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2009 Major League Soccer season

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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 →
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Locations of teams for the 2009 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference
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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.

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

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Season format

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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

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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

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Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Costa Rica Denis Hamlett United States C. J. Brown Best Buy
Chivas USA United States Preki Mexico Claudio Suárez Comex
Colorado Rapids England Gary Smith United States Pablo Mastroeni —
Columbus Crew Poland Robert Warzycha United States Frankie Hejduk Glidden
D.C. United United States Tom Soehn Bolivia Jaime Moreno Volkswagen
FC Dallas United States Schellas Hyndman Argentina Pablo Ricchetti —
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear United States Wade Barrett —
Kansas City Wizards United States Curt Onalfo United States Jimmy Conrad —
LA Galaxy United States Bruce Arena United States Landon Donovan Herbalife
New England Revolution Scotland Steve Nicol United States Steve Ralston —
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 United States Kasey Keller Xbox
Toronto FC England John Carver Canada Jim Brennan —

Results table

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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 Fire DAL DC NY SJ KC CLB SEA NE TOR NY CHV DAL HOU DC COL CLB SJ SEA RSL HOU KC LA COL DC RSL CLB TOR LA NE CHV
3-1 1-1 0-1 3-3 2-2 2-2 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-0 3-2 3-0 1-0 1-2 2-1 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-1 2-3 2-0 2-0 2-3 1-0 1-1 2-2 2-2 0-1 0-0 0-1
Chivas USA COL DAL CLB LA SEA TOR DAL SJ RSL DC KC CHI SEA HOU CLB LA NE COL NY TOR RSL LA NE SEA NY DC KC SJ CHI HOU
1-2 2-0 1-2 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-2 1-0 0-1 2-2 1-1 3-2 0-1 0-1 1-2 1-0 0-2 0-4 2-0 0-2 0-4 0-1 0-2 0-0 1-1 2-0 0-2 2-2 0-1 3-2
Colorado Rapids CHV KC LA CLB HOU LA RSL NE SEA NY RSL DC DAL SEA CHI DAL DC NY CLB CHV CHI HOU TOR TOR SJ SJ KC NE DAL RSL
1-2 1-2 3-2 1-1 0-1 1-1 0-2 1-1 2-2 3-2 1-1 0-3 1-1 0-3 2-1 0-1 1-3 0-4 1-0 0-4 2-3 0-1 0-1 2-3 1-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-2 0-3
Columbus Crew HOU TOR RSL CHV COL CHI TOR KC LA SJ SEA KC CHV DAL NY DC CHI RSL TOR COL SJ DAL NY HOU CHI LA SEA NE DC NE
1-1 1-1 1-4 1-2 1-1 2-2 1-1 2-3 1-1 1-2 1-1 2-0 1-2 1-2 0-1 1-1 0-0 1-3 2-3 1-0 3-0 0-2 0-1 1-2 2-2 0-2 1-0 1-0 0-1 1-0
D.C. United LA CHI HOU RSL NE NY DAL KC TOR CHV RSL NE NY CHI SEA COL CLB COL SJ HOU TOR LA CHI DAL KC SEA SJ CHV CLB KC
2-2 1-1 0-1 1-2 1-1 3-2 1-2 1-1 3-3 2-2 0-0 1-2 0-2 1-2 3-3 0-3 1-1 1-3 2-2 3-4 0-2 0-0 1-0 2-2 0-1 2-1 2-1 2-0 0-1 2-2
FC Dallas CHI CHV NE TOR TOR CHV DC HOU SEA LA CHI SJ HOU CLB COL NY COL RSL KC HOU CLB NY DC LA KC RSL NE SJ COL SEA
3-1 2-0 1-2 1-1 2-3 0-2 1-2 0-1 1-1 1-1 3-0 2-2 3-1 1-2 1-1 1-2 0-1 2-4 0-6 0-1 0-2 2-3 2-2 6-3 2-3 0-3 0-1 2-1 1-2 1-2
Houston Dynamo CLB SJ DC NY COL NE DAL NY SJ TOR CHI CHV DAL RSL LA KC SEA TOR NE DC DAL CHI RSL SEA COL CLB RSL KC LA CHV
1-1 2-3 0-1 0-0 0-1 2-0 0-1 1-1 1-3 0-3 1-0 0-1 3-1 1-1 0-1 1-0 1-2 1-1 1-0 3-4 1-0 2-3 0-0 1-1 0-1 1-2 2-3 1-1 0-0 3-2
Kansas City Wizards TOR COL SJ SEA CHI NY TOR DC CLB RSL CHV LA CLB NE HOU NE LA DAL CHI SJ RSL NE DC NY DAL COL HOU CHV SEA DC
3-2 1-2 0-2 1-0 2-2 0-1 0-1 1-1 2-3 2-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-3 1-0 0-0 1-1 0-6 2-0 0-1 1-0 4-2 0-1 1-0 2-3 0-0 1-1 0-2 3-2 2-2
Los Angeles Galaxy DC COL CHV SJ COL NY RSL SEA CLB DAL KC TOR RSL SJ HOU NE CHV NY KC NE SEA CHI DC CHV DAL TOR CLB CHI HOU SJ
2-2 3-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 2-1 2-0 1-2 0-1 0-1 1-0 3-1 1-1 2-1 2-0 2-0 0-0 0-1 6-3 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-0 0-2
New England Revolution SJ NY DAL DC RSL HOU CHI COL TOR DC NY KC LA KC CHV HOU TOR LA SEA RSL SJ KC CHV NY SEA DAL COL CLB CHI CLB
1-0 1-1 1-2 1-1 0-6 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-3 1-2 0-4 1-3 0-1 0-0 0-2 1-0 1-1 2-1 1-0 1-3 1-2 4-2 0-2 1-1 1-2 0-1 1-1 1-0 0-0 1-0
New York Red Bulls SEA NE CHI HOU RSL KC DC LA SJ HOU CHI COL DC NE TOR SEA TOR CLB DAL LA COL CHV DAL CLB KC NE CHV SJ RSL TOR
0-3 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-2 0-1 3-2 0-1 1-4 1-1 1-0 3-2 0-2 0-4 1-3 1-1 0-2 0-1 1-2 3-1 0-4 2-0 2-3 0-1 1-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-5
Real Salt Lake SEA CLB DC NY NE COL LA CHV KC DC SJ COL LA HOU TOR SJ CLB DAL CHI SEA HOU NE CHV KC CHI HOU DAL NY TOR COL
0-2 1-4 1-2 0-2 0-6 0-2 2-2 0-1 2-0 0-0 1-2 1-1 2-0 1-1 0-3 1-1 1-3 2-4 0-1 0-1 0-0 1-3 0-4 1-0 1-1 2-3 0-3 0-2 0-1 0-3
San Jose Earthquakes NE HOU KC CHI LA SEA CHV NY HOU CLB RSL DAL SEA LA RSL TOR CHI DC SEA CLB KC NE COL COL DC NY DAL TOR CHV LA
1-0 2-3 0-2 3-3 1-1 0-2 1-0 1-4 1-3 1-2 1-2 2-2 1-2 1-2 1-1 3-1 0-2 2-2 0-4 3-0 0-1 1-2 1-1 1-1 2-1 0-1 2-1 1-1 2-2 0-2
Seattle Sounders FC NY RSL TOR KC CHV SJ CHI LA DAL COL CLB CHV SJ DC NY COL HOU CHI SJ RSL LA NE HOU TOR DC CHV NE CLB KC DAL
0-3 0-2 2-0 1-0 0-2 0-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 2-2 1-1 0-1 1-2 3-3 1-1 0-3 1-2 0-0 0-4 0-1 2-0 1-0 1-1 0-0 2-1 0-0 1-2 1-0 3-2 1-2
Toronto FC KC CLB SEA DAL DAL CHV KC CLB DC CHI NE HOU LA NY NY RSL SJ HOU CLB NE DC CHV SEA COL COL LA CHI SJ RSL NY
3-2 1-1 2-0 1-1 2-3 0-1 0-1 1-1 3-3 2-0 1-3 0-3 2-1 1-2 0-2 0-3 3-1 1-1 2-3 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-1 2-3 0-2 2-2 1-1 0-1 0-5

Standings

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Eastern Conference

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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

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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

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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
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

MLS Cup Playoffs

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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

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Goals

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Rank Player Club Goals
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

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Rank Player Club Assists
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

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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

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Individual awards

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Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player United States Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Defender of the Year United States Chad Marshall Columbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the Year United States Zach Thornton Chivas USA
Coach of the Year United States Bruce Arena LA Galaxy
Rookie of the Year United States Omar Gonzalez LA Galaxy
Newcomer of the Year Colombia Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
Comeback Player of the Year United States Zach Thornton Chivas USA
Golden Boot United States Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas
Goal of the Year United States Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
Save of the Year Canada Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
Fair Play Award United States Steve Ralston New England Revolution
Humanitarian of the Year United States Jimmy Conrad
United States Logan Pause		 Kansas City Wizards
Chicago Fire

Best XI

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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

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

Monthly awards

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Attendance

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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

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References

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  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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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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