Major League Soccer (MLS) today announced the schedule for the 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs. With the 11th MLS regular season in the record books, eight teams advanced to the playoffs and each now has a chance to capture MLS Cup 2006 in Frisco, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 12.
All ten playoff games on the road to Frisco will be televised live, and nine games will be aired by at least one of the League's national broadcast partners - ABC, ESPN2, Fox Soccer Channel and HDNet. (See schedule below for details)
During the final weekend of play, the last playoff spots in the Eastern and Western Conferences were decided. On Saturday, Oct. 14, Kansas City rode into New York to face the Red Bulls with a two point advantage, needing only a tie to advance to the playoffs. The Wizards took an early 1-0 advantage, but led by MLS Player of the Week Amado Guevara's hat trick, the Red Bulls stormed back and won 3-2 and enter the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The final Western Conference playoff spot was also claimed on Saturday, as the Colorado Rapids needed only a tie versus the Houston Dynamo to advance to the post season and got it in dramatic fashion. The Rapids came from behind three times during the game and received two goals from Thiago Martins and an 88th minute goal from Jacob Peterson to tie Houston 3-3 and advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
D.C. United is the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference followed by the New England Revolution, Chicago Fire and New York. FC Dallas is the top seeded team in the Western Conference followed by the Houston Dynamo, Chivas USA and Colorado Rapids.
The top four teams in each conference advance to the Conference Semifinals to face each other in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The aggregate-goal format follows the lead of various international competitions, including Europe's UEFA Champions League and South America's Copa Libertadores club tournament.
In the case that teams are tied on aggregate goals following the conclusion of Game 2 of the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period is played followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The winners of those series face each other in their respective Conference Championship - a single game hosted by the higher seed. The winners of each Conference Championship game advance to MLS Cup.
MLS Cup Playoff Matchups and Dates
All times eastern; schedule subject to change
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
D.C. United (No. 1) vs. New York Red Bulls (No. 4)
GAME 1: Saturday, October 21 - 2:00 p.m. at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: CSN-DC, FSN-NY, HDNet, Direct Kick
GAME 2: Sunday, October 29 - 6:00 p.m. at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
TV: ESPN2
New England Revolution (No. 2) vs. Chicago Fire (No. 3)
GAME 1: Sunday, October 22 - 1:00 p.m. at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
TV: ABC
GAME 2: Saturday, October 28 - 7:30 P.M. at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
TV: *Fox Soccer Channel, (Local New England TV TBD), Direct Kick
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
FC Dallas (No. 1) vs. Colorado Rapids (No. 4)
GAME 1: Saturday, October 21 - 9:00 p.m. at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
TV: Fox Soccer Channel
GAME 2: Saturday, October 28 - 8:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas
TV: Altitude, Direct Kick
Houston Dynamo (No. 2) vs. Chivas USA (No. 3)
GAME 1: Sunday, October 22 - 4:00 P.M. at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
TV: ESPN2
GAME 2: Sunday, October 29 - 4:00 P.M. - Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas
TV: FSN Prime Ticket, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet, Direct Kick
MLS CUP CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
One game at the higher seeded team
Conference Championship (teams TBD): Saturday, November 4 or Sunday, November 5
TV: HDNet, Fox Soccer Channel, Regional coverage TBD, Direct Kick
Conference Championship (teams TBD): Sunday, November 5 - 4 P.M.
TV: ESPN2
MLS CUP 2006
Sunday, November 12 - 3:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas
TV: ABC
- All games carried on Fox Soccer Channel will also air on Fox Sports en Espanol with the schedule TBD.
Rapids Claim 2006 Reserve Division Title
The Colorado Rapids finished the Reserve Division season with a 9-3-0 record and 27 points to claim the MLS Reserve Division title in the second year of its existence. The Rapids finished four points ahead of second place Kansas City in the single table division and six points ahead of third place Houston. Each of the 12 MLS teams fielded a Reserve Division team and played a 12-game schedule during the 2006 season (six home, six away). By winning the title, the Colorado Rapids also earned a $20,000 team bonus. The MLS Reserve Division was developed as a key component of the Generation adidas program in order to provide many rising stars in Major League Soccer's youth player development program an opportunity to play competitive games. D.C. United won the Reserve Division title last year.
D.C. United Wins the Supporters' Shield Trophy
D.C. United earned its third Supporters' Shield trophy in club history, which is awarded annually to the team with the best regular-season record. United finished the 2006 MLS regular season with a 15-7-10 record (55 points) and they head into the MLS Cup Playoffs as the top team in the Eastern Conference. FC Dallas was United's closes competition as they finished the season with a 16- 12- 4 record (52 points).
The Supporters' Shield was created by fans in the early years of Major League Soccer to celebrate the accomplishments of the team with the best record over the course of the regular season. In 1998, the final designs of Supporters's Shield - a bronze, arrowhead-shaped trophy - was unveiled at the first-ever Supporters' Summit, a meeting of team fans from every MLS city that took place on the weekend of MLS Cup 1998. The first award was presented in early 1999 by Kansas City supporter Sam Pierron and a group of fans to Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Octavio Zambrano, who coached the 1998 Galaxy to the best record in MLS that year. Since then, the Supporters' Shield has been passed on from fans of previous year's winner to the new winner's supporters in an annual ceremony during the year-end Supporters' Summit. The award has served to demonstrate the close relationship the league enjoys with its fans.
Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield winners
1996: Tampa Bay Mutiny
1997: DC United
1998: Los Angeles Galaxy
1999: DC United
2000: Kansas City Wizards
2001: Miami Fusion
2002: Los Angeles Galaxy
2003: Chicago Fire
2004: Columbus Crew
2005: San Jose Earthquakes
2006: D.C. United
