MLS 2015

• The number of league clubs increased from nineteen to twenty. New York City and Orlando City entered the league, while Chivas USA ceased to exist. New York City became the second club in the New York metropolitan area (along with the New York Red Bulls ). With the addition of Orlando City, the MLS league returned to Florida for the first time since the downsizing of the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutini clubs in 2001.
• Conferences were redistributed by geography. New East Coast clubs, New York City and Orlando City, were added to the Eastern Conference, while Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City clubs were moved to the Western Conference. Both conferences now have ten teams each.
• The number of teams entering the playoff tournament has been increased from ten to twelve. The six best teams from each conference, instead of five as before, will reach the playoffs. The preliminary round of the playoff tournament will consist of four matches instead of two, compared to last season ^[1] .
• For the first time in league history, matches of the last round of the regular season, often deciding the teams to playoffs, will be held simultaneously ^[1] .
• MLS signed a new eight-year contract with ESPN , FOX Sports and Hispanic Univision to broadcast league matches in the US ^[2] . The amount of the contract increased five times compared with the previous one, from $ 18 million to $ 90 million per year ^[3] . For the first time in history, the league signed a four-year contract with Sky Sports to broadcast MLS matches in the UK ^{[4] [5]} , and a four-year contract was signed with Eurosport for the right to show matches in other European countries ^[6] .
• On March 3, 2015, Columbus Crew announced the conclusion of a multi-million dollar multi-year contract with the Spanish insurance company Mafre ( MAPFRE , Mutualidad de la Agrupación de Propietarios de Fincas Rústicas de España ), in connection with which the name of the home stadium “Columbus”, which since its construction in 1999 there has been no commercial sponsor, it has been officially changed from Columbus Crew Stadium to Mafra Stadium ^{[7] [8]} .
• On March 18, 2015, Colorado Rapids announced a two-year contract with a new title sponsor, Transamerica Insurance Company ^[9] .
• On March 22, 2015, the opening of the new Avaya Stadium football stadium, which was built specifically for the San Jose Earthquakes club, became its home field ^[10] .
• On March 25, 2015, MLS announced the award of the 23rd league franchise to the Minneapolis investment group, the owners of the Minnesota United club. The club plans to build its own stadium and begin performing at MLS in 2017–2018 ^[11] .
• On March 27, 2015, the league signed a four-year contract to broadcast MLS matches in Brazil with Brazilian Globosat, the largest pay-TV operator in Latin America ^[12] .
• On March 30, 2015, MLS entered into a four-year contract with the Abu Dhabi Sports Channel for broadcasting league matches in twenty-five countries of the Near and Middle East and North Africa ^[13] .
• On May 14, 2015, the league signed a long-term contract with the leading Chinese broadcaster Letv Sports to broadcast MLS matches in China ^[14] .
• On May 18, 2015, the Los Angeles club announced plans to build its own stadium in Los Angeles, near the city center. The stadium is planned to be built on the site of the 56-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, which will be demolished for this project. The cost of the complex is estimated at $ 250 million and it will be fully funded by the club owners. The sports complex will include a football stadium with 22,000 seats, a conference center, restaurants and a football museum. The project is expected to be approved by the Los Angeles City Council by July 2015 ^{[15] [16] [17]} .
• On June 26, 2015, a new league franchise in Atlanta unveiled the club’s official name, Atlanta United FC ^[18] . On July 7, 2015, the club presented its logo and club colors - black, red and gold ^[19] .
• On July 14, 2015, the league signed a four-year contract with beIN Sports to broadcast MLS matches in Southeast Asia and Australia ^[20] .
• On September 15, 2015, a new league franchise in Los Angeles approved the club’s official name, Los Angeles FC ^[21] .
• On October 23, 2015, the Minnesota United club announced the approval of the construction of its own stadium. The Minnesota home field will be located in St. Paul (an agglomeration of Minneapolis ) and will be designed for 18-20 thousand places. Construction will begin in mid-2016, completion is planned for 2018 ^{[22] [23]} .
• For the first time in league history, all three Canadian clubs, Vancouver Whitecaps , Montreal Impact and Toronto , entered the playoff tournament ^[24] .
• On November 18, 2015, MLS signed a four-year contract with FOX Sports Africa to broadcast league matches in twenty-five countries of the African continent south of the Sahara. This was the eighth international agreement to broadcast league matches, which will now be shown in about 140 countries around the world ^[25] .
• On December 6, 2015, MLS announced support for a plan to increase the number of clubs in the league in the future to 28 ^[26] .

Geography

Stadiums

Coaches, Captains and Sponsors

The equipment for all league teams is supplied by Adidas .

Coaching Changes

Schedule

The regular league championship was held from March 6 to October 25. Each of the twenty teams played 34 matches (17 on the home field and 17 on the road) according to an unbalanced schedule. Teams played one match with each member of the opposite conference (five games at home and five away). The remaining matches were held with the teams of their conference - twice with each of the nine opponents (once at home and one away) and one additionally with six opponents (a total of three home and three away) ^[35] .

The team that won first place in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield trophy ^[36] and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2016/2017 . The first six teams of each conference reached the playoffs.

Match Results

The results of matches of the season, statistics and video reports on the matches of each club can be seen on the official website of the league - map , list .

Eastern Conference

And - games, B - wins, N - draws, P - losses, Goals - goals scored and goals conceded, ± - goal difference, O - points
Source: League Official Website

Western Conference

And - games, B - wins, N - draws, P - losses, Goals - goals scored and goals conceded, ± - goal difference, O - points
Source: League Official Website

Overall classification

The general classification table is used only to determine the owner of the MLS Supporters' Shield trophy.

And - games, B - wins, N - draws, P - losses, Goals - goals scored and goals conceded, ± - goal difference, O - points
Source: League Official Website

Additional points for equality of points

Three points are awarded for a victory, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. If the teams scored the same number of points, places are allocated according to the following procedure ^[37] :

1. The number of victories.
2. The difference between goals scored and goals conceded.
3. The number of goals scored.
4. The smallest number of disciplinary points (foul - 1 point, first yellow - 3 points, second yellow (tainted red) - 5 points, direct red - 6 points, sanction of the disciplinary committee - 6 points).
5. The difference between goals scored and goals conceded in away matches.
6. The number of goals scored in away matches.
7. The difference between goals scored and goals conceded in home games.
8. The number of goals scored in home matches.
9. Coin (two teams) or lots (three or more teams).

Hat Tricks

Goals

• Highest total goals in a match: 10 goals
  • DC United 6: 4 Real Salt Lake (August 1) ^[48]
• The biggest victory of the hosts: 5 goals
  • Los Angeles Galaxy 5-0 Portland Timbers (June 24) ^[49]
  • Toronto 5-0 Orlando City (August 22) ^[50]
  • Columbus Crew 5: 0 DC United (October 25) ^[51]
• The biggest victory of the guests: 5 goals
  • Sporting Kansas City 0: 5 San Jose Earthquakes (August 19) ^[52]

Championship Attendance

• A league attendance record in regular season matches was set. The average attendance was 21,574 fans per match, which is 12.7% higher than the record set in the 2014 season (19,147 fans per match). The total attendance was 7,335,053 fans ^[53] .
• For the first time in history, the average attendance of ten clubs exceeded 20,000 spectators per match ^[53] .
• The Seattle Sounders had the highest average attendance among clubs with 44,247 fans per match, breaking the previous Seattle record of 44,038 set by Seattle in 2013 ^[53] .
• A full house record was set. For 161 league games out of 340, all tickets to the stadiums were completely sold out, which broke the record 133 full house set in 2013 ^[53] .
• Highest match attendance: 64,358, Seattle Sounders 2-1 Portland Timbers (August 30) ^[54]
• Lowest attendance: 10,035 Montreal Impact 2: 1 Vancouver Whitecaps (June 3) ^[55]

Most visited matches

Regular season

Source: League Stats

Symbolic Team of the Year

The national team was composed according to the results of voting of league players, club leaders and media representatives. Robbie Keane is the only player on the symbolic team of last year to make the list this season. Keane was also included in the symbolic team for the fourth season in a row ^[68] .

The playoff tournament started on October 28 and ended on December 6 with a match for the MLS Cup.

Each conference held a separate playoff tournament for the title of champion of the conference. The Eastern Conference Champion met with the Western Conference Champion in the MLS Cup match, in which the MLS League Champion was determined.

The six best teams of each conference entered the playoff tournament according to the places occupied by the teams in the conferences at the end of the regular season. The third and sixth teams of each conference, as well as the fourth and fifth, held one match in the preliminary round for the right to enter the conference semi-finals, where the first and second teams respectively became their rivals (the team with the lowest position became the rival of the first team) . Preliminary round matches were held on the sidelines of the teams that finished the regular season at a higher place.

Semi-finals and conference finals consisted of two matches - away and at home. The team that finished the regular season in a higher place got the right to play the second match of the semi-finals and finals at home. The winners of the finals became champions of their conferences and met in the MLS Cup match for the league title. The match for the MLS Cup was held at the home stadium of the finalist team, which took a higher place in the regular season ^[35] .

In the event of a tie total score in the series of two matches, the goal rule scored on a foreign field was applied. If after that the result remained equal (or in the event of a tie in a series of one match), the teams spent two additional fifteen-minute periods. If the result was still a draw, the rule of a goal scored in a foreign field was no longer applied, and penalty shoot-outs were awarded ^[35] .

Source: League Official Website

Preliminary Round

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

"New York Red Bulls" reached the final of the conference on a total score of 2: 0

Columbus Crew reached the final of the conference with a total score of 4: 3

Western Conference

“Portland Timbers” reached the final of the conference with a total score of 2: 0

“Dallas” reached the final of the conference, completing a 3: 3 series and winning 4: 2 in the penalty shoot-out

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Columbus Crew won with a total score of 2: 1, the club became the champion of the Eastern Conference and reached the final of the MLS Cup 2015

Western Conference

“Portland Timbers” won with a total score of 5: 3, the club became the champion of the Western Conference and reached the final of the MLS Cup 2015

2015 MLS Cup Match