2018 Major League Soccer season

Major League Soccer
Season	2018
Dates	March 3 – October 28; (regular season); October 31 – December 8; (Playoffs);
MLS Cup	Atlanta United FC (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	New York Red Bulls (3rd shield)
Champions League; (United States)	Atlanta United FC; Houston Dynamo; New York Red Bulls
Champions League; (Canada)	Toronto FC
Matches played	391
Goals scored	1,249 (3.19 per match)
Top goalscorer	Josef Martínez; (31 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Luis Robles; (14 shutouts)
Biggest home win	6 goals: ; SKC 6–0 VAN; (April 20)
Biggest away win	6 goals: ; COL 0–6 RSL ; (August 25)
Highest scoring	8 goals: ; MTL 3–5 LAFC ; (April 21) ; TOR 4–4 DC ; (June 13) ; RSL 6–2 LAG ; (September 1) ; TOR 5–3 LAG ; (September 15)
Longest winning run	9 games; Seattle Sounders FC; (July 21 – September 19)
Longest unbeaten run	15 games; Portland Timbers; (April 14 – August 11)
Longest winless run	13 games; Orlando City SC; (July 21 – October 21)
Longest losing run	9 games; Orlando City SC; (May 13 – July 7)
Highest attendance	72,243; ATL 1–1 SEA; (July 15)
Lowest attendance	5,158; DC 2–2 HOU; (March 17)
Total attendance	8,553,245
Average attendance	21,875
	← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31, 2018 and concluded with MLS Cup 2018 on December 8, 2018. The league took a nine-day hiatus in early June for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reduced from previous breaks.^[1]

Los Angeles FC joined the league as an expansion franchise, while D.C. United debuted their new soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field.

Toronto FC were the defending Supporters' Shield champions and defending MLS Cup champions.

New York Red Bulls won their third Supporters' Shield, with a league record 71 points, while Atlanta United FC won their first MLS Cup in their second year in the league.

Teams[edit]

Stadiums and locations[edit]

Western Conference
Team	Stadium	Capacity
Colorado Rapids	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	18,061
FC Dallas	Toyota Stadium	20,500
Houston Dynamo	BBVA Compass Stadium	22,039
LA Galaxy	StubHub Center	27,000
Los Angeles FC	Banc of California Stadium	22,000
Minnesota United FC	TCF Bank Stadium^[A]	21,895
Portland Timbers	Providence Park	21,144
Real Salt Lake	Rio Tinto Stadium	20,213
San Jose Earthquakes	Avaya Stadium	18,000
Seattle Sounders FC	CenturyLink Field^[A]	39,419
Sporting Kansas City	Children's Mercy Park	18,467
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	BC Place^[A]	22,120

Eastern Conference
Team	Stadium	Capacity
Atlanta United FC	Mercedes-Benz Stadium^[A]	42,500
Chicago Fire	Toyota Park	20,000
Columbus Crew SC	Mapfre Stadium	19,968
D.C. United	Audi Field	20,000
Montreal Impact	Saputo Stadium	20,801
New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium^[A]	20,000
New York City FC	Yankee Stadium^[A]	30,321
New York Red Bulls	Red Bull Arena	25,000
Orlando City SC	Orlando City Stadium	25,500
Philadelphia Union	Talen Energy Stadium	18,500
Toronto FC	BMO Field	30,000

Atlanta
United

D.C.
United

New York
Red Bulls

Columbus Crew

New England Revolution

Chicago
Fire

Toronto FC

Philadelphia Union

Montreal Impact

Orlando City

NYCFC

Colorado Rapids

FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo

LAFC

Los Angeles Galaxy

Minnesota United

Portland Timbers

Real
Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

Seattle
Sounders FC

Sporting Kansas City

Vancouver
Whitecaps FC

class=notpageimage|

Locations of teams for the 2018 Major League Soccer season

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

^
Non-soccer specific stadium and artificially reduced capacity.

Personnel and sponsorship[edit]

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Atlanta United FC	Tata Martino	Michael Parkhurst	American Family Insurance
Chicago Fire	Veljko Paunović	Dax McCarty	Valspar
Colorado Rapids	Anthony Hudson	Tim Howard	Transamerica
Columbus Crew SC	Gregg Berhalter	Wil Trapp	Acura
D.C. United	Ben Olsen	Wayne Rooney	Leidos
FC Dallas	Óscar Pareja	Matt Hedges	AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo	Wílmer Cabrera	DaMarcus Beasley	—
LA Galaxy	Dominic Kinnear^[a]	Ashley Cole	Herbalife
Los Angeles FC	Bob Bradley	Carlos Vela	YouTube TV
Minnesota United FC	Adrian Heath	Francisco Calvo	Target
Montreal Impact	Rémi Garde	Ignacio Piatti	Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution	Brad Friedel	Claude Dielna	UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC	Domènec Torrent^[b]	David Villa	Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls	Chris Armas^[c]	Luis Robles	Red Bull
Orlando City SC	James O'Connor^[d]	Jonathan Spector	Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union	Jim Curtin	Alejandro Bedoya	Bimbo Bakeries USA
Portland Timbers	Giovanni Savarese	Diego Valeri	Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake	Mike Petke	Kyle Beckerman	LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes	Matias Almeyda^[e]	Chris Wondolowski	Sutter Health
Seattle Sounders FC	Brian Schmetzer	Osvaldo Alonso	Xbox
Sporting Kansas City	Peter Vermes	Matt Besler	Ivy Funds
Toronto FC	Greg Vanney	Michael Bradley	Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Craig Dalrymple^[f]	Kendall Waston	Bell Canada

^ Kinnear was named interim head coach of the Galaxy on September 10 following Sigi Schmid's departure on that day.
^ Torrent was named head coach of New York City FC on June 11 following Patrick Vieira's departure on that day to manage OGC Nice.
^ Armas was named head coach of the Red Bulls on July 6 following Jesse Marsch's departure on that day to join the coaching staff of RB Leipzig.
^ O'Connor was named head coach on June 29, but did not join Orlando City until July 1. Bobby Murphy, who had been named interim head coach on June 15 after Orlando City and Jason Kreis agreed to part ways, coached the team's June 30 match.
^ Almeyda was named head coach on October 8, replacing interim head coach Steve Ralston, who took over after the Earthquakes fired Mikael Stahre on September 17.
^ Dalrymple was named interim head coach after the Whitecaps parted ways with Carl Robinson on September 25.

Coaching changes[edit]

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Montreal Impact	Mauro Biello	Fired	October 23, 2017	Pre-season	Rémi Garde	November 8, 2017
New England Revolution	Tom Soehn (interim)	End of interim period	November 9, 2017		Brad Friedel	November 9, 2017
Portland Timbers	Caleb Porter	Resigned	November 17, 2017		Giovanni Savarese	December 18, 2017
San Jose Earthquakes	Chris Leitch	Returned to technical director role	November 24, 2017		Mikael Stahre	November 24, 2017
Colorado Rapids	Steve Cooke (interim)	End of interim period	November 29, 2017		Anthony Hudson	November 29, 2017
New York City FC	Patrick Vieira	Signed by Nice	June 11, 2018	2nd in East, 4th overall	Domènec Torrent	June 11, 2018
Orlando City SC	Jason Kreis	Mutual decision	June 15, 2018	6th in East, 14th overall	Bobby Murphy (interim)	June 15, 2018
Orlando City SC	Bobby Murphy (interim)	End of interim period	June 29, 2018	8th in East, 17th overall	James O'Connor	June 29, 2018
New York Red Bulls	Jesse Marsch	Signed by RB Leipzig	July 6, 2018	2nd in East, 3rd overall	Chris Armas	July 6, 2018
LA Galaxy	Sigi Schmid	Resigned	September 10, 2018	8th in West, 13th overall	Dominic Kinnear (interim)	September 10, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes	Mikael Stahre	Fired	September 17, 2018	12th in West, 23rd overall	Steve Ralston (interim)	September 17, 2018
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Carl Robinson	Fired	September 25, 2018	8th in West, 14th overall	Craig Dalrymple (interim)	September 25, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes	Steve Ralston (interim)	End of interim period	October 8, 2018	12th in West, 23rd overall	Matías Almeyda	October 8, 2018

Regular season[edit]

Format[edit]

During the 2018 MLS regular season, each team played 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams faced each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams played one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams played two. All teams faced each non-conference opponent once.

Conference standings[edit]

Eastern Conference[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New York Red Bulls	34	22	7	5	62	33	+29	71	Conference semifinals^[a]
2	Atlanta United FC	34	21	7	6	70	44	+26	69	Conference semifinals^[a]
3	New York City FC	34	16	10	8	59	45	+14	56	Knockout round
4	D.C. United	34	14	11	9	60	50	+10	51
5	Columbus Crew	34	14	11	9	43	45	−2	51
6	Philadelphia Union	34	15	14	5	49	50	−1	50
7	Montreal Impact	34	14	16	4	47	53	−6	46
8	New England Revolution	34	10	13	11	49	55	−6	41
9	Toronto FC	34	10	18	6	59	64	−5	36
10	Chicago Fire	34	8	18	8	48	61	−13	32
11	Orlando City SC	34	8	22	4	43	74	−31	28

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goal differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.
Notes:

^ Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.^[2]

Western Conference[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sporting Kansas City	34	18	8	8	65	40	+25	62	Conference semifinals^[a]
2	Seattle Sounders FC	34	18	11	5	52	37	+15	59	Conference semifinals^[a]
3	Los Angeles FC	34	16	9	9	68	52	+16	57	Knockout round
4	FC Dallas	34	16	9	9	52	44	+8	57
5	Portland Timbers	34	15	10	9	54	48	+6	54
6	Real Salt Lake	34	14	13	7	55	58	−3	49
7	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	66	64	+2	48
8	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	13	13	8	54	67	−13	47
9	Houston Dynamo	34	10	16	8	58	58	0	38
10	Minnesota United FC	34	11	20	3	49	71	−22	36
11	Colorado Rapids	34	8	19	7	36	63	−27	31
12	San Jose Earthquakes	34	4	21	9	49	71	−22	21

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goal differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:

^ Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.^[3]

Overall table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification^[a]
1	New York Red Bulls (X)	34	22	7	5	62	33	+29	71	2019 CONCACAF Champions League
2	Atlanta United FC (C)	34	21	7	6	70	44	+26	69
3	Sporting Kansas City	34	18	8	8	65	40	+25	62
4	Seattle Sounders FC	34	18	11	5	52	37	+15	59
5	Los Angeles FC	34	16	9	9	68	52	+16	57
6	FC Dallas	34	16	9	9	52	44	+8	57
7	New York City FC	34	16	10	8	59	45	+14	56
8	Portland Timbers	34	15	10	9	54	48	+6	54
9	D.C. United	34	14	11	9	60	50	+10	51
10	Columbus Crew	34	14	11	9	43	45	−2	51
11	Philadelphia Union	34	15	14	5	49	50	−1	50
12	Real Salt Lake	34	14	13	7	55	58	−3	49
13	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	66	64	+2	48
14	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	13	13	8	54	67	−13	47
15	Montreal Impact	34	14	16	4	47	53	−6	46
16	New England Revolution	34	10	13	11	49	55	−6	41
17	Houston Dynamo	34	10	16	8	58	58	0	38	2019 CONCACAF Champions League
18	Minnesota United FC	34	11	20	3	49	71	−22	36
19	Toronto FC	34	10	18	6	59	64	−5	36	2019 CONCACAF Champions League
20	Chicago Fire	34	8	18	8	48	61	−13	32
21	Colorado Rapids	34	8	19	7	36	63	−27	31
22	Orlando City SC	34	8	22	4	43	74	−31	28
23	San Jose Earthquakes	34	4	21	9	49	71	−22	21

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goals scored; 7) away goal differential; 8) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (X) Supporters' Shield winner
Notes:

^
CONCACAF Champions League
Selection procedure
- Four US-based teams qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Due to a change in format to the tournament, two qualifiers came from each of the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.^[4] This combined qualification method was used for the 2019 tournament only. For the 2018 season, the following teams qualified:
  1. The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);
  2. The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)
  Thus unlike previous seasons, the Supporters' Shield winner and the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield werw not guaranteed a berth. Each qualifier entered at the second phase of the tournament.
  One Canada-based team qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, also entering at the second phase (NOTE: Canadian teams could not qualify through MLS):
  1. The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

Aggregate 2017 and 2018 table[edit]

As Toronto FC won MLS Cup 2017, one of the U.S. berths for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League had to be reallocated, to the U.S. non-champions with the best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons. As the top ranked team in the table, Atlanta United FC, also qualified for the Champions League by winning MLS Cup 2018, the Champions League spot via the aggregate table was instead awarded to the second-placed team, the New York Red Bulls.^[5]^[6]

Note: Only U.S. teams are listed in this table.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Atlanta United FC	68	36	16	16	140	84	+56	124	2019 CONCACAF Champions League^[a]
2	New York Red Bulls	68	36	19	13	115	80	+35	121	2019 CONCACAF Champions League^[b]
3	New York City FC	68	32	19	17	115	88	+27	113
4	Seattle Sounders FC	68	32	20	16	104	76	+28	112
5	Sporting Kansas City	68	30	17	21	105	69	+36	111	2019 CONCACAF Champions League^[c]
6	Portland Timbers	68	30	21	17	114	98	+16	107
7	Columbus Crew	68	30	23	15	96	94	+2	105
8	FC Dallas	68	27	19	22	100	92	+8	103
9	Real Salt Lake	68	27	28	13	104	113	−9	94
10	Philadelphia Union	68	26	28	14	99	97	+2	92
11	Houston Dynamo	68	23	26	19	115	103	+12	88	2019 CONCACAF Champions League^[d]
12	Chicago Fire	68	24	29	15	106	105	+1	87
13	New England Revolution	68	23	28	17	102	116	−14	86
14	D.C. United	68	23	31	14	91	110	−19	83
15	LA Galaxy	68	21	30	17	111	131	−20	80
16	Minnesota United	68	21	38	9	97	141	−44	72
17	Orlando City	68	18	37	13	82	132	−50	67
18	San Jose Earthquakes	68	17	35	16	84	126	−42	67
19	Colorado Rapids	68	17	38	13	67	114	−47	64
20	Los Angeles FC	34	16	9	9	68	52	+16	57

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goals scored; 7) away goal differential; 8) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:

^ As MLS Cup 2018 champions (USA1)
^ As best aggregate 2017 and 2018 record (USA4)
^ As 2017 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA2)
^ As 2018 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA3)

Playoffs[edit]

Bracket[edit]

Knockout round			Conference semifinals					Conference finals					MLS Cup December 8 – Atlanta, Georgia

			E3	New York City FC	0	1	1
10/31 – Bronx, New York
			E2	Atlanta United FC	1	3	4
E3	New York City FC	3

E6	Philadelphia Union	1
								E2	Atlanta United FC	3	0	3
Eastern Conference
								E1	New York Red Bulls	0	1	1



			E5	Columbus Crew	1	0	1
11/1 – Washington, D.C.
			E1	New York Red Bulls	0	3	3
E4	D.C. United	2 (2)

E5	Columbus Crew (p)	2 (3)
													E2	Atlanta United FC	2

													W5	Portland Timbers	0



			W5	Portland Timbers (p)	2	2	4 (4)
10/31 – Frisco, Texas
			W2	Seattle Sounders FC	1	3	4 (2)
W4	FC Dallas	1

W5	Portland Timbers	2
								W5	Portland Timbers	0	3	3
Western Conference
								W1	Sporting Kansas City	0	2	2



			W6	Real Salt Lake	1	2	3
11/1 – Los Angeles, California
			W1	Sporting Kansas City	1	4	5
W3	Los Angeles FC	2

W6	Real Salt Lake	3

Knockout round[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Eastern Conference
New York City FC (E3)	3–1	Philadelphia Union (E6)
D.C. United (E4)	2–2 (2–3 p)	Columbus Crew SC (E5)
Western Conference
Los Angeles FC (W3)	2–3	Real Salt Lake (W6)
FC Dallas (W4)	1–2	Portland Timbers (W5)

Conference semifinals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Eastern Conference
Columbus Crew SC (E5)	1–3	New York Red Bulls (E1)	1–0	0–3
New York City FC (E3)	1–4	Atlanta United FC (E2)	0–1	1–3
Western Conference
Real Salt Lake (W6)	3–5	Sporting Kansas City (W1)	1–1	2–4
Portland Timbers (W5)	4–4 (4–2 p)	Seattle Sounders FC (W2)	2–1	2–3 (a.e.t.)

Conference finals[edit]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Eastern Conference
Atlanta United FC (E2)	3–1	New York Red Bulls (E1)	3–0	0–1
Western Conference
Portland Timbers (W5)	3–2	Sporting Kansas City (W1)	0–0	3–2

MLS Cup[edit]

December 8, 2018

8:00 p.m. EST

Atlanta United FC	2–0	Portland Timbers
Martínez 39' Escobar 54'	Report

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Attendance: 73,019

Referee: Alan Kelly

Attendance[edit]

Average home attendances[edit]

As of October 29, 2018

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Pos.	Team	GP	Cumulative	High	Low	Mean
1	Atlanta United FC	17	901,033	72,243	44,696	53,002
2	Seattle Sounders FC	17	690,893	47,521	39,465	40,641
3	Toronto FC	17	452,675	30,799	23,011	26,628
4	LA Galaxy	17	415,543	27,068	16,231	24,444
5	Minnesota United FC	17	406,342	52,242	18,057	23,902
6	Orlando City SC	17	405,730	25,527	22,337	23,866
7	New York City FC	17	394,583	30,139	18,584	23,211
8	Los Angeles FC	17	374,716	22,716	22,000	22,042
9	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	17	373,089	27,863	17,357	21,946
10	Portland Timbers	17	359,448	21,144	21,144	21,144
11	Sporting Kansas City	17	339,148	21,064	18,508	19,950
12	San Jose Earthquakes	17	323,547	50,743	15,648	19,032
13	New York Red Bulls	17	316,956	25,219	14,768	18,644
14	Real Salt Lake	17	316,286	21,363	16,015	18,605
15	Montreal Impact	17	315,665	26,005	15,485	18,569
16	New England Revolution	17	311,897	36,573	10,547	18,347
17	D.C. United	17	299,803	20,573	5,128	17,635
18	Houston Dynamo	17	287,408	22,320	13,094	16,906
19	Philadelphia Union	17	280,805	19,013	14,795	16,518
20	FC Dallas	17	263,707	19,096	13,147	15,512
21	Colorado Rapids	17	260,660	17,837	10,790	15,333
22	Chicago Fire	17	251,708	21,915	8,551	14,806
23	Columbus Crew	17	211,603	19,121	7,683	12,447
–	Total	391	8,553,245	72,243	5,128	21,875

Highest attendances[edit]

As of October 22, 2018

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Week	Stadium
1	Atlanta United FC	1–1	Seattle Sounders FC	72,243	July 15, 2018	20	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2	Atlanta United FC	3–1	D.C. United	72,035	March 11, 2018	2	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
3	Atlanta United FC	2–0	Real Salt Lake	72,017	September 22, 2018	30	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
4	Atlanta United FC	4–0	Orlando City SC	71,932	June 30, 2018	18	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
5	Atlanta United FC	2–1	Chicago Fire	71,812	October 22, 2018	34	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
6	Minnesota United FC	1–3	LA Galaxy	52,242	October 21, 2018	33	TCF Bank Stadium
7	San Jose Earthquakes	3–3	LA Galaxy	50,743	June 30, 2018	18	Stanford Stadium
8	Seattle Sounders FC	2–3	Portland Timbers	47,521	June 30, 2018	18	CenturyLink Field
9	Atlanta United FC	3–1	Columbus Crew	45,303	August 19, 2018	25	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
10	Atlanta United FC	5–0	Los Angeles FC	45,207	April 7, 2018	6	Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Player statistics[edit]

Goals[edit]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[7]
1	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	31
2	Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	22
3	Bradley Wright-Phillips	New York Red Bulls	20
4	Mauro Manotas	Houston Dynamo	19
4	Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew	19
6	Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact	16
7	Nemanja Nikolić	Chicago Fire	15
8	Kei Kamara	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	14
	Ola Kamara	LA Galaxy
	Carlos Vela	Los Angeles FC
	David Villa	New York City FC

Assists[edit]

Rank	Player	Club	Assists^[8]
1	Bořek Dočkal	Philadelphia Union	18
2	Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	17
3	Nicolás Lodeiro	Seattle Sounders FC	16
3	Maximiliano Moralez	New York City FC	16
5	Sebastian Giovinco	Toronto FC	15
5	Darwin Quintero	Minnesota United FC	15
7	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United FC	14
	Julian Gressel	Atlanta United FC
	Alejandro Romero Gamarra	New York Red Bulls
10	Tomás Martínez	Houston Dynamo	13
	Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact
	Carlos Vela	Los Angeles FC

Shutouts[edit]

Rank	Player	Club	Shutouts^[9]
1	Luis Robles	New York Red Bulls	14
2	Tim Melia	Sporting Kansas City	13
3	Andre Blake	Philadelphia Union	10
	Evan Bush	Montreal Impact
	Sean Johnson	New York City FC
	Tyler Miller	Los Angeles FC
	Zack Steffen	Columbus Crew
8	David Bingham	LA Galaxy	8
8	Brad Guzan	Atlanta United FC	8
10	Jeff Attinella	Portland Timbers	7
	Stefan Frei	Seattle Sounders FC
	Nick Rimando	Real Salt Lake

Hat-tricks[edit]

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4–1	March 17
Dominique Badji	Colorado Rapids	Philadelphia Union	3–0	March 31
Johnny Russell	Sporting Kansas City	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	6–0	April 20
Ignacio Piatti	Montreal Impact	Los Angeles FC	3–5	April 21
Cristian Techera	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	New England Revolution	3–3	May 26
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	Philadelphia Union	3–1	June 2
Adama Diomande	Los Angeles FC	Philadelphia Union	4–1	June 30
Darwin Quintero	Minnesota United FC	Toronto FC	4–3	July 14
Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	D.C. United	3–1	July 21
Michael Barrios	FC Dallas	Sporting Kansas City	3–2	July 28
Zlatan Ibrahimović	LA Galaxy	Orlando City SC	4–3	July 29
Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	Orlando City SC	3–2	August 12
Damir Kreilach	Real Salt Lake	LA Galaxy	6–2	September 1
Bradley Wright-Phillips	New York Red Bulls	D.C. United	3–3	September 16
Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew SC	Minnesota United FC	3–2	October 28

Awards[edit]

Player of the Month[edit]

Month	Player	Club	Stats	Ref
March	Felipe Gutiérrez	Sporting Kansas City	5 GP, 5 G	^[10]
April	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United FC	4 GP, 5 G, 2 A	^[11]
May	Zack Steffen	Columbus Crew	5 GP, 0 GA	^[12]
June	Adama Diomande	Los Angeles FC	5 GP, 7 G	^[13]
July	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	5 GP, 9 G, 1 A	^[14]
August	Josef Martínez	Atlanta United FC	4 GP, 4 G, 1 A	^[15]
September	Luciano Acosta	D.C. United	5 GP, 4 G, 6 A	^[16]
October	Wayne Rooney	D.C. United	5 GP, 5 G	^[17]

Player and team of the week[edit]

Bold denotes league player of the week.
Italics denotes Audi player performance of the week.

Team of the week
Week	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Bench	Coach
1 ^[18]^[19]	Miller (LAFC)	Valenzuela (CLB) Elliott (PHI) Senderos (HOU) Abubakar (CLB)	Davies (VAN) Higuaín (CLB) Meram (ORL) Medina (NYC)	Elis (HOU) Hoesen (SJ)	Rimando (RSL) Bedoya (PHI) Ciman (LAFC) Vako (SJ) Sapong (PHI) Spector (ORL) O. Kamara (LAG)	Wílmer Cabrera (HOU)
2 ^[20]^[21]	Turner (NE)	Tierney (NE) Escobar (NY) Tinnerholm (NYC)	Medina (NYC) Gutiérrez (SKC) Finlay (MIN) Gressel (ATL)	Rossi (LAFC) K. Kamara (VAN) Vela (LAFC)	Marinovic (VAN) Beitashour (LAFC) Davis (NY) Almirón (ATL) Sallói (SKC) Rivas (NY) Zardes (CLB)	Bob Bradley (LAFC)
3 ^[22]^[23]	Rimando (RSL)	Fanni (MTL) Elliott (PHI) Zusi (SKC)	Piatti (MTL) Lamah (DAL) Díaz (DAL) Taïder (MTL) Moralez (NYC)	J. Martínez (ATL) Elis (HOU)	Bush (MTL) Beasley (HOU) Gutiérrez (SKC) Gressel (ATL) Medina (NYC) Nicholson (MIN) L. Acosta (DC)	Patrick Vieira (NYC)
4 ^[24]^[25]	Howard (COL)	Valenzuela (CLB) Steres (LAG) Tuiloma (POR)	Penilla (NE) Muyl (NY) Gutiérrez (SKC) Higuaín (CLB) Martínez (CLB)	Wright-Phillips (NY) Tajouri-Shradi (NYC)	Johnson (NYC) Aja (VAN) Long (NY) Duncan (NY) Hayes (DAL) Caldwell (NE) Santos (CLB)	Gregg Berhalter (CLB)
5 ^[26]^[27]	Johnson (NYC)	Opara (SKC) Parkhurst (ATL) Wynne (COL)	Vela (LAFC) Ilie (SKC) Schweinsteiger (CHI) Penilla (NE)	Badji (COL) Ibrahimović (LAG) Altidore (TOR)	Turner (NE) van der Wiel (TOR) Tinnerholm (NYC) Felipe (VAN) Kljestan (ORL) Blanco (POR) Dwyer (ORL)	Jason Kreis (ORL)
6 ^[28]^[29]	Melia (SKC)	Lennon (RSL) Parkhurst (ATL) Schweinsteiger (CHI) Farrell (NE)	Gressel (ATL) Zahibo (NE) Bedoya (PHI) Fagúndez (NE)	Russell (SKC) Dwyer (ORL)	Tarbell (SJ) Opara (SKC) Almirón (ATL) Blanco (POR) Eriksson (SJ) Picault (PHI) Nikolić (CHI)	Gerardo Martino (ATL)
7 ^[30]^[31]	Clark (DC)	Cole (LAG) Chanot (NYC) Powell (POR)	T. Martínez (HOU) Kljestan (ORL) Hayes (DAL) Moralez (NYC) Almirón (ATL)	Vela (LAFC) Quintero (MIN)	Bendik (ORL) Cannon (DAL) Price (COL) J. Dos Santos (LAG) Roldan (SEA) Kaku (NY) Wright-Phillips (NY)	Patrick Vieira (NYC)
8 ^[32]^[33]	Sánchez (CHI)	Hedges (DAL) Mabiala (POR) Dielna (NE)	Piatti (MTL) Croizet (SKC) Alonso (SEA) Almirón (ATL)	Quioto (HOU) Russell (SKC) Mueller (ORL)	Maurer (DAL) Medranda (SKC) Blanco (POR) McCarty (CHI) Rusnák (RSL) Yotún (ORL) Vela (LAFC)	Giovanni Savarese (POR)
9 ^[34]^[35]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Sweat (NYC) Ciman (LAFC) Dielna (NE)	Almirón (ATL) Yotún (ORL) Dočkal (PHI) Kaku (NY) Davies (VAN)	Villa (NYC) Wright-Phillips (NY)	Bono (TOR) Farrell (NE) Ibson (MIN) Kratz (ATL) Barco (ATL) Grella (CLB) Meram (ORL)	Jason Kreis (ORL)
10 ^[36]^[37]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Abubakar (CLB) Calvo (MIN) Parker (NY)	Piatti (MTL) Kaku (NY) Yotún (ORL) Adams (NY)	Sallói (SKC) Jackson-Hamel (MTL) Giovinco (TOR)	Bush (MTL) Valenzuela (CLB) Kljestan (ORL) Valeri (POR) Almirón (ATL) Quioto (HOU) Urruti (DAL)	Jesse Marsch (NY)
11 ^[38]^[39]	Melia (SKC)	Waston (VAN) Parker (NY) Svensson (SEA)	Díaz (DAL) Kaye (LAFC) Rusnák (RSL) Ilie (SKC) Penilla (NE)	Zardes (CLB) Bunbury (NE)	Steffen (CLB) Ciman (LAFC) Opara (SKC) Bedoya (PHI) Larentowicz (ATL) Blanco (POR) Wondolowski (SJ)	Gregg Berhalter (CLB)
12 ^[40]^[41]	Shuttleworth (MIN)	Matarrita (NYC) Mensah (CLB) Murillo (NY)	Telfer (TOR) Durkin (DC) Dočkal (PHI) Kaku (NY)	Wright-Phillips (NY) Villa (NYC) Elis (HOU)	Meara (NY) Long (NY) Paredes (POR) Chará (POR) Moralez (NYC) L. Acosta (DC) Epps (PHI)	Jesse Marsch (NY)
13 ^[42]^[43]	González (DAL)	D. Acosta (RSL) McKenzie (PHI) Fuenmayor (HOU) Williams (CLB)	M. Ibarra (MIN) Artur (CLB) Penilla (NE)	Techera (VAN) Armenteros (POR) Elis (HOU)	Melia (SKC) McLain (CHI) Parker (NY) Silva (RSL) Arriola (DC) Alessandrini (LAG) Gordon (CHI)	Wílmer Cabrera (HOU)
14 ^[44]^[45]	Turner (NE)	D. Acosta (RSL) Hollingshead (DAL) Zusi (SKC)	Díaz (DAL) Almirón (ATL) Higuaín (CLB) Vargas (MTL)	Tajouri-Shradi (NYC) J. Martínez (ATL) Bunbury (NE)	Rimando (RSL) Glad (RSL) Ibeagha (NYC) Ilie (SKC) Dočkal (PHI) Reyna (VAN) Gordon (CHI)	Mike Petke (RSL)
15 ^[46]^[47]	Guzan (ATL)	Opara (SKC) Kappelhof (CHI) Afful (CLB)	Davies (VAN) T. Martínez (HOU) Lodeiro (SEA) Moralez (NYC) Osorio (TOR)	Diomande (LAFC) Ibrahimović (LAG)	Melia (SKC) Skjelvik (LAG) Mabiala (POR) Callens (NYC) Felipe (VAN) Díaz (DAL) Wondolowski (SJ)	Greg Vanney (TOR)
16 ^[48]^[49]	Bush (MTL)	Kutler (NY) Parkhurst (ATL) Hagglund (TOR) T. Smith (COL)	Fagúndez (NE) Katai (CHI) Larentowicz (ATL) Asad (DC)	Piatti (MTL) Hoesen (SJ)	Frei (SEA) Parker (NY) Fanni (MTL) Copyright 2020 WikiZero EN TR JP RU DE €4.95 / month Favourites List Audio Listining Color Mode Monthly New Updates Fullname * Email * Credit or debit card A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: userid Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 68 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 68 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once "> Premium Membership €4.95 ~~€ 9.90~~ / month Create a Premium Account quick and easy Save your Favourite Pages Listen to any page in Audio Colour Night Mode Create your Account Cancel Subscription 2018_Major_League_Soccer_season" id="cancelSubscription" name="cancelSubscription" class="mb-0"> Are you sure you want to cancel your membership with us? A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: user_membership Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 192 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 192 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Warning Message: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 192 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 192 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: userid Filename: user/popup_modal.php Line Number: 208 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php Line: 208 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 478 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once "> Harry Potter Books A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Notice Message: Undefined variable: products Filename: user/popup_harry_book.php Line Number: 24 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Line: 24 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 479 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once A PHP Error was encountered Severity: Warning Message: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() Filename: user/popup_harry_book.php Line Number: 24 Backtrace: File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php Line: 24 Function: _error_handler File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php Line: 479 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/controllers/Main.php Line: 107 Function: view File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php Line: 315 Function: require_once

[cnote_A_grp_1] 
Non-soccer specific stadium and artificially reduced capacity.

[2] Kinnear was named interim head coach of the Galaxy on September 10 following Sigi Schmid's departure on that day.

[3] Torrent was named head coach of New York City FC on June 11 following Patrick Vieira's departure on that day to manage OGC Nice.

[4] Armas was named head coach of the Red Bulls on July 6 following Jesse Marsch's departure on that day to join the coaching staff of RB Leipzig.

[5] O'Connor was named head coach on June 29, but did not join Orlando City until July 1. Bobby Murphy, who had been named interim head coach on June 15 after Orlando City and Jason Kreis agreed to part ways, coached the team's June 30 match.

[6] Almeyda was named head coach on October 8, replacing interim head coach Steve Ralston, who took over after the Earthquakes fired Mikael Stahre on September 17.

[7] Dalrymple was named interim head coach after the Whitecaps parted ways with Carl Robinson on September 25.

[table_note_res_CSF0.73140485106567-9] Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.^[2]

[table_note_res_CSF0.19364434862213-11] Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.^[3]

[13] 

CONCACAF Champions League
Selection procedure

Four US-based teams qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Due to a change in format to the tournament, two qualifiers came from each of the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.^[4] This combined qualification method was used for the 2019 tournament only. For the 2018 season, the following teams qualified:
The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);

The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)
Thus unlike previous seasons, the Supporters' Shield winner and the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield werw not guaranteed a berth. Each qualifier entered at the second phase of the tournament.
One Canada-based team qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, also entering at the second phase (NOTE: Canadian teams could not qualify through MLS):
The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

[11] Four US-based teams qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Due to a change in format to the tournament, two qualifiers came from each of the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.^[4] This combined qualification method was used for the 2019 tournament only. For the 2018 season, the following teams qualified:
The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);

The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)
Thus unlike previous seasons, the Supporters' Shield winner and the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield werw not guaranteed a berth. Each qualifier entered at the second phase of the tournament.
One Canada-based team qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, also entering at the second phase (NOTE: Canadian teams could not qualify through MLS):
The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

[12] The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);

[13] The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)

[14] The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

[15] The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);

[16] The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)

[17] The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

[table_note_res_CCL10.49591634305935-16] As MLS Cup 2018 champions (USA1)

[table_note_res_CCL40.49591634305935-17] As best aggregate 2017 and 2018 record (USA4)

[table_note_res_CCL20.49591634305935-18] As 2017 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA2)

[table_note_res_CCL30.49591634305935-19] As 2018 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA3)

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