm CDT Houston Dynamo 1–0 Philadelphia Union Ching 45+3 Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas 24,749 Ricardo Salazar Report Houston Dynamo won 3–1 on aggregate. Western Conference October 30 3:00 pm EDT New York Red Bulls 0–1 Los Angeles Galaxy Magee 15 Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey 22,663 Alex Prus Report November 3 8:00 pm PDT Los Angeles Galaxy 2–1 New York Red Bulls Magee 42 Donovan 75 pen. Rodgers 4 Home Depot Center, Carson, California 20,000 Hilario Grajeda Report Los Angeles Galaxy won 3–1 on aggregate. October 29 8:00 pm MDT Real Salt Lake 3–0 Seattle Sounders FC Saborío 41 53Grabavoy 88 Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah 17,067 Mark Geiger Report November 2 7:00 pm PDT Seattle Sounders FC 2–0 Real Salt Lake Alonso 56 pen.Neagle 61 CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington 36,021 Jair Marrufo Report Real Salt Lake won 3–2 on aggregate. Conference finals Host depended on the higher seeded team. Single elimination match. Eastern Conference November 6 4:30 pm CST Sporting Kansas City 0–2 Houston Dynamo Hainault 53Costly 87 Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas 20,839 Mark Geiger Report Western Conference November 6 6:00 pm PST Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 Real Salt Lake Donovan 23 pen.Magee 58Keane 68 Saborío 25 The Home Depot Center, Carson, California 23,437 Jorge Gonzalez Report MLS Cup 2011 MLS Cup 2011 Player statistics Note: Statistics only for post-season games.http://www.mlssoccer.com/mlscup/2011 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs Major League Soccer November 21, 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20111120122121/http://www.mlssoccer.com/mlscup/2011 November 20, 2011 Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1USA Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy3USA Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy3CRC Álvaro SaboríoReal Salt Lake34USA Teal BunburySporting Kansas City2CAN André HainaultHouston Dynamo26CUB Osvaldo AlonsoSeattle Sounders FC1USA Calen CarrHouston Dynamo1FRA Aurélien CollinSporting Kansas City1HON Carlos CostlyHouston Dynamo1JAM Omar CummingsColorado Rapids1USA Ned GrabavoyReal Salt Lake1FRA Thierry HenryNew York Red Bulls1IRL Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy1FRA Sébastien Le TouxPhiladelphia Union1EST Joel LindpereNew York Red Bulls1USA Lamar NeagleSeattle Sounders FC1ENG Luke RodgersNew York Red Bulls1USA C. J. SapongSporting Kansas City1 Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists1ENG David BeckhamLos Angeles Galaxy32USA Graham ZusiSporting Kansas City23MAR Mehdi BallouchyNew York Red Bulls1BRA Luiz CamargoHouston Dynamo1BRA Júlio CésarSporting Kansas City1USA Brian ChingHouston Dynamo1USA Brad DavisHouston Dynamo1USA Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy1USA Michael FarfanPhiladelphia Union1FRA Thierry HenryNew York Red Bulls1IRL Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy1JPN Kosuke KimuraColorado Rapids1COL Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FC1ARG Javier MoralesReal Salt Lake1COL Jamison OlaveReal Salt Lake1USA Chris WingertReal Salt Lake1 References External links Major League Soccer: MLS Cup Playoffs * 2011