The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league.

The Seattle Sounders FC debuted as the league's 15th club and were the second team in history to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. The club set a league record for attendance and averaged 30,943 per regular season match at Qwest Field.

After three seasons, the MLS Reserve League was discontinued. As a result, each team's Developmental Roster spots were reduced from 10 to four, and each team's Senior Roster spots were increased from 18 to 20. This reduced each team's total roster from 28 to 24 players.

The regular season began on March 19, and concluded on October 25. The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 29, and concluded with MLS Cup 2009 on November 22. Real Salt Lake won their first MLS Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in a penalty shootout.

Overview

Season format The season began on March 19 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 22. The 15 teams were split into two conferences with 7 playing in the Eastern Conference and 8 playing in the Western Conference. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 28 games. The remaining two games were played against four regional rivals, one at home and one away.

The top two teams from each conference automatically qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In addition, the four highest remaining point totals, regardless of conference, also qualified. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions League, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Also, Toronto FC, as a Canadian-based team, could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS, and had to instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.

Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top six overall finishers. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.

Qualification for the SuperLiga was awarded to the top four overall finishers not already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Stadiums and locations

Team Stadium Capacity Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000 Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000 Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061 Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555 D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000 FC Dallas Pizza Hut Park 21,193 Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium 32,000 Kansas City Wizards CommunityAmerica Ballpark 10,385 LA Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000 New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756 New York Red Bulls Giants Stadium 80,200 Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213 San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525 Seattle Sounders FC Qwest Field 68,740 Toronto FC BMO Field 21,566

Personnel and sponsorships Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Fire Denis Hamlett C. J. Brown Best Buy Chivas USA Preki Claudio Suárez Comex Colorado Rapids Gary Smith Pablo Mastroeni— Columbus Crew Robert Warzycha Frankie Hejduk Glidden D.C. United Tom Soehn Jaime Moreno Volkswagen FC Dallas Schellas Hyndman Pablo Ricchetti— Houston Dynamo Dominic Kinnear Wade Barrett— Kansas City Wizards Curt Onalfo Jimmy Conrad— LA Galaxy Bruce Arena Landon Donovan Herbalife New England Revolution Steve Nicol Steve Ralston— New York Red Bulls Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Pablo Ángel Red Bull Real Salt Lake Jason Kreis Kyle Beckerman XanGo San Jose Earthquakes Frank Yallop Ramiro Corrales Amway Global Seattle Sounders FC Sigi Schmid Kasey Keller Xbox Toronto FC John Carver Jim Brennan—

Results table Abbreviation and Color Key:Chicago Fire – CHI • Chivas USA – CHV • Colorado Rapids – COL • Columbus Crew – CLB • D.C. United – DCFC Dallas – DAL • Houston Dynamo – HOU • Kansas City Wizards – KC • Los Angeles Galaxy – LA • New England Revolution – NENew York Red Bulls – NY • Real Salt Lake – RSL • San Jose Earthquakes – SJ • Seattle Sounders FC – SEA • Toronto FC – TORWin Loss Tie HomeClubMatch123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930Chicago Fire DALDCNYSJKCCLBSEANETORNYCHVDALHOUDCCOLCLBSJSEARSLHOUKCLACOLDCRSLCLBTORLANECHV3-11-10-13-32-22-21-11-12-01-03-23-01-01-22-10-00-20-00-12-32-02-02-31-01-12-22-20-10-00-1Chivas USA COLDALCLBLASEATORDALSJRSLDCKCCHISEAHOUCLBLANECOLNYTORRSLLANESEANYDCKCSJCHIHOU1-22-01-20-00-20-10-21-00-12-21-13-20-10-11-21-00-20-42-0 0-20-40-10-20-01-12-00-22-20-13-2Colorado Rapids CHVKCLACLBHOULARSLNESEANYRSLDCDALSEACHIDALDCNYCLBCHVCHIHOUTORTORSJSJKCNEDALRSL1-21-23-21-10-11-10-21-12-23-21-10-31-10-32-10-11-30-41-00-42-30-10-12-31-11-10-01-11-20-3Columbus Crew HOUTORRSLCHVCOLCHITORKCLASJSEAKCCHVDALNYDCCHIRSLTORCOLSJDALNYHOUCHILASEANEDCNE1-11-11-41-21-12-21-12-31-11-21-12-01-21-20-11-10-01-32-31-03-00-2 0-11-22-20-21-01-00-11-0D.C. United LACHIHOURSLNENYDALKCTORCHVRSLNENYCHISEACOLCLBCOLSJHOUTORLACHIDALKCSEASJCHVCLBKC2-21-10-11-21-13-21-21-13-32-20-01-20-21-23-30-31-11-32-23-40-20-0 1-02-20-12-12-12-00-12-2FC Dallas CHICHVNETORTORCHVDCHOUSEALACHISJHOUCLBCOLNYCOLRSLKCHOUCLBNYDCLAKCRSLNESJCOLSEA3-12-01-21-12-30-21-20-11-11-13-02-23-11-21-11-20-12-40-60-10-22-32-26-32-30-30-12-11-21-2Houston Dynamo CLBSJDCNYCOLNEDALNYSJTORCHICHVDALRSLLAKCSEATORNEDCDALCHIRSLSEACOLCLBRSLKCLACHV1-12-30-10-00-12-00-11-11-30-31-00-13-11-10-11-01-21-11-03-41-02-30-0 1-10-11-22-31-10-03-2Kansas City Wizards TORCOLSJSEACHINYTORDCCLBRSLCHVLACLBNEHOUNELADALCHISJRSLNEDCNYDALCOLHOUCHVSEADC3-21-20-21-02-20-10-11-12-32-01-11-12-01-31-00-01-10-62-00-11-04-20-11-02-30-01-10-23-22-2Los Angeles Galaxy DCCOLCHVSJCOLNYRSLSEACLBDALKCTORRSLSJHOUNECHVNYKCNESEACHIDCCHVDALTORCLBCHIHOUSJ2-23-20-01-11-10-12-21-11-11-11-12-12-01-20-10-11-03-11-12-12-0 2-00-00-16-30-20-20-10-00-2New England Revolution SJNYDALDCRSLHOUCHICOLTORDCNYKCLAKCCHVHOUTORLASEARSLSJKCCHVNYSEADALCOLCLBCHICLB1-01-11-21-10-62-01-11-11-31-20-41-30-10-00-21-01-12-11-01-31-24-20-21-11-20-11-11-00-01-0New York Red Bulls SEANECHIHOURSLKCDCLASJHOUCHICOLDCNETORSEATORCLBDALLACOLCHVDALCLBKCNECHVSJRSLTOR0-31-10-10-00-20-13-20-11-41-11-03-20-20-41-31-10-20-11-23-10-42-02-30-11-01-11-10-10-20-5Real Salt Lake SEACLBDCNYNECOLLACHVKCDCSJCOLLAHOUTORSJCLBDALCHISEAHOUNECHVKCCHIHOUDALNYTORCOL0-21-41-20-20-60-22-20-12-00-01-21-12-01-10-31-11-32-40-10-10-0 1-30-41-01-12-30-30-20-10-3San Jose Earthquakes NEHOUKCCHILASEACHVNYHOUCLBRSLDALSEALARSLTORCHIDCSEACLBKCNECOLCOLDCNYDALTORCHVLA1-02-30-23-31-10-21-01-41-31-21-22-21-21-21-13-10-22-20-43-00-11-21-11-12-10-12-11-12-20-2Seattle Sounders FC NYRSLTORKCCHVSJCHILADALCOLCLBCHVSJDCNYCOLHOUCHISJRSLLANEHOUTORDCCHVNECLBKCDAL0-30-22-01-00-20-21-11-11-12-21-10-11-23-31-10-31-20-00-40-12-01-01-10-02-10-01-21-03-21-2Toronto FC KCCLBSEADALDALCHVKCCLBDCCHINEHOULANYNYRSLSJHOUCLBNEDCCHVSEACOLCOLLACHISJRSLNY3-21-12-01-12-30-10-11-13-32-01-30-32-11-20-20-33-11-12-31-10-20-20-00-12-30-22-21-10-10-5

Standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Overall standings

MLS Cup playoffs

Bracket

Player statistics

Goals Rank Player Club Goals 1 Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 17 2 Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 163 Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew12 Landon Donovan LA Galaxy Robbie Findley Real Salt Lake Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC Juan Pablo Ángel New York Red Bulls8 Dwayne De Rosario Toronto FC11 Ryan Johnson San Jose Earthquakes Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards

Assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 11 2 Dave van den Bergh FC Dallas 10 3 Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9 4 Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire 85 Landon Donovan LA Galaxy6 Nate Jaqua Seattle Sounders FC Shalrie Joseph New England Revolution Claudio López Kansas City Wizards Javier Morales Real Salt Lake1010 players5

Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Zach ThorntonChivas USA122 Jon BuschChicago Fire10 Kasey KellerSeattle Sounders FC Pat OnstadHouston Dynamo5 Donovan RickettsLA Galaxy9 Nick RimandoReal Salt Lake7 Matt ReisNew England Revolution88 Kevin HartmanKansas City Wizards7 Will HesmerColumbus Crew Matt PickensColorado Rapids

Awards

Individual awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable Player Landon DonovanLA GalaxyDefender of the Year Chad MarshallColumbus CrewGoalkeeper of the Year Zach ThorntonChivas USACoach of the Year Bruce ArenaLA GalaxyRookie of the Year Omar GonzalezLA GalaxyNewcomer of the Year Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FCComeback Player of the Year Zach ThorntonChivas USAGolden Boot Jeff CunninghamFC DallasGoal of the Year Landon DonovanLA GalaxySave of the Year Pat OnstadHouston DynamoFair Play Award Steve RalstonNew England RevolutionHumanitarian of the Year Jimmy Conrad Logan Pause Kansas City Wizards Chicago Fire

Best XI GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Zach Thornton, Chivas USA Geoff Cameron, Houston Wilman Conde, Chicago Chad Marshall, Columbus Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy Stuart Holden, Houston Shalrie Joseph, New England Freddie Ljungberg, Seattle Conor Casey, Colorado Jeff Cunningham, Dallas

Player of the Month MonthPlayerClubMarch Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FCApril Brian McBrideChicago FireMay Conor CaseyColorado RapidsJune Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewJuly Landon DonovanLA GalaxyAugust Chad MarshallColumbus CrewSeptember Jeff CunninghamFC DallasOctober Freddie LjungbergSeattle Sounders FC

Weekly awards Player of the WeekWeekPlayerClubWeek 1 Fredy MonteroSeattle Sounders FCWeek 2 Kasey KellerSeattle Sounders FCWeek 3 Conor CaseyColorado RapidsWeek 4 Donovan RickettsLA GalaxyWeek 5 Josh WolffKansas City WizardsWeek 6 Javier MoralesReal Salt LakeWeek 7 Jaime MorenoD.C. UnitedWeek 8 Macoumba KandjiNew York Red BullsWeek 9 Josh WolffKansas City WizardsWeek 10 Amado GuevaraToronto FCWeek 11 Conor CaseyColorado RapidsWeek 12 Taylor TwellmanNew England RevolutionWeek 13 Guillermo Barros SchelottoColumbus CrewWeek 14 Omar CummingsColorado RapidsWeek 15 Nate JaquaSeattle Sounders FCWeek 16 Jeff CunninghamFC DallasWeek 17 Chad BarrettToronto FCWeek 18 Cuauhtémoc BlancoChicago FireWeek 19 Yura MovsisyanReal Salt LakeWeek 20 Jeff CunninghamFC DallasWeek 21 Conor CaseyColorado RapidsWeek 22 Chad MarshallColumbus CrewWeek 23 Kheli DubeNew England RevolutionWeek 24 Pablo CamposReal Salt LakeWeek 25 Josh WolffKansas City WizardsWeek 26 Jeff CunninghamFC DallasWeek 27 Brad DavisHouston DynamoWeek 28 Shalrie JosephNew England RevolutionWeek 29 Landon DonovanLA GalaxyWeek 30 Jeff CunninghamFC DallasWeek 31 Freddie LjungbergSeattle Sounders FCWeek 32 Robbie FindleyReal Salt Lake