2007 Major League Soccer season Information & 2007 Major League Soccer season Links at HealthHaven.com

2007 Major League Soccer season
Season	2007
MLS Cup	Houston Dynamo
Supporters' Shield	D.C. United
	← 2006 2008 →

The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in league history. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C..

The Houston Dynamo prevailed in MLS Cup for the second year in a row, defeating the New England Revolution also for the second year in a row.

[edit] Changes from the 2006 Season

Toronto FC began play as an expansion franchise in the Eastern Conference.
Teams played a 30 game regular season (down from 32 games).
The top two teams from each conference qualified automatically for the playoffs. In addition, the four highest remaining point totals, regardless of conference, also qualified. Previously the top four teams in each conference made the playoffs.
Qualification for two new international tournaments began:
- CONCACAF Champions League berths were given to the MLS Cup winner, Supporters' Shield winner, U.S. Open Cup winner, and MLS Cup runner-up.
- SuperLiga berths were given to the top four overall finishers, regardless of conference.
MLS teams were allowed for the first time to sell advertising on the front of their shirts:
- XanGo became the shirt sponsor of Real Salt Lake.
- Red Bull officially became the shirt sponsor of the New York Red Bulls
- Herbalife became the shirt sponsor of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
- BMO became the shirt sponsor of Toronto FC.
- Amigo Energy became the shirt sponsor of the Houston Dynamo.
- Comex became the shirt sponsor of Chivas USA.
The Designated Player Rule was implemented, permitting one big-ticket foreign player to play for each team without going against the team's salary cap. Six players were signed under the rule for the 2007 season:
- David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy (the rule is called the "Beckham rule" for this reason)
- Cuauhtémoc Blanco to the Chicago Fire
- Juan Pablo Ángel to Red Bull New York
- Luciano Emilio to D.C. United
- Denílson to FC Dallas
- Guillermo Barros Schelotto to Columbus Crew
Two new soccer-specific stadiums opened this season:
- Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado began the season as the home of the Colorado Rapids.
- BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario began the season as the home of Toronto FC.

[edit] Competition format

The format for the 2007 season was as follows:

The season ran from April 7 to November 18.
The 13 teams were split into two conferences. The Eastern Conference had seven teams with the addition of Toronto FC, while the Western Conference had six teams. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away games. Each team played every other team twice, home and away, for a total of 24 games. The remaining six games were played against six regional rivals, three at home and three away.
The two teams from each conference with the most points qualified for the playoffs. In addition, the next four highest 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 2007. In all rounds, draws were be followed by 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 won the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09. The MLS Cup winner also qualified for the Champions League 2008–09. The MLS Cup runner-up qualified for the Champions League 2008–09. An additional berth in the Champions League was also awarded to the winner of the 2007 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, cannot qualify through MLS for the Champions League, and must instead qualify through the Canadian Championship.
The four teams with the most points in the regular season, regardless of conference, qualified for SuperLiga 2008.
The three teams from each conference with the most points also qualified for berths into the 2008 U.S. Open Cup. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.

[edit] Tiebreakers

Head-to-Head (Points only)
Overall Goal Differential
Overall Total Goals Scored
Tiebreakers 1-3 applied only to matches on the road
Tiebreakers 1-3 applied only to matches at home
Fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table
Coin toss

MLS Tiebreakers

[edit] Standings

[edit] Conference standings

Club		Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
Eastern Conference
1	D.C. United	55	30	16	7	7	56	34	22
2	New England Revolution	50	30	14	8	8	51	43	8
3	New York Red Bulls	43	30	12	11	7	47	45	2
4	Chicago Fire	40	30	10	10	10	31	36	-5
5	Kansas City Wizards	40	30	11	12	7	45	45	0
6	Columbus Crew	37	30	9	11	10	39	44	-5
7	Toronto FC¹	25	30	6	17	7	25	49	-24
Western Conference
1	Chivas USA	53	30	15	7	8	46	28	18
2	Houston Dynamo	52	30	15	8	7	43	23	20
3	FC Dallas	44	30	13	12	5	37	44	-7
4	Colorado Rapids	35	30	9	13	8	29	34	-5
5	Los Angeles Galaxy	34	30	9	14	7	38	48	-10
6	Real Salt Lake	27	30	6	15	9	31	45	-14


	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2008 U.S. Open Cup
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card)
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2008 U.S. Open Cup
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card), 2008 U.S. Open Cup

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 in the Eastern Conference not already qualified would have qualified.

[edit] Overall standings

Club		Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
1	D.C. United (E1)	55	30	16	7	7	56	34	22
2	Chivas USA (W1)	53	30	15	7	8	46	28	18
3	Houston Dynamo³ (W2)	52	30	15	8	7	43	23	20
4	New England Revolution³ (E2)	50	30	14	8	8	51	43	8
5	FC Dallas	44	30	13	12	5	37	44	-7
6	New York Red Bulls	43	30	12	11	7	47	45	2
7	Chicago Fire	40	30	10	10	10	31	36	-5
8	Kansas City Wizards	40	30	11	12	7	45	45	0
9	Columbus Crew	37	30	9	11	10	39	44	-5
10	Colorado Rapids	35	30	9	13	8	29	34	-5
11	Los Angeles Galaxy	34	30	9	14	7	38	48	-10
12	Real Salt Lake	27	30	6	15	9	31	45	-14
13	Toronto FC²	25	30	6	17	7	25	49	-24


	MLS Supporters' Shield, 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008, SuperLiga 2008, CONCACAF Champions League 2008-09 ³
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, SuperLiga 2008, CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, SuperLiga 2008
	2007 MLS Cup Playoffs

Note 2: - Toronto FC cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS. Rather, they can qualify through the Canadian Championship.
If they had qualified for the Champions League through MLS, then the highest placed team not already qualified would have qualified.

Note 3: - Additional Champions League berths were awarded to the winner (Houston) and runner-up (New England) of MLS Cup 2007.
The winner of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup (New England) also qualified.
Because New England qualified twice, an additional berth was awarded to the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up (Chivas USA).

[edit] 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs

Conference Semifinals				Conference Finals			MLS Cup 2007

E1	D.C. United	0	2
E4	Chicago Fire	1	2
				E4	Chicago Fire	0
Eastern Conference
				E2	New England Revolution	1
E3	New York Red Bulls	0	0

E2	New England Revolution	0	1
							E2	New England Revolution	1

							W2	Houston Dynamo	2
W1	Chivas USA	0	0

W4	Kansas City Wizards¹	1	0
				W4	Kansas City Wizards	0
Western Conference
				W2	Houston Dynamo	2
W3	FC Dallas	1	1

W2	Houston Dynamo (aet)	0	4

¹ The Kansas City Wizards 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.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Budweiser Golden Boot

Full article: MLS Golden Boot

Rank	Scorer	Club	GP	G	A
1	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United	29	20	1
2	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls	24	19	5
3	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution	26	16	3
4	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards	24	15	6
5	Maykel Galindo	Chivas USA	28	12	5
6	Ante Razov	Chivas USA	26	11	8
7	Christian Gomez	D.C. United	27	10	9
8	Jozy Altidore	New York Red Bulls	22	9	4
9	Landon Donovan	Los Angeles Galaxy	24	8	13
10	Robbie Findley	Real Salt Lake	25	8	0

[edit] Goalkeeping Leaders

Rank	Goalkeeper	Club	GP	MINS	SHTS	SVS	GA	GAA	W-L-T	SHO
1	Pat Onstad	Houston Dynamo	27	2418	109	85	22	0.82	13-8-6	11
2	Brad Guzan	Chivas USA	27	2430	119	87	25	0.93	14-6-7	13
3	Bouna Coundoul	Colorado Rapids	30	2668	158	120	32	1.08	9-12-8	9
4	Jon Conway	New York Red Bulls	14	1143	79	57	14	1.10	6-5-2	4
5	Troy Perkins	D.C. United	29	2610	155	117	32	1.10	16-6-7	8

[edit] Individual Awards

[edit] Player of the Week

Week	Player of the Week	Club
Week 1	Jeff Cunningham	Real Salt Lake
Week 2	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards
Week 3	Maykel Galindo	Chivas USA
Week 4	Landon Donovan	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 5	Dwayne De Rosario	Houston Dynamo
Week 6	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution
Week 7	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls
Week 8	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards
Week 9	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards
Week 10	Ben Olsen	D.C. United
Week 11	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United
Week 12	Brad Davis	Houston Dynamo
Week 13	Nicholas Addlery	D.C. United
Week 14	Stuart Holden	Houston Dynamo
Week 15	Juan Toja	FC Dallas
Week 16	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Columbus Crew
Week 17	Ante Razov	Chivas USA
Week 18	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United
Week 19	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls
Week 20	Jozy Altidore	New York Red Bulls
Week 21	Maykel Galindo	Chivas USA
Week 22	Ben Olsen	D.C. United
Week 23	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United
Week 24	Scott Sealy	Kansas City Wizards
Week 25	Ante Razov	Chivas USA
Week 26	Fred	D.C. United
Week 27	Abe Thompson	FC Dallas
Week 28	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Columbus Crew
Week 29	Scott Sealy	Kansas City Wizards

[edit] Player of the Month

Month	Player of the Month	Club
April	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards
May	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls
June	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls
July	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Columbus Crew
August	Troy Perkins	D.C. United
September	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United
October	Matt Pickens	Chicago Fire

[edit] Sierra Mist Goal Of The Week

Week	Player	Club
Week 1	Sacha Kljestan	Chivas USA
Week 2	Herculez Gomez	Colorado Rapids
Week 3	Jozy Altidore	New York Red Bulls
Week 4	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution
Week 5	Chris Brown	Real Salt Lake
Week 6	Danny Dichio	Toronto FC
Week 7	Chris Gbandi	FC Dallas
Week 8	Jim Brennan	Toronto FC
Week 9	Danny Dichio	Toronto FC
Week 10	Ben Olsen	D.C. United
Week 11	Juan Pablo Ángel	New York Red Bulls
Week 12	Brad Davis	Houston Dynamo
Week 13	Maykel Galindo	Chivas USA
Week 14	Stuart Holden	Houston Dynamo
Week 15	Joseph Ngwenya	Houston Dynamo
Week 16	Dwayne De Rosario	Houston Dynamo
Week 17	Kerry Zavagnin	Kansas City Wizards
Week 18	Robbie Findley	Real Salt Lake
Week 19	Jozy Altidore	New York Red Bulls
Week 20	Cuauhtémoc Blanco	Chicago Fire
Week 21	Jaime Moreno	D.C. United
Week 22	Eddie Johnson	Kansas City Wizards
Week 23	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution
Week 24	Scott Sealy	Kansas City Wizards
Week 25	Chris Rolfe	Chicago Fire
Week 26	Luciano Emilio	D.C. United
Week 27	Paulo Nagamura	Chivas USA
Week 28	Edson Buddle	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 29	Danny Dichio	Toronto FC

[edit] Related Competitions

[edit] International Competitions

[edit] CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2007

Main article: CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2007

D.C. United beat Olimpia of Honduras in the Quarterfinals before losing to Guadalajara of Mexico in the Semifinals.

The Houston Dynamo beat Puntarenas of Costa Rica in the Quarterfinals before losing to Pachuca of Mexico in the Semifinals.

[edit] SuperLiga 2007

Main article: North American SuperLiga 2007

FC Dallas finished in fourth place and did not advance from Group A after going 0-1-2 in group play.

D.C. United was the runner-up of Group B after going 1-1-1 in group play. They lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in Semifinals.

The Houston Dynamo were the winner of Group B after going 2-0-1 in group play. They lost to Pachuca on penalty kicks in the Semifinals.

The Los Angeles Galaxy were the winner of Group A after going 2-1-0 in group play. They beat D.C. United in the Semifinals before losing to Pachuca on penalty kicks in the Final.

[edit] Copa Sudamericana 2007

Main article: Copa Sudamericana 2007

D.C. United lost to Guadalajara on away goals in the Round of 16.

[edit] National Competition

[edit] 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Eight of the twelve U.S.-based MLS teams entered the tournament in the Third Round.

D.C. United lost to the Harrisburg City Islanders in the Third Round.

The Los Angeles Galaxy lost to the Richmond Kickers in the Third Round.

The Chicago Fire lost to the Carolina RailHawks in the Third Round.

The Houston Dynamo lost to the Charleston Battery in the Third Round.

Chivas USA lost to the Seattle Sounders in the Third Round

The Colorado Rapids beat the California Victory in the Third Round before losing to the Seattle Sounders in the Quarterfinals.

FC Dallas beat the Atlanta Silverbacks on penalty kicks in the Third Round, beat the Charleston Battery after extra time in the Quarterfinals, beat the Seattle Sounders after extra time in the Semifinals, and lost to the New England Revolution in the Final.

The New England Revolution beat the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the Third Round, beat the Harrisburg City Islanders in the Quarterfinals, beat the Carolina RailHawks after extra time in the Semifinals, and beat FC Dallas in the Final.

[edit] All-Star Game

[edit] MLS All-Star 2007

Main article: MLS All-Star 2007

The 2007 MLS All-Star Game was held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, home of the Colorado Rapids on July 19. The opponent was Celtic of the Scottish Premier League.

The game was won 2-0 by the MLS All-Stars.

[edit] External links

MLS 2007 Season Stats

[edit] References

Contents