Season 2009 Goals scored 570 | Dates 19 Mar 2009 – 22 Nov 2009 Matches played 225 | |
Supporters' Shield Columbus Crew (3rd shield) Champions League Columbus CrewReal Salt LakeLos Angeles GalaxySeattle Sounders FC SuperLiga Houston DynamoChicago FireChivas USAN.E. Revolution Top goalscorer Jeff CunninghamFC DallasGoals: 17 Similar 2008 Major League Soccer se, 2012 Major League Soccer se, 2015 Major League Soccer se, 1996 Major League Soccer se, 2014 Major League Soccer se |
The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle.
Contents
Changes from the 2008 season
The following changes were made since the 2008 season:
Competition format
The format for the 2009 season was as follows:
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 are tied, once a club advances through any step, the process reverts to Tiebreaker 1 among the remaining tied clubs recursively until all ties are resolved.
Standings
For an explanation of the playoff qualifications, see Competition format.
Overall standings
Playoffs
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.
Golden Boot
Full article: MLS Golden BootStats last updated 24 October 2009.
Goalkeeping leaders
Stats last updated October 26, 2009.
Save of the Week
Save of the week was first introduced during week 10 of the 2009 season.
CONCACAF Champions League
The Houston Dynamo continued their CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 campaign that began during the previous season. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals over two legs by eventual champions Atlante.
Columbus (MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield winner), Houston (MLS Supporters' Shield Runner-up), New York (MLS Cup runner-up), and D.C. United (U.S. Open Cup winner), will be the representatives in the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10—an additional slot from Canada was gained by Toronto by virtue of their Voyageurs Cup win. New York and Toronto were eliminated at the preliminary round, while D.C. advanced to the group stage on penalty kicks. Columbus and Houston qualified directly into the Group stage. Houston and D.C. were eliminated during the group stage, with only Columbus progressing to the knockout rounds.
SuperLiga 2009
Chicago, New England, Chivas USA, and Kansas City were MLS's entrants in SuperLiga 2009, based on their finish in the 2008 regular season as the top four teams not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. Chivas U.S.A. and Kansas City were eliminated in the group stage. Chicago eliminated New England in the semi-finals, only to lose to Tigres in the final.
2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
MLS awarded the top six finishers in 2008, regardless of conference, automatic berths into the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup's third round. Columbus, Houston, Chicago Fire, New England, Chivas USA, and Kansas City qualified based on their top-six finish. D.C. United and Seattle qualified via an eight team qualifying tournament.
Each of the qualified MLS teams were matched up against the winner of a second round game, all of whom come from one of the USL's three divisions. Seattle and D.C. eventually emerged to play the final on 2 September at RFK stadium, which Seattle ultimately won.
2009 Canadian Championship
Canada's top three teams, MLS's Toronto FC, USL-1's Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC competed in the Voyageurs Cup. The tournament was played as a double round robin group from May 6 to June 18, and won by Toronto, who gained Canada's berth into the CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10.
All-Star game
The 2009 MLS All-Star Game against Everton F.C., of the English Premier League, took place on July 29 from Rio Tinto Stadium home of Real Salt Lake. Everton defeated the MLS All-Stars in a penalty shootout 4-3 after the game was tied 1-1. No extra time was played following regular time. Tim Howard, the Everton and U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper, was named the game's MVP.