The 2012 MLS Cup playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31, and culminated on December 1, 2012 with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 over the Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams, and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not cross-conference brackets. The top five teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences of the league earned berths, with the top three clubs in each conference earning direct byes to the conference semifinals. The fourth and fifth-place finishers of both conferences played in a single-elimination play-in match.
The play-in winner played their respective conference regular season champion in the conference semifinals, which was a two-leg aggregate series, without the away goals rule enforced. For the first time in MLS Cup playoffs history, each conference championship was also a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match. The MLS Cup championship still remained a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record, the Los Angeles Galaxy, hosted the final at their home venue.
The LA Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 in last year's championship.
Both finalists directly entered the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League, with the champion earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by the San Jose Earthquakes, the Supporters' Shield winner, and Sporting Kansas City, the 2012 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's three Canadian teams, which instead participated in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Format For 2012, the league's previous system of "wild card" qualification—which had the potential for "crossover" series in which one team could play in the other conference's bracket—was scrapped. Instead, the top five teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs and the two conference brackets were entirely separate. The first round of each conference was a one-off match between the fourth and fifth-placed teams, similar to the previous wild card system, with the fourth-placed team hosting. The first round winners advanced to play the teams with their respective conference's best regular season records in the conference semifinals.
The conference semifinals and conference finals were conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If the teams were tied after two games, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if necessary. The away goals rule or golden goal were not used.
In the case of ties in the first round and MLS Cup, extra time and a penalty shoot-out would be used in the same manner as above.
Qualified teams Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Tiebreak rules If two or more teams were tied in standings on points, the following tiebreak rules applied:
Goals scored Goal differential 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.) Away goals scored Away goal differential Home goals scored Home goal differential Coin toss (two teams) or drawing of lots (three or more teams)
Bracket
Knockout round Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Conference semifinals Eastern Conference
Houston Dynamo won 2–1 on aggregate.
D.C. United won 2–1 on aggregate.
Note: While D.C. United won the right to host the second leg as the higher seed, the order of the legs was reversed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The second leg was originally scheduled for November 7, but was postponed by one day due to snow.
Western Conference
Los Angeles Galaxy won 3–2 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders won 1–0 on aggregate.
Conference finals Eastern Conference
Houston Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate.
Western Conference
Los Angeles Galaxy won 4–2 on aggregate.
MLS Cup 2012
Player statistics Note: Statistics only for post-season games.
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoalsMinutes played1 Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy65402 Will BruinHouston Dynamo44913 Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy35404 Nick DeLeonD.C. United2360 Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy24446 Alan GordonSan Jose Earthquakes142 AlexChicago Fire145 Darren MattocksVancouver Whitecaps FC159 Víctor BernárdezSan Jose Earthquakes1102 Seth SinovicSporting Kansas City1180 Zach ScottSeattle Sounders FC1183 Mario MartínezSeattle Sounders FC1201 Eddie JohnsonSeattle Sounders FC1205 Andre HainaultHouston Dynamo1215 Calen CarrHouston Dynamo1251 Branko BoškovićD.C. United1321 Adam MoffatHouston Dynamo1456 Kofi SarkodieHouston Dynamo1527 Boniek GarciaHouston Dynamo1540 Omar GonzalezLos Angeles Galaxy1540
Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists1 Sean FranklinLos Angeles Galaxy42 Brad DavisHouston Dynamo3 Landon DonovanLos Angeles Galaxy34 Calen CarrHouston Dynamo2 JuninhoLos Angeles Galaxy26 Adam MoffatHouston Dynamo1 Boniek GarcíaHouston Dynamo1 Brad EvansSeattle Sounders FC1 Christian TiffertSeattle Sounders FC1 Christian WilhelmssonLos Angeles Galaxy1 David BeckhamLos Angeles Galaxy1 Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FC1 Graham ZusiSporting Kansas City1 Justin MorrowSan Jose Earthquakes1 Kei KamaraSporting Kansas City1 Lionard PajoyD.C. United1 Luiz CamargoHouston Dynamo1 Maicon SantosD.C. United1 Matt WatsonVancouver Whitecaps FC1 Mike MageeLos Angeles Galaxy1 Patrick NyarkoChicago Fire1 Robbie KeaneLos Angeles Galaxy1 Robbie RussellD.C. United1 Tommy MeyerLos Angeles Galaxy1 Will BruinHouston Dynamo1 Zach ScottSeattle Sounders FC1
See also 2012 in American soccer 2012 U.S. Open Cup
References