2015 Major League Soccer season

Major League Soccer
Season 2015
MLS Cup Portland Timbers (1st title)
Supporters' Shield New York Red Bulls (2nd shield)
Champions League (United States) FC Dallas
New York Red Bulls
Portland Timbers
Sporting Kansas City
Champions League (Canada) Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Matches played 340
Goals scored 937 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorer Sebastian Giovinco
Kei Kamara
(22 goals each)
Best goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey
David Ousted
(13 shutouts each)
Biggest home win 5 goals:
LA 5–0 POR
(Jun 24)
TOR 5–0 ORL
(Aug 22)
CLB 5–0 DC
(Oct 25)
Biggest away win 5 goals:
SKC 0–5 SJ
(Aug 19)
Highest scoring 10 goals:
DC 6–4 RSL
(Aug 1)
Longest winning run 6 games:
New England Revolution
(Aug 1 – Sep 16)
Longest unbeaten run 9 games:
New England Revolution
(Mar 21 – May 16)
Portland Timbers
(Oct 14 – Dec 6)
Longest winless run 11 games:
New York City FC
(Mar 21 – May 30)
Longest losing run 5 games:
New England Revolution
(Jun 21 – Jul 11)
Seattle Sounders FC
(Jul 11 – Aug 9)
Chicago Fire
(Sep 5 – Sep 26)
Highest attendance 64,358
SEA 2–1 POR
(Aug 30)
Lowest attendance 10,035
MON 2–1 VAN
(Jun 3)
Total attendance 7,335,053
Average attendance 21,574
2014
2016

The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS Cup 2015 on December 6. The defending MLS Cup champions were the LA Galaxy, while Seattle Sounders FC were the defending Supporters' Shield winners.

It was the first season for expansion teams Orlando City SC and New York City FC, who both joined the Eastern Conference, while both the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. Chivas USA folded at the end of the 2014 season.

At the end of the regular season, the New York Red Bulls of the Eastern Conference won the Supporters' Shield, while the team on top of the Western Conference was FC Dallas. The Portland Timbers won their first MLS Cup, winning 2–1 at Columbus Crew SC.

Overview

The 2015 season began on Friday, March 6. The opening weekend saw an average attendance of 25,838 — buoyed by strong attendances in Orlando (62,510), and Seattle (39,782) — with seven of the weekend's ten matches selling out.[1] Additionally, MLS saw strong TV ratings on ESPN2 (539,000 viewers), Unimas (341,000 viewers), and Fox Sports 1 (289,000 and 278,500 viewers).[2]

Franchise changes

The 2015 MLS season features the addition of two expansion teams, New York City FC and Orlando City SC. New York City FC became the second MLS team in the New York metropolitan area (joining the New Jersey-based New York Red Bulls), as well as the first based within New York City itself (the team will play its inaugural season at Yankee Stadium). Orlando is a new market for MLS, which returns to Florida for the first time since folding their Miami and Tampa Bay franchises before the 2002 season; the Lions' ownership previously owned Orlando's team that played in the league then known as USL Pro from 2010–2014, a team that relocated to Louisville for the 2015 season of the rebranded United Soccer League.

While MLS added two teams, the league also folded one franchise, Chivas USA, which had called the Los Angeles area home since 2005 and shared the StubHub Center with the LA Galaxy. The Goats had been owned by Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, who sold the club back to MLS in 2014. The league folded Chivas in October 2014, after the conclusion of the regular season, though it plans to add a second LA-area club, Los Angeles FC, in 2017.[3]

Realignment and playoffs

With the addition and subtraction of the above-mentioned teams, the 2015 season saw a realignment of MLS's Eastern and Western conferences, which each have 10 teams: NYCFC and Orlando City joined the East, while Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City moved from the East to the West.[3]

Each team plays 34 regular season matches: two or three against conference rivals and once against teams from the opposite conference.

The MLS Cup Playoffs will have 12 teams, up from 10 the last 3 seasons. The top six teams per conference will qualify. The first round per conference has the third-seed hosting the sixth-seed, and the fourth hosting the fifth. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed and the second plays the next-lowest.

The regular season will conclude with all teams playing at the same scheduled time, a league first.[4]

Television

The 2015 season saw the launch of a new United States television and media rights deal with English-language ESPN and Fox Sports and Spanish-language Univision Deportes. The deal continues MLS's relationship with ESPN and Univision, while it reestablishes one with Fox Sports, whose Fox Soccer channel carried MLS games until 2011 (NBC Sports carried MLS broadcasts from 2012–2014). The deal, formally announced in May 2014, sees regular weekly game broadcasts on ESPN2 (Sunday afternoons) and Fox Sports 1 (Sunday evenings), as well as a regular Friday night match on UniMás and/or Univision Deportes Network. The networks will share coverage of the MLS Cup Playoffs, while ESPN and Fox will alternate English language carriage of the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup championship match each year. The 2015 MLS all star game will be on Fox Sports, and MLS Cup 2015 will air on ESPN. As part of the deal, the networks also share coverage of the US Soccer men's and women's national teams.[5]

The league reached a four-year agreement with Sky Sports to televise league matches live in the United Kingdom and Ireland. At least two regular season matches each week, the MLS All-Star Game, and every MLS Cup Playoff match was aired on the Sky family of networks.[6] MLS also reached a four-year agreement with Eurosport to air live matches in many other European countries.[7]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Chicago Fire Colorado Rapids Columbus Crew D.C. United FC Dallas Houston Dynamo
Toyota Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park Mapfre Stadium RFK Memorial Stadium Toyota Stadium BBVA Compass Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 20,145 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 20,500 Capacity: 22,000
LA Galaxy Montreal Impact New England Revolution New York City FC
StubHub Center Saputo Stadium Gillette Stadium Yankee Stadium
Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 20,801 Capacity: 22,385 Capacity: 33,444
New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers
Red Bull Arena Citrus Bowl PPL Park Providence Park
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 23,000 Capacity: 18,500 Capacity: 22,000
Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City Toronto FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Rio Tinto Stadium Avaya Stadium CenturyLink Field Sporting Park BMO Field BC Place
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 39,115 Capacity: 18,500 Capacity: 30,991 Capacity: 21,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire Serbia Paunović, VeljkoVeljko Paunović United States Larentowicz, JeffJeff Larentowicz Quaker
Colorado Rapids United States Mastroeni, PabloPablo Mastroeni United States Moor, DrewDrew Moor Transamerica
Columbus Crew United States Berhalter, GreggGregg Berhalter United States Parkhurst, MichaelMichael Parkhurst Barbasol
D.C. United United States Olsen, BenBen Olsen United States Boswell, BobbyBobby Boswell Leidos
FC Dallas Colombia Pareja, ÓscarÓscar Pareja United States Hedges, MattMatt Hedges AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo Republic of Ireland Coyle, OwenOwen Coyle United States Davis, BradBrad Davis BHP Billiton
LA Galaxy United States Arena, BruceBruce Arena Republic of Ireland Keane, RobbieRobbie Keane Herbalife
Montreal Impact Canada Biello, MauroMauro Biello Canada Bernier, PatricePatrice Bernier Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution United States Heaps, JayJay Heaps United States Jones, JermaineJermaine Jones UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC United States Kreis, JasonJason Kreis Spain Villa, DavidDavid Villa Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls United States Marsch, JesseJesse Marsch United States McCarty, DaxDax McCarty Red Bull
Orlando City SC England Heath, AdrianAdrian Heath Brazil Kaká, Kaká Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union United States Curtin, JimJim Curtin United States Edu, MauriceMaurice Edu Bimbo
Portland Timbers United States Porter, CalebCaleb Porter Canada Johnson, WillWill Johnson Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake United States Jeff Cassar United States Beckerman, KyleKyle Beckerman LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes United States Kinnear, DominicDominic Kinnear United States Wondolowski, ChrisChris Wondolowski None
Seattle Sounders FC Germany Schmid, SigiSigi Schmid United States Evans, BradBrad Evans Xbox
Sporting Kansas City United States Vermes, PeterPeter Vermes United States Besler, MattMatt Besler Ivy Funds
Toronto FC United States Vanney, GregGreg Vanney United States Bradley, MichaelMichael Bradley Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Wales Robinson, CarlCarl Robinson Chile Morales, PedroPedro Morales Bell Canada

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
San Jose Earthquakes Canada Mark Watson Fired October 16, 2014[8] Preseason United States Dominic Kinnear October 16, 2014[9]
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear Signed by San Jose Earthquakes October 16, 2014[9] Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle December 8, 2014[10]
New York Red Bulls United States Mike Petke Fired January 7, 2015[11] United States Jesse Marsch January 7, 2015[12]
Montreal Impact United States Frank Klopas Fired August 29, 2015[13] 7th in East,
17th overall
Canada Mauro Biello (Interim) August 29, 2015[13]
Chicago Fire Canada Frank Yallop Fired September 20, 2015[14] 10th in East,
20th overall
United States Brian Bliss (Interim) September 20, 2015[14]
New York City FC United States Jason Kreis Fired November 2, 2015[15] Postseason France Patrick Vieira November 9, 2015
Chicago Fire United States Brian Bliss End of interim November 24, 2015 Serbia Veljko Paunovic November 24, 2015[16]

Regular season

Conference tables

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 Conference Semifinals & 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
2 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53 Conference Semifinals
3 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51 Knockout round
4 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 2 51
5 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
6 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
7 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 10 44
8 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 9 37
9 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 13 37
10 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 15 30
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) home goals scored; 9) home goal differential; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60 Conference Semifinals & 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53 Conference Semifinals
3 Portland Timbers 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 Knockout round
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
5 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
6 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51
7 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
8 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 7 42
9 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 10 41
10 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 10 37
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) home goals scored; 9) home goal differential; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots

Overall table

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification[lower-alpha 1]
1 New York Red Bulls (X) 34 18 10 6 62 43 +19 60 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
2 FC Dallas 34 18 10 6 52 39 +13 60
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 16 13 5 45 36 +9 53
4 Columbus Crew 34 15 11 8 58 53 +5 53
5 Portland Timbers (C) 34 15 11 8 41 39 +2 53 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
6 Seattle Sounders FC 34 15 13 6 44 36 +8 51
7 Montreal Impact 34 15 13 6 48 44 +4 51
8 D.C. United 34 15 13 6 43 45 2 51
9 LA Galaxy 34 14 11 9 56 46 +10 51
10 Sporting Kansas City 34 14 11 9 48 45 +3 51 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
11 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 48 47 +1 50
12 Toronto FC 34 15 15 4 58 58 0 49
13 San Jose Earthquakes 34 13 13 8 41 39 +2 47
14 Orlando City SC 34 12 14 8 46 56 10 44
15 Houston Dynamo 34 11 14 9 42 49 7 42
16 Real Salt Lake 34 11 15 8 38 48 10 41
17 New York City FC 34 10 17 7 49 58 9 37
18 Philadelphia Union 34 10 17 7 42 55 13 37
19 Colorado Rapids 34 9 15 10 33 43 10 37
20 Chicago Fire 34 8 20 6 43 58 15 30
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) home goals scored; 9) home goal differential; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champion; (X) Supporters' Shield winner.
Notes:

MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs
                                           
Knockout Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
October 29 – Stade Saputo              
W6  Toronto FC  0
E3  Montreal Impact  2  1  3
W3  Montreal Impact  3      
E2  Columbus Crew (a.e.t.)  1  3  4  
Eastern Conference
October 28 – RFK Stadium E2  Columbus Crew  2  0  2
 
  E1  New York Red Bulls  0  1  1  
W5  New England Revolution  1
E4  D.C. United  0  0  0
W4  D.C. United  2   December 6 – Mapfre Stadium
E1  New York Red Bulls  1  1  2  
 
October 29 – Providence Park E2  Columbus Crew  1
 
  W3  Portland Timbers  2
E6  Sporting Kansas City  2 (6)
W3  Portland Timbers  0  2  2
E3  Portland Timbers (p)  2 (7)      
W2  Vancouver Whitecaps FC  0  0  0  
Western Conference
October 28 – CenturyLink Field W3  Portland Timbers  3  2  5
 
  W1  FC Dallas  1  2  3  
E5  LA Galaxy  2
W4  Seattle Sounders FC  2  1  3 (2)
E4  Seattle Sounders FC  3  
W1  FC Dallas (p)  1  2  3 (4)  

Source: [17]

Attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.[18]

Team GP Total High Low Average
Seattle Sounders FC 17 752,192 64,358 39,175 44,247
Orlando City SC 17 558,40762,510 23,372 32,847
New York City FC 17 493,26748,047 20,461 29,016
Toronto FC 17 398,671 30,266 16,382 23,451
LA Galaxy 17 397,668 27,000 13,391 23,392
Portland Timbers 17 359,418 21,144 21,144 21,144
San Jose Earthquakes 17 356,646 50,422 18,000 20,979
Houston Dynamo 17 351,187 22,651 16,018 20,658
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 17 348,624 22,500 18,083 20,507
Real Salt Lake 17342,71821,004 18,895 20,160
Sporting Kansas City 17 334,684 21,505 18,864 19,687
New York Red Bulls 17 334,172 25,219 12,540 19,657
New England Revolution 17 333,652 42,947 10,668 19,627
Montreal Impact 17 301,742 25,245 10,035 17,750
Philadelphia Union 17 296,674 18,883 15,374 17,451
Columbus Crew 17 288,747 22,719 10,302 16,985
D.C. United 17 276,152 21,517 11,218 16,244
FC Dallas 17 272,22121,90712,640 16,013
Chicago Fire 17 272,043 20,124 11,19616,003
Colorado Rapids 17 266,168 18,597 10,439 15,657
Total 340 7,335,053 64,358 10,035 21,574

Highest attendances

Regular season

Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Stadium
1 Seattle Sounders FC 2–1Portland Timbers 64,358August 30, 2015CenturyLink Field
2 Orlando City SC 1–1New York City FC 62,510March 8, 2015Citrus Bowl
3 Seattle Sounders FC 1–1 LA Galaxy 56,097October 4, 2015CenturyLink Field
4 Seattle Sounders FC 3–1 Real Salt Lake 55,435October 25, 2015CenturyLink Field
5 Seattle Sounders FC 0–3Vancouver Whitecaps FC 53,125August 2, 2015CenturyLink Field
6 San Jose Earthquakes 3–1LA Galaxy 50,422June 27, 2015Stanford Stadium
7 New York City FC 1–3New York Red Bulls 48,047June 28, 2015Yankee Stadium
8 New York City FC 2–0New England Revolution 43,507March 15, 2015Yankee Stadium
9 Orlando City SC 2–1New York City FC 43,179October 16, 2015Citrus Bowl
10 New England Revolution 0–1Montreal Impact 42,947October 17, 2015Gillette Stadium

Updated to games played on October 25, 2015. Source: MLS Soccer

Statistics

Shutouts

Rank Player Club Shutouts
1 Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers 13
Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
3 United States David Bingham San Jose Earthquakes 12
4 Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC 10
5 United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact 9
United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
7 United States Bill Hamid D.C. United 8
United States Clint Irwin Colorado Rapids
United States Tim Melia Sporting Kansas City
United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
United States Bobby Shuttleworth New England Revolution

Updated: October 25[21]

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Republic of Ireland Keane, RobbieRobbie Keane LA Galaxy Toronto FC 4–0 July 4
Italy Giovinco, SebastianSebastian Giovinco Toronto FC New York City FC 4–4 July 12
Republic of Ireland Keane, RobbieRobbie Keane LA Galaxy San Jose Earthquakes 5–2 July 17
Canada Larin, CyleCyle Larin Orlando City SC New York City FC 3–5 July 26
Italy Giovinco, SebastianSebastian Giovinco Toronto FC Orlando City SC 4–1 August 5
Ivory Coast Drogba, DidierDidier Drogba Montreal Impact Chicago Fire 4–3 September 5
Canada Larin, CyleCyle Larin Orlando City SC New York Red Bulls 5–2 September 25

Awards

Monthly awards

MLS Player of the Month
Month Player Club Stats Ref
March Uruguay Octavio Rivero Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3G, 0A [22]
April United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City 2G, 3A [23]
May Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City 3G, 2A [24]
June Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC 30SV, 4GA [25]
July Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 5G, 3A [26]
August Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 4G, 3A [27]
September Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 7G, 1A [28]
October Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 4G, 0A [29]

Weekly awards

Week MLS Player of the Week Goal of the Week MLS Save of the Week
Player Club Player Club Player Club
Week 1 United States Jozy Altidore Toronto FC United States Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 2 Spain David Villa New York City FC Switzerland Innocent Emeghara San Jose Earthquakes United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 3 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Uruguay Octavio Rivero Vancouver Whitecaps FC United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 4 United States Kelyn Rowe New England Revolution United States Jack McInerney Montreal Impact United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 5 Scotland Shaun Maloney Chicago Fire Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake United States Brek Shea Orlando City SC
Week 6 Panama Jaime Penedo LA Galaxy United States Dillon Serna Colorado Rapids United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 7 Colombia Fabián Castillo FC Dallas Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers
Week 8 United States Ethan Finlay Columbus Crew United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 9 Colombia Fabián Castillo FC Dallas Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 10 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Argentina Diego Valeri Portland Timbers Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 11 United States Chad Barrett Seattle Sounders FC United States Devon Sandoval Real Salt Lake United States Steve Clark Columbus Crew
Week 12 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew England Dom Dwyer Sporting Kansas City United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact
Week 13 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC Guatemala Marco Pappa Seattle Sounders FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 14 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC United States Thomas McNamara New York City FC United States Andrew Dykstra D.C. United
Week 15 Spain David Villa New York City FC Uruguay Diego Fagúndez New England Revolution Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 16 United States Gyasi Zardes LA Galaxy Argentina Matías Pérez García San Jose Earthquakes Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 17 Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers Colombia Olmes Garcia Real Salt Lake Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 18 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy England Tyrone Mears Seattle Sounders FC Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Week 19 Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC Italy Marco Donadel Montreal Impact United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact
Week 20 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy Argentina Javier Morales Real Salt Lake United States Tyler Deric Houston Dynamo
Week 21 Canada Cyle Larin Orlando City SC United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 22 Norway Pa Modou Kah Vancouver Whitecaps FC United States Taylor Kemp D.C. United United States Jeff Attinella Real Salt Lake
Week 23 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 24 Brazil Paulo Nagamura Sporting Kansas City Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC Ghana Adam Kwarasey Portland Timbers
Week 25 Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane LA Galaxy Uruguay Cristian Techera Vancouver Whitecaps FC Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 26 England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 27 Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Switzerland Stefan Frei Seattle Sounders FC
Week 28 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara Columbus Crew Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 29 United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City Mexico Gonzalo Pineda Seattle Sounders FC United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 30 Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
Week 31 United States Tim Melia Sporting Kansas City Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 32 None awarded[30]
Week 33 Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers Argentina Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact United States Luis Robles New York Red Bulls
Week 34 Liberia Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers Liberia Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers United States Evan Bush Montreal Impact

Scoring

Discipline

End of season awards

Award [31] Player/Club
Most Valuable Player Sebastian Giovinco[32]
Defender of the Year Laurent Ciman[33]
Goalkeeper of the Year Luis Robles[34]
Coach of the Year Jesse Marsch[35]
Rookie of the Year Cyle Larin[36]
Newcomer of the Year Sebastian Giovinco[37]
Comeback Player of the Year Tim Melia[38]
Golden Boot Sebastian Giovinco[39]
Fair Play Player Award Darlington Nagbe[40]
Fair Play Team Award Philadelphia Union[40]
Humanitarian of the Year Kei Kamara[41]
Referee of the Year Alan Kelly[42]
Assistant Referee of the Year Corey Parker[42]
Goal of the Year Krisztián Németh[43]
Save of the Year Adam Larsen Kwarasey[44]

MLS Best XI

Year Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
2015 United States Luis Robles, New York Belgium Laurent Ciman, Montreal
United States Matt Hedges, Dallas
Costa Rica Kendall Waston, Vancouver
United States Ethan Finlay, Columbus
United States Dax McCarty, New York
United States Benny Feilhaber, Kansas City
Colombia Fabian Castillo, Dallas
Italy Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto
Sierra Leone Kei Kamara, Columbus
Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane, Los Angeles

Source:[45]

Player transfers

Allocation ranking

The allocation ranking was 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.

MLS streamlined the allocation mechanism in the middle of 2015 season. Effective on May 1, 2015, the allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a player who is in MLS allocation list.[46] MLS allocation list contains select U.S. National Team players and players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2014 season, taking playoff performance into account.[47]

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 season.

Original
Ranking
Final
Ranking
Club Date Allocation Used
(Rank on that date)
Player Signed Previous Club Ref
20 1 LA Galaxydagger [48]
6 2 Chicago Fire
7 3 Houston Dynamo
9 4 Philadelphia Union
10 5 Portland Timbers
11 6 Sporting Kansas City
12 7 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
13 8 Columbus Crew
14 9 FC Dallas
15 10 Real Salt Lake
3 11 Montreal Impactdouble-dagger [49]
18 12 Seattle Sounders FC
19 13 New England Revolution
5 14 Colorado Rapidsdagger [48]
1 15 New York City FC January 13, 2015 (1) United States Mix Diskerud Norway Rosenborg [50]
8 16 Toronto FC January 16, 2015 (6) United States Jozy Altidore England Sunderland [51]
17 17 New York Red Bullsdouble-dagger January 28, 2015 (1) United States Sacha Kljestan Belgium Anderlecht [49][52]
2 18 Orlando City SC December 19, 2014 (2) United States Brek Shea England Stoke City [53]
February 2, 2015 (17) United States Eric Avila Mexico Santos Laguna [54][55]
16 19 D.C. United February 10, 2015 (12) United States Michael Farfan Mexico Cruz Azul [56]
4 20 San Jose Earthquakes July 17, 2015 (1) United States Marc Pelosi England Liverpool U-21 [57]

daggerOn January 15, 2015, LA Galaxy acquired the then-number 3 allocation ranking (original ranking number 5) and allocation money from Colorado Rapids in exchange for the then-number 18 allocation ranking (original ranking number 20), Marcelo Sarvas, and an international roster slot.

double-daggerOn January 27, 2015, New York Red Bulls acquired the then-number 1 allocation ranking (original ranking number 3) and Felipe from Montreal Impact in exchange for the then-number 14 allocation ranking (original ranking number 17), Ambroise Oyongo, Eric Alexander, allocation money, and an international roster slot for the 2015 season.

♯ On December 19, 2014, Orlando used its original ranking to acquire Shea.[58] Orlando used their allocation a second time when 16 teams passed and they picked Avila with the then-number 17 allocation ranking.

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  13. 1 2 "Frank Klopas fired as Montreal Impact head coach; Mauro Biello to take over". si.com. August 30, 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Fire dismisses head coach Yallop". TSN.ca. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  15. "Jason Kreis out as NYCFC manager". http://si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 November 2015. External link in |website= (help)
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