2015 Major League Soccer season
| 200px | |
| Season | 2015 |
|---|---|
| MLS Cup | Portland Timbers (1st title) |
| Supporters' Shield | New York Red Bulls (2nd shield) |
| Champions League (United States) | FC Dallas New York Red Bulls Portland Timbers Sporting Kansas City |
| Champions League (Canada) | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| Matches played | 340 |
| Goals scored | 937 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sebastian Giovinco Kei Kamara (22 goals each) |
| Best goalkeeper | Adam Kwarasey David Ousted (13 shutouts each) |
| Biggest home win | 5 goals: LA 5–0 POR (Jun 24) TOR 5–0 ORL (Aug 22) CLB 5–0 DC (Oct 25) |
| Biggest away win | 5 goals: SKC 0–5 SJ (Aug 19) |
| Highest scoring | 10 goals: DC 6–4 RSL (Aug 1) |
| Longest winning run | 6 games: New England Revolution (Aug 1 – Sep 16) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 9 games: New England Revolution (Mar 21 – May 16) Portland Timbers (Oct 14 – Dec 6) |
| Longest winless run | 11 games: New York City (Mar 21 – May 30) |
| Longest losing run | 5 games: New England Revolution (Jun 21 – Jul 11) Seattle Sounders FC (Jul 11 – Aug 9) Chicago Fire (Sep 5 – Sep 26) |
| Highest attendance | 64,358 SEA 2–1 POR (Aug 30) |
| Lowest attendance | 10,035 MTL 2–1 VAN (Jun 3) |
| Total attendance | 7,335,053 |
| Average attendance | 21,574 |
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← 2014
2016 →
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United
Red Bulls
Fire
Salt Lake
Western Conference 8px Eastern ConferenceThe 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS Cup 2015 on December 6. The defending MLS Cup champions were the LA Galaxy, while Seattle Sounders FC were the defending Supporters' Shield winners.
It was the first season for expansion teams Orlando City and New York City, who both joined the Eastern Conference, while both the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. Chivas USA folded at the end of the 2014 season.
At the end of the regular season, the New York Red Bulls of the Eastern Conference won the Supporters' Shield, while the team on top of the Western Conference was FC Dallas. The Portland Timbers won their first MLS Cup, winning 2–1 at Columbus Crew.
Contents
Overview
The 2015 season began on Friday, March 6. The opening weekend saw an average attendance of 25,838 — buoyed by strong attendances in Orlando (62,510), and Seattle (39,782) — with seven of the weekend's ten matches selling out.[1] Additionally, MLS saw strong TV ratings on ESPN2 (539,000 viewers), Unimas (341,000 viewers), and Fox Sports 1 (289,000 and 278,500 viewers).[2]
Franchise changes
The 2015 MLS season featured the addition of two expansion teams, New York City and Orlando City. New York City became the second MLS team in the New York metropolitan area (joining the New Jersey-based New York Red Bulls), as well as the first based within New York City itself, as the team played its inaugural season at Yankee Stadium). Orlando was a new market for MLS, which returned to Florida for the first time since folding their Miami and Tampa Bay franchises before the 2002 season. The Lions' ownership previously owned Orlando's team that played in the league then known as USL Pro from 2010 to 2014; that team that relocated to Louisville for the 2015 season of the rebranded United Soccer League.
While MLS added two teams, one team closed down. Chivas USA, which had called the Los Angeles area home since 2005 and shared the StubHub Center with the LA Galaxy. Chivas had been owned by Mexican club, C.D. Guadalajara, who sold the club back to MLS in 2014. The league folded Chivas in October 2014, after the conclusion of the regular season, though it announced plans to add a second LA-area club, Los Angeles FC, in 2018.[3]
Realignment and playoffs
With the addition and subtraction of the above-mentioned teams, the 2015 season saw a realignment of MLS's Eastern and Western conferences: New York City and Orlando City joined the East, while Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City moved from the East to the West.[3]
Each team played 34 regular season matches: two or three against conference rivals and once against teams from the opposite conference. The regular season concluded with all teams playing at the same scheduled time, a league first.[4]
12 teams advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs, up from 10 the previous 3 seasons. The top six teams per conference qualified. The first round per conference had the third-seed hosting the sixth-seed, and the fourth hosting the fifth. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed played the lowest remaining seed and the second played the next-lowest.
Television
The 2015 season saw the launch of a new United States television and media rights deal with English-language ESPN and Fox Sports and Spanish-language Univision Deportes. The deal continues MLS's relationship with ESPN and Univision, while it reestablishes one with Fox Sports, whose Fox Soccer channel carried MLS games until 2011 (NBC Sports carried MLS broadcasts from 2012 to 2014). The deal, formally announced in May 2014, sees regular weekly game broadcasts on ESPN2 (Sunday afternoons) and Fox Sports 1 (Sunday evenings), as well as a regular Friday night match on UniMás and/or Univision Deportes Network. The networks will share coverage of the MLS Cup Playoffs, while ESPN and Fox will alternate English language carriage of the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup championship match each year. The 2015 MLS all star game will be on Fox Sports, and MLS Cup 2015 will air on ESPN. As part of the deal, the networks also share coverage of the U.S. Soccer men's and women's national teams.[5]
The league reached a four-year agreement with Sky Sports to televise league matches live in the United Kingdom and Ireland. At least two regular season matches each week, the MLS All-Star Game, and every MLS Cup Playoff match was aired on the Sky family of networks.[6] MLS also reached a four-year agreement with Eurosport to air live matches in many other European countries.[7]
Teams
Stadiums and locations
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| Chicago Fire | Colorado Rapids | Columbus Crew | D.C. United | FC Dallas | Houston Dynamo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Park | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Mapfre Stadium | RFK Memorial Stadium | Toyota Stadium | BBVA Compass Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 20,145 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,500 | Capacity: 22,000 |
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| LA Galaxy | Montreal Impact |
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New England Revolution | New York City | |
| StubHub Center | Saputo Stadium | Gillette Stadium | Yankee Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 20,801 | Capacity: 22,385 | Capacity: 33,444 | ||
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| New York Red Bulls | Orlando | Philadelphia Union | Portland Timbers | ||
| Red Bull Arena | Citrus Bowl | PPL Park | Providence Park | ||
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 23,000 | Capacity: 18,500 | Capacity: 22,000 | ||
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| Real Salt Lake | San Jose Earthquakes | Seattle Sounders FC | Sporting Kansas City | Toronto FC | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| Rio Tinto Stadium | Avaya Stadium | CenturyLink Field | Sporting Park | BMO Field | BC Place |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 39,115 | Capacity: 18,500 | Capacity: 30,991 | Capacity: 21,000 |
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Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Earthquakes |  Mark Watson |
Fired | October 16, 2014[8] | Preseason |  Dominic Kinnear |
October 16, 2014[9] |
| Houston Dynamo | Dominic Kinnear |
Signed by San Jose Earthquakes | October 16, 2014[9] |  Owen Coyle |
December 8, 2014[10] | |
| New York Red Bulls | Mike Petke |
Fired | January 7, 2015[11] | Jesse Marsch |
January 7, 2015[12] | |
| Montreal Impact | Frank Klopas |
Fired | August 29, 2015[13] | 7th in East, 17th overall |
Mauro Biello (Interim) |
August 29, 2015[13] |
| Chicago Fire | Frank Yallop |
Fired | September 20, 2015[14] | 10th in East, 20th overall |
Brian Bliss (Interim) |
September 20, 2015[14] |
| New York City | Jason Kreis |
Fired | November 2, 2015[15] | Postseason |  Patrick Vieira |
November 9, 2015 |
| Chicago Fire | Brian Bliss |
End of interim | November 24, 2015 |  Veljko Paunovic |
November 24, 2015[16] |
Regular season
Conference tables
Eastern Conference
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Western Conference
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Overall table
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MLS Cup Playoffs
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Attendance
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Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.[17]
| Team | GP | Total | High | Low | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Sounders FC | 17 | 752,192 | 64,358 | 39,175 | 44,247 |
| Orlando City SC | 17 | 558,407 | 62,510 | 23,372 | 32,847 |
| New York City | 17 | 493,267 | 48,047 | 20,461 | 29,016 |
| Toronto | 17 | 398,671 | 30,266 | 16,382 | 23,451 |
| LA Galaxy | 17 | 397,668 | 27,000 | 13,391 | 23,392 |
| Portland Timbers | 17 | 359,418 | 21,144 | 21,144 | 21,144 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 17 | 356,646 | 50,422 | 18,000 | 20,979 |
| Houston Dynamo | 17 | 351,187 | 22,651 | 16,018 | 20,658 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 17 | 348,624 | 22,500 | 18,083 | 20,507 |
| Real Salt Lake | 17 | 342,718 | 21,004 | 18,895 | 20,160 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 17 | 334,684 | 21,505 | 18,864 | 19,687 |
| New York Red Bulls | 17 | 334,172 | 25,219 | 12,540 | 19,657 |
| New England Revolution | 17 | 333,652 | 42,947 | 10,668 | 19,627 |
| Montreal Impact | 17 | 301,742 | 25,245 | 10,035 | 17,750 |
| Philadelphia Union | 17 | 296,674 | 18,883 | 15,374 | 17,451 |
| Columbus Crew | 17 | 288,747 | 22,719 | 10,302 | 16,985 |
| D.C. United | 17 | 276,152 | 21,517 | 11,218 | 16,244 |
| FC Dallas | 17 | 272,221 | 21,907 | 12,640 | 16,013 |
| Chicago Fire | 17 | 272,043 | 20,124 | 11,196 | 16,003 |
| Colorado Rapids | 17 | 266,168 | 18,597 | 10,439 | 15,657 |
| Total | 340 | 7,335,053 | 64,358 | 10,035 | 21,574 |
Highest attendances
Regular season
| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | Portland Timbers | 64,358 | August 30, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 2 | Orlando City SC | 1–1 | New York City FC | 62,510 | March 8, 2015 | Citrus Bowl |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1–1 | LA Galaxy | 56,097 | October 4, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3–1 | Real Salt Lake | 55,435 | October 25, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders FC | 0–3 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 53,125 | August 2, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 6 | San Jose Earthquakes | 3–1 | LA Galaxy | 50,422 | June 27, 2015 | Stanford Stadium |
| 7 | New York City | 1–3 | New York Red Bulls | 48,047 | June 28, 2015 | Yankee Stadium |
| 8 | New York City | 2–0 | New England Revolution | 43,507 | March 15, 2015 | Yankee Stadium |
| 9 | Orlando City SC | 2–1 | New York City | 43,179 | October 16, 2015 | Citrus Bowl |
| 10 | New England Revolution | 0–1 | Montreal Impact | 42,947 | October 17, 2015 | Gillette Stadium |
Updated to games played on October 25, 2015. Source: MLS Soccer
Statistics
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Top scorers
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Top assists
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Shutouts |
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Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Player | Club | Stats | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March |  Octavio Rivero |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3G, 0A | [21] |
| April | Benny Feilhaber |
Sporting Kansas City | 2G, 3A | [22] |
| May |  Krisztián Németh |
Sporting Kansas City | 3G, 2A | [23] |
| June |  David Ousted |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 30SV, 4GA | [24] |
| July |  Sebastian Giovinco |
Toronto | 5G, 3A | [25] |
| August | Sebastian Giovinco |
Toronto | 4G, 3A | [26] |
| September |  Didier Drogba |
Montreal Impact | 7G, 1A | [27] |
| October | Didier Drogba |
Montreal Impact | 4G, 0A | [28] |
Weekly awards
Scoring
- First goal of the season: Jose Villarreal for LA Galaxy against Chicago Fire, 65 minutes (March 6, 2015)
Discipline
- First yellow card of the season: Shaun Maloney for Chicago Fire against LA Galaxy, 22 minutes (March 6, 2015)
- First red card of the season: Bobby Burling for Colorado Rapids against Philadelphia Union, 68 minutes (March 7, 2015) - Second yellow card
- First straight red card of the season: Aurélien Collin for Orlando City against New York City, 83 minutes (March 8, 2015)
End-of-season awards
MLS Best XI
| Year | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Luis Robles, Red Bulls |
 Laurent Ciman, Montreal Matt Hedges, Dallas Kendall Waston, Vancouver |
Ethan Finlay, Columbus Dax McCarty, Red Bulls Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC Fabian Castillo, Dallas |
Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto Kei Kamara, Columbus Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy |
Source:[44]
Player transfers
Allocation ranking
The allocation ranking was the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee.
MLS streamlined the allocation mechanism in the middle of 2015 season. Effective on May 1, 2015, the allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a player who is in MLS allocation list.[45] 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 will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2014 season, taking playoff performance into account.[46]
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 |
Final Ranking |
Club | Date Allocation Used (Rank on that date) |
Player Signed | Previous Club | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1 | LA Galaxy |
[47] | |||
| 6 | 2 | Chicago Fire | ||||
| 7 | 3 | Houston Dynamo | ||||
| 9 | 4 | Philadelphia Union | ||||
| 10 | 5 | Portland Timbers | ||||
| 11 | 6 | Sporting Kansas City | ||||
| 12 | 7 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||||
| 13 | 8 | Columbus Crew | ||||
| 14 | 9 | FC Dallas | ||||
| 15 | 10 | Real Salt Lake | ||||
| 3 | 11 | Montreal Impact |
[48] | |||
| 18 | 12 | Seattle Sounders FC | ||||
| 19 | 13 | New England Revolution | ||||
| 5 | 14 | Colorado Rapids |
[47] | |||
| 1 | 15 | New York City | January 13, 2015 (1) | Mix Diskerud |
 Rosenborg |
[49] |
| 8 | 16 | Toronto | January 16, 2015 (6) | Jozy Altidore |
 Sunderland |
[50] |
| 17 | 17 | New York Red Bulls |
January 28, 2015 (1) | Sacha Kljestan |
Anderlecht |
[48][51] |
| 2 | 18 | Orlando City♯ | December 19, 2014 (2) | Brek Shea |
Stoke City |
[52] |
| February 2, 2015 (17) | Eric Avila |
 Santos Laguna |
[53][54] | |||
| 16 | 19 | D.C. United | February 10, 2015 (12) | Michael Farfan |
Cruz Azul |
[55] |
| 4 | 20 | San Jose Earthquakes | July 17, 2015 (1) | Marc Pelosi |
Liverpool U-21 |
[56] |
On January 15, 2015, LA Galaxy acquired the then-number 3 allocation ranking (original ranking number 5) and allocation money from Colorado Rapids in exchange for the then-number 18 allocation ranking (original ranking number 20), Marcelo Sarvas, and an international roster slot.
On January 27, 2015, New York Red Bulls acquired the then-number 1 allocation ranking (original ranking number 3) and Felipe from Montreal Impact in exchange for the then-number 14 allocation ranking (original ranking number 17), Ambroise Oyongo, Eric Alexander, allocation money, and an international roster slot for the 2015 season.
♯ On December 19, 2014, Orlando used its original ranking to acquire Shea.[57] Orlando used their allocation a second time when 16 teams passed and they picked Avila with the then-number 17 allocation ranking.
Coaches
Eastern Conference
- Chicago Fire: Frank Yallop
- Columbus Crew: Gregg Berhalter
- D.C. United: Ben Olsen
- Montreal Impact: Mauro Biello
- New England Revolution: Jay Heaps
- New York City: Patrick Vieira
- New York Red Bulls: Jesse Marsch
- Orlando City: Jason Kreis
- Philadelphia Union: Jim Curtin
- Toronto: Greg Vanney
Western Conference
- Colorado Rapids: Pablo Mastroeni
- FC Dallas: Óscar Pareja
- Houston Dynamo: Owen Coyle
- Los Angeles Galaxy: Bruce Arena
- Portland Timbers: Caleb Porter
- Real Salt Lake: Jeff Cassar
- San Jose Earthquakes: Dominic Kinnear
- Seattle Sounders FC: Sigi Schmid and Brian Schmetzer
- Sporting Kansas City: Peter Vermes
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Carl Robinson
References
- ↑ "MLS draws a crowd on opening weekend", Washington Post, Steven Goff, March 9, 2015.
- ↑ "MLS experiences TV ratings boost for 2015 opening weekend", SI.com, Richard Deitsch, March 11, 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "MLS announces new strategy for Los Angeles market, 2015 conference realignment," Archived October 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine from MLSSoccer.com, October 27, 2014
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "MLS, U.S. Soccer sign landmark TV and media rights partnerships with ESPN, FOX & Univision Deportes," Archived December 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine from MLSSoccer.com, December 5, 2014
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "12/19: Orlando City SC use No. 1 allocation spot to sign Brek Shea" (Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.).
External links
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