2009 Major League Soccer season

The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league.

Major League Soccer
Season2009
MLS CupReal Salt Lake (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldColumbus Crew (3rd shield)
Champions LeagueColumbus Crew
Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy
Seattle Sounders FC
SuperLigaHouston Dynamo
Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
New England Revolution
Matches played226
Goals scored571 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerJeff Cunningham
FC Dallas
Goals: 17
Biggest home winRSL 6–0 NE
(April 25)[1]
DAL 6–0 KC
(August 1)
Biggest away winCHI 0–3 DAL
(May 31)
SJ 0–3 CLB
(August 8)
Highest scoringLA 3–6 DAL
(September 12)[2]
Longest winning run5 wins:
Houston Dynamo
(May 23 – Jun 13)
Columbus Crew
(Jul 18 – Aug 15)
Longest unbeaten run11 matches:
Chicago Fire
(Mar 21 – May 28)
Houston Dynamo
(Apr 11 – Jun 20)
Longest winless run13 matches:
New York Red Bulls
(May 16 – Aug 15)
Longest losing run6 losses:
New York Red Bulls
(Jun 24 – Aug 15)
Highest attendanceCLB @ SJ: 61,572
Lowest attendanceSJ @ DAL: 5,724
Total attendance3,562,847
Average attendance16,037
← 2008
2010 →
2009 Major League Soccer season is located in the United States
D.C.United
D.C.
United
New YorkRed Bulls
New York
Red Bulls
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
New England Revolution
New England Revolution
ChicagoFire
Chicago
Fire
Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
FC Dallas
Chivas USA
Chivas USA
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
RealSalt Lake
Real
Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
SeattleSounders FC
Seattle
Sounders FC
Locations of teams for the 2009 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference
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The Seattle Sounders FC debuted as the league's 15th club and were the second team in history to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. The club set a league record for attendance and averaged 30,943 per regular season match at Qwest Field.[3]

After three seasons, the MLS Reserve League was discontinued. As a result, each team's Developmental Roster spots were reduced from 10 to four, and each team's Senior Roster spots were increased from 18 to 20. This had the effect of reducing each team's total roster from 28 to 24 players.

The regular season began on March 19, and concluded on October 25. The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 29, and concluded with MLS Cup 2009 on November 22. Real Salt Lake won their first MLS Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in a penalty shootout.

Overview

Season Format

The season began on March 19 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 22. The 15 teams were split into two conferences with 7 playing in the Eastern Conference and 8 playing in the Western Conference. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 28 games. The remaining two games were played against four regional rivals, one at home and one away.

The top two teams from each conference automatically qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In addition, the four highest remaining point totals, regardless of conference, also qualified. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions League, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Also, Toronto FC, as a Canadian-based team, could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS, and had to instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.

Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top six overall finishers. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.

Qualification for the SuperLiga was awarded to the top four overall finishers not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Stadiums and locations
Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Team Stadium Capacity
Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000
Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000
Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
FC Dallas Pizza Hut Park 21,193
Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium 32,000
Kansas City Wizards CommunityAmerica Ballpark 10,385
LA Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756
New York Red Bulls Giants Stadium 80,200
Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213
San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525
Seattle Sounders FC Qwest Field 68,740
Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566

Personnel and sponsorships
Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Costa Rica Denis Hamlett Best Buy
Chivas USA United States Preki Comex
Colorado Rapids England Gary Smith
Columbus Crew Poland Robert Warzycha United States Frankie Hejduk Glidden
D.C. United United States Tom Soehn Volkswagen
FC Dallas United States Schellas Hyndman
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear United States Wade Barrett —
Kansas City Wizards United States Curt Onalfo —
LA Galaxy United States Bruce Arena Herbalife
New England Revolution Scotland Steve Nicol —
New York Red Bulls Colombia Juan Carlos Osorio Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel Red Bull
Real Salt Lake United States Jason Kreis United States Kyle Beckerman XanGo
San Jose Earthquakes Canada Frank Yallop United States Ramiro Corrales Amway Global
Seattle Sounders FC United States Sigi Schmid Xbox
Toronto FC England John Carver —

Results table
Abbreviation and Color Key:
Chicago Fire – CHI • Chivas USA – CHV • Colorado Rapids – COL • Columbus Crew – CLB • D.C. United – DC
FC Dallas – DAL • Houston Dynamo – HOU • Kansas City Wizards – KC • Los Angeles Galaxy – LA • New England Revolution – NE
New York Red Bulls – NY • Real Salt Lake – RSL • San Jose Earthquakes – SJ • Seattle Sounders FC – SEA • Toronto FC – TOR
Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home
Club Match
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Chicago FireDALDCNYSJKCCLBSEANETORNYCHVDALHOUDCCOLCLBSJSEARSLHOUKCLACOLDCRSLCLBTORLANECHV
3-11-10-13-32-22-21-11-12-01-03-23-01-01-22-10-00-20-00-12-32-02-02-31-01-12-22-20-10-00-1
Chivas USACOLDALCLBLASEATORDALSJRSLDCKCCHISEAHOUCLBLANECOLNYTORRSLLANESEANYDCKCSJCHIHOU
1-22-01-20-00-20-10-21-00-12-21-13-20-10-11-21-00-20-42-00-20-40-10-20-01-12-00-22-20-13-2
Colorado RapidsCHVKCLACLBHOULARSLNESEANYRSLDCDALSEACHIDALDCNYCLBCHVCHIHOUTORTORSJSJKCNEDALRSL
1-21-23-21-10-11-10-21-12-23-21-10-31-10-32-10-11-30-41-00-42-30-10-12-31-11-10-01-11-20-3
Columbus CrewHOUTORRSLCHVCOLCHITORKCLASJSEAKCCHVDALNYDCCHIRSLTORCOLSJDALNYHOUCHILASEANEDCNE
1-11-11-41-21-12-21-12-31-11-21-12-01-21-20-11-10-01-32-31-03-00-20-11-22-20-21-01-00-11-0
D.C. UnitedLACHIHOURSLNENYDALKCTORCHVRSLNENYCHISEACOLCLBCOLSJHOUTORLACHIDALKCSEASJCHVCLBKC
2-21-10-11-21-13-21-21-13-32-20-01-20-21-23-30-31-11-32-23-40-20-01-02-20-12-12-12-00-12-2
FC DallasCHICHVNETORTORCHVDCHOUSEALACHISJHOUCLBCOLNYCOLRSLKCHOUCLBNYDCLAKCRSLNESJCOLSEA
3-12-01-21-12-30-21-20-11-11-13-02-23-11-21-11-20-12-40-60-10-22-32-26-32-30-30-12-11-21-2
Houston DynamoCLBSJDCNYCOLNEDALNYSJTORCHICHVDALRSLLAKCSEATORNEDCDALCHIRSLSEACOLCLBRSLKCLACHV
1-12-30-10-00-12-00-11-11-30-31-00-13-11-10-11-01-21-11-03-41-02-30-01-10-11-22-31-10-03-2
Kansas City WizardsTORCOLSJSEACHINYTORDCCLBRSLCHVLACLBNEHOUNELADALCHISJRSLNEDCNYDALCOLHOUCHVSEADC
3-21-20-21-02-20-10-11-12-32-01-11-12-01-31-00-01-10-62-00-11-04-20-11-02-30-01-10-23-22-2
Los Angeles GalaxyDCCOLCHVSJCOLNYRSLSEACLBDALKCTORRSLSJHOUNECHVNYKCNESEACHIDCCHVDALTORCLBCHIHOUSJ
2-23-20-01-11-10-12-21-11-11-11-12-12-01-20-10-11-03-11-12-12-02-00-00-16-30-20-20-10-00-2
New England RevolutionSJNYDALDCRSLHOUCHICOLTORDCNYKCLAKCCHVHOUTORLASEARSLSJKCCHVNYSEADALCOLCLBCHICLB
1-01-11-21-10-62-01-11-11-31-20-41-30-10-00-21-01-12-11-01-31-24-20-21-11-20-11-11-00-01-0
New York Red BullsSEANECHIHOURSLKCDCLASJHOUCHICOLDCNETORSEATORCLBDALLACOLCHVDALCLBKCNECHVSJRSLTOR
0-31-10-10-00-20-13-20-11-41-11-03-20-20-41-31-10-20-11-23-10-42-02-30-11-01-11-10-10-20-5
Real Salt LakeSEACLBDCNYNECOLLACHVKCDCSJCOLLAHOUTORSJCLBDALCHISEAHOUNECHVKCCHIHOUDALNYTORCOL
0-21-41-20-20-60-22-20-12-00-01-21-12-01-10-31-11-32-40-10-10-01-30-41-01-12-30-30-20-10-3
San Jose EarthquakesNEHOUKCCHILASEACHVNYHOUCLBRSLDALSEALARSLTORCHIDCSEACLBKCNECOLCOLDCNYDALTORCHVLA
1-02-30-23-31-10-21-01-41-31-21-22-21-21-21-13-10-22-20-43-00-11-21-11-12-10-12-11-12-20-2
Seattle Sounders FCNYRSLTORKCCHVSJCHILADALCOLCLBCHVSJDCNYCOLHOUCHISJRSLLANEHOUTORDCCHVNECLBKCDAL
0-30-22-01-00-20-21-11-11-12-21-10-11-23-31-10-31-20-00-40-12-01-01-10-02-10-01-21-03-21-2
Toronto FCKCCLBSEADALDALCHVKCCLBDCCHINEHOULANYNYRSLSJHOUCLBNEDCCHVSEACOLCOLLACHISJRSLNY
3-21-12-01-12-30-10-11-13-32-01-30-32-11-20-20-33-11-12-31-10-20-20-00-12-30-22-21-10-10-5

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team 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

Western Conference

Pos Team 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 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[lower-alpha 1]
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
Notes:
  1. As winners of the 2010 Canadian Championship

MLS Cup Playoffs
Main article: 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs
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

Player statistics

Goals
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 United States Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 17
2 United States Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 16
3 Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 12
United States Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
United States Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake
Colombia Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls
8 Canada Dwayne De Rosario Toronto FC 11
Jamaica Ryan Johnson San Jose Earthquakes
United States Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards

Assists
RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Jamaica Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 11
2 Netherlands Dave van den Bergh FC Dallas 10
3 United States Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9
4 Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire 8
5 United States Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 6
United States Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC
Grenada Shalrie Joseph New England Revolution
Argentina Claudio López Kansas City Wizards
Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake
10 10 players 5

Clean Sheets
Rank Player Club Clean
Sheets
1 United States Zach Thornton Chivas USA 12
2 United States Jon Busch Chicago Fire 10
United States Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Canada Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
5 Jamaica Donovan Ricketts LA Galaxy 9
United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
7 United States Matt Reis New England Revolution 8
8 United States Kevin Hartman Kansas City Wizards 7
United States Will Hesmer Columbus Crew
United States Matt Pickens Colorado Rapids

Awards

Individual awards
AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable PlayerUnited States Landon DonovanLA Galaxy
Defender of the YearUnited States Chad MarshallColumbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Zach ThorntonChivas USA
Coach of the YearUnited States Bruce ArenaLA Galaxy
Rookie of the YearUnited States Omar GonzalezLA Galaxy
Comeback Player of the YearUnited States Zach ThorntonChivas USA
Golden BootUnited States Jeff CunninghamFC Dallas
Goal of the YearUnited States Landon DonovanLA Galaxy
Fair Play AwardUnited States Steve RalstonNew England Revolution
Humanitarian of the YearUnited States Jimmy Conrad
United States Logan Pause		Kansas City Wizards
Chicago Fire

Best XI
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Zach Thornton, Chivas USA United States Geoff Cameron, Houston
Colombia Wilman Conde, Chicago
United States Chad Marshall, Columbus		 Canada Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto
United States Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
United States Stuart Holden, Houston
Grenada Shalrie Joseph, New England
Sweden Freddie Ljungberg, Seattle		 United States Conor Casey, Colorado
United States Jeff Cunningham, Dallas

Weekly awards

Save of the week was first introduced during week 10 of the 2009 season.[4]

Monthly awards

Attendance
Club Games Season Game Avg.
Seattle Sounders FC 15 499,262 30,897
Los Angeles Galaxy 15 333,239 20,827
Toronto FC 15 305,167 20,344
Real Salt Lake 15 303,138 17,831
Houston Dynamo 15 264,368 17,624
Chivas USA 15 251,611 15,725
D.C. United 15 202,605 15,585
Chicago Fire 15 247,908 15,487
Columbus Crew 15 226,808 14,175
Colorado Rapids 15 195,282 13,018
New York Red Bulls 15 165,672 12,744
New England Revolution 15 173,985 12,427
San Jose Earthquakes 15 134,283 10,329
Kansas City Wizards 15 150,802 10,053
FC Dallas 15 108,717 9,883
Totals 225 3,562,847 16,120

See also

References
  1. Coon, John (April 25, 2009). "RSL's record-setting rout dooms Revs". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  2. King, Jeffrey J. (September 13, 2009). "Dallas earns crucial win over Galaxy". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  3. Romero, José Miguel (January 27, 2010). "Keeping Sounders FC together is key to long-range success". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  4. "Save of the Week". MLSNet.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
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