2012 Major League Soccer season




















































































Major League Soccer
Season 2012
MLS Cup
Los Angeles Galaxy (4th title)
Supporters' Shield
San Jose Earthquakes (2nd shield)

Champions League (U.S.)

San Jose Earthquakes
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
Sporting Kansas City (via U.S. Open Cup)

Champions League (Canada)

Toronto FC (via Canadian Championship)
Matches played 323
Goals scored 854 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorer
Chris Wondolowski
(27 goals)
Biggest home win
SJ 5–0 RSL
(July 14)
DAL 5–0 POR
(July 21)
Biggest away win
CHV 0–4 LA
(August 12)
CHV 2–6 SEA
(August 25)
CHV 0-4 RSL
(September 29)
Highest scoring 8 goals:
SJ 5–3 DC
(May 2)
POR 3–5 LA
(July 14)
CHV 2–6 SEA
(August 25)
Longest winning run 7 matches:[1]
Sporting KC
(March 10 – April 18)
Longest unbeaten run 11 matches:[1]
Sporting KC
(August 4 – October 24)
Longest winless run 14 matches:
Toronto FC
(July 28 – October 28)
Longest losing run 9 matches:[1]
Toronto FC
(March 17 – May 19)
Highest attendance 66,452
POR @ SEA
(October 7)
Lowest attendance 6,149
COL @ NE
(May 2)
Average attendance 18,807[1]

← 2011


2013 →


The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.


The regular season began on March 10, when the Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated the expansion team Montreal Impact 2–0 at BC Place, and concluded with the host Los Angeles Galaxy defeating the Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 on October 28 at The Home Depot Center. The season also featured the 2012 MLS All-Star Game on July 28, when MLS All-Stars defeated the Chelsea 3–2 at PPL Park (hosted by the Philadelphia Union). The San Jose Earthquakes would go on to become the Supporters' Shield champions by earning the most points of any team throughout the regular season. The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs ran from October 31 until December 1, when the Los Angeles Galaxy claimed their fourth MLS Cup title by defeating Houston Dynamo 3–1 in MLS Cup 2012 at Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.[2]




Contents






  • 1 Changes from 2011


  • 2 Teams, stadiums, and personnel


    • 2.1 Stadiums and locations


    • 2.2 Personnel and sponsorship


    • 2.3 Player transfers


      • 2.3.1 Allocation ranking


      • 2.3.2 Weighted lottery




    • 2.4 Ownership changes




  • 3 Regular season standings


    • 3.1 Conferences


      • 3.1.1 Eastern Conference


      • 3.1.2 Western Conference




    • 3.2 Overall table


    • 3.3 Tiebreak rules




  • 4 Playoff bracket


  • 5 Statistical leaders


    • 5.1 Top scorers


    • 5.2 Top assists


    • 5.3 Top goalkeepers




  • 6 Individual awards


    • 6.1 Monthly awards


    • 6.2 Weekly awards


    • 6.3 Scoring


    • 6.4 Discipline




  • 7 Related competitions


    • 7.1 International competitions and friendlies


      • 7.1.1 CONCACAF Champions League


      • 7.1.2 MLS All-Star Game




    • 7.2 Domestic competitions


      • 7.2.1 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup


      • 7.2.2 Canadian Championship




    • 7.3 League Competitions


      • 7.3.1 MLS Cup






  • 8 Coaches


    • 8.1 Eastern Conference


    • 8.2 Western Conference




  • 9 Notes


  • 10 References





Changes from 2011


The 2012 MLS season features several significant on- and off-field changes from 2011:[2]



  • The Montreal Impact became the 19th MLS franchise, replacing a same-named Montreal club that previously played in the North American Soccer League in 2011 and in the USL First Division before that. The Impact made their on-field debut on March 10 in a 2–0 loss at Vancouver. The Impact's home debut, a 1–1 draw with the Chicago Fire on March 17, attracted 58,912 to Olympic Stadium, setting the all-time record crowd for professional soccer in Montreal.[3] A 1–1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 12 attracted 60,860, setting the all-time attendance record for professional soccer in Canada.[4]

  • The Impact joined MLS as the 10th team in the Eastern Conference; the Western Conference remains at 9 teams.

  • Each of the 19 teams plays a 34-game regular season schedule, one that employs a new unbalanced format that gives greater emphasis on in-conference matchups.[5]

    • Western Conference clubs will play each conference rival three times, and play once against each Eastern Conference club.

    • Eastern Conference clubs will play seven of their conference rivals three times, the remaining two conference rivals twice, and each Western Conference club once.

    • The span of the regular season will be the longest in MLS history, beginning with 5 matches on March 10 and ending with 3 matches on October 28.[6]



  • A change to the Designated Player Rule regarding international players took effect with the start of the 2012 season. The salary cap charge for international designated players (i.e., players not from the U.S. or Canada) will depend on the players' ages:

    • age 20 and younger: $150,000[7]

    • ages 21 to 23: $200,000[7]

    • over 23 years of age: $350,000[7]



  • The league gained a new U.S. TV partner in NBC Sports, whose 3-year deal was announced in August 2011 (replacing expired deals with Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes)[8] and began on March 11 with a NBC Sports Network broadcast of the New York Red Bulls/FC Dallas match.[9] As part of the deal, NBC Sports Network will air 38 regular season and 3 playoff matches, while the main NBC network will air 3 regular season and 2 playoff matches (the first time since 2002 that that many MLS games will be broadcast on English-language network television). NBC and NBCSN will also air United States men's national soccer team matches (2 on each network). Previous deals with U.S. partners ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and Galavisión continue in 2012, as do deals with Canadian partners TSN, TSN2, and GolTV.

  • The MLS Cup Playoffs setup will undergo several changes, as will the Championship Game, which will be played on its latest date ever, December 1.[6] (see MLS Cup below)



Teams, stadiums, and personnel



Stadiums and locations





































Chicago Fire

Chivas USA/

Los Angeles Galaxy



Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

FC Dallas

Toyota Park

The Home Depot Center

Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Crew Stadium

RFK Memorial Stadium

FC Dallas Stadium
Capacity: 20,000
Capacity: 27,000
Capacity: 19,680
Capacity: 20,145
Capacity: 19,467
Capacity: 21,193

Toyota Park interior (by night).jpg

HomeDepotCenter1.jpg

Dick's Park.jpg

Columbus crew stadium mls allstars 2005.jpg

Rfkstadium.png

Pizza Hut Park.jpg



































Houston Dynamo

Montreal Impact

New England Revolution

New York Red Bulls

Philadelphia Union

Portland Timbers

BBVA Compass Stadium

Saputo Stadium[a]

Gillette Stadium

Red Bull Arena

PPL Park

Jeld-Wen Field
Capacity: 22,000
Capacity: 20,801
Capacity: 22,385
Capacity: 25,189
Capacity: 18,500
Capacity: 20,323

BBVA Compass Stadium, Skyline View.JPG

Stade Saputo.27.06.12.jpg

Gillette Stadium.jpg

Red Bull Arena ESC.jpg

PPL Park Interior from the River End 2010.10.02 (cropped).jpg

Jeldwenfield2011.png



































Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

Seattle Sounders FC

Sporting Kansas City

Toronto FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Rio Tinto Stadium

Buck Shaw Stadium

CenturyLink Field

Livestrong Sporting Park

BMO Field

BC Place
Capacity: 20,213
Capacity: 10,525
Capacity: 38,500
Capacity: 18,467
Capacity: 21,859
Capacity: 21,000

0811 - Rio Tinto Stadium.jpg

BuckShaw5308.jpg

Qwest seattle sounders pregame.jpg

SportingKC Stadium.jpg

West-stand-bmo-field.jpg

BC Place 2011 Whitecaps.jpg




2012 Major League Soccer season is located in the US

Fire

Fire



Chivas USA

Chivas USA



Rapids

Rapids



Crew

Crew



D.C. United

D.C. United



FC Dallas

FC Dallas



Dynamo

Dynamo



Galaxy

Galaxy



Impact

Impact



Revolution

Revolution



Red Bulls

Red Bulls



Union

Union



Timbers

Timbers



Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake



Earthquakes

Earthquakes



Sounders FC

Sounders FC



Sporting KC

Sporting KC



Toronto FC

Toronto FC



Whitecaps FC

Whitecaps FC




Locations of teams for the 2012 Major League Soccer season. Orange: Western Conference members, Blue: Eastern Conference members.



Personnel and sponsorship


Five MLS teams saw changes in jersey sponsorship for the 2012 season:




  • Bank of Montreal became the first shirt sponsor for the Montreal Impact.[12]

  • The Chicago Fire, who went without a jersey sponsor in 2011, gained one in Quaker Oats Company.[13]

  • The Columbus Crew, who also did not have a 2011 jersey sponsor, gained sponsorship from Barbasol.[14]


  • Amway Global declined to renew its sponsorship of the San Jose Earthquakes, which has yet to find a replacement.

  • On June 27, it was announced that AdvoCare had reached an agreement with FC Dallas to become the first shirt sponsor in club history.[15]


Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.



























































































































Team
Head coach
Captain
Shirt sponsor

Chicago Fire

United States Frank Klopas

United States Logan Pause

Quaker

Chivas USA

United States Robin Fraser

Venezuela Alejandro Moreno

Corona

Colorado Rapids

Colombia Óscar Pareja

United States Pablo Mastroeni
n/a

Columbus Crew

Poland Robert Warzycha

United States Chad Marshall

Barbasol

D.C. United

United States Ben Olsen

Canada Dwayne De Rosario

Volkswagen

FC Dallas

United States Schellas Hyndman

United States Ugo Ihemelu

AdvoCare

Houston Dynamo

United States Dominic Kinnear

United States Brian Ching

Greenstar

Los Angeles Galaxy

United States Bruce Arena

United States Landon Donovan

Herbalife

Montreal Impact

United States Jesse Marsch

United States Davy Arnaud

Bank of Montreal

New England Revolution

United States Jay Heaps

United States Matt Reis

UnitedHealthcare

New York Red Bulls

Sweden Hans Backe

France Thierry Henry

Red Bull

Philadelphia Union

United States John Hackworth

Colombia Carlos Valdés

Bimbo

Portland Timbers

New Zealand Gavin Wilkinson

United States Jack Jewsbury

Alaska Airlines

Real Salt Lake

United States Jason Kreis

United States Kyle Beckerman

XanGo

San Jose Earthquakes

Canada Frank Yallop

United States Ramiro Corrales
n/a

Seattle Sounders FC

Germany Sigi Schmid

Argentina Mauro Rosales

Xbox

Sporting Kansas City

United States Peter Vermes

Denmark Jimmy Nielsen
n/a

Toronto FC

England Paul Mariner

Germany Torsten Frings

Bank of Montreal

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Scotland Martin Rennie

United States Jay DeMerit

Bell Canada


Player transfers



Major League Soccer employs no fewer than 12 methods to acquire players. These include: signing players on transfers/free transfers as is done in most of the world; via trades; drafting players through mechanisms such as the MLS SuperDraft, MLS Supplemental Draft, or MLS Re-Entry Draft; rarely used methods which cover extreme hardship and injury replacement; signing players as Designated Players or Homegrown Players; placing a discovery claim on players; waivers; and methods peculiar to MLS such as through allocation or a weighted lottery.[16]



Allocation ranking


The allocation ranking is 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. The allocation rankings may also be used in the event two or more clubs file a request for the same player on the same day. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2011 season, taking playoff performance into account.


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 League season.[16]















































































































































Original Ranking
Club
Date Allocation Used
Player Signed
Player Nation
Previous Club
Club Nation
Ref
1
Montreal Impact dagger
February 17, 2012 Eddie Johnson
 United States
Fulham
 England
[17]
2
Philadelphia Uniondouble-dagger
June 26, 2012 Bakary Soumaré
 Mali
US Boulogne
 France
[18]
3 New England Revolution August 27, 2012 Juan Toja
 Colombia
Aris
 Greece
[19]
4
Seattle Sounders FC∞
September 14, 2012 Marcus Hahnemann
 United States
Everton
 England
[20]
5 Chivas USA
6 San Jose Earthquakes
7 D.C. United
8 Portland Timbers
9 Chicago Fire
10 Columbus Crew
11 Colorado Rapids March 28, 2012 Kamani Hill
 United States
Vitória
 Portugal
[21]
12 FC Dallas
13 New York Red Bulls August 8, 2012 Luis Robles
 United States
Karlsruher SC
 Germany
[22]

dagger Montreal immediately traded Johnson to Seattle in exchange for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle.


double-daggerVancouver originally had the No. 2 ranking, but traded it to Philadelphia on June 26.


∞Toronto originally had the No. 4 ranking, but traded it to Seattle on September 14.


The remaining order after FC Dallas is: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (from Philadelphia), Toronto FC (from Seattle), Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy. In the unlikely event that all clubs use an allocation, the order begins anew with Montreal Impact, Colorado Rapids, Philadelphia Union, New York Red Bulls New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders FC.



Weighted lottery


Some players are assigned to MLS teams via a weighted lottery process. A team can only acquire one player per year through a weighted lottery. The players made available through lotteries include: (i) Generation adidas players signed after the MLS SuperDraft; and (ii) Draft eligible players to whom an MLS contract was offered but who failed to sign with the League prior to the SuperDraft.


The team with the worst record over its last 30 regular season games (dating back to previous season if necessary and taking playoff performance into account) will have the greatest probability of winning the lottery. Teams are not required to participate in a lottery. Players are assigned via the lottery system in order to prevent a player from potentially influencing his destination club with a strategic holdout.


The results of 2012 weighted lotteries thus far:






























Lottery Date
Player
Player Nation
Position
Winning Club
Other Clubs Participating
Ref
December 15, 2011 Lee Nguyen
 USA
MF Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Toronto FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy
[23]
September 13, 2012 Marcus Tracy
 USA
FW San Jose Earthquakes
New England Revolution, FC Dallas, Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders FC



Ownership changes















Club
New owner
Previous owner
Date
DC United

Erick Thohir and Jason Levien

D.C. United Holdings

July 10, 2012


Regular season standings



Conferences



Eastern Conference












































































































































Pos
Team

Pld

W

L

D

GF

GA

GD

Pts

1

Sporting Kansas City (E1)
34
18
7
9
42
27
+15
63

2012 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2

D.C. United
34
17
10
7
53
43
+10
58
3

New York Red Bulls
34
16
9
9
57
46
+11
57
4

Chicago Fire
34
17
11
6
46
41
+5
57

2012 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5

Houston Dynamo
34
14
9
11
48
41
+7
53
6

Columbus Crew
34
15
12
7
44
44
0
52

7

Montreal Impact
34
12
16
6
45
51
−6
42
8

Philadelphia Union
34
10
18
6
37
45
−8
36
9

New England Revolution
34
9
17
8
39
44
−5
35
10

Toronto FC
34
5
21
8
36
62
−26
23

Updated to match(es) played on 18:04 EDT October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com

.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{list-style-type:none;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>dd{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100{font-size:100%}

(E1) = Eastern Conference champion




Western Conference
































































































































Pos
Team

Pld

W

L

D

GF

GA

GD

Pts

1

San Jose Earthquakes (SS, W1)
34
19
6
9
72
43
+29
66

2012 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2

Real Salt Lake
34
17
11
6
46
35
+11
57
3

Seattle Sounders FC
34
15
8
11
51
33
+18
56
4

LA Galaxy
34
16
12
6
59
47
+12
54

2012 MLS Cup Knockout Round
5

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
34
11
13
10
35
41
−6
43
6

FC Dallas
34
9
13
12
42
47
−5
39

7

Colorado Rapids
34
11
19
4
44
50
−6
37
8

Portland Timbers
34
8
16
10
34
56
−22
34
9

Chivas USA
34
7
18
9
24
58
−34
30

Updated to match(es) played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com



(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (W1) = Western Conference champion




Overall table


Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, seeding in the 2013 Canadian Championship, and 2013 MLS draft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying for the playoffs.




























































































































































































































































Pos
Team

Pld

W

L

D

GF

GA

GD

Pts

1

San Jose Earthquakes (SS)
34
19
6
9
72
43
+29
66

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League 1
2

Sporting Kansas City
34
18
7
9
42
27
+15
63
3

D.C. United
34
17
10
7
53
43
+10
58

4

New York Red Bulls
34
16
9
9
57
46
+11
57
5

Real Salt Lake
34
17
11
6
46
35
+11
57
6

Chicago Fire
34
17
11
6
46
41
+5
57
7

Seattle Sounders FC
34
15
8
11
51
33
+18
56
8

LA Galaxy
34
16
12
6
59
47
+12
54

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League 1
9

Houston Dynamo
34
14
9
11
48
41
+7
53
10

Columbus Crew
34
15
12
7
44
44
0
52

11

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
34
11
13
10
35
41
−6
43
12

Montreal Impact
34
12
16
6
45
51
−6
42
13

FC Dallas
34
9
13
12
42
47
−5
39
14

Colorado Rapids
34
11
19
4
44
50
−6
37
15

Philadelphia Union
34
10
18
6
37
45
−8
36
16

New England Revolution
34
9
17
8
39
44
−5
35
17

Portland Timbers
34
8
16
10
34
56
−22
34
18

Chivas USA
34
7
18
9
24
58
−34
30
19

Toronto FC
34
5
21
8
36
62
−26
23

2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League 2

Updated to match(es) played on October 28, 2012. Source: MLSSoccer.com



(SS) = Supporters Shield winner




  • 1The highest ranked U.S.-based MLS club qualifies to the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League (placed in Pot A). The other U.S. representatives in the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League are:

    • Winner of the 2012 MLS Cup (Pot A)

    • Runner-up of the 2012 MLS Cup (Pot B)

    • Winner of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (Pot B)




  • 2Toronto FC qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2012 Canadian Championship.




Tiebreak rules


When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules[24] apply:



  1. Goals for

  2. Goal differential

  3. Fewest disciplinary points in the official points table (foul - 1 pt, first yellow - 3 pts, second yellow - 5 pts, straight red - 6 pts, disciplinary commission suspension - 6 pts, etc.)

  4. Road goals

  5. Road goal differential

  6. Coin toss (2 teams) or drawing of lots (3 or more teams)



Playoff bracket


































East Wild Card
     
E4

Chicago

1
E5

Houston

2
































West Wild Card
     
W4

Los Angeles

2
W5

Vancouver   

1











































































































































































 
Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals


MLS Cup 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

E1

Kansas City
0
1
1
 

E5

Houston
2
0
2
 

 
E5

Houston
3
1
4
 


Eastern Conference

 
E2

D.C. United
1
1
2
 

E2

D.C. United
1
1
2


E3

New York
1
0
1
 


 
E5

Houston
1



 
W4

Los Angeles
3

W1

San Jose
1
1
2
 


W4

Los Angeles
0
3
3
 

 
W4

Los Angeles
3
1
4


Western Conference

 
W3

Seattle
0
2
2
 

W2

Salt Lake
0
0
0


W3

Seattle
0
1
1
 

[25]



Statistical leaders


Full article: MLS Golden Boot










Top goalkeepers


(Minimum of 1,500 minutes played)





































































































































Rank
Goalkeeper
Nation
Club


GAA

SV

GA

Mins

GP

ShO
1

Michael Gspurning

 AUT

Seattle Sounders FC
0.70
63
15
1935
22
9
2

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
0.79
77
27
3060
34
15
3

Bill Hamid

 USA

D.C. United
1.03
90
25
2177
25
8

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
1.03
88
33
2880
32
13
5

Tally Hall

 USA

Houston Dynamo
1.19
88
39
2946
33
12
6

Sean Johnson

 USA

Chicago Fire
1.24
108
38
2766
31
5
7

Andy Gruenebaum

 USA

Columbus Crew
1.26
124
41
2920
33
8
8

Josh Saunders

 PRI

Los Angeles Galaxy
1.33
80
36
2430
27
9
9

Joe Cannon

 USA

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.34
73
34
2277
26
8

Zac MacMath

 USA

Philadelphia Union
1.34
93
43
2880
32
8

Source:[28]



Individual awards



Monthly awards





































































Month

MLS Player of the Month
Player
Nation
Club
Link
March

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

5G 3A
April

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

4G 2A
May

Dwayne De Rosario

 CAN

D.C. United

4G 3A
June

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

3G 0A
July

Robbie Keane

 IRL

Los Angeles Galaxy

5G 4A
August

Patrice Bernier

 CAN

Montreal Impact

3G 3A
September

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

4G 2A
October

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

5G 0A


Weekly awards











































































































































































































































































































































































































Week
Player of the Week
AT&T Goal of the Week
MLS Save of the Week
Player
Nat
Club
Player
Nat
Club
Player
Nat
Club
Week 1

Kalif Alhassan

 GHA

Portland Timbers

Kris Boyd

 SCO

Portland Timbers

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 2

David Estrada

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Ryan Johnson

 JAM

Toronto FC

Joe Cannon

 USA

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 3

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Joe Cannon

 USA

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 4

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Darlington Nagbe

 LBR

Portland Timbers

Paolo Tornaghi

 ITA

Chicago Fire
Week 5

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Álvaro Saborío

 CRC

Real Salt Lake

Donovan Ricketts

 JAM

Montreal Impact
Week 6

Dan Kennedy

 USA

Chivas USA

David Beckham

 ENG

Los Angeles Galaxy

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 7

Chris Pontius

 USA

D.C. United

Kyle Beckerman

 USA

Real Salt Lake

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 8

Steven Lenhart

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

Marco Pappa

 GUA

Chicago Fire

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 9

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

Fredy Montero

 COL

Seattle Sounders FC

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 10

Lee Nguyen

 USA

New England Revolution

David Beckham

 ENG

Los Angeles Galaxy

Sean Johnson

 USA

Chicago Fire
Week 11

Dwayne De Rosario

 CAN

D.C. United

Fredy Montero

 COL

Seattle Sounders FC

Andy Gruenebaum

 USA

Columbus Crew
Week 12

Emilio Rentería

 VEN

Columbus Crew

C. J. Sapong

 USA

Sporting Kansas City

Troy Perkins

 USA

Portland Timbers
Week 13–15

Patrice Bernier

 CAN

Montreal Impact

Júlio César

 BRA

Sporting Kansas City

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 16

Landon Donovan

 USA

Los Angeles Galaxy

Patrick Ianni

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Jason Hernandez

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes
Week 17

Danny Koevermans

 NED

Toronto FC

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

Josh Saunders

 PUR

Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 18

Álvaro Saborío

 CRC

Real Salt Lake

Jack McInerney

 USA

Philadelphia Union

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 19

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

David Beckham

 ENG

Los Angeles Galaxy

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 20

Calen Carr

 USA

Houston Dynamo

Jose Villarreal

 USA

Los Angeles Galaxy

Matt Reis

 USA

New England Revolution
Week 21

Jairo Arrieta

 CRC

Columbus Crew

Saër Sène

 FRA

New England Revolution

Sean Johnson

 USA

Chicago Fire
Week 22

Eddie Johnson

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Felipe Martins

 BRA

Montreal Impact

Kevin Hartman

 USA

FC Dallas
Week 23

Landon Donovan

 USA

Los Angeles Galaxy

Sanna Nyassi

 GAM

Montreal Impact

Troy Perkins

 USA

Montreal Impact
Week 24

David Ferreira

 COL

FC Dallas

Lamar Neagle

 USA

Montreal Impact

Donovan Ricketts

 JAM

Portland Timbers
Week 25

Federico Higuaín

 ARG

Columbus Crew

Marco Di Vaio

 ITA

Montreal Impact

Steven Smith

 SCO

Portland Timbers
Week 26

Federico Higuaín

 ARG

Columbus Crew

David Beckham

 ENG

Los Angeles Galaxy

Matt Pickens

 USA

Colorado Rapids
Week 27

Eddie Johnson

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Eddie Johnson

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 28

Sean Johnson

 USA

Chicago Fire

Fredy Montero

 COL

Seattle Sounders FC

Marcelo Sarvas

 BRA

Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 29

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Javier Morales

 ARG

Real Salt Lake

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 30

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

Álvaro Saborío

 CRC

Real Salt Lake

Nick Rimando

 USA

Real Salt Lake
Week 31

Thierry Henry

 FRA

New York Red Bulls

Robbie Keane

 IRE

Los Angeles Galaxy

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 32

Chris Wondolowski

 USA

San Jose Earthquakes

Jack Jewsbury

 USA

Portland Timbers

Jimmy Nielsen

 DEN

Sporting Kansas City
Week 33

Brad Evans

 USA

Seattle Sounders FC

Jacob Peterson

 USA

Sporting Kansas City
Week 34

Kenny Cooper

 USA

New York Red Bulls


Scoring




  • First goal of the season: Sébastien Le Toux for Vancouver Whitecaps FC against Montreal Impact, 3 minutes 1 second (March 10, 2012)


  • Hat-tricks of the season:


    • David Estrada for Seattle Sounders FC against Toronto FC (March 17, 2012)


    • Thierry Henry for New York Red Bulls against Montreal Impact (March 31, 2012)


    • Chris Pontius for D.C. United against New York Red Bulls (April 22, 2012)


    • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Portland Timbers (July 7, 2012)


    • Chris Wondolowski for San Jose Earthquakes against Real Salt Lake (July 14, 2012)


    • Fredy Montero for Seattle Sounders FC against Chivas USA (August 25, 2012)


    • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Chivas USA (September 29, 2012)


    • Chris Wondolowski for San Jose Earthquakes against Colorado Rapids (October 6, 2012)




  • Fastest hat-trick of the season:

    • Álvaro Saborío for Real Salt Lake against Portland Timbers, 16 minutes and 8 seconds (July 7, 2012)




Discipline




  • First yellow card of the season: Milovan Mirošević for Columbus Crew against Colorado Rapids, 40 minutes (March 10, 2012)


  • First red card of the season: Stephen McCarthy for New England Revolution against Sporting Kansas City, 14 minutes (March 17, 2012)



Related competitions



International competitions and friendlies



CONCACAF Champions League



Prior to the start of the MLS regular season, Toronto FC defeated Los Angeles Galaxy while Mexican side Santos Laguna defeated Seattle Sounders FC in two of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series. Toronto FC then lost 3–7 on aggregate in the semifinal with Santos Laguna.[29]


In the 2012–13 CCL, Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake earned group stage spots (the preliminary round has been eliminated). The Canadian representative, determined by the 2012 Canadian Championship, was Toronto FC.


At the end of the groups stages, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, and Houston Dynamo qualified for the quarterfinals, which will be played in March 2013.



MLS All-Star Game



The 2012 MLS All-Star Game was played on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, home stadium of the Philadelphia Union. As has been the format every year since 2005, the MLS All-Stars played an international club; the 2012 opponent was England's Chelsea FC, 2012 champions of both the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League and visiting side in the 2006 MLS All-Star Game (when they lost to the All-Stars, 1–0, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois).[30] The MLS All-Stars won the game 3–2.



Domestic competitions



Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup



For the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament, U.S. Soccer has increased the size of the main tournament from 40 to 64 clubs, assembling the competition so that all U.S.-based Major League Soccer clubs gain entry.[31] On August 8, 2012, Sporting Kansas City defeated the Seattle Sounders on penalties to win the franchise's second open cup title.[32]



Canadian Championship



The three Canadian-based MLS clubs, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, along with NASL club FC Edmonton, competed for the Voyageurs Cup, Canada's national championship trophy. The tournament is organized in a knockout format with two-legged ties in both the semifinals and final, with the away goals rule in place. Toronto defeated Vancouver in the finals, their fourth consecutive national championship, and qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League.



League Competitions



MLS Cup



The MLS Cup playoffs took place after the conclusion of the regular season. For 2012, the playoff structure underwent several changes:



  • The playoffs will no longer feature wild cards and the possibility of "crossovers" (i.e. teams from opposite conferences playing in the early rounds). Instead, the top five clubs in each conference's standings will qualify for the playoffs and will play in the following manner:

    • The 4th place team will host the 5th place team in a single "play-in" match, with the winner advancing to the conference semifinals.

    • The Conference Semifinals will again be a two-game aggregate goal setup as before (with extra time and penalty kicks employed if the aggregate is level after 180 minutes). The 1st place team will play the winner of the 4th/5th game, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams play each other. The lower-seeded team will host the first leg of each semifinal.

    • The semifinal winners will play each other in the Conference Finals, which will be altered to a two-game aggregate series patterned after the semifinal round (before this year, this round was a single-game format).



  • The Conference Final winners will advance to the MLS Cup Championship Game, which for the first time will be played at the home stadium of the finalist with the better regular season point total; before this season, the game was played at a predetermined site.



Coaches



Eastern Conference




  • Chicago Fire: Frank Klopas


  • Columbus Crew: Robert Warzycha


  • D.C. United: Ben Olsen


  • Houston Dynamo: Dominic Kinnear


  • Montreal Impact: Jesse Marsch


  • New England Revolution: Jay Heaps


  • New York Red Bulls: Hans Backe


  • Philadelphia Union: Peter Nowak and John Hackworth


  • Sporting Kansas City: Peter Vermes


  • Toronto FC: Paul Mariner



Western Conference




  • Chivas USA: Robin Fraser


  • Colorado Rapids: Óscar Pareja


  • FC Dallas: Schellas Hyndman


  • Los Angeles Galaxy: Bruce Arena


  • Portland Timbers: John Spencer and Gavin Wilkinson


  • Real Salt Lake: Jason Kreis


  • San Jose Earthquakes: Frank Yallop


  • Seattle Sounders FC: Sigi Schmid


  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Martin Rennie



Notes





  1. ^ The Impact's first home game at Saputo Stadium was played on June 16, 2012.[10] The team's first five home games were played at Olympic Stadium while Saputo Stadium underwent expansion.[11]




References





  1. ^ abcd "2012 MLS Standings & Leaders" (PDF). October 29, 2012..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ ab "MLS announces changes for 2012 season," from The Score, November 20, 2011


  3. ^ "Impact draws 1–1 with Chicago Fire..." from ImpactMontreal.com, March 17, 2012


  4. ^ "Report: Impact ties LA Galaxy 1–1 in front of 60,860 spectators at Olympic Stadium". Montreal Impact. May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.


  5. ^ "MLS will have unbalanced schedule in 2012," from The Score, 11/10/2011


  6. ^ ab "MLS releases 2012 schedule; Cup final Dec. 1," from The Score, 1/5/2012


  7. ^ abc MLSSoccer.com. "2012 MLS Roster Rules". Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.


  8. ^ "MLS, NBC announce three-year broadcast deal," from MLSSoccer.com, 8/10/2011


  9. ^ "NBC networks to air 41 regular-season matches in 2012," from MLSsoccer.com, 1/5/2012


  10. ^ "Impact beats Seattle Sounders 4–1 in Stade Saputo home opener," from ImpactMontreal.com, June 16, 2012


  11. ^ "The Montreal Impact unveils its schedule for the 2012 season," from ImpactMontreal.com, posted 1/5/2012


  12. ^ "BMO to become Impact's lead MLS sponsor". Sportsnet. June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2012.


  13. ^ "Feeling their oats: Fire get jersey sponsorship deal with Quaker," from Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2012


  14. ^ McCarthy, Jack (February 15, 2012). "Crew partner with Barbasol as new jersey sponsor". MLS. Retrieved February 15, 2012.


  15. ^ "FC Dallas signs multi-year, multi-million dollar jersey deal with AdvoCare". June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.


  16. ^ ab "2012 MLS Roster Rules | Major League Soccer". Mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.


  17. ^ "Montreal send Johnson to Seattle for Neagle, Fucito". MLSsoccer.com. February 17, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.


  18. ^ "Union sign central defender Bakary Soumare". philadelphiaunion.com. June 26, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.


  19. ^ "Revolution acquire former All-Star Juan Toja via allocation". MLSsoccer.com. August 27, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.


  20. ^ Freedman, Jonah (September 14, 2012). "Hahnemann returns to MLS, lands with hometown Seattle". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.


  21. ^ "Rapids sign forward Kamani Hill". coloradorapids.com. March 28, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.


  22. ^ "Red Bulls Acquire Goalkeeper Luis Robles". newyorkredbulls.com. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.


  23. ^ "Whitecaps get US international Nguyen in weighted lottery". MLSsoccer.com. December 15, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.


  24. ^ "Competition Rules and Regulations". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 20, 2012.


  25. ^ "MLS Cup Playoffs 2012". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 2012-11-02.


  26. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".


  27. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".


  28. ^ "Major League Soccer Statistics".


  29. ^ "CONCACAF unveils 2011/12 Champions League quarterfinal schedule". CONCACAF.com. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011.


  30. ^ "All-Star Game: Chelsea return for grudge match at PPL," from MLSsoccer.com, 4/11/2012


  31. ^ "Source: 2012 US Open Cup format proposal calls for 64 teams..." from TheCup.us, 11/9/2011[not in citation given]


  32. ^ "Sporting Kansas City Claims 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup After Penalty Shootout Victory Against Three-Time Defending Champion Seattle Sounders FC " Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine from ussoccer.com, 8/9/2012
















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