2015 Major League Soccer season
 | |
| Season | 2015 |
|---|---|
| MLS Cup | Portland Timbers (1st title) |
| Supporters' Shield | New 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 played | 340 |
| Goals scored | 937 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sebastian Giovinco Kei Kamara (22 goals each) |
| Best goalkeeper | Adam Kwarasey David Ousted (13 shutouts each) |
| Biggest home win | 5 goals: LA 5–0 POR (Jun 24) TOR 5–0 ORL (Aug 22) CLB 5–0 DC (Oct 25) |
| Biggest away win | 5 goals: SKC 0–5 SJ (Aug 19) |
| Highest scoring | 10 goals: DC 6–4 RSL (Aug 1) |
| Longest winning run | 6 games: New England Revolution (Aug 1 – Sep 16) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 9 games: New England Revolution (Mar 21 – May 16) Portland Timbers (Oct 14 – Dec 6) |
| Longest winless run | 11 games: New York City (Mar 21 – May 30) |
| Longest losing run | 5 games: New England Revolution (Jun 21 – Jul 11) Seattle Sounders FC (Jul 11 – Aug 9) Chicago Fire (Sep 5 – Sep 26) |
| Highest attendance | 64,358 SEA 2–1 POR (Aug 30) |
| Lowest attendance | 10,035 MTL 2–1 VAN (Jun 3) |
| Total attendance | 7,335,053 |
| Average attendance | 21,574 |
← 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
[edit]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.
Managerial changes
[edit]| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Earthquakes |  Mark Watson | Fired | October 16, 2014[8] | Preseason |  Dominic Kinnear | October 16, 2014[9] |
| Houston Dynamo | Dominic Kinnear | Signed by San Jose Earthquakes | October 16, 2014[9] |  Owen Coyle | December 8, 2014[10] | |
| New York Red Bulls | Mike Petke | Fired | January 7, 2015[11] | Jesse Marsch | January 7, 2015[12] | |
| Montreal Impact | Frank Klopas | Fired | August 29, 2015[13] | 7th in East, 17th overall | Mauro Biello (Interim) | August 29, 2015[13] |
| Chicago Fire | Frank Yallop | Fired | September 20, 2015[14] | 10th in East, 20th overall | Brian Bliss (Interim) | September 20, 2015[14] |
| New York City | Jason Kreis | Fired | November 2, 2015[15] | Postseason |  Patrick Vieira | November 9, 2015 |
| Chicago Fire | Brian Bliss | End of interim period | November 24, 2015 |  Veljko Paunovic | November 24, 2015[16] |
Standings
[edit]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 |
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 |
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 |
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]| Knockout round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | MLS Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Stade Saputo | E3 | Montreal Impact | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Toronto FC | 0 | E2 | Columbus Crew (a.e.t.) | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Impact | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – RFK Stadium | E4 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| December 6 – Mapfre Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| E5 | New England Revolution | 1 | E1 | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Columbus Crew | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| October 29 – Providence Park | W3 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Sporting Kansas City | 2 (6) | W2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers (p) | 2 (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | FC Dallas | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 28 – CenturyLink Field | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 3 (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | LA Galaxy | 2 | W1 | FC Dallas (p) | 1 | 2 | 3 (4) | |||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [17]
Attendance
[edit]Average home attendances
[edit]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
[edit]Regular season
| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | Portland Timbers | 64,358 | August 30, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 2 | Orlando City SC | 1–1 | New York City FC | 62,510 | March 8, 2015 | Citrus Bowl |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1–1 | LA Galaxy | 56,097 | October 4, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3–1 | Real Salt Lake | 55,435 | October 25, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders FC | 0–3 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 53,125 | August 2, 2015 | CenturyLink Field |
| 6 | San Jose Earthquakes | 3–1 | LA Galaxy | 50,422 | June 27, 2015 | Stanford Stadium |
| 7 | New York City | 1–3 | New York Red Bulls | 48,047 | June 28, 2015 | Yankee Stadium |
| 8 | New York City | 2–0 | New England Revolution | 43,507 | March 15, 2015 | Yankee Stadium |
| 9 | Orlando City SC | 2–1 | New York City | 43,179 | October 16, 2015 | Citrus Bowl |
| 10 | New England Revolution | 0–1 | Montreal Impact | 42,947 | October 17, 2015 | Gillette Stadium |
Updated to games played on October 25, 2015. Source: MLS Soccer
Player statistics
[edit]Goals
[edit]| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 22 |
 Kei Kamara | Columbus Crew | ||
| 3 | Robbie Keane | LA Galaxy | 20 |
| 4 |  David Villa | New York City FC | 18 |
| 5 | Cyle Larin | Orlando City SC | 17 |
 Bradley Wright-Phillips | New York Red Bulls | ||
| 7 | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | 16 |
 Fanendo Adi | Portland Timbers | ||
| 9 | Obafemi Martins | Seattle Sounders FC | 15 |
| 10 | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC | 13 |
Hat-tricks
[edit]| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbie Keane | LA Galaxy | Toronto FC | 4–0 | July 4 |
| Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | New York City FC | 4–4 | July 12 |
| Robbie Keane | LA Galaxy | San Jose Earthquakes | 5–2 | July 17 |
| Cyle Larin | Orlando City SC | New York City FC | 3–5 | July 26 |
| Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | Orlando City SC | 4–1 | August 5 |
 Didier Drogba | Montreal Impact | Chicago Fire | 4–3 | September 5 |
| Cyle Larin | Orlando City SC | New York Red Bulls | 5–2 | September 25 |
Assists
[edit]| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 16 |
| 2 | Benny Feilhaber | Sporting Kansas City | 15 |
 Cristian Maidana | Philadelphia Union | ||
| 4 | Sacha Kljestan | New York Red Bulls | 14 |
| 5 | Ethan Finlay | Columbus Crew | 13 |
| 6 | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | 11 |
| 7 | Brad Davis | Houston Dynamo | 10 |
| Mauro Díaz | FC Dallas | ||
| Lee Nguyen | New England Revolution | ||
| Clint Dempsey | Seattle Sounders FC |
Clean Sheets
[edit]
Awards
[edit]Individual awards
[edit]
Player of the Month
[edit]| Month | Player | Club | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| March |  Octavio Rivero | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3G |
| April | Benny Feilhaber | Sporting Kansas City | 2G, 3A |
| May |  Krisztián Németh | Sporting Kansas City | 3G, 2A |
| June |  David Ousted | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 30SV, 4GA |
| July | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 5G, 3A |
| August | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 4G, 3A |
| September | Didier Drogba | Montreal Impact | 7G, 1A |
| October | Didier Drogba | Montreal Impact | 4G |
Weekly awards
[edit]
Best XI
[edit]| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Robles, Red Bulls |  Laurent Ciman, Montreal Matt Hedges, Dallas Kendall Waston, Vancouver | Ethan Finlay, Columbus Dax McCarty, Red Bulls Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC Fabian Castillo, Dallas | Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto Kei Kamara, Columbus 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) | Mix Diskerud |  Rosenborg | [24] |
| 8 | 16 | Toronto | January 16, 2015 (6) | Jozy Altidore | Sunderland | [25] |
| 17 | 17 | New York Red Bulls‡ | January 28, 2015 (1) | Sacha Kljestan | Anderlecht | [23][26] |
| 2 | 18 | Orlando City SC♯ | December 19, 2014 (2) | Brek Shea | Stoke City | [27] |
| February 2, 2015 (17) | Eric Avila |  Santos Laguna | [28][29] | |||
| 16 | 19 | D.C. United | February 10, 2015 (12) | Michael Farfan | Cruz Azul | [30] |
| 4 | 20 | San Jose Earthquakes | July 17, 2015 (1) | Marc Pelosi | 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
[edit]Eastern Conference
[edit]- Chicago Fire: Frank Yallop
- Columbus Crew: Gregg Berhalter
- D.C. United: Ben Olsen
- Montreal Impact: Mauro Biello
- New England Revolution: Jay Heaps
- New York City: Patrick Vieira
- New York Red Bulls: Jesse Marsch
- Orlando City SC: Jason Kreis
- Philadelphia Union: Jim Curtin
- Toronto: Greg Vanney
Western Conference
[edit]- Colorado Rapids: Pablo Mastroeni
- FC Dallas: Óscar Pareja
- Houston Dynamo: Owen Coyle
- Los Angeles Galaxy: Bruce Arena
- Portland Timbers: Caleb Porter
- Real Salt Lake: Jeff Cassar
- San Jose Earthquakes: Dominic Kinnear
- Seattle Sounders FC: Sigi Schmid and Brian Schmetzer
- Sporting Kansas City: Peter Vermes
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Carl Robinson
References
[edit]- ^ "MLS draws a crowd on opening weekend", Washington Post, Steven Goff, March 9, 2015.
- ^ "MLS experiences TV ratings boost for 2015 opening weekend", SI.com, Richard Deitsch, March 11, 2015.
- ^ 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
- ^ "2015 Major League Soccer national television schedule". www.philly.com. January 21, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- ^ "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
- ^ "MLS and British broadcaster Sky Sports announce groundbreaking partnership". February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Former Earthquakes coach Watson takes high road over firing". mercurynews.com.
- ^ a b "Dominic Kinnear to coach San Jose Earthquakes". ESPNFC.com. October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
- ^ Alicia Tolar (December 8, 2014). "Reports: Owen Coyle signs three-year deal with Houston Dynamo". Dynamo Theory. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Frank Klopas fired as Montreal Impact head coach; Mauro Biello to take over". si.com. August 30, 2015.
- ^ a b "Fire dismisses head coach Yallop". TSN.ca. September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "Jason Kreis out as NYCFC manager". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Chicago Fire Soccer Club Hires Veljko Paunovic as Head Coach". Chicago Fire. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ^ "10-08-15_Stats_Standings.pdf". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer.
- ^ "Goal of the Week". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ "Major League Soccer announces 2015 roster rules, including revised player acquisition process".
- ^ "MLS Allocation Process". Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Impact makes major trade with New York Red Bulls". Montreal Impact. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Red Bulls sign United States International Sacha Kljestan". New York Red Bulls. January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Orlando City SC Media (December 19, 2014). "Brek Shea Signs with Orlando City SC". orlandocitysc.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ^ MLS Soccer staff (February 2, 2015). "Orlando City SC acquire former Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ Tenorio, Paul (February 2, 2015), Orlando City signs former Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila, Orlando Sentinel, retrieved July 20, 2015
- ^ "Michael Farfan making return to MLS, signs with DC United after season at Cruz Azul". MLSsoccer.com. February 10, 2015.
- ^ "San Jose Earthquakes sign US youth international midfielder Marc Pelosi". MLSsoccer.com. July 17, 2015.
- ^ "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).
External links
[edit]
Media related to 2015 in Major League Soccer at Wikimedia Commons
