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2015 Major League Soccer season

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Major League Soccer
Season2015
MLS CupPortland Timbers (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldNew 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 played340
Goals scored937 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorerSebastian Giovinco
Kei Kamara
(22 goals each)
Best goalkeeperAdam Kwarasey
David Ousted
(13 shutouts each)
Biggest home win5 goals:
LA 5–0 POR
(Jun 24)
TOR 5–0 ORL
(Aug 22)
CLB 5–0 DC
(Oct 25)
Biggest away win5 goals:
SKC 0–5 SJ
(Aug 19)
Highest scoring10 goals:
DC 6–4 RSL
(Aug 1)
Longest winning run6 games:
New England Revolution
(Aug 1 – Sep 16)
Longest unbeaten run9 games:
New England Revolution
(Mar 21 – May 16)
Portland Timbers
(Oct 14 – Dec 6)
Longest winless run11 games:
New York City
(Mar 21 – May 30)
Longest losing run5 games:
New England Revolution
(Jun 21 – Jul 11)
Seattle Sounders FC
(Jul 11 – Aug 9)
Chicago Fire
(Sep 5 – Sep 26)
Highest attendance64,358
SEA 2–1 POR
(Aug 30)
Lowest attendance10,035
MTL 2–1 VAN
(Jun 3)
Total attendance7,335,053
Average attendance21,574
2014
2016

The 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 SC 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.

Overview

[edit]

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

[edit]

The 2015 MLS season featured the addition of two expansion teams, New York City and Orlando City SC. 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

[edit]

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 SC 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

[edit]

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

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Stadiums and locations

[edit]
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
LA Galaxy Montreal Impact 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
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
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

Personnel and sponsorship

[edit]

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Serbia Veljko Paunović United States Jeff Larentowicz Quaker
Colorado Rapids United States Pablo Mastroeni United States Drew Moor Transamerica
Columbus Crew United States Gregg Berhalter United States Michael Parkhurst Barbasol
D.C. United United States Ben Olsen United States Bobby Boswell Leidos
FC Dallas Colombia Óscar Pareja United States Matt Hedges AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle United States Brad Davis BHP Billiton
LA Galaxy United States Bruce Arena Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane Herbalife
Montreal Impact Canada Mauro Biello Canada Patrice Bernier Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution United States Jay Heaps United States Jermaine Jones UnitedHealthcare
New York City United States Jason Kreis Spain David Villa Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls United States Jesse Marsch United States Dax McCarty Red Bull
Orlando City SC England Adrian Heath Brazil Kaká Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union United States Jim Curtin United States Maurice Edu Bimbo
Portland Timbers United States Caleb Porter Canada Will Johnson Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake United States Jeff Cassar United States Kyle Beckerman LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes United States Dominic Kinnear United States Chris Wondolowski
Seattle Sounders FC United States Sigi Schmid United States Brad Evans Xbox
Sporting Kansas City United States Peter Vermes United States Matt Besler Ivy Funds
Toronto United States Greg Vanney United States Michael Bradley Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Wales Carl Robinson Chile Pedro Morales Bell Canada

Managerial changes

[edit]
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
San Jose Earthquakes Canada Mark Watson Fired October 16, 2014[8] Preseason United States Dominic Kinnear October 16, 2014[9]
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear Signed by San Jose Earthquakes October 16, 2014[9] Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle December 8, 2014[10]
New York Red Bulls United States Mike Petke Fired January 7, 2015[11] United States Jesse Marsch January 7, 2015[12]
Montreal Impact United States Frank Klopas Fired August 29, 2015[13] 7th in East,
17th overall
Canada Mauro Biello (Interim) August 29, 2015[13]
Chicago Fire Canada Frank Yallop Fired September 20, 2015[14] 10th in East,
20th overall
United States Brian Bliss (Interim) September 20, 2015[14]
New York City United States Jason Kreis Fired November 2, 2015[15] Postseason France Patrick Vieira November 9, 2015
Chicago Fire United States Brian Bliss End of interim period November 24, 2015 Serbia Veljko Paunovic November 24, 2015[16]

Standings

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Eastern Conference

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53
3 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51 MLS Cup Knockout Round
4 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 −2 51
5 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
6 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
7 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 −10 44
8 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 −9 37
9 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 −13 37
10 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 −15 30
Source: MLS

Western Conference

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53
3 Portland Timbers 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 MLS Cup Knockout Round
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
5 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
6 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51
7 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
8 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 −7 42
9 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 −10 41
10 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 −10 37
Source: MLS

Overall standings

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls (S) 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 CONCACAF Champions League
2 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53
4 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53
5 Portland Timbers (C) 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 CONCACAF Champions League
6 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
7 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51
8 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 −2 51
9 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
10 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51 CONCACAF Champions League
11 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
12 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
13 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
14 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 −10 44
15 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 −7 42
16 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 −10 41
17 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 −9 37
18 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 −13 37
19 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 −10 37
20 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 −15 30
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored
(C) MLS Cup Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

[edit]

Source: [17]

Attendance

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Average home attendances

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Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.[18]

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 FC 17 493,267 48,047 20,461 29,016
Toronto FC 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

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Regular season

Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Stadium
1 Seattle Sounders FC 2–1 Portland Timbers 64,358 August 30, 2015 (2015-08-30) CenturyLink Field
2 Orlando City SC 1–1 New York City FC 62,510 March 8, 2015 (2015-03-08) Citrus Bowl
3 Seattle Sounders FC 1–1 LA Galaxy 56,097 October 4, 2015 (2015-10-04) CenturyLink Field
4 Seattle Sounders FC 3–1 Real Salt Lake 55,435 October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25) CenturyLink Field
5 Seattle Sounders FC 0–3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 53,125 August 2, 2015 (2015-08-02) CenturyLink Field
6 San Jose Earthquakes 3–1 LA Galaxy 50,422 June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) Stanford Stadium
7 New York City 1–3 New York Red Bulls 48,047 June 28, 2015 (2015-06-28) Yankee Stadium
8 New York City 2–0 New England Revolution 43,507 March 15, 2015 (2015-03-15) Yankee Stadium
9 Orlando City SC 2–1 New York City 43,179 October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16) Citrus Bowl
10 New England Revolution 0–1 Montreal Impact 42,947 October 17, 2015 (2015-10-17) Gillette Stadium

Updated to games played on October 25, 2015. Source: MLS Soccer

Player statistics

[edit]

Goals

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Rank Player Club Goals
1 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 22
Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew
3 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy 20
4 Spain David Villa New York City FC 18
5 Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC 17
England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls
7 United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 16
Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers
9 Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC 15
10 United States Jozy Altidore Toronto FC 13

Hat-tricks

[edit]
Player Club Against Result Date
Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy Toronto FC 4–0 July 4
Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC New York City FC 4–4 July 12
Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy San Jose Earthquakes 5–2 July 17
Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC New York City FC 3–5 July 26
Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC Orlando City SC 4–1 August 5
Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Chicago Fire 4–3 September 5
Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC New York Red Bulls 5–2 September 25

Assists

[edit]
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 16
2 United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City 15
Argentina Cristian Maidana Philadelphia Union
4 United States Sacha Kljestan New York Red Bulls 14
5 United States Ethan Finlay Columbus Crew 13
6 Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake 11
7 United States Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 10
Argentina Mauro Díaz FC Dallas
United States Lee Nguyen New England Revolution
United States Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC

Clean Sheets

[edit]
Rank Player Club Clean
Sheets
1 Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers 13
Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
3 United States David Bingham San Jose Earthquakes 12
4 Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC 10
5 United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact 9
United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
7 United States Bill Hamid D.C. United 8
United States Clint Irwin Colorado Rapids
United States Tim Melia Sporting Kansas City
United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
United States Bobby Shuttleworth New England Revolution

Awards

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Individual awards

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Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC
Defender of the Year France Laurent Ciman New England Revolution
Goalkeeper of the Year United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Coach of the Year United States Jesse Marsch New York Red Bulls
Rookie of the Year Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC
Newcomer of the Year Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC
Comeback Player of the Year United States Tim Melia Sporting Kansas City
Golden Boot Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC
Fair Play Award United States Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers
Humanitarian of the Year Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew
Goal of the Year Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City
Save of the Year Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers

Player of the Month

[edit]
Month Player Club Stats
March Uruguay Octavio Rivero Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3G
April United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City 2G, 3A
May Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City 3G, 2A
June Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC 30SV, 4GA
July Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 5G, 3A
August Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 4G, 3A
September Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 7G, 1A
October Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 4G

Weekly awards

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Week MLS Player of the Week Goal of the Week MLS Save of the Week
Player Club Player Club Player Club
Week 1 United States Jozy Altidore Toronto United States Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 2 Spain David Villa New York City Switzerland Innocent Emeghara San Jose Earthquakes United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 3 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Uruguay Octavio Rivero Vancouver Whitecaps FC United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 4 United States Kelyn Rowe New England Revolution United States Jack McInerney Montreal Impact United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 5 Scotland Shaun Maloney Chicago Fire Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake United States Brek Shea Orlando City SC
Week 6 Panama Jaime Penedo LA Galaxy United States Dillon Serna Colorado Rapids United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 7 Colombia Fabián Castillo FC Dallas Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers
Week 8 United States Ethan Finlay Columbus Crew United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 9 Colombia Fabián Castillo FC Dallas Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 10 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Argentina Diego Valeri Portland Timbers Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 11 United States Chad Barrett Seattle Sounders FC United States Devon Sandoval Real Salt Lake United States Steve Clark Columbus Crew
Week 12 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew England Dom Dwyer Sporting Kansas City United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact
Week 13 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto Guatemala Marco Pappa Seattle Sounders FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 14 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto United States Thomas McNamara New York City United States Andrew Dykstra D.C. United
Week 15 Spain David Villa New York City Uruguay Diego Fagúndez New England Revolution Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 16 United States Gyasi Zardes LA Galaxy Argentina Matías Pérez García San Jose Earthquakes Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 17 Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers Colombia Olmes Garcia Real Salt Lake Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 18 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy England Tyrone Mears Seattle Sounders FC Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 19 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto Italy Marco Donadel Montreal Impact United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact
Week 20 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 21 Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 22 Norway Pa Modou Kah Vancouver Whitecaps FC United States Taylor Kemp D.C. United United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 23 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 24 Brazil Paulo Nagamura Sporting Kansas City Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers
Week 25 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy Uruguay Cristian Techera Vancouver Whitecaps FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 26 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 27 Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 28 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 29 United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City Mexico Gonzalo Pineda Seattle Sounders FC United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 30 Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 31 United States Tim Melia Sporting Kansas City Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 32 None awarded[19]
Week 33 Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers Argentina Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 34 Liberia Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers Liberia Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact

Best XI

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Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Luis Robles, Red Bulls Belgium Laurent Ciman, Montreal
United States Matt Hedges, Dallas
Costa Rica Kendall Waston, Vancouver
United States Ethan Finlay, Columbus
United States Dax McCarty, Red Bulls
United States Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC
Colombia Fabian Castillo, Dallas
Italy Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto
Sierra Leone Kei Kamara, Columbus
Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy

Player transfers

[edit]

Allocation ranking

[edit]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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 [22]
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 [23]
18 12 Seattle Sounders FC
19 13 New England Revolution
5 14 Colorado Rapids [22]
1 15 New York City January 13, 2015 (1) United States Mix Diskerud Norway Rosenborg [24]
8 16 Toronto January 16, 2015 (6) United States Jozy Altidore England Sunderland [25]
17 17 New York Red Bulls January 28, 2015 (1) United States Sacha Kljestan Belgium Anderlecht [23][26]
2 18 Orlando City SC December 19, 2014 (2) United States Brek Shea England Stoke City [27]
February 2, 2015 (17) United States Eric Avila Mexico Santos Laguna [28][29]
16 19 D.C. United February 10, 2015 (12) United States Michael Farfan Mexico Cruz Azul [30]
4 20 San Jose Earthquakes July 17, 2015 (1) United States Marc Pelosi England Liverpool U-21 [31]

†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.[32] Orlando used their allocation a second time when 16 teams passed and they picked Avila with the then-number 17 allocation ranking.

Coaches

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Eastern Conference

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Western Conference

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MLS draws a crowd on opening weekend", Washington Post, Steven Goff, March 9, 2015.
  2. ^ "MLS experiences TV ratings boost for 2015 opening weekend", SI.com, Richard Deitsch, March 11, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "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
  4. ^ "2015 Major League Soccer national television schedule". www.philly.com. January 21, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "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
  6. ^ "MLS and British broadcaster Sky Sports announce groundbreaking partnership". February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "MLS and Eurosport announce four-year partnership to broadcast games in Europe". March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  8. ^ "Former Earthquakes coach Watson takes high road over firing". mercurynews.com.
  9. ^ a b "Dominic Kinnear to coach San Jose Earthquakes". ESPNFC.com. October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  10. ^ Alicia Tolar (December 8, 2014). "Reports: Owen Coyle signs three-year deal with Houston Dynamo". Dynamo Theory. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  11. ^ "New York Red Bulls part ways with head coach Mike Petke". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  12. ^ "Red Bulls name Jesse Marsch as head coach ahead of 2015 season". New York Red Bulls. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Frank Klopas fired as Montreal Impact head coach; Mauro Biello to take over". si.com. August 30, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Fire dismisses head coach Yallop". TSN.ca. September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  15. ^ "Jason Kreis out as NYCFC manager". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  16. ^ "Chicago Fire Soccer Club Hires Veljko Paunovic as Head Coach". Chicago Fire. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  17. ^ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  18. ^ "10-08-15_Stats_Standings.pdf". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer.
  19. ^ "Goal of the Week". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  20. ^ "Major League Soccer announces 2015 roster rules, including revised player acquisition process".
  21. ^ "MLS Allocation Process". Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  22. ^ a b "Two-time MLS Cup winner Marcelo Sarvas joins the Colorado Rapids". Colorado Rapids. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Impact makes major trade with New York Red Bulls". Montreal Impact. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  24. ^ MLS Soccer Media (January 13, 2015). "New York City FC ink USMNT playmaker Mix Diskerud ahead of MLS expansion season". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  25. ^ Toronto FC (January 16, 2015). "Toronto FC sign U.S. international Jozy Altidore". TorontoFC.ca. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  26. ^ "Red Bulls sign United States International Sacha Kljestan". New York Red Bulls. January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  27. ^ Orlando City SC Media (December 19, 2014). "Brek Shea Signs with Orlando City SC". orlandocitysc.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  28. ^ MLS Soccer staff (February 2, 2015). "Orlando City SC acquire former Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  29. ^ Tenorio, Paul (February 2, 2015), Orlando City signs former Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila, Orlando Sentinel, retrieved July 20, 2015
  30. ^ "Michael Farfan making return to MLS, signs with DC United after season at Cruz Azul". MLSsoccer.com. February 10, 2015.
  31. ^ "San Jose Earthquakes sign US youth international midfielder Marc Pelosi". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 2015.
  32. ^ "12/19: Orlando City SC use No. 1 allocation spot to sign Brek Shea" (MLS Allocation Ranking, mlssoccer.com, archived from the original on December 12, 2018, retrieved January 27, 2015).
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