2008 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs were the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2008 season, and culminated with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23, 2008 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Defending champions | Houston Dynamo |
| Champions | Columbus Crew (1st title) |
| Runners-up | New York Red Bulls |
| Semi-finalists | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 25 (2.27 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Juan Pablo Ángel Chad Marshall John Wolyniec(2 goals each) |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Format
At the 2008 season's end, the top three teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.
Standings
Conference standings
Eastern Conference | |||||||||
| Pos | Club | Pts | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Crew | 57 | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 36 | +14 |
| 2 | Chicago Fire | 46 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 43 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 40 | 43 | –3 |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards | 42 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 39 | –2 |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls | 39 | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 42 | 48 | –6 |
| 6 | D.C. United | 37 | 30 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 43 | 51 | –8 |
| 7 | Toronto FC | 35 | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 34 | 43 | –9 |
| 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs | |
| 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card) |
Western Conference | |||||||||
| Pos | Club | Pts | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Dynamo | 51 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 45 | 32 | +13 |
| 2 | Chivas USA | 43 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 40 | 41 | –1 |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 40 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 38 | 30 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 44 | 45 | –1 |
| 5 | FC Dallas | 36 | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 41 | +4 |
| 6 | LA Galaxy | 33 | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 55 | 62 | –7 |
| 7 | San Jose Earthquakes | 33 | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 32 | 38 | –6 |
| 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs | |
| 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card) |
Overall standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Crew (SS, E1) | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 36 | +14 | 57 | 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage 2 |
| 2 | Houston Dynamo (W1) | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 51 | |
| 3 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 46 | 2009 North American SuperLiga 4 |
| 4 | Chivas USA | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 43 | |
| 5 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 43 | |
| 6 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 42 | |
| 7 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 40 | 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 39 | 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round 3 |
| 9 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 38 | |
| 10 | D.C. United | 30 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 37 | 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round 3 |
| 11 | FC Dallas | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 36 | |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 35 | |
| 13 | LA Galaxy | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 55 | 62 | −7 | 33 | |
| 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 33 |
Source:
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion
- ^Note 1 - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the U.S. Open Cup, as it is a Canadian-based team.
If they had qualified for an automatic berth into the U.S. Open Cup, the next highest placed team not already qualified would have qualified. - ^Note 2 - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS. Rather, they can qualify through the Canadian Soccer Championship.
If they had qualified for the Champions League through MLS, then the highest placed team not already qualified would have qualified. - ^Note 3 - The winner of the 2008 MLS Supporters' Shield (Columbus Crew) qualified for the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. As they also won MLS 2008, the 2008 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up (Houston Dynamo) also entered the Group Stage. The runner-up of MLS Cup 2008 (New York Red Bulls) and the winner of the 2008 U.S. Open Cup (D.C. United) qualified for the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round.
- ^Note 4 - SuperLiga 2009 berths are awarded to the top 4 finishing teams from MLS who do not qualify for Champions League (Chicago, New England, Chivas USA and Kansas City).
Bracket
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | MLS Cup 2008 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Kansas City | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Chicago | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New England | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Chicago | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| W4 | New York | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| W4 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Salt Lake | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Salt Lake | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Chivas USA | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||
1 The New York Red Bulls earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs.
Conference Semifinals
| Columbus Crew | 1 – 1 | Kansas City Wizards |
|---|---|---|
Padula  84'Lenhart  90+2'Carroll 90+3' |
Jewsbury 40' Arnaud 53'Gomez  75' |
| Kansas City Wizards | 0 – 2 | Columbus Crew |
|---|---|---|
| Arnaud 39' Wahl 49' |
Evans 7' 63' Rogers 57' 66'Hejduk 87'Ekpo 90' |
| Chicago Fire | 0 – 0 | New England Revolution |
|---|---|---|
| Soumare 16' Pause 59'Blanco 69' |
Mansally 42' Castro 73' |
| New England Revolution | 0 – 3 | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Albright 7' 83' Igwe 45+2'Joseph 53' |
Thorrington 36' Rolfe 45+2'Conde 47'Busch 62'Segares 74' |
| Houston Dynamo | 1 – 1 | New York Red Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Mullan 53' Kamara 85' |
Richards 29' Angel 37' 48' |
| New York Red Bulls | 3 – 0 | Houston Dynamo |
|---|---|---|
| van den Bergh 5' Richards 25'Goldthwaite 28'Angel 36' (pen.)Sassano 45+2'Wolyniec 81' |
Robinson 62' Onstad 69'Mullan 73' |
| Chivas USA | 0 – 1 | Real Salt Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Razov 66' Thomas 75' |
Williams 29' Beckerman 42'Movsisyan 90' |
Conference finals
| Chicago Fire | 1–2 | Columbus Crew |
|---|---|---|
| Soumare 22' McBride 29'Segares 48'Prideaux 67' |
Marshall 49' Gaven 55'O'Rourke 57'Hesmer 90+2' |
| New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | Real Salt Lake |
|---|---|---|
| van den Bergh 28' Goldthwaite 45'Rojas 64'Leitch 90+4' |
MLS Cup
| New York Red Bulls | 1–3 | Columbus Crew |
|---|---|---|
| Leitch 4' Wolyniec 51' |
Moreno 31' Marshall 53'Padula 68'Hejduk 82' |
Additional References
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