2018 Major League Soccer season

The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31, 2018 and concluded with MLS Cup 2018 on December 8, 2018. The league took a nine-day hiatus in early June for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reduced from previous breaks.^[1]

Major League Soccer

Season	2018
Dates	March 3 – October 28 (regular season) October 31 – December 8 (Playoffs)
MLS Cup	Atlanta United FC (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	New York Red Bulls (3rd shield)
Champions League (United States)	Atlanta United FC Houston Dynamo New York Red Bulls
Champions League (Canada)	Toronto FC
Matches played	391
Goals scored	1,249 (3.19 per match)
Top goalscorer	Josef Martínez (31 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Luis Robles (14 shutouts)
Biggest home win	6 goals: SKC 6–0 VAN (April 20)
Biggest away win	6 goals: COL 0–6 RSL (August 25)
Highest scoring	8 goals: MTL 3–5 LAFC (April 21) TOR 4–4 DC (June 13) RSL 6–2 LAG (September 1) TOR 5–3 LAG (September 15)
Longest winning run	9 games Seattle Sounders FC (July 21 – September 19)
Longest unbeaten run	15 games Portland Timbers (April 14 – August 11)
Longest winless run	13 games Orlando City SC (July 21 – October 21)
Longest losing run	9 games Orlando City SC (May 13 – July 7)
Highest attendance	72,243 ATL 1–1 SEA (July 15)
Lowest attendance	5,158 DC 2–2 HOU (March 17)
Total attendance	8,553,245
Average attendance	21,875
← 2017 2019 →

Los Angeles FC joined the league as an expansion franchise, while D.C. United debuted their new soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field.

Toronto FC were the defending Supporters' Shield champions and defending MLS Cup champions.

New York Red Bulls won their third Supporters' Shield, with a league record 71 points, while Atlanta United FC won their first MLS Cup in their second year in the league.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums

Western Conference Team Stadium Capacity Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061 FC Dallas Toyota Stadium 20,500 Houston Dynamo BBVA Compass Stadium 22,039 LA Galaxy StubHub Center 27,000 Los Angeles FC Banc of California Stadium 22,000 Minnesota United FC TCF Bank Stadium[A] 21,895 Portland Timbers Providence Park 21,144 Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213 San Jose Earthquakes Avaya Stadium 18,000 Seattle Sounders FC CenturyLink Field[A] 39,419 Sporting Kansas City Children's Mercy Park 18,467 Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place[A] 22,120

Eastern Conference Team Stadium Capacity Atlanta United FC Mercedes-Benz Stadium[A] 42,500 Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000 Columbus Crew SC Mapfre Stadium 19,968 D.C. United Audi Field 20,000 Montreal Impact Saputo Stadium 20,801 New England Revolution Gillette Stadium[A] 20,000 New York City FC Yankee Stadium[A] 30,321 New York Red Bulls Red Bull Arena 25,000 Orlando City SC Orlando City Stadium 25,500 Philadelphia Union Talen Energy Stadium 18,500 Toronto FC BMO Field 30,000

Atlanta D.C. United Red Bulls Columbus New England Chicago Kansas City Toronto Philadelphia Montreal Orlando NYCFC Colorado Dallas LAFC Galaxy Houston Salt Lake Minnesota Portland San Jose Seattle Vancouver Locations of teams for the 2018 Major League Soccer season Western Conference   Eastern Conference

1. ^
   Non-soccer specific stadium and artificially reduced capacity.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Atlanta United FC	Tata Martino	Michael Parkhurst	American Family Insurance
Chicago Fire	Veljko Paunović	Dax McCarty	Valspar
Colorado Rapids	Anthony Hudson	Tim Howard	Transamerica
Columbus Crew SC	Gregg Berhalter	Wil Trapp	Acura
D.C. United	Ben Olsen	Wayne Rooney	Leidos
FC Dallas	Óscar Pareja	Matt Hedges	AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo	Wílmer Cabrera	DaMarcus Beasley	—
LA Galaxy	Dominic Kinnear[a]	Ashley Cole	Herbalife
Los Angeles FC	Bob Bradley	Carlos Vela	YouTube TV
Minnesota United FC	Adrian Heath	Francisco Calvo	Target
Montreal Impact	Rémi Garde	Ignacio Piatti	Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution	Brad Friedel	Claude Dielna	UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC	Domènec Torrent[b]	David Villa	Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls	Chris Armas[c]	Luis Robles	Red Bull
Orlando City SC	James O'Connor[d]	Jonathan Spector	Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union	Jim Curtin	Alejandro Bedoya	Bimbo Bakeries USA
Portland Timbers	Giovanni Savarese	Diego Valeri	Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake	Mike Petke	Kyle Beckerman	LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes	Matias Almeyda[e]	Chris Wondolowski	Sutter Health
Seattle Sounders FC	Brian Schmetzer	Osvaldo Alonso	Xbox
Sporting Kansas City	Peter Vermes	Matt Besler	Ivy Funds
Toronto FC	Greg Vanney	Michael Bradley	Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Craig Dalrymple[f]	Kendall Waston	Bell Canada

1. Kinnear was named interim head coach of the Galaxy on September 10 following Sigi Schmid's departure on that day.
2. Torrent was named head coach of New York City FC on June 11 following Patrick Vieira's departure on that day to manage OGC Nice.
3. Armas was named head coach of the Red Bulls on July 6 following Jesse Marsch's departure on that day to join the coaching staff of RB Leipzig.
4. O'Connor was named head coach on June 29, but did not join Orlando City until July 1. Bobby Murphy, who had been named interim head coach on June 15 after Orlando City and Jason Kreis agreed to part ways, coached the team's June 30 match.
5. Almeyda was named head coach on October 8, replacing interim head coach Steve Ralston, who took over after the Earthquakes fired Mikael Stahre on September 17.
6. Dalrymple was named interim head coach after the Whitecaps parted ways with Carl Robinson on September 25.

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Montreal Impact	Mauro Biello	Fired	October 23, 2017	Pre-season	Rémi Garde	November 8, 2017
New England Revolution	Tom Soehn (interim)	End of interim period	November 9, 2017		Brad Friedel	November 9, 2017
Portland Timbers	Caleb Porter	Resigned	November 17, 2017		Giovanni Savarese	December 18, 2017
San Jose Earthquakes	Chris Leitch	Returned to technical director role	November 24, 2017		Mikael Stahre	November 24, 2017
Colorado Rapids	Steve Cooke (interim)	End of interim period	November 29, 2017		Anthony Hudson	November 29, 2017
New York City FC	Patrick Vieira	Signed by Nice	June 11, 2018	2nd in East, 4th overall	Domènec Torrent	June 11, 2018
Orlando City SC	Jason Kreis	Mutual decision	June 15, 2018	6th in East, 14th overall	Bobby Murphy (interim)	June 15, 2018
Orlando City SC	Bobby Murphy (interim)	End of interim period	June 29, 2018	8th in East, 17th overall	James O'Connor	June 29, 2018
New York Red Bulls	Jesse Marsch	Signed by RB Leipzig	July 6, 2018	2nd in East, 3rd overall	Chris Armas	July 6, 2018
LA Galaxy	Sigi Schmid	Resigned	September 10, 2018	8th in West, 13th overall	Dominic Kinnear (interim)	September 10, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes	Mikael Stahre	Fired	September 17, 2018	12th in West, 23rd overall	Steve Ralston (interim)	September 17, 2018
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Carl Robinson	Fired	September 25, 2018	8th in West, 14th overall	Craig Dalrymple (interim)	September 25, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes	Steve Ralston (interim)	End of interim period	October 8, 2018	12th in West, 23rd overall	Matías Almeyda	October 8, 2018

Regular season

Format

During the 2018 MLS regular season, each team played 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams faced each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams played one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams played two. All teams faced each non-conference opponent once.

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New York Red Bulls	34	22	7	5	62	33	+29	71	MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2	Atlanta United FC	34	21	7	6	70	44	+26	69
3	New York City FC	34	16	10	8	59	45	+14	56	MLS Cup Knockout Round
4	D.C. United	34	14	11	9	60	50	+10	51
5	Columbus Crew	34	14	11	9	43	45	−2	51
6	Philadelphia Union	34	15	14	5	49	50	−1	50
7	Montreal Impact	34	14	16	4	47	53	−6	46
8	New England Revolution	34	10	13	11	49	55	−6	41
9	Toronto FC	34	10	18	6	59	64	−5	36
10	Chicago Fire	34	8	18	8	48	61	−13	32
11	Orlando City SC	34	8	22	4	43	74	−31	28

Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sporting Kansas City	34	18	8	8	65	40	+25	62	MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2	Seattle Sounders FC	34	18	11	5	52	37	+15	59
3	Los Angeles FC	34	16	9	9	68	52	+16	57	MLS Cup Knockout Round
4	FC Dallas	34	16	9	9	52	44	+8	57
5	Portland Timbers	34	15	10	9	54	48	+6	54
6	Real Salt Lake	34	14	13	7	55	58	−3	49
7	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	66	64	+2	48
8	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	13	13	8	54	67	−13	47
9	Houston Dynamo	34	10	16	8	58	58	0	38
10	Minnesota United FC	34	11	20	3	49	71	−22	36
11	Colorado Rapids	34	8	19	7	36	63	−27	31
12	San Jose Earthquakes	34	4	21	9	49	71	−22	21

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New York Red Bulls (S)	34	22	7	5	62	33	+29	71	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Atlanta United FC (C)	34	21	7	6	70	44	+26	69
3	Sporting Kansas City	34	18	8	8	65	40	+25	62
4	Seattle Sounders FC	34	18	11	5	52	37	+15	59
5	Los Angeles FC	34	16	9	9	68	52	+16	57
6	FC Dallas	34	16	9	9	52	44	+8	57
7	New York City FC	34	16	10	8	59	45	+14	56
8	Portland Timbers	34	15	10	9	54	48	+6	54
9	D.C. United	34	14	11	9	60	50	+10	51
10	Columbus Crew	34	14	11	9	43	45	−2	51
11	Philadelphia Union	34	15	14	5	49	50	−1	50
12	Real Salt Lake	34	14	13	7	55	58	−3	49
13	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	66	64	+2	48
14	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	13	13	8	54	67	−13	47
15	Montreal Impact	34	14	16	4	47	53	−6	46
16	New England Revolution	34	10	13	11	49	55	−6	41
17	Houston Dynamo	34	10	16	8	58	58	0	38	CONCACAF Champions League
18	Minnesota United FC	34	11	20	3	49	71	−22	36
19	Toronto FC	34	10	18	6	59	64	−5	36	CONCACAF Champions League
20	Chicago Fire	34	8	18	8	48	61	−13	32
21	Colorado Rapids	34	8	19	7	36	63	−27	31
22	Orlando City SC	34	8	22	4	43	74	−31	28
23	San Jose Earthquakes	34	4	21	9	49	71	−22	21

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goals scored; 7) away goal differential; 8) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) MLS Cup Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2018 MLS Cup playoffs

Bracket

	Knockout round					Conference semifinals							Conference finals							MLS Cup December 8 – Atlanta, Georgia
						E3	New York City FC	0	1	1
	10/31 – New York, New York
						E2	Atlanta United FC	1	3	4
	E3	New York City FC	3
	E6	Philadelphia Union	1
													E2	Atlanta United FC	3	0	3
	Eastern Conference
													E1	New York Red Bulls	0	1	1
						E5	Columbus Crew	1	0	1
	11/1 – Washington, D.C.
						E1	New York Red Bulls	0	3	3
	E4	D.C. United	2 (2)
	E5	Columbus Crew (p)	2 (3)
																				E2	Atlanta United FC	2
																				W5	Portland Timbers	0
						W5	Portland Timbers (p)	2	2	4 (4)
	10/31 – Frisco, Texas
						W2	Seattle Sounders FC	1	3	4 (2)
	W4	FC Dallas	1
	W5	Portland Timbers	2
													W5	Portland Timbers	0	3	3
	Western Conference
													W1	Sporting Kansas City	0	2	2
						W6	Real Salt Lake	1	2	3
	11/1 – Los Angeles, California
						W1	Sporting Kansas City	1	4	5
	W3	Los Angeles FC	2
	W6	Real Salt Lake	3

Attendance

See also: Major League Soccer attendance

Average home attendances

As of October 29, 2018

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Pos.	Team	GP	Cumulative	High	Low	Mean
1	Atlanta United FC	17	901,033	72,243	44,696	53,002
2	Seattle Sounders FC	17	690,893	47,521	39,465	40,641
3	Toronto FC	17	452,675	30,799	23,011	26,628
4	LA Galaxy	17	415,543	27,068	16,231	24,444
5	Minnesota United FC	17	406,342	52,242	18,057	23,902
6	Orlando City SC	17	405,730	25,527	22,337	23,866
7	New York City FC	17	394,583	30,139	18,584	23,211
8	Los Angeles FC	17	374,716	22,716	22,000	22,042
9	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	17	373,089	27,863	17,357	21,946
10	Portland Timbers	17	359,448	21,144	21,144	21,144
11	Sporting Kansas City	17	339,148	21,064	18,508	19,950
12	San Jose Earthquakes	17	323,547	50,743	15,648	19,032
13	New York Red Bulls	17	316,956	25,219	14,768	18,644
14	Real Salt Lake	17	316,286	21,363	16,015	18,605
15	Montreal Impact	17	315,665	26,005	15,485	18,569
16	New England Revolution	17	311,897	36,573	10,547	18,347
17	D.C. United	17	299,803	20,573	5,128	17,635
18	Houston Dynamo	17	287,408	22,320	13,094	16,906
19	Philadelphia Union	17	280,805	19,013	14,795	16,518
20	FC Dallas	17	263,707	19,096	13,147	15,512
21	Colorado Rapids	17	260,660	17,837	10,790	15,333
22	Chicago Fire	17	251,708	21,915	8,551	14,806
23	Columbus Crew	17	211,603	19,121	7,683	12,447
–	Total	391	8,553,245	72,243	5,128	21,875

Highest attendances

As of October 22, 2018

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Week	Stadium
1	Atlanta United FC	1–1	Seattle Sounders FC	72,243	July 15, 2018	20	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2	Atlanta United FC	3–1	D.C. United	72,035	March 11, 2018	2	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
3	Atlanta United FC	2–0	Real Salt Lake	72,017	September 22, 2018	30	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
4	Atlanta United FC	4–0	Orlando City SC	71,932	June 30, 2018	18	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
5	Atlanta United FC	2–1	Chicago Fire	71,812	October 22, 2018	34	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
6	Minnesota United FC	1–3	LA Galaxy	52,242	October 21, 2018	33	TCF Bank Stadium
7	San Jose Earthquakes	3–3	LA Galaxy	50,743	June 30, 2018	18	Stanford Stadium
8	Seattle Sounders FC	2–3	Portland Timbers	47,521	June 30, 2018	18	CenturyLink Field
9	Atlanta United FC	3–1	Columbus Crew	45,303	August 19, 2018	25	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
10	Atlanta United FC	5–0	Los Angeles FC	45,207	April 7, 2018	6	Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Player statistics

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[2]
1	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	31
2	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	22
3	Bradley Wright-Phillips	New York Red Bulls	20
4	Mauro Manotas	Houston Dynamo	19
	Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew
6	Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact	16
7	Nemanja Nikolić	Chicago Fire	15
8	Kei Kamara	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	14
	Ola Kamara	LA Galaxy
	Carlos Vela	Los Angeles FC
	David Villa	New York City FC

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4–1	March 17
Dominique Badji	Colorado Rapids	Philadelphia Union	3–0	March 31
Johnny Russell	Sporting Kansas City	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	6–0	April 20
Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact	Los Angeles FC	3–5	April 21
Cristian Techera	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	New England Revolution	3–3	May 26
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	Philadelphia Union	3–1	June 2
Adama Diomande	Los Angeles FC	Philadelphia Union	4–1	June 30
Darwin Quintero	Minnesota United FC	Toronto FC	4–3	July 14
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	D.C. United	3–1	July 21
Michael Barrios	FC Dallas	Sporting Kansas City	3–2	July 28
Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	Orlando City SC	4–3	July 29
Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	Orlando City SC	3–2	August 12
Damir Kreilach	Real Salt Lake	LA Galaxy	6–2	September 1
Bradley Wright-Phillips	New York Red Bulls	D.C. United	3–3	September 16
Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew SC	Minnesota United FC	3–2	October 28

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists[3]
1	Bořek Dočkal	Philadelphia Union	18
2	Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	17
3	Nicolás Lodeiro	Seattle Sounders FC	16
	Maximiliano Moralez	New York City FC
5	Sebastian Giovinco	Toronto FC	15
	Darwin Quintero	Minnesota United FC
7	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United FC	14
	Julian Gressel	Atlanta United FC
	Kaku	New York Red Bulls
10	Tomás Martínez	Houston Dynamo	13
	Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact
	Carlos Vela	Los Angeles FC

Shutouts

Rank	Player	Club	Shutouts[4]
1	Luis Robles	New York Red Bulls	14
2	Tim Melia	Sporting Kansas City	13
3	Andre Blake	Philadelphia Union	10
	Evan Bush	Montreal Impact
	Sean Johnson	New York City FC
	Tyler Miller	Los Angeles FC
	Zack Steffen	Columbus Crew
8	David Bingham	LA Galaxy	8
	Brad Guzan	Atlanta United FC
10	Jeff Attinella	Portland Timbers	7
	Stefan Frei	Seattle Sounders FC
	Nick Rimando	Real Salt Lake

Awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC
Defender of the Year	Aaron Long	New York Red Bulls
Goalkeeper of the Year	Zack Steffen	Columbus Crew SC
Coach of the Year	Gerardo Martino	Atlanta United FC
Rookie of the Year	Corey Baird	Real Salt Lake
Newcomer of the Year	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy
Comeback Player of the Year	Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew SC
Golden Boot	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC
Fair Play Award	Valeri Qazaishvili	San Jose Earthquakes
Humanitarian of the Year	Matt Lampson	Minnesota United FC
Goal of the Year	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy
Save of the Year	Stefan Frei	Seattle Sounders FC

Player of the Month

Main article: MLS Player of the Month

Month	Player	Club	Stats	Ref
March	Felipe Gutiérrez	Sporting Kansas City	5G	[5]
April	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United FC	5G, 2A	[6]
May	Zack Steffen	Columbus Crew	0 GA	[7]
June	Adama Diomande	Los Angeles FC	7G	[8]
July	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	9G, 1A	[9]
August	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	4G, 1A	[10]
September	Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	4G, 6A	[11]
October	Wayne Rooney	D.C. United	5G	[12]

Player and team of the week

• Bold denotes league player of the week.
• Italics denotes Audi player performance of the week.

Team of the week
Week	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Bench	Coach
1 [13][14]	Miller (LAFC)	Valenzuela (CLB) Elliott (PHI) Senderos (HOU) Abubakar (CLB)	Davies (VAN) Higuaín (CLB) Meram (ORL) Medina (NYC)	Elis (HOU) Hoesen (SJ)	Rimando (RSL) Bedoya (PHI) Ciman (LAFC) Vako (SJ) Sapong (PHI) Spector (ORL) O. Kamara (LAG)	Wílmer Cabrera (HOU)
2 [15][16]	Turner (NE)	Tierney (NE) Escobar (NY) Tinnerholm (NYC)	Medina (NYC) Gutiérrez (SKC) Finlay (MIN) Gressel (ATL)	Rossi (LAFC) K. Kamara (VAN) Vela (LAFC)	Marinovic (VAN) Beitashour (LAFC) Davis (NY) Almirón (ATL) Sallói (SKC) Rivas (NY) Zardes (CLB)	Bob Bradley (LAFC)
3 [17][18]	Rimando (RSL)	Fanni (MTL) Elliott (PHI) Zusi (SKC)	Piatti (MTL) Lamah (DAL) Díaz (DAL) Taïder (MTL) Moralez (NYC)	J. Martínez (ATL) Elis (HOU)	Bush (MTL) Beasley (HOU) Gutiérrez (SKC) Gressel (ATL) Medina (NYC) Nicholson (MIN) L. Acosta (DC)	Patrick Vieira (NYC)
4 [19][20]	Howard (COL)	Valenzuela (CLB) Steres (LAG) Tuiloma (POR)	Penilla (NE) Muyl (NY) Gutiérrez (SKC) Higuaín (CLB) Martínez (CLB)	Wright-Phillips (NY) Tajouri-Shradi (NYC)	Johnson (NYC) Aja (VAN) Long (NY) Duncan (NY) Hayes (DAL) Caldwell (NE) Santos (CLB)	Gregg Berhalter (CLB)
5 [21][22]	Johnson (NYC)	Opara (SKC) Parkhurst (ATL) Wynne (COL)	Vela (LAFC) Ilie (SKC) Schweinsteiger (CHI) Penilla (NE)	Badji (COL) Ibrahimović (LAG) Altidore (TOR)	Turner (NE) van der Wiel (TOR) Tinnerholm (NYC) Felipe (VAN) Kljestan (ORL) Blanco (POR) Dwyer (ORL)	Jason Kreis (ORL)
6 [23][24]	Melia (SKC)	Lennon (RSL) Parkhurst (ATL) Schweinsteiger (CHI) Farrell (NE)	Gressel (ATL) Zahibo (NE) Bedoya (PHI) Fagúndez (NE)	Russell (SKC) Dwyer (ORL)	Tarbell (SJ) Opara (SKC) Almirón (ATL) Blanco (POR) Eriksson (SJ) Picault (PHI) Nikolić (CHI)	Gerardo Martino (ATL)
7 [25][26]	Clark (DC)	Cole (LAG) Chanot (NYC) Powell (POR)	T. Martínez (HOU) Kljestan (ORL) Hayes (DAL) Moralez (NYC) Almirón (ATL)	Vela (LAFC) Quintero (MIN)	Bendik (ORL) Cannon (DAL) Price (COL) J. Dos Santos (LAG) Roldan (SEA) Kaku (NY) Wright-Phillips (NY)	Patrick Vieira (NYC)
8 [27][28]	Sánchez (CHI)	Hedges (DAL) Mabiala (POR) Dielna (NE)	Piatti (MTL) Croizet (SKC) Alonso (SEA) Almirón (ATL)	Quioto (HOU) Russell (SKC) Mueller (ORL)	Maurer (DAL) Medranda (SKC) Blanco (POR) McCarty (CHI) Rusnák (RSL) Yotún (ORL) Vela (LAFC)	Giovanni Savarese (POR)
9 [29][30]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Sweat (NYC) Ciman (LAFC) Dielna (NE)	Almirón (ATL) Yotún (ORL) Dočkal (PHI) Kaku (NY) Davies (VAN)	Villa (NYC) Wright-Phillips (NY)	Bono (TOR) Farrell (NE) Ibson (MIN) Kratz (ATL) Barco (ATL) Grella (CLB) Meram (ORL)	Jason Kreis (ORL)
10 [31][32]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Abubakar (CLB) Calvo (MIN) Parker (NY)	Piatti (MTL) Kaku (NY) Yotún (ORL) Adams (NY)	Sallói (SKC) Jackson-Hamel (MTL) Giovinco (TOR)	Bush (MTL) Valenzuela (CLB) Kljestan (ORL) Valeri (POR) Almirón (ATL) Quioto (HOU) Urruti (DAL)	Jesse Marsch (NY)
11 [33][34]	Melia (SKC)	Waston (VAN) Parker (NY) Svensson (SEA)	Díaz (DAL) Kaye (LAFC) Rusnák (RSL) Ilie (SKC) Penilla (NE)	Zardes (CLB) Bunbury (NE)	Steffen (CLB) Ciman (LAFC) Opara (SKC) Bedoya (PHI) Larentowicz (ATL) Blanco (POR) Wondolowski (SJ)	Gregg Berhalter (CLB)
12 [35][36]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Matarrita (NYC) Mensah (CLB) Murillo (NY)	Telfer (TOR) Durkin (DC) Dočkal (PHI) Kaku (NY)	Wright-Phillips (NY) Villa (NYC) Elis (HOU)	Meara (NY) Long (NY) Paredes (POR) Chará (POR) Moralez (NYC) L. Acosta (DC) Epps (PHI)	Jesse Marsch (NY)
13 [37][38]	González (DAL)	D. Acosta (RSL) McKenzie (PHI) Fuenmayor (HOU) Williams (CLB)	M. Ibarra (MIN) Artur (CLB) Penilla (NE)	Techera (VAN) Armenteros (POR) Elis (HOU)	Melia (SKC) McLain (CHI) Parker (NY) Silva (RSL) Arriola (DC) Alessandrini (LAG) Gordon (CHI)	Wílmer Cabrera (HOU)
14 [39][40]	Turner (NE)	D. Acosta (RSL) Hollingshead (DAL) Zusi (SKC)	Díaz (DAL) Almirón (ATL) Higuaín (CLB) Vargas (MTL)	Tajouri-Shradi (NYC) J. Martínez (ATL) Bunbury (NE)	Rimando (RSL) Glad (RSL) Ibeagha (NYC) Ilie (SKC) Dočkal (PHI) Reyna (VAN) Gordon (CHI)	Mike Petke (RSL)
15 [41][42]	Guzan (ATL)	Opara (SKC) Kappelhof (CHI) Afful (CLB)	Davies (VAN) T. Martínez (HOU) Lodeiro (SEA) Moralez (NYC) Osorio (TOR)	Diomande (LAFC) Ibrahimović (LAG)	Melia (SKC) Skjelvik (LAG) Mabiala (POR) Callens (NYC) Felipe (VAN) Díaz (DAL) Wondolowski (SJ)	Greg Vanney (TOR)
16 [43][44]	Bush (MTL)	Kutler (NY) Parkhurst (ATL) Hagglund (TOR) T. Smith (COL)	Fagúndez (NE) Katai (CHI) Larentowicz (ATL) Asad (DC)	Piatti (MTL) Hoesen (SJ)	Frei (SEA) Parker (NY) Fanni (MTL) Muyl (NY) Arriola (DC) Penilla (NE) J. Martínez (ATL)	Gerardo Martino (ATL)
17 [45][46]	Attinella (POR)	Ciman (LAFC) Long (NY) McKenzie (PHI)	Dočkal (PHI) Piette (MTL) Adams (NY) Gashi (COL)	Sallói (SKC) Berget (NYC) Katai (CHI)	Tarbell (SJ) Sweat (NYC) Bronico (CHI) Gressel (ATL) Kaku (NY) Rusnák (RSL) Manotas (HOU)	Jesse Marsch (NY)
18 [47][48]	Robles (NY)	Mabiala (POR) Hedges (DAL) T. Smith (COL) Camacho (MTL)	Almirón (ATL) Valeri (POR) Sosa (CLB)	Diomande (LAFC) Ibrahimović (LAG) Katai (CHI)	Howard (COL) Lawrence (NY) McCarty (CHI) Lodeiro (SEA) Penilla (NE) Blessing (LAFC) Wondolowski (SJ)	Rémi Garde (MTL)
19 [49][50]	Frei (SEA)	Senderos (HOU) González Pírez (ATL) Chanot (NYC)	Taïder (MTL) Savarino (RSL) Kaye (LAFC) Valeri (POR)	Armenteros (POR) Diomande (LAFC) Quintero (MIN)	Miller (LAFC) Fanni (MTL) Glad (RSL) Akindele (DAL) K. Kamara (VAN) Ibrahimović (LAG) J. Martínez (ATL)	Mike Petke (RSL)
20 [51][52]	Johnson (NYC)	Callens (NYC) Ziegler (DAL) Ford (COL)	Piatti (MTL) Rzatkowski (NY) Chará (POR) Arriola (DC) Pontius (LAG)	Quintero (MIN) Dwyer (ORL)	Miller (LAFC) Nouhou (SEA) Stieber (DC) Medina (NYC) Lewis (NYC) Alessandrini (LAG) Burke (PHI)	Domè Torrent (NYC)
21 [53][54]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Ciani (LAG) Kim (SEA) Fanni (MTL)	Piatti (MTL) Osorio (TOR) Trapp (CLB) Lodeiro (SEA)	Quintero (MIN) J. Martínez (ATL) Ramirez (MIN)	Willis (HOU) Kallman (MIN) Parker (NY) Roldan (SEA) Davis (NY) M. Ibarra (MIN) Alessandrini (LAG)	Adrian Heath (MIN)
22 [55][56]	Frei (SEA)	Afful (CLB) Mavinga (TOR) Kim (SEA)	Barrios (DAL) Giovinco (TOR) Dočkal (PHI) Canouse (DC) Davies (VAN)	Ibrahimović (LAG) J. Martínez (ATL)	Johnson (NYC) Kashia (SJ) Hedges (DAL) Moralez (NYC) Mullins (CLB) Wright-Phillips (NY) Adi (POR)	Brian Schmetzer (SEA)
23 [57][58]	Bush (MTL)	Castillo (COL) Kashia (SJ) Opara (SKC)	Plata (RSL) Kreilach (RSL) Alonso (SEA) Adams (NY)	Vako (SJ) J. Martínez (ATL) Giovinco (TOR)	Attinella (POR) Parker (NY) Larentowicz (ATL) Busio (SKC) L. Acosta (DC) Valeri (POR) Royer (NY)	Mikael Stahre (SJ)
24 [59][60]	Marinovic (VAN)	Besler (SKC) Elliott (PHI) Marshall (SEA)	L. Acosta (DC) K. Acosta (COL) Adams (NY) Lodeiro (SEA)	Tajouri-Shradi (NYC) Zardes (CLB) Rooney (DC)	Howard (COL) Bush (MTL) Boxall (MIN) Valenzuela (CLB) Rosell (ORL) Ilie (SKC) Higuaín (CLB)	Jim Curtin (PHI)
25 [61][62]	Miller (LAFC)	Lovitz (MTL) Elliott (PHI) Marshall (SEA)	L. Acosta (DC) Rusnák (RSL) Aránguiz (DAL) Canouse (DC) Lodeiro (SEA)	Rubio (SKC) Savarino (RSL)	Putna (RSL) Waston (VAN) Castillo (COL) Bedoya (PHI) Royer (NY) Villalba (ATL) Ramirez (LAFC)	Ben Olsen (DC)
26 [63][64]	Blake (PHI)	Sinovic (SKC) Ibeagha (NYC) Kim (SEA) Lawrence (NY)	Reyna (VAN) Kaku (NY) Bradley (TOR)	Savarino (RSL) J. Martínez (ATL) Giovinco (TOR)	Melia (SKC) Elliott (PHI) Alonso (SEA) Russell (SKC) Baird (RSL) Burke (PHI) Nikolić (CHI)	Greg Vanney (TOR)
27 [65][66]	Hamid (DC)	B. Smith (SEA) Fanni (MTL) Afful (CLB)	Rusnák (RSL) Vako (SJ) Alonso (SEA) L. Acosta (DC)	Vela (LAFC) Kreilach (RSL) Savarino (RSL)	Miller (LAFC) Arriola (DC) Chará (POR) Reyna (VAN) Meram (CLB) Piatti (MTL) Sapong (PHI)	Rémi Garde (MTL)
28 [67][68]	Melia (SKC)	Sinovic (SKC) Birnbaum (DC) Anibaba (NE) Valentin (POR)	Blanco (POR) Sands (NYC) Gutiérrez (SKC)	Wright (NE) Villa (NYC) Ebobisse (POR)	Knighton (NE) Hamid (DC) Howard (COL) Rosell (ORL) Canouse (DC) Chará (POR) Valeri (POR)	Giovanni Savarese (POR)
29 [69][70]	Miller (LAFC)	Lovitz (MTL) Mensah (CLB) Gressel (ATL)	Piatti (MTL) Almirón (ATL) L. Acosta (DC) Elis (HOU)	Gerso (SKC) Wright-Phillips (NY) Ruidíaz (SEA)	Frei (SEA) Opara (SKC) Leerdam (SEA) González Pírez (ATL) Osorio (TOR) Silva (MTL) Nikolić (CHI)	Rémi Garde (MTL)
30 [71][72]	McCarthy (PHI)	Zimmerman (LAFC) Trusty (PHI) Gressel (ATL)	Almirón (ATL) Quintero (MIN) Higuaín (CLB) Urruti (DAL)	R. Ibarra (MIN) O. Kamara (LAG) Simpson (PHI)	Rimando (RSL) Spector (ORL) Polo (POR) Hansen (CLB) Villalba (ATL) Wright-Phillips (NY) J. Martínez (ATL)	Jim Curtin (PHI)
31 [73][74]	Blake (PHI)	Glad (RSL) Parker (NY) Cannon (DAL)	Vázquez (TOR) L. Acosta (DC) Mihailovic (CHI) Rzatkowski (NY) Lodeiro (SEA)	Ibrahimović (LAG) Rooney (DC)	Hamid (DC) Lawrence (NY) Morrow (TOR) Arriola (DC) Ruidíaz (SEA) Rodríguez (MIN) Manotas (HOU)	Ben Olsen (DC)
32 [75][76]	Bush (MTL)	Bello (ATL) Long (NY) Rosenberry (PHI)	Blanco (POR) Taïder (MTL) Urruti (DAL) Teibert (VAN)	Diomande (LAFC) Rooney (DC) Picault (PHI)	Bingham (LAG) Zimmerman (LAFC) Dočkal (PHI) Roldan (SEA) Villalba (ATL) Wright-Phillips (NY) Bruin (SEA)	Rémi Garde (MTL)
33 [77][78]	Hamid (DC)	Silva (LAFC) Mancienne (NE) Miller (MIN)	Asad (DC) Caldwell (NE) Canouse (DC) Ulloa (DAL) Bassett (COL)	Penilla (NE) Vela (LAFC)	Grinwis (ORL) Hairston (COL) Zimmerman (LAFC) Fagúndez (NE) Boli (COL) Manotas (HOU) Diomande (LAFC)	Bob Bradley (LAFC)
34 [79][80]	Melia (SKC)	Marshall (SEA) Birnbaum (DC) Besler (SKC)	L. Acosta (DC) Lodeiro (SEA) Yotún (ORL) Blanco (POR)	Sallói (SKC) Ibrahimović (LAG) Rooney (DC)	Robles (NY) Escobar (ATL) Calvillo (SJ) Kaku (NY) Piatti (MTL) Baird (RSL) Rossi (LAFC)	Peter Vermes (SKC)
35 [81][82]	Turner (NE)	Fuenmayor (HOU) Parker (NY) Besler (SKC) DeLeon (DC)	Davies (VAN) Janson (TOR) Bassett (COL)	Manotas (HOU) Ruidíaz (SEA) Zardes (CLB)	Robles (NY) Calvo (MIN) Giovinco (TOR) Quioto (HOU) Sallói (SKC) O. Kamara (LAG) Villa (NYC)	Chris Armas (NY)

Goal of the Week

Goal of the Week
Week	Player	Club	Ref
1	Diego Rossi	Los Angeles FC	[83]
2	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United FC	[84]
3	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	[85]
4	Yamil Asad	D.C. United	[86]
5	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	[87]
6	Johnny Russell	Sporting Kansas City	[88]
7	Alvas Powell	Portland Timbers	[89]
8	Albert Rusnák	Real Salt Lake	[90]
9	Kevin Kratz	Atlanta United FC	[91]
10	Ezequiel Barco	Atlanta United FC	[92]
11	Corey Baird	Real Salt Lake	[93]
12	Samuel Armenteros	Portland Timbers	[94]
13	Samuel Armenteros	Portland Timbers	[95]
14	Ilsinho	Philadelphia Union	[96]
15	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	[97]
16	Paul Arriola	D.C. United	[98]
17	Diego Rubio	Sporting Kansas City	[99]
18	Aleksandar Katai	Chicago Fire	[100]
19	Héctor Villalba	Atlanta United FC	[101]
20	Yamil Asad	D.C. United	[102]
21	Wil Trapp	Columbus Crew	[103]
22	Alphonso Davies	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	[104]
23	Will Bruin	Seattle Sounders FC	[105]
24	Jukka Raitala	Montreal Impact	[106]
25	Albert Rusnák	Real Salt Lake	[107]
26	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	[108]
27	Albert Rusnák	Real Salt Lake	[109]
28	Not awarded
29	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	[110]
30	Héctor Villalba	Atlanta United FC	[111]
31	Djordje Mihailovic	Chicago Fire	[112]
32	Johnny Russell	Sporting Kansas City	[113]
33	Not awarded
34	Víctor Rodríguez	Seattle Sounders FC	[114]
35	Roger Espinoza	Sporting Kansas City	[115]

Best XI

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Zack Steffen, Columbus	Kemar Lawrence, Red Bulls Aaron Long, Red Bulls Chad Marshall, Seattle	Luciano Acosta, D.C. United Miguel Almirón, Atlanta Ignacio Piatti, Montreal Carlos Vela, LAFC	Zlatan Ibrahimović, LA Galaxy Josef Martínez, Atlanta Wayne Rooney, D.C. United

Player transfers

Main article: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2018

SuperDraft

Further information: 2018 MLS SuperDraft

The MLS SuperDraft is an annual event, taking place in January of each year, in which the teams of Major League Soccer select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the league. The first two rounds of 2018 MLS SuperDraft were held on January 19 in Philadelphia. Rounds three and four of the 2018 SuperDraft were held via conference call on January 21. Los Angeles FC selected João Moutinho with the first overall pick.

Allocation ranking

The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a player who is in the MLS allocation list. The MLS allocation list contains select U.S. National Team players and players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000. The allocations are ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2017 season, taking playoff performance into account.^[116] As an expansion team, Los Angeles FC took the top spot.

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 season.

Original ranking	Current ranking	Club	Date allocation used (Rank on that date)	Player signed	Previous club	Ref
3	1	D.C. United
4	2	Colorado Rapids
5	3	Minnesota United FC
11	4	FC Dallas[A][B]				[117][118]
7	5	Montreal Impact
8	6	Philadelphia Union
9	7	New England Revolution
10	8	Real Salt Lake
1	9	Los Angeles FC[A]				[117]
12	10	San Jose Earthquakes
13	11	Sporting Kansas City
14	12	Atlanta United FC
15	13	Chicago Fire
16	14	New York Red Bulls
2	15	LA Galaxy[C]				[119]
19	16	New York City FC
20	17	Houston Dynamo
21	18	Columbus Crew
22	19	Seattle Sounders FC
23	20	Toronto FC
17	21	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	December 22, 2017 (17)	Doneil Henry	West Ham United	[120]
6	22	Orlando City SC[B]	January 30, 2018 (1)	Oriol Rosell	Sporting CP	[121][118]
18	23	Portland Timbers[C]	August 8, 2018 (1)	Jorge Villafaña	Santos Laguna	[119]

1. ^
   On December 10, 2017, FC Dallas acquired the number 1 allocation ranking, $250,000 in general allocation money (GAM), and $250,000 in targeted allocation money (TAM) from Los Angeles FC in exchange for the number 11 allocation ranking and Walker Zimmerman.
2. ^
   On January 30, 2018, Orlando City acquired the number 1 allocation ranking from FC Dallas in exchange for the number 6 allocation ranking and $400,000 in targeted allocation money (TAM).
3. ^
   On August 8, 2018, Portland acquired the number 1 allocation ranking from LA Galaxy in exchange for the number 16 allocation ranking, $75,000 in general allocation money (GAM), and $100,000 in 2019 targeted allocation money (TAM).