2009 MLS Cup playoffs

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.

2009 MLS Cup Playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States
Teams	8
Defending champions	Columbus Crew
Final positions
Champions	Real Salt Lake (1st title)
Runners-up	Los Angeles Galaxy
Semifinalists	Chicago Fire Houston Dynamo
Tournament statistics
Matches played	11
Goals scored	21 (1.91 per match)
Attendance	259,149 (23,559 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Landon Donovan Robbie Findley (3 goals each)
← 2008 2010 →

Format

Main article: MLS Cup Playoffs

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

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	13	7	10	41	31	+10	49	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	11	7	12	39	34	+5	45
3	New England Revolution	30	11	10	9	33	37	−4	42
4	D.C. United	30	9	8	13	43	44	−1	40
5	Toronto FC	30	10	11	9	37	46	−9	39
6	Kansas City Wizards	30	8	13	9	33	42	−9	33
7	New York Red Bulls	30	5	19	6	27	47	−20	21

Source: MLS

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	LA Galaxy	30	12	6	12	36	31	+5	48	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	8	9	39	29	+10	48
3	Seattle Sounders FC	30	12	7	11	38	29	+9	47
4	Chivas USA	30	13	11	6	34	31	+3	45
5	Real Salt Lake	30	11	12	7	43	35	+8	40
6	Colorado Rapids	30	10	10	10	42	38	+4	40
7	FC Dallas	30	11	13	6	50	47	+3	39
8	San Jose Earthquakes	30	7	14	9	36	50	−14	30

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (S)	30	13	7	10	41	31	+10	49	CONCACAF Champions League
2	LA Galaxy	30	12	6	12	36	31	+5	48
3	Houston Dynamo	30	13	8	9	39	29	+10	48	North American SuperLiga
4	Seattle Sounders FC	30	12	7	11	38	29	+9	47	CONCACAF Champions League
5	Chicago Fire	30	11	7	12	39	34	+5	45	North American SuperLiga
6	Chivas USA	30	13	11	6	34	31	+3	45
7	New England Revolution	30	11	10	9	33	37	−4	42
8	Real Salt Lake (C)	30	11	12	7	43	35	+8	40	CONCACAF Champions League
9	Colorado Rapids	30	10	10	10	42	38	+4	40
10	D.C. United	30	9	8	13	43	44	−1	40
11	FC Dallas	30	11	13	6	50	47	+3	39
12	Toronto FC	30	10	11	9	37	46	−9	39	CONCACAF Champions League
13	Kansas City Wizards	30	8	13	9	33	42	−9	33
14	San Jose Earthquakes	30	7	14	9	36	50	−14	30
15	New York Red Bulls	30	5	19	6	27	47	−20	21

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

Bracket

	Conference semifinals						Conference finals					MLS Cup
	E1	Columbus	0	2
	E4	Salt Lake	1	3
							E4	Salt Lake (AET) (PEN)	(0)5
	Eastern Conference
							E2	Chicago	(0)4
	E3	New England	2	0
	E2	Chicago	1	2
												E4	Salt Lake (AET) (PEN)	(1)5
												W1	Los Angeles	(1)4
	W1	Los Angeles	2	1
	W4	Chivas USA	2	0
							W1	Los Angeles (AET)	2
	Western Conference
							W2	Houston	0
	W3	Seattle	0	0
	W2	Houston (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.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

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

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.

---

November 1, 2009

2:00PM EST

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

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 7,416

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

November 7, 2009

7:30PM CST

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

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois

Attendance: 21,528

Referee: Alex Prus

Chicago Fire advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Western Conference

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

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.

---

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

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

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

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

See also: MLS Cup 2009

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