2014 Major League Soccer season
The 2014 Major League Soccer season was the 102nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 36th with a national first-division league, and the 19th season of Major League Soccer. This season featured 19 total clubs, each playing 34 matches during the regular season.
The 2014 Regular Season started on March 8 with Sporting Kansas City, the defending MLS Cup champion, playing at the Seattle Sounders FC. The 2014 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was held on August 6 in Providence Park in Portland, Oregon and featured a team of MLS All-Stars against Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions for the past two seasons. The game resulted in a 2–1 victory for the MLS All-Stars. The regular season ended on October 26; Seattle Sounders FC won the Supporters' Shield and the LA Galaxy went on to win the MLS Cup.
Teams, stadiums, and personnel
Schedule
Teams play 34 games: 17 at home and 17 away. The nine Western Conference teams face each West club three times, with the home teams reversed from the previous year. The 10 Eastern Conference teams will play 7 East teams three times and two East teams twice. Eastern and Western Conference teams will play each other once, with the home team reversed from previous year.Stadiums and locations
| Chicago Fire | Chivas USA/ LA Galaxy | Colorado Rapids | Columbus Crew | D.C. United | FC Dallas |
| Toyota Park | StubHub Center | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Crew Stadium | RFK Memorial Stadium | Toyota Stadium |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 18,086 | Capacity: 20,145 | Capacity: 19,467 | Capacity: 21,193 |
| Houston Dynamo | Montreal Impact | New England Revolution | New York Red Bulls | Philadelphia Union | Portland Timbers |
| BBVA Compass Stadium | Saputo Stadium | Gillette Stadium | Red Bull Arena | PPL Park | Providence Park |
| Capacity: 22,000 | Capacity: 20,801 | Capacity: 22,385 | Capacity: 25,189 | Capacity: 18,500 | Capacity: 20,438 |
| Real Salt Lake | San Jose Earthquakes | Seattle Sounders FC | Sporting Kansas City | Toronto FC | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| Rio Tinto Stadium | Buck Shaw Stadium | CenturyLink Field | Sporting Park | BMO Field | BC Place |
| Capacity: 20,213 | Capacity: 11,500 | Capacity: 67,000 | Capacity: 18,467 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 21,000 |
Personnel and sponsorship
- On October 29, 2013, Real Salt Lake announced a 10-year contract with LifeVantage to become their jersey sponsor effective January 1, 2014. They replaced XanGo, which had been their sponsor since the 2006 season.
- On February 10, 2014, Portland Timbers announced a partnership with Providence Health & Services to rename their stadium to Providence Park, which had been called JELD-WEN Field since 2011.
- On February 24, 2014, D.C. United announced a multi-year jersey sponsorship with Leidos.
- On May 1, 2014, Colorado Rapids announced a multi-year jersey sponsorship with Ciao Telecom.
- On July 1, 2014, following two years without jersey sponsorship, Houston Dynamo announced a multi-year jersey sponsorship with BHP Billiton.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Chicago Fire |  |  | Quaker |
| Chivas USA |  | | n/a |
| Colorado Rapids | | | Ciao Telecom |
| Columbus Crew | | | Barbasol |
| D.C. United | | | Leidos |
| FC Dallas | | | AdvoCare |
| Houston Dynamo | | | BHP Billiton |
| LA Galaxy | |  | Herbalife |
| Montreal Impact | | | Bank of Montreal |
| New England Revolution | |  | UnitedHealthcare |
| New York Red Bulls | |  | Red Bull |
| Philadelphia Union | | | Bimbo |
| Portland Timbers | | | Alaska Airlines |
| Real Salt Lake | Jeff Cassar | | LifeVantage |
| San Jose Earthquakes | | | n/a |
| Seattle Sounders FC |  | | Xbox |
| Sporting Kansas City | | | Ivy Funds |
| Toronto FC | |  | Bank of Montreal |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC |  |  | Bell Canada |
Player transfers
Major League Soccer employs twelve methods to acquire players. These mechanisms are the following: via allocation; via the Designated Player Rule; via the annual SuperDraft; via trade; placing a discovery claim; via the Homegrown Player Rule; via the annual Re-Entry Draft; via the annual Waiver Draft; through weighted lottery; through an "extreme hardship" call-up; by replacing a player who has been placed on the Season Ending Injury List; by replacing a player who has been placed on the Disabled List.Allocation ranking
The allocation ranking is 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. The allocation rankings may also be used in the event two or more clubs file a request for the same player on the same day. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2013 season, taking playoff performance into account.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 League season.
| Original Ranking | Club | Date Allocation Used | Player Signed | Previous Club | Ref |
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | January 27, 2014 | Maurice Edu |  Stoke City | |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | January 31, 2014 |  Marco Pappa |  Heerenveen | |
| 3 | Houston Dynamo∞ | July 23, 2014 | DaMarcus Beasley |  Puebla | |
| 4 | Columbus Crew SC | October 7, 2014 |  Kei Kamara | Middlesbrough | |
| 5 | FC Dallas | ||||
| 6 | Los Angeles Galaxy | ||||
| 7 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||||
| 8 | Chicago Fire | ||||
| 9 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||||
| 10 | Montreal Impact | ||||
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | ||||
| 12 | New England Revolution | ||||
| 13 | Chivas USA | ||||
| 14 | D.C. United | ||||
| 15 | New York Red Bulls | ||||
| 16 | Toronto FC∞ | ||||
| 17 | Portland Timbers | ||||
| 18 | Real Salt Lake | ||||
| 19 | Sporting Kansas City |
On January 14, 2014, Philadelphia Union acquired the No. 1 ranking and Ethan White from D.C. United in exchange for the No. 6 allocation ranking and Jeff Parke.
On December 11, 2013, Seattle Sounders acquired the No. 2 allocation ranking from Chivas USA in exchange for the No. 13 allocation ranking and Tristan Bowen.
∞ On July 23, 2014, Houston Dynamo acquired the then-no. 1 allocation ranking and allocation money from Toronto FC in exchange for the then-no. 14 allocation ranking and Warren Creavalle.
On July 29, 2014, Los Angeles Galaxy acquired the then-No. 3 allocation ranking from D.C. United in exchange for the then-No. 11 allocation ranking, a second-round selection in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, and Kofi Opare.
Managerial changes
Ownership changes
Rule changes
The rules for the 2014 season are largely identical as those in 2013, with one major exception. For the first time in league history, the away goals rule will be used in two-legged MLS Cup playoff matches. MLS will use the version of the rule employed in CONCACAF competitions, which is applied only at the end of regular time of the second leg and not after extra time. MLS has also tweaked the tiebreaker rules for the league standings. The first tiebreaker remains total wins, but the second and third tiebreakers have been swapped—goal difference is now second and goals scored is third. All other tiebreakers remain the same as in 2013.More minor changes include the following:
- The so-called "Special Discovery Signing" has been standardized. Under this provision, each team is allowed to amortize the total acquisition costs for one player, including the transfer fee, over the length of his contract without making him a Designated Player.
- Regulations for loans between MLS teams have been formalized. Each team may loan out one player per season to another league team, with the loan deal being finalized no later than the close of the primary transfer window. The player must be no older than 24 at the time of the loan, must stay on the receiving team's roster for the entire season, and cannot play against the team that loaned him out. Deals may include an option to buy.
- Players who have trained for at least one year in a team's youth system, and have trained for at least 80 days with the team's academy in that year, may be signed to a first professional contract without being subject to the MLS SuperDraft.
Standings
Conference tables
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Overall table
Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, the Supporters' Shield trophy, seeding in the 2015 Canadian Championship, and position in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying for the playoffs.Tie-breaking
The teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss. If teams have an equal number of points the following tie-breaking procedures apply: The second and third tiebreakers, goal differential and goals scored, have swapped places from the 2013 season.- Most wins
- Goal differential
- Goals for
- Fewest disciplinary points
- Road goals
- Road goal differential
- Home goals
- Home goal differential
- Coin toss or drawing of lots
MLS Cup Playoffs
Statistics
Top scorers
Source:Top assists
Source:Top goalkeepers
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Nation | Club | ||||||
| 1 | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake | 1.04 | 71 | 25 | 2160 | 24 | 7 | |
| 2 | Eric Kronberg | Sporting Kansas City | 1.10 | 45 | 22 | 1800 | 20 | 7 | |
| 3 | Bill Hamid | D.C. United | 1.13 | 110 | 34 | 2700 | 30 | 10 | |
| 4 | Jaime Penedo | LA Galaxy | 1.14 | 81 | 33 | 2610 | 29 | 8 | |
| 5 | David Ousted | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1.18 | 96 | 40 | 3060 | 34 | 13 | |
| 6 | Steve Clark | Columbus Crew | 1.24 | 111 | 42 | 3060 | 34 | 8 | |
| 6 | Raúl Fernández | FC Dallas | 1.24 | 66 | 25 | 1818 | 20 | 4 | |
| 8 | Bobby Shuttleworth | New England Revolution | 1.25 | 94 | 40 | 2880 | 32 | 8 | |
| 9 | Donovan Ricketts | Portland Timbers | 1.38 | 105 | 44 | 2861 | 32 | 7 | |
| 10 | Jon Busch | San Jose Earthquakes | 1.47 | 138 | 50 | 3060 | 34 | 6 | |
| 10 | Luis Robles | New York Red Bulls | 1.47 | 111 | 50 | 3060 | 34 | 6 | |
| 10 | Stefan Frei | Seattle Sounders FC | 1.47 | 99 | 50 | 3060 | 34 | 9 |
Source:
Individual awards
Monthly awards
Weekly awards
The player of the week is voted on by North American sports journalists. All other weekly and monthly awards are decided by an online fan vote.Scoring
- First goal of the season: Chad Barrett for Seattle Sounders FC against Sporting Kansas City, 94 minutes
- Fastest goal of the season: Javier Morales for Real Salt Lake against Houston Dynamo, 15 seconds
- Hat-tricks of the season:
| Player | Nation | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Portland Timbers | 4–4 | |||
| New York Red Bulls | Houston Dynamo | 4–0 | |||
| New York Red Bulls | Chicago Fire | 4–5 | |||
| Chicago Fire | New York Red Bulls | 5–4 | |||
| Real Salt Lake | Houston Dynamo | 5–2 | |||
| DC United | Montreal Impact | 4–2 | |||
| FC Dallas | San Jose Earthquakes | 5–0 | |||
| New York Red Bulls | Seattle Sounders FC | 4–1 |
Discipline
- First yellow card of the season: Aurélien Collin for Sporting Kansas City against Seattle Sounders FC, 16 minutes
- First red card of the season: Patrick Nyarko for Chicago Fire against Portland Timbers, 86 minutes
End of season awards
| Award | Player/Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Robbie Keane |
| Defender of the Year | Chad Marshall |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Bill Hamid |
| Coach of the Year | Ben Olsen |
| Rookie of the Year | Tesho Akindele |
| Newcomer of the Year | Pedro Morales |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Rodney Wallace |
| Golden Boot | Bradley Wright-Phillips |
| Fair Play Player Award | Michael Parkhurst |
| Fair Play Team Award | Philadelphia Union |
| Humanitarian of the Year | A. J. DeLaGarza |
| Referee of the Year | Mark Geiger |
| Assistant Referee of the Year | Paul Scott |
| Goal of the Year | Obafemi Martins |
| Save of the Year | Luis Robles |
MLS Best XI
Source:Coaches
Eastern Conference
- Chicago Fire: Frank Klopas
- Columbus Crew: Robert Warzycha
- D.C. United: Ben Olsen
- Houston Dynamo: Dominic Kinnear
- Montreal Impact: Marco Schällibaum
- New England Revolution: Jay Heaps
- New York Red Bulls: Mike Petke
- Philadelphia Union: John Hackworth
- Sporting Kansas City: Peter Vermes
- Toronto FC: Ryan Nelsen
Western Conference
- Chivas USA: José Luis Real
- Colorado Rapids: Óscar Pareja
- FC Dallas: Schellas Hyndman
- Los Angeles Galaxy: Bruce Arena
- Portland Timbers: Caleb Porter
- Real Salt Lake: Jason Kreis
- San Jose Earthquakes: Mark Watson
- Seattle Sounders FC: Sigi Schmid
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Martin Rennie