Wikipedia

2011 Major League Soccer season

The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 16th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 99th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 33rd with a national first-division league.

Major League Soccer
Season2011
MLS CupLA Galaxy (3rd title)
Supporters' ShieldLA Galaxy (4th shield)
Champions League (U.S.)LA Galaxy
Seattle Sounders FC (via U.S. Open Cup)
Real Salt Lake
Houston Dynamo
Champions League (Canada)Toronto FC (via Canadian Championship)
Matches played306
Goals scored791 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerDwayne De Rosario and Chris Wondolowski (16 goals)
Biggest home winNY 5–0 TOR
(July 6)
Biggest away winDCU 0–4 NY
(April 21)
TOR 2–6 PHI
(May 28)
VAN 0–4 LA
(July 30)
Highest scoring8 goals:
TOR 2–6 PHI
(May 28)
SEA 6–2 CLB
(August 27)
PHI 4–4 NE
(September 7)
Longest winning run5 matches:
Real Salt Lake[1]
(August 27 – Sep 21)
Longest unbeaten run14 matches:
LA Galaxy[1]
(May 7 – July 30)
Sporting KC[1]
(May 28 – August 3)
Longest winless run14 matches:
Vancouver Whitecaps FC[1]
(March 26 – June 11)
Longest losing run5 matches:
Sporting KC[1]
(April 16 – May 21)
New England Revolution[1](September 16 – October 15)
Highest attendance64,140[2]
SJ @ SEA
Lowest attendance6,680[3]
TOR @ NE
Average attendance17,872[4]
← 2010
2012 →
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Locations of teams for the 2011 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

This season marked the arrival of two new clubs, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who replaced teams of the same name that last played in the USSF D2 Pro League. The addition of those two clubs led to a realignment of the league's conferences, with the Houston Dynamo moving to the Eastern Conference to create two conferences of nine teams each.

The Kansas City Wizards rebranded as Sporting Kansas City, which coincided with its move to its new stadium, Livestrong Sporting Park.

The MLS Reserve League returned this season after previously disbanding following the 2008 season.

The regular season began on March 15 and concluded on October 23. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 26 and ended on November 20, when the LA Galaxy claimed their third league title by defeating the Houston Dynamo, 1–0, in MLS Cup.

Overview

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Season format

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The season began on March 15 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 20. The 18 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 34 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in the league twice.

This was the first playoffs to include ten teams. The top three teams in each conference earned a bye to the conference semifinals, while the next four teams with the most points earned wild card berths. The wild card round included two single-elimination matches where the winners advanced to the conference semifinals. 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 and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, as Canadian-based teams, could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS, and had to instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.

Roster rule changes

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Team rosters were expanded to 30 players in order to accommodate the re-introduction of the MLS Reserve League. Of these 30 players, 18–20 count against a club's salary cap of $2,675,000. Clubs may still have a maximum of three Designated Players per club, each of whom counts $335,000 for salary cap purposes. The transfer windows for acquisition of players under contract in another country run from January 21 to April 15 and from July 15 to August 14.

Other key roster rule changes were the introduction of Off-Budget players who do not count against a club's salary cap; the ability of clubs to forgo fielding a full roster of 30 players for salary reasons; the introduction of roster slots paid below last year's league minimum; the ability of the two Canadian clubs to count U.S. domestic players as domestic players for roster purposes; and the ability of clubs to buy out one guaranteed player contract during the off-season and free up the corresponding budget space.[5]

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 45,596
FC Dallas Pizza Hut Park 21,193
Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium 32,000
LA Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756
New York Red Bulls Red Bull Arena 25,000
Philadelphia Union PPL Park 18,500
Portland Timbers Jeld-Wen Field 18,627
Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213
San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525
Seattle Sounders FC Qwest Field 68,740
Sporting Kansas City Livestrong Sporting Park 18,467
Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Empire Field
BC Place 		27,528
22,120

Personnel and sponsorships

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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head Coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire   Frank Klopas   Logan Pause —
Chivas USA   Robin Fraser   Simon Elliott Corona
Colorado Rapids   Gary Smith   Pablo Mastroeni —
Columbus Crew   Robert Warzycha   Chad Marshall —
D.C. United   Ben Olsen   Josh Wolff Volkswagen
FC Dallas   Schellas Hyndman   Daniel Hernández —
Houston Dynamo   Dominic Kinnear   Brian Ching Greenstar Recycling
LA Galaxy   Bruce Arena   Landon Donovan Herbalife
New England Revolution   Steve Nicol   Shalrie Joseph UnitedHealthcare
New York Red Bulls   Hans Backe   Thierry Henry Red Bull
Philadelphia Union   Piotr Nowak   Faryd Mondragón Bimbo
Portland Timbers   John Spencer   Jack Jewsbury Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake   Jason Kreis   Kyle Beckerman XanGo
San Jose Earthquakes   Frank Yallop   Ramiro Corrales Amway Global
Seattle Sounders FC   Sigi Schmid   Kasey Keller Xbox
Sporting Kansas City   Peter Vermes   Davy Arnaud —
Toronto FC   Aron Winter   Torsten Frings Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Tom Soehn   Jay DeMerit Bell Canada

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming coach Date of appointment Table
Portland Timbers Expansion club   John Spencer August 10, 2010 Pre-season
Chivas USA   Martín Vásquez Fired October 27, 2010 8th West ('10)   Robin Fraser January 4, 2011 Pre-season
Toronto FC   Nick Dasovic End of interim period September 14, 2010 5th East ('09)   Aron Winter January 6, 2011 Pre-season
Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Teitur Thordarson Fired May 29, 2011 9th West ('11)   Tom Soehn May 29, 2011 9th West ('11)
Chicago Fire   Carlos de los Cobos Fired May 30, 2011 8th East ('11)   Frank Klopas May 30, 2011 8th East ('11)

Results table

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Home \ Away CHI CHV COL CLB DCU FCD HOU LAG NER NY PHI POR RSL SJE SEA SKC TOR VAN
Chicago Fire 3–2 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–2 0–0 3–2 2–0 0–0
Chivas USA 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–3 1–2 3–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–3 2–3 3–0 1–1
Colorado Rapids 1–1 2–2 2–0 4–1 1–0 0–0 1–3 2–2 4–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–1
Columbus Crew 0–1 3–3 4–1 2–1 2–0 2–2 0–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–4 2–1
D.C. United 1–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–4 2–2 1–1 4–1 2–4 2–1 0–1 3–3 4–0
FC Dallas 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 4–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–4 1–0 2–0
Houston Dynamo 1–1 2–1 1–2 0–2 4–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 2–1 3–2 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 3–1
LA Galaxy 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 4–1 2–2 3–0
New England Revolution 1–1 2–3 0–0 0–3 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 4–4 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–2 3–2 0–0 1–0
New York Red Bulls 2–2 2–3 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–3 3–0 1–0 1–0 5–0 1–1
Philadelphia Union 2–1 3–2 1–2 1–0 3–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0
Portland Timbers 4–2 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–3 3–2 0–2 3–0 3–0 3–3 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 1–2 2–2 2–1
Real Salt Lake 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 4–1 3–3 3–0 2–1 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 2–0
San Jose Earthquakes 2–0 1–2 1–2 3–0 0–2 4–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–2
Seattle Sounders FC 2–1 0–0 4–3 6–2 3–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 4–2 0–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–2
Sporting Kansas City 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 3–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–2 4–2 2–1
Toronto FC 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–6 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4–2 0–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–4 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–3 3–3 4–2
Updated to match(es) played on October 20, 2011. Source: official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Standings

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Eastern Conference

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Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sporting Kansas City 34 13 9 12 50 40 +10 51 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Houston Dynamo 34 12 9 13 45 41 +4 49
3 Philadelphia Union 34 11 8 15 44 36 +8 48
4 Columbus Crew 34 13 13 8 43 44 −1 47 MLS Cup Play-In Round
5 New York Red Bulls 34 10 8 16 50 44 +6 46
6 Chicago Fire 34 9 9 16 46 45 +1 43
7 D.C. United 34 9 13 12 49 52 −3 39
8 Toronto FC 34 6 13 15 36 59 −23 33
9 New England Revolution 34 5 16 13 38 58 −20 28
Source: MLS

Western Conference

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Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 LA Galaxy 34 19 5 10 48 28 +20 67 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2 Seattle Sounders FC 34 18 7 9 56 37 +19 63
3 Real Salt Lake 34 15 11 8 44 36 +8 53
4 FC Dallas 34 15 12 7 42 39 +3 52 MLS Cup Play-In Round
5 Colorado Rapids 34 12 9 13 46 42 +4 49
6 Portland Timbers 34 11 14 9 40 48 −8 42
7 San Jose Earthquakes 34 8 12 14 40 45 −5 38
8 Chivas USA 34 8 14 12 41 43 −2 36
9 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 6 18 10 35 55 −20 28
Source: MLS

Overall standings

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Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 LA Galaxy (S, C) 34 19 5 10 48 28 +20 67 CONCACAF Champions League
2 Seattle Sounders FC 34 18 7 9 56 37 +19 63
3 Real Salt Lake 34 15 11 8 44 36 +8 53
4 FC Dallas 34 15 12 7 42 39 +3 52
5 Sporting Kansas City 34 13 9 12 50 40 +10 51
6 Houston Dynamo 34 12 9 13 45 41 +4 49 CONCACAF Champions League
7 Colorado Rapids 34 12 9 13 44 41 +3 49
8 Philadelphia Union 34 11 8 15 44 36 +8 48
9 Columbus Crew 34 13 13 8 43 44 −1 47
10 New York Red Bulls 34 10 8 16 50 44 +6 46
11 Chicago Fire 34 9 9 16 46 45 +1 43
12 Portland Timbers 34 11 14 9 40 48 −8 42
13 D.C. United 34 9 13 12 49 52 −3 39
14 San Jose Earthquakes 34 8 12 14 40 45 −5 38
15 Chivas USA 34 8 14 12 41 43 −2 36
16 Toronto FC 34 6 13 15 36 59 −23 33 CONCACAF Champions League
17 New England Revolution 34 5 16 13 38 58 −20 28
18 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 6 18 10 35 55 −20 28
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: 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs
Play-in round Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
E1 Sporting Kansas City 2 2
8 Colorado Rapids 1 WC Colorado Rapids 0 0
9 Columbus Crew 0 Eastern ConferenceE1 Sporting Kansas City 0
E2 Houston Dynamo 2
E2 Houston Dynamo 2 1
E3 Philadelphia Union 1 0
E2 Houston Dynamo 0
W1 LA Galaxy 1
W2 Seattle Sounders FC 0 2
7 FC Dallas 0 W3 Real Salt Lake 3 0
10 New York Red Bulls 2 Western ConferenceW3 Real Salt Lake 1
W1 LA Galaxy 3
W1 LA Galaxy 1 2
WC New York Red Bulls 0 1


Player statistics

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Goals

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 16
  Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes
3   Thierry Henry New York Red Bulls 14
4   Andrés Mendoza Columbus Crew 13
5   Camilo Sanvezzo Vancouver Whitecaps FC 12
  Landon Donovan LA Galaxy
  Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
  Dominic Oduro Chicago Fire
9   Charlie Davies D.C. United 11
  Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union
  Álvaro Saborío Real Salt Lake
  Brek Shea FC Dallas

Assists

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 16
2   David Beckham LA Galaxy 15
3   Mauro Rosales Seattle Sounders FC 13
4   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 12
5   Kyle Beckerman Real Salt Lake 9
  Davide Chiumiento Vancouver Whitecaps FC
  Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union
  Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC
  Patrick Nyarko Chicago Fire
10   Jack Jewsbury Portland Timbers 8

Clean sheets

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Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1   Kevin Hartman FC Dallas 13
  Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
3   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC 9
  Dan Kennedy Chivas USA
  Troy Perkins Portland Timbers
6   Will Hesmer Columbus Crew 8
  Jimmy Nielsen Sporting Kansas City
  Matt Pickens Colorado Rapids
  Josh Saunders LA Galaxy
10   Jon Busch San Jose Earthquakes 7
  Bill Hamid D.C. United
  Sean Johnson Chicago Fire
  Faryd Mondragón Philadelphia Union
  Donovan Ricketts LA Galaxy

Awards

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Individual awards

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Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United
Defender of the Year   Omar Gonzalez LA Galaxy
Goalkeeper of the Year   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Coach of the Year   Bruce Arena LA Galaxy
Rookie of the Year   C.J. Sapong Sporting Kansas City
Newcomer of the Year   Mauro Rosales Seattle Sounders FC
Comeback Player of the Year   David Beckham LA Galaxy
Golden Boot   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United
Goal of the Year   Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers
Save of the Year   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Fair Play Award   Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union
Humanitarian of the Year   Zak Boggs New England Revolution

Best XI

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Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Kasey Keller, Seattle   Todd Dunivant, LA Galaxy
  Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy
  Jámison Olave, Salt Lake 		  David Beckham, LA Galaxy
  Brad Davis, Houston
  Dwayne De Rosario, D.C. United
  Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
  Brek Shea, Dallas 		  Thierry Henry, Red Bulls
  Chris Wondolowski, San Jose

Player of the Month

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Month Player Club Stats
March   Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake 1GA
April   Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 6A
May   Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 6G
June   Graham Zusi Sporting Kansas City 2G, 3A
July   Kevin Hartman FC Dallas 4GA
August   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 3G, 2A
September   Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union 7G
October   Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 5G

Weekly awards

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Week Player of the Week AT&T Goal of the Week[6] MLS Save of the Week[7]
Player Club Player Club Player Club
Week 1[8]   Omar Bravo Sporting Kansas City   Juan Agudelo New York Red Bulls   Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 2[9]   Javier Morales Real Salt Lake   Javier Martina Toronto FC   Jake Gleeson Portland Timbers
Week 3[10]   Camilo Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Khari Stephenson San Jose Earthquakes   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 4[11]   David Ferreira FC Dallas   O'Brian White Seattle Sounders FC   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 5[12]   Luke Rodgers New York Red Bulls   Jorge Perlaza Portland Timbers   Jake Gleeson Portland Timbers
Week 6[13]   Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy   Juan Agudelo New York Red Bulls   Donovan Ricketts Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 7[14]   Will Bruin Houston Dynamo   Brek Shea FC Dallas   Bobby Shuttleworth New England Revolution
Week 8[15]   Joao Plata Toronto FC   Thierry Henry New York Red Bulls   Tim Ream New York Red Bulls
Week 9[16]   Justin Braun Chivas USA   David Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy   Stefan Frei Toronto FC
Week 10[17]   Jeff Parke Seattle Sounders FC   Carlos Ruiz Philadelphia Union   Troy Perkins Portland Timbers
Week 11[18]   Justin Mapp Philadelphia Union   Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC   Donovan & DeLaGarza Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 12[19]   Jean Alexandre Real Salt Lake   Jean Alexandre Real Salt Lake   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 13[20]   Steven Lenhart San Jose Earthquakes   Eric Hassli Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Greg Sutton New York Red Bulls
Week 14[21]   Bernardo Anor Columbus Crew   Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC   Teemu Tainio New York Red Bulls
Week 15[22]   Mike Magee Los Angeles Galaxy   Tyson Wahl Seattle Sounders FC   Mike Magee Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 16[23]   Joel Lindpere New York Red Bulls   Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers   Brian Perk Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 17[24]   Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC   David Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy   Troy Perkins Portland Timbers
Week 18[25]   Mauro Rosales Seattle Sounders FC   Carlos Ruiz Philadelphia Union   Troy Perkins Portland Timbers
Week 19[26]   Sanna Nyassi Colorado Rapids   Kei Kamara Sporting Kansas City   Jimmy Nielsen Sporting Kansas City
Week 20[27]   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United   Roger Torres Philadelphia Union   Andy Gruenebaum Columbus Crew
Week 21[28]   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United   Luis Gil Real Salt Lake   Jimmy Nielsen Sporting Kansas City
Week 22[29]   Chris Pontius D.C. United   Adam Moffat Houston Dynamo   Miloš Kocić Toronto FC
Week 23[30]   Graham Zusi Sporting Kansas City   Graham Zusi Sporting Kansas City   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 24[31]   Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC   Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC   Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 25[32] No award given   Kyle Beckerman Real Salt Lake   Jimmy Nielsen Sporting Kansas City
Week 26[33]   Charlie Davies D.C. United   Davide Chiumiento Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Joe Cannon Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 27[34]   Danny Koevermans Toronto FC   Álvaro Fernández Seattle Sounders FC   Zac MacMath Philadelphia Union
Week 28[35]   Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United   Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC   Troy Perkins Portland Timbers
Week 29[36]   Marco Pappa Chicago Fire   Kenny Cooper Portland Timbers   Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 30[37] No award given   Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 31[38]   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC   Danny Cruz Houston Dynamo   Kasey Keller Seattle Sounders FC
Week 32[39]   Jalil Anibaba Chicago Fire   Adam Moffat Houston Dynamo   Jimmy Nielsen Sporting Kansas City

Transfers

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Main article: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2011

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.[40]

Allocation ranking

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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 2010 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.[40]

Original Ranking Club Date Allocation Used Player Signed Previous Club Ref
1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC November 18, 2010   Jay DeMerit   Watford [41]
2 Portland Timbers January 17, 2011   Kenny Cooper   1860 Munich [42]
3 D.C. United February 16, 2011   Charlie Davies   Sochaux¤ [43]
4 Chivas USA
5 Philadelphia Union August 12, 2011   Freddy Adu   Benfica [44]
6 New England Revolution April 19, 2011   Benny Feilhaber   AGF Aarhus [45]
7 Houston Dynamo
8 Toronto FC
9 Seattle Sounders FC¤¤ August 26, 2011   Sammy Ochoa   Estudiantes Tecos [46]
10 Sporting Kansas City

¤ Davies was signed by United on a twelve-month loan deal.
¤¤ Chicago originally had the No. 9 ranking but traded it to Seattle on August 26, 2011.[47]

The remaining order after Sporting Kansas City is: Chicago Fire¤¤, Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, and Colorado Rapids. In the unlikely event that all clubs use an allocation, the order begins anew with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Weighted lottery

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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 2011 weighted lotteries:

Lottery Date Player Position Winning Club Other Clubs Participating Ref
January 26, 2011   David Bingham GK San Jose Earthquakes New England Revolution, Toronto FC, Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders FC, Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps FC [48]
February 11, 2011   Cody Arnoux FW Real Salt Lake Houston Dynamo, Seattle Sounders FC, Columbus Crew, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps FC [49]
February 14, 2011   Chris Agorsor FW Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps FC [50]
February 15, 2011   Korey Veeder DF Columbus Crew Toronto FC, Seattle Sounders FC, Colorado Rapids [51]
July 5, 2011   Soony Saad FW Sporting Kansas City Chivas USA, Chicago Fire, Portland Timbers [52]
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International competitions

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CONCACAF Champions League

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Main articles: 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League and 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League

Prior to the start of the MLS regular season, Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake played against each other in the quarterfinals of 2010–11 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. The first leg, contested at Crew Stadium on February 22, 2011; ended in a scoreless draw between the sides. On March 1, 2011; the second leg at Rio Tinto Stadium was played, where Real Salt Lake won the series against the Crew 4–1 in the game and on aggregate, this ending Columbus' Champions League campaign.

As a result, Salt Lake became the first MLS team to advance into the semifinals of the Champions League under its current format.[citation needed] The team won its home fixture against Saprissa of Costa Rica 2–0 on March 15, 2011. Real Salt Lake lost the away fixture 2–1 on April 5, 2011, but advanced 3–2 on aggregate. They faced Monterrey of Mexico in the first leg of the final on April 20 in Monterrey. The game concluded in a 2–2 draw. The second leg was played at Rio Tinto on April 27, 2011. Monterrey won 1–0 (3–2 on aggregate) with a late goal in the first half.

Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy have qualified directly into Group Stage for the 2011–12 edition of the Champions League by being the MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield winners, respectively. Both Seattle Sounders FC and FC Dallas have earned preliminary entries in the tournament by winning the U.S. Open Cup and finishing runner up in the MLS Cup, respectively. Toronto FC secured the Canadian berth in the preliminary round with their Voyageurs Cup victory on July 2.

World Football Challenge

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Main article: 2011 World Football Challenge

On March 29, 2011 MLS Commissioner Don Garber confirmed that the 2011 edition of the North American SuperLiga would be replaced by the World Football Challenge,[53] a friendly tournament which started play on July 14 and will end on August 6.[54]

The following MLS sides entered the tournament based on invitation: Los Angeles Galaxy, Philadelphia Union, New England Revolution, Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Domestic competitions

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Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

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Main articles: 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification

The MLS clubs that finished first through sixth place overall during last year's regular season earned a direct bye to the third round proper of the U.S. Open Cup. Clubs that finished seventh or lower will have to play for the final two spots in a series of play-in propers, based on their geographic location as well as their final regular season position.

Canadian championship

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Main article: 2011 Canadian Championship

The two Canadian-based MLS clubs, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC participated in the Canadian Championship, Canada's domestic soccer cup. They competed against two other professional Canadian soccer teams from the NASL for the Voyageurs Cup, as well as a Preliminary Round berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. 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.

The two began in the semifinal round, where the Whitecaps defeated the Montreal Impact and Toronto defeated FC Edmonton. The first leg of the final, held in Vancouver on May 18, ended in a 1–1 draw. The second leg, on May 25 in Toronto, was abandoned due to torrential rains with the Whitecaps leading 1–0. Under competition rules, the second leg was to be replayed in its entirety the following day, but the field remained unplayable. The second leg was replayed, again in its entirety, on July 2, with Toronto winning the game 2–1 and the championship 3–2 on aggregate.

League competitions

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MLS Cup

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Main article: 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs

Following the 2011 season, ten MLS clubs will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs postseason tournament. Of the ten clubs, six will be automatic qualifiers from the top three clubs in each conference. These automatic qualifiers earn a bye to the conference semifinal, or quarterfinal round proper. Four more qualifiers will enter in a play-in round, where these for clubs will be determined by their final regular season standing, regardless of their conference. The winners of the play-in games will play in the conference semifinals, where the lowest seeded club will play against the Supporters' Shield winners.

The cup final will be held on a neutral venue.

Cups and Rivalries

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Main article: MLS rivalry cups

This season marks the first time that the Cascadia Cup will be contested in Major League Soccer. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver contested this cup from 2004–08 until Seattle joined Major League Soccer. The competition continued between Portland and Vancouver for the next two years.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "2011 Extended Stats". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  2. ^ "2011-06-23: Seattle Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  3. ^ "Toronto FC – New England Revolution". revolutionsoccer.net. June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  4. ^ Jeremiah Oshan (October 24, 2011). "MLS Attendance Was Up Almost Across The Board In 2011". Retrieved October 25, 2011.
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  17. ^ "Parke earns first career MLS Player of the Week award". May 21, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
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  29. ^ "Pontius gives DC a hat trick of Player of the Week awards". August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
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  43. ^ "acquires forward Charlie Davies". D.C. United. February 16, 2011. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Major_League_Soccer_season&oldid=1243655103"
  NODES
games 5
games 5
HOME 9
Intern 2
languages 1
mac 1
Note 2
OOP 3
os 83
web 1