2017 Major League Soccer season

The 2017 Major League Soccer season was the 22nd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2017 and concluded on October 22, 2017. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 25, 2017 and concluded with MLS Cup 2017 on December 9, 2017.

Major League Soccer
Season2017
Dates
  • March 3 – October 22
    (regular season)
  • October 25 – December 9
    (Playoffs)
MLS CupToronto FC (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldToronto FC (1st shield)
2019 Champions League
(United States)
Sporting Kansas City[lower-alpha 1]
2018 Champions League
(Canada)
Toronto FC[lower-alpha 2]
Matches played374
Goals scored1,110 (2.97 per match)
Top goalscorerNemanja Nikolić
(24 goals)
Best goalkeeperStefan Frei
(13 shutouts)
Biggest home win7 goals:
ATL 7–0 NE
(Sep 13)
Biggest away win5 goals:
MIN 1–6 ATL
(Mar 12)
Highest scoring8 goals:
DAL 6–2 RSL
(Jun 3)
LA 2–6 RSL
(Jul 4)
TOR 3–5 MTL
(Sep 20)
Longest winning run6 games:
Toronto FC
(Apr 21 – May 13)
Longest unbeaten run13 games:
Seattle Sounders FC
(Jun 17 – Sep 23)
Longest winless run10 games:
LA Galaxy
(Jun 24 – Aug 27)
Longest losing run6 games:
D.C. United
(Jun 24 – Jul 29)
Highest attendance71,874
ATL 2–2 TOR
(Oct 22)
Lowest attendance10,165
NYC 1–1 HOU
(Sep 23 at East Hartford)
Total attendance8,269,919
Average attendance22,112
2016
2018
  1. As 2017 U.S. Open Cup winner
    (see note for detail)
  2. As 2016 and 2017 Canadian Championship winner
    (see note for detail)

Two new clubs joined the league as expansion franchises: Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC. The two franchises were the 21st and 22nd teams in the league.[1]

Seattle Sounders FC were the defending MLS Cup champions, while FC Dallas were the defending Supporters' Shield champions. Toronto FC became the first Canadian team to win the Cup and Shield. Toronto's win of the Canadian Championship in the same year earned them the first domestic treble by an MLS side.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

  1. ^
    Non-soccer specific stadium and artificially reduced capacity.
  2. ^
    Due to construction delays to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United FC played its home matches at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium during the first half of the season.[2]

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Atlanta United FC Gerardo Martino Michael Parkhurst American Family Insurance
Chicago Fire Veljko Paunović Juninho Valspar
Colorado Rapids Steve Cooke (interim) Tim Howard Transamerica
Columbus Crew SC Gregg Berhalter Wil Trapp Acura
D.C. United Ben Olsen Steve Birnbaum Leidos
FC Dallas Oscar Pareja Matt Hedges AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo Wilmer Cabrera Ricardo Clark BHP Billiton
LA Galaxy Sigi Schmid Jermaine Jones Herbalife
Minnesota United FC Adrian Heath Francisco Calvo Target[3]
Montreal Impact Mauro Biello Patrice Bernier Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution Tom Soehn (interim) Chris Tierney UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC Patrick Vieira David Villa Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls Jesse Marsch Sacha Kljestan Red Bull
Orlando City SC Jason Kreis Kaká Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union Jim Curtin Alejandro Bedoya Bimbo Bakeries USA
Portland Timbers Caleb Porter Liam Ridgewell Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake Mike Petke Kyle Beckerman LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes Chris Leitch 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 Carl Robinson Kendall Waston Bell Canada

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of
vacancy
Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Houston Dynamo Wade Barrett (interim) End of interim period October 28, 2016 Pre-season Wilmer Cabrera October 28, 2016
LA Galaxy Bruce Arena Signed by United States November 22, 2016 Curt Onalfo December 13, 2016
Real Salt Lake Jeff Cassar Mutual consent March 20, 2017 10th in West, 19th overall Daryl Shore (interim) March 20, 2017
Daryl Shore (interim) End of interim period March 29, 2017 9th in West, 19th overall Mike Petke March 29, 2017
San Jose Earthquakes Dominic Kinnear Fired June 25, 2017 5th in West, 12th overall Chris Leitch June 25, 2017
LA Galaxy Curt Onalfo Fired July 27, 2017 9th in West, 19th overall Sigi Schmid July 27, 2017
Colorado Rapids Pablo Mastroeni Fired August 15, 2017 10th in West, 20th overall Steve Cooke (interim) August 15, 2017
New England Revolution Jay Heaps Fired September 18, 2017 8th in East, 16th overall Tom Soehn (interim) September 18, 2017

Regular season

Format

Current teams: Each team in the league (except for expansion teams Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC) played 17 home and 17 away games (for a total of 34 games) using the following format:[4]

  • 2 games (home and away) against 10 teams in its conference (20 games).
  • 1 extra game against 3 of its conference rivals (3 games).
  • 1 game against 11 teams in the other conference (11 games).

Expansion teams: As expansion teams to the league in 2017, Atlanta United and Minnesota United played 17 home and 17 away games (for a total of 34 games) in a secondary format:

  • 2 games (home and away) against 10 teams in its conference (20 games).
  • 1 extra game against 2 of its conference rivals (2 games).
  • 1 game against 10 teams in the other conference (10 games).
  • 2 games (1 home and 1 away) against each other (2 games).

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto FC 34 20 5 9 74 37 +37 69 Conference Semifinals[lower-alpha 1]
2 New York City FC 34 16 9 9 56 43 +13 57
3 Chicago Fire 34 16 11 7 62 48 +14 55 Knockout Round
4 Atlanta United FC 34 15 9 10 70 40 +30 55
5 Columbus Crew 34 16 12 6 53 49 +4 54
6 New York Red Bulls 34 14 12 8 53 47 +6 50
7 New England Revolution 34 13 15 6 53 61 8 45
8 Philadelphia Union 34 11 14 9 50 47 +3 42
9 Montreal Impact 34 11 17 6 52 58 6 39
10 Orlando City SC 34 10 15 9 39 58 19 39
11 D.C. United 34 9 20 5 31 60 29 32
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 goals scored; 9) home goal differential; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. 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.[5]

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Timbers 34 15 11 8 60 50 +10 53 Conference Semifinals[lower-alpha 1]
2 Seattle Sounders FC 34 14 9 11 52 39 +13 53
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 15 12 7 50 49 +1 52 Knockout Round
4 Houston Dynamo 34 13 10 11 57 45 +12 50
5 Sporting Kansas City 34 12 9 13 40 29 +11 49
6 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 14 7 39 60 21 46
7 FC Dallas 34 11 10 13 48 48 0 46
8 Real Salt Lake 34 13 15 6 48 56 8 45
9 Minnesota United FC 34 10 18 6 47 70 23 36
10 Colorado Rapids 34 9 19 6 31 51 20 33
11 LA Galaxy 34 8 18 8 45 67 22 32
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 goals scored; 9) home goal differential; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:
  1. 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.[6]

Overall table

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification[lower-alpha 1]
1 Toronto FC (C, X) 34 20 5 9 74 37 +37 69 2018 CONCACAF Champions League
2 New York City FC 34 16 9 9 56 43 +13 57
3 Chicago Fire 34 16 11 7 61 47 +14 55
4 Atlanta United FC 34 15 9 10 70 40 +30 55
5 Columbus Crew 34 16 12 6 53 49 +4 54
6 Portland Timbers 34 15 11 8 60 50 +10 53
7 Seattle Sounders FC 34 14 9 11 52 39 +13 53
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 15 12 7 50 49 +1 52
9 New York Red Bulls 34 14 12 8 53 47 +6 50
10 Houston Dynamo 34 13 10 11 57 45 +12 50
11 Sporting Kansas City 34 12 9 13 40 29 +11 49 2019 CONCACAF Champions League
12 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 14 7 39 60 21 46
13 FC Dallas 34 11 10 13 48 48 0 46
14 Real Salt Lake 34 13 15 6 49 55 6 45
15 New England Revolution 34 13 15 6 53 61 8 45
16 Philadelphia Union 34 11 14 9 50 47 +3 42
17 Montreal Impact 34 11 17 6 52 58 6 39
18 Orlando City SC 34 10 15 9 39 58 19 39
19 Minnesota United FC 34 10 18 6 47 70 23 36
20 Colorado Rapids 34 9 19 6 31 51 20 33
21 D.C. United 34 9 20 5 31 60 29 32
22 LA Galaxy 34 8 18 8 45 67 22 32
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) Champion; (X) Supporters' Shield winner.
Notes:

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

                                           
Knockout Round  Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
October 26 – Atlanta, Georgia              
E4  Atlanta United FC  0 (1)
E5  Columbus Crew  4  0  4
E5  Columbus Crew (p)  0 (3)      
E2  New York City FC  1  2  3  
Eastern Conference
October 25 – Bridgeview, Illinois E5  Columbus Crew  0  0  0
 
  E1  Toronto FC  0  1  1  
E3  Chicago Fire  0
E6  New York Red Bulls  1  1  2
E6  New York Red Bulls  4   December 9 – Toronto, Ontario
E1  Toronto FC (a)  2  0  2  
 
October 26 – Houston, Texas E1  Toronto FC  2
 
  W2  Seattle Sounders  0
W4  Houston Dynamo (a.e.t.)  1
W4  Houston Dynamo  0  2  2
W5  Sporting Kansas City  0      
W1  Portland Timbers  0  1  1  
Western Conference
October 25 – Vancouver, British Columbia W4  Houston Dynamo  0  0  0
 
  W2  Seattle Sounders FC  2  3  5  
W3  Vancouver Whitecaps FC  5
W3  Vancouver Whitecaps FC  0  0  0
W6  San Jose Earthquakes  0  
W2  Seattle Sounders FC  0  2  2  

Knockout round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire (E3) 0–4 New York Red Bulls (E6)
Atlanta United FC (E4) 0–0
(1–3 p)
Columbus Crew SC (E5)
Western Conference
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (W3) 5–0 San Jose Earthquakes (W6)
Houston Dynamo (W4) 1–0 (a.e.t.) Sporting Kansas City (W5)

Conference semifinals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eastern Conference
New York Red Bulls (E6) 2–2 (a) Toronto FC (E1) 1–2 1–0
Columbus Crew SC (E5) 4–3 New York City FC (E2) 4–1 0–2
Western Conference
Houston Dynamo (W4) 2–1 Portland Timbers (W1) 0–0 2–1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (W3) 0–2 Seattle Sounders FC (W2) 0–0 0–2

Conference finals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eastern Conference
Columbus Crew SC (E5) 0–1 Toronto FC (E1) 0–0 0–1
Western Conference
Houston Dynamo (W4) 0–5 Seattle Sounders FC (W2) 0–2 0–3

MLS Cup

Toronto FC2–0Seattle Sounders FC
Report
Attendance: 30,584

Attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Pos. Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1Atlanta United FC17819,40471,87442,51148,200
2Seattle Sounders FC17742,31451,79640,18243,666
3Toronto FC17470,00529,20325,20027,647
4Orlando City SC17425,47725,52723,01825,028
5New York City FC17379,45533,67910,165*22,321
6LA Galaxy17378,12825,66717,40422,243
7Vancouver Whitecaps FC17364,07325,08317,36821,416
8New York Red Bulls17359,97725,21916,21321,175
9Portland Timbers17359,44821,14421,14421,144
10Minnesota United FC17349,13835,04317,49120,538
11Montreal Impact17340,78334,37316,00520,046
12San Jose Earthquakes17337,87350,61717,25619,875
13Sporting Kansas City17332,12120,93318,64819,537
14New England Revolution17329,23333,76710,48719,367
15Real Salt Lake17319,28420,34816,43418,781
16D.C. United17304,36941,41811,97217,904
17Houston Dynamo17297,50722,11514,14817,500
18Chicago Fire17295,51121,89111,24417,383
19Philadelphia Union17285,79718,61915,10716,812
20Columbus Crew SC17262,46920,39110,31815,439
21Colorado Rapids17260,47617,64813,10215,322
22FC Dallas17257,07716,29114,01615,122
 Total3748,269,91971,87410,16522,112
  • game played at East Hartford

Highest attendances

Regular season

Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Week Stadium
1Atlanta United FC2–2Toronto FC71,874October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)33Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2Atlanta United FC3–3Orlando City SC70,425September 16, 2017 (2017-09-16)28Mercedes-Benz Stadium
3Atlanta United FC1–2New York Red Bulls55,297March 5, 2017 (2017-03-05)1Bobby Dodd Stadium
4Seattle Sounders FC1–1Portland Timbers51,796August 27, 2017 (2017-08-27)25CenturyLink Field
5San Jose Earthquakes2–1LA Galaxy50,617July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)18Stanford Stadium
6Seattle Sounders FC4–0FC Dallas48,478October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)32CenturyLink Field
7Seattle Sounders FC1–0Portland Timbers47,362May 27, 2017 (2017-05-27)13CenturyLink Field
8Atlanta United FC1–3D.C. United46,011April 30, 2017 (2017-04-30)9Bobby Dodd Stadium
9Atlanta United FC4–0Chicago Fire45,922March 18, 2017 (2017-03-18)3Bobby Dodd Stadium
10Seattle Sounders FC3–1New York Red Bulls45,600March 19, 2017 (2017-03-19)3CenturyLink Field

Player statistics

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