# 2010 Major League Soccer season

The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league.
Negotiations between the league and the players' union resulted in a new collective bargaining agreement being agreed to on March 20, 2010. The new Designated Player Rule permitted teams to sign two such players, up from one under the previous rule, and pay a luxury tax of $250,000 for the right to sign a third.
The Philadelphia Union joined the league as its 16th team. The club's first two home games were played at Lincoln Financial Field while the construction of their permanent home, PPL Park in Chester, was being completed. The New York Red Bulls opened their new stadium, Red Bull Arena, on March 27 against the Chicago Fire.
The regular season began on March 25, and concluded on October 24. The LA Galaxy won the Supporters' Shield by one point over Real Salt Lake. The 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28, and concluded with MLS Cup 2010 on November 21. The Colorado Rapids won their first MLS Cup by defeating the FC Dallas, 2-1, at BMO Field in Toronto. It was the first MLS Cup to be played outside the United States.

## Overview
### Season format

The season began on March 25 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 21. The 16 teams were split evenly into two conferences. For the first time in league history, the season had a balanced schedule where each team played every other team in the league once at home and once away for a total of 30 games.
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.

### 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 | Red Bull Arena | 25,000 |
| Philadelphia Union | Lincoln Financial Field PPL Park | 67,594 18,500 |
| 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

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Chicago Fire | Carlos de los Cobos | Brian McBride | Best Buy |
| Chivas USA | Martin Vasquez | Jonathan Bornstein | Tiendas Extra |
| Colorado Rapids | Gary Smith | Pablo Mastroeni | — |
| Columbus Crew | Robert Warzycha | Frankie Hejduk | Glidden |
| D.C. United | Ben Olsen | Jaime Moreno | Volkswagen |
| FC Dallas | Schellas Hyndman | Daniel Hernández | — |
| Houston Dynamo | Dominic Kinnear | Brian Ching | Amigo Energy |
| Kansas City Wizards | Peter Vermes | Davy Arnaud | — |
| LA Galaxy | Bruce Arena | Landon Donovan | Herbalife |
| New England Revolution | Steve Nicol | Shalrie Joseph | — |
| New York Red Bulls | Hans Backe | Juan Pablo Ángel | Red Bull |
| Philadelphia Union | Piotr Nowak | Danny Califf | — |
| 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 LIVE |
| Toronto FC | Nick Dasovic | Dwayne De Rosario | Bank of Montreal |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment | Table |
| Philadelphia Union | Expansion Team | Expansion Team | Expansion Team | Expansion Team | Piotr Nowak | May 29, 2009 | Pre-season |
| New York Red Bulls | Richie Williams | End of interim period | August 21, 2009 | 7th East ('09) | Hans Backe | January 7, 2010 | Pre-season |
| Toronto FC | Chris Cummins | Contract expiration | October 27, 2009 | 5th East ('09) | Preki | November 18, 2009 | Pre-season |
| D.C. United | Tom Soehn | Resigned | November 3, 2009 | 4th East ('09) | Curt Onalfo | December 28, 2009 | Pre-season |
| Chivas USA | Preki | Mutual consent | November 12, 2009 | 4th West ('09) | Martín Vásquez | December 2, 2009 | Pre-season |
| Chicago Fire | Denis Hamlett | Fired | November 24, 2009 | 2nd East ('09) | Carlos de los Cobos | January 11, 2010 | Pre-season |
| D.C. United | Curt Onalfo | Fired | August 4, 2010 | 8th East | Ben Olsen | August 4, 2010 | 8th East |
| Toronto FC | Preki | Fired | September 14, 2010 | 3rd East | Nick Dasovic | September 14, 2010 | 3rd East |

## Results table

| Home \ Away | CHI | CHV | COL | CLB | DCU | FCD | HOU | KCW | LAG | NER | NY | PHI | RSL | SJE | SEA | TOR |
| Chicago Fire | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Chivas USA | 1–4 | | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Colorado Rapids | 2–2 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Columbus Crew | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 |
| D.C. United | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| FC Dallas | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Houston Dynamo | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–3 | | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| LA Galaxy | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| New England Revolution | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Philadelphia Union | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 3–2 |
| Toronto FC | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | |

## Standings
### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 51 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 50 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 39 | |
| 4 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 36 | |
| 5 | Toronto FC | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 35 | |
| 6 | New England Revolution | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 32 | |
| 7 | Philadelphia Union | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 31 | |
| 8 | D.C. United | 30 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 21 | 47 | −26 | 22 | |

### Western Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LA Galaxy | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 56 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | FC Dallas | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 50 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 48 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 46 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 6 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 46 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 7 | Houston Dynamo | 30 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 33 | |
| 8 | Chivas USA | 30 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 28 | |

### Overall standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LA Galaxy (S) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 56 | |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 51 | |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 50 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 50 | |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders FC | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 48 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 7 | Colorado Rapids (C) | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 46 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 46 | |
| 9 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 39 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 36 | |
| 11 | Toronto FC | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 35 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 12 | Houston Dynamo | 30 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 33 | |
| 13 | New England Revolution | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 32 | |
| 14 | Philadelphia Union | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 31 | |
| 15 | Chivas USA | 30 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 28 | |
| 16 | D.C. United | 30 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 21 | 47 | −26 | 22 | |

## MLS Cup Playoffs

| Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | MLS Cup |
| E1 | New York | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | San Jose | 0 | 3 | | | | | | |
| E4 | San Jose | 0 | 3 | E4 | San Jose | 0 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E4 | San Jose | 0 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Colorado | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Columbus | 0 | 2 | E3 | Colorado | 1 | | | |
| E3 | Colorado (5–4, PSO) | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Colorado (5–4, PSO) | 1 | 1 | | | | E3 | Colorado | 2 |
| | | | | | | | W3 | Dallas | 1 |
| W1 | Los Angeles | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | W3 | Dallas | 1 |
| W4 | Seattle | 0 | 1 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Seattle | 0 | 1 | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Dallas | 3 | | | |
| W2 | Salt Lake | 1 | 1 | W3 | Dallas | 3 | | | |
| W3 | Dallas | 2 | 1 | | | | | | |

## Player statistics
### Goals

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | 18 |
| 2 | Edson Buddle | LA Galaxy | 17 |
| 3 | Dwayne De Rosario | Toronto FC | 15 |
| 4 | Omar Cummings | Colorado Rapids | 14 |
| 4 | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union | 14 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls | 13 |
| 6 | Conor Casey | Colorado Rapids | 13 |
| 8 | Álvaro Saborío | Real Salt Lake | 12 |
| 9 | Jeff Cunningham | FC Dallas | 11 |
| 10 | Kei Kamara | Kansas City Wizards | 10 |
| 10 | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | 10 |
| 10 | Steve Zakuani | Seattle Sounders FC | 10 |

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy | 16 |
| 2 | David Ferreira | FC Dallas | 13 |
| 3 | Brad Davis | Houston Dynamo | 12 |
| 4 | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union | 11 |
| 5 | Bobby Convey | San Jose Earthquakes | 10 |
| 5 | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | 10 |
| 5 | Patrick Nyarko | Chicago Fire | 10 |
| 8 | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Columbus Crew | 9 |
| 8 | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | 9 |
| 10 | Jamie Smith | Colorado Rapids | 8 |
| 10 | Ryan Johnson | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 |
| 10 | Michael Stephens | LA Galaxy | 8 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake | 14 |
| 2 | Bouna Coundoul | New York Red Bulls | 11 |
| 2 | Will Hesmer | Columbus Crew | 11 |
| 2 | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC | 11 |
| 2 | Donovan Ricketts | LA Galaxy | 11 |
| 6 | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards | 10 |
| 7 | Kevin Hartman | FC Dallas | 9 |
| 8 | Stefan Frei | Kansas City Wizards | 8 |
| 9 | Jon Busch | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 |
| 9 | Matt Pickens | Colorado Rapids | 7 |

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Award | Player | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | David Ferreira | FC Dallas |
| Defender of the Year | Jámison Olave | Real Salt Lake |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Donovan Ricketts | LA Galaxy |
| Coach of the Year | Schellas Hyndman | FC Dallas |
| Rookie of the Year | Andy Najar | D.C. United |
| Newcomer of the Year | Álvaro Saborío | Real Salt Lake |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Bobby Convey | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Golden Boot | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Goal of the Year | Marco Pappa | Chicago Fire |
| Save of the Year | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Fair Play Award | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union |
| Humanitarian of the Year | Seth Stammler | New York Red Bulls |

### Best XI

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Donovan Ricketts, LA Galaxy | Nat Borchers, Salt Lake Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy Jámison Olave, Salt Lake | Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy David Ferreira, Dallas Sébastien Le Toux, Philadelphia Javier Morales, Salt Lake | Edson Buddle, LA Galaxy Chris Wondolowski, San Jose |

### Monthly awards

| Month | MLS Player of the Month | MLS Player of the Month | MLS Player of the Month | MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Month | MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Month | MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club | Link | Player | Club | Link |
| April | Edson Buddle | Los Angeles Galaxy | 7G 4–0–1 | Sanna Nyassi | Seattle Sounders FC | April Humanitarian Archived April 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| May | Álvaro Saborío | Real Salt Lake | 4G 3A 5–0–0 Archived November 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine | Chris Tierney | New England Revolution | May Humanitarian Archived May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| June | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake | 0G Allowed 1–0–2 Archived July 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine | Craig Waibel | Houston Dynamo | June Humanitarian Archived June 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| July | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | 2G 3A 3–1–1 Archived October 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine | Jed Zayner | Columbus Crew | July Humanitarian Archived July 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| August | Kevin Hartman | FC Dallas | 2G Allowed 2–0–2 Archived October 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine | Michael Lahoud | Chivas USA | August Humanitarian Archived August 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| September | Omar Cummings | Colorado Rapids | 6G 1A 3–1–1 | Kei Kamara | Kansas City Wizards | September Humanitarian Archived October 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |
| October | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | 6G 2–2–1 Archived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine | James Riley | Seattle Sounders FC | October Humanitarian Archived November 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine |

### Weekly awards

| Week | Player of the Week | Player of the Week | AT&T Goal of the Week | AT&T Goal of the Week | NAPA Save of the Week | NAPA Save of the Week |
| Week | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club |
| Week 1 | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake |
| Week 2 | Kenny Mansally | New England Revolution | Kenny Mansally | New England Revolution | Preston Burpo | New England Revolution |
| Week 3 | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union | Marco Pappa | Chicago Fire | Jason Hernandez | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Week 4 | Edson Buddle | Los Angeles Galaxy | Lovel Palmer | Houston Dynamo | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 5 | Dwayne De Rosario | Toronto FC | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | Andrew Dykstra | Chicago Fire |
| Week 6 | Edson Buddle | Los Angeles Galaxy | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Week 7 | Landon Donovan | Los Angeles Galaxy | Logan Pause | Chicago Fire | Kevin Hartman | FC Dallas |
| Week 8 | Alvaro Saborio | Real Salt Lake | Danny Mwanga | Philadelphia Union | Gino Padula | Columbus Crew |
| Week 9 | Emilio Rentería | Columbus Crew | Dominic Oduro | Houston Dynamo | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards |
| Week 10 | Dwayne De Rosario | Toronto FC | Shea Salinas | Philadelphia Union | Donovan Ricketts | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| Week 11 | Brek Shea | FC Dallas | Leo González | Seattle Sounders FC | Chris Seitz | Philadelphia Union |
| Week 12 | Chris Pontius | D.C. United | Kei Kamara | Kansas City Wizards | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake |
| Week 13 | Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls | Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards |
| Week 14 | Álvaro Saborío | Real Salt Lake | Juninho | Los Angeles Galaxy | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards |
| Week 15 | Justin Braun | Chivas USA | David Ferreira | FC Dallas | Stefan Frei | Toronto FC |
| Week 16 | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union | Roger Levesque | Seattle Sounders FC | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards |
| Week 17 | Steve Zakuani | Seattle Sounders FC | Ned Grabavoy | Real Salt Lake | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 18 | Juan Pablo Ángel | New York Red Bulls | Sébastien Le Toux | Philadelphia Union | Sean Johnson | Chicago Fire |
| Week 19 | Jeff Cunningham | FC Dallas | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | Sean Johnson | Chicago Fire |
| Week 20 | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | Javier Morales | Real Salt Lake | Nick Rimando | Real Salt Lake |
| Week 21 | Brian Ching | Houston Dynamo | Rafael Márquez | New York Red Bulls | Sean Johnson | Chicago Fire |
| Week 22 | Fredy Montero | Seattle Sounders FC | Dane Richards | New York Red Bulls | Jimmy Nielsen | Kansas City Wizards |
| Week 23 | Omar Cummings | Colorado Rapids | Geovanni | San Jose Earthquakes | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 24 | Alan Gordon | Chivas USA | Omar Cummings | Colorado Rapids | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 25 | Blaise Nkufo | Seattle Sounders FC | Blaise Nkufo | Seattle Sounders FC | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 26 | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | Nat Borchers | Real Salt Lake | Kasey Keller | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Week 27 | Bouna Coundoul | New York Red Bulls | Steve Zakuani | Seattle Sounders FC | Bouna Coundoul | New York Red Bulls |
| Week 28 | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | Álvaro Fernández | Seattle Sounders FC | Brad Knighton | Philadelphia Union |
| Week 29 | Steve Zakuani | Seattle Sounders FC | Steve Zakuani | Seattle Sounders FC | Fred | Philadelphia Union |
| Week 30 | Chris Wondolowski | San Jose Earthquakes | James Riley | Seattle Sounders FC | Eddie Gaven | Columbus Crew |

## Related Competitions
### International competitions
#### CONCACAF Champions League

The Columbus Crew continued their 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League campaign that began during the previous season. They were defeated by Mexican club Toluca in the quarterfinals, 5–4 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders FC became the first team to qualify for the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League by winning the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Columbus Crew qualified next by winning the 2009 MLS Supporters' Shield. The Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake also qualified by being the two 2009 MLS Cup finalists, while Toronto FC took the Canadian berth by virtue of their Canadian Championship win. Los Angeles, Seattle, and Toronto entered the competition in the preliminary round, while RSL and Columbus were seeded directly into the group stage.
Seattle and Toronto won their preliminary round ties, beating Isidro Metapán of El Salvador and Motagua of Honduras, respectively. Los Angeles crashed out of the preliminary round after losing their home match 4–1 to the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USSF D-2 Pro League and failing to make up the deficit in the away leg.
The group stage was held August 17 – Oct 21. Real Salt Lake won Group A with 13 points over Cruz Azul, Toronto, and Arabe Unido of Panama. Toronto finished in 3rd place with 8 points. Columbus finished 2nd in Group B behind Club Santos Laguna but ahead of C.S.D. Municipal of Guatemala and Joe Public F.C. of Trinidad. Seattle finished 4th in Group C with 3 points behind C.F. Monterrey, C.D. Saprissa of Costa Rica, and C.D. Marathón of Honduras.
On November 1, the draw for the Championship round was held. Real Salt Lake will face Columbus in the quarterfinal in February/March 2011, immediately prior to the 2011 MLS Regular Season.

#### SuperLiga

As was the case for the 2009 SuperLiga, the top four overall finishers in MLS in 2009 that hadn't already qualified for the Champions League qualified for SuperLiga. This year's competition was contested by the Houston Dynamo, the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, and the New England Revolution from MLS. The four Mexican teams were Pachuca, Morelia, Puebla, and UNAM.
New England, Houston, Morelia and Puebla advanced from their groups, with the Revolution beating Puebla on penalties in one semifinal, and Morelia defeating Houston in the other. Morelia defeated New England 2–1 in the final at Gillette Stadium on September 1.

### Domestic competitions
#### Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

The top six overall teams from the 2009 MLS season (Columbus, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, and Chivas USA) received automatic berths into the third round of the 2010 U.S. Open Cup, while the eight remaining U.S.-based MLS teams and the expansion Philadelphia Union competed in a single-elimination qualification tournament to determine the MLS's final two official entrants into the competition. Teams were seeded one through nine, with the seventh-place MLS team from 2009 earning the first seed (and would play the winner of the eight v. nine play-in game), while each following team would receive its respective seed. The New York Red Bulls and D.C. United earned the final two MLS spots in the third round.
For the first time since 2006, the semifinals were contested exclusively by MLS teams, with Seattle beating Chivas USA and Columbus defeating D.C. United. The final was played October 5 at Qwest Field in Seattle with the defending cup holders, the Sounders, defeating the Crew 2–1. The Sounders became the first MLS team ever to successfully defend the U.S. Open Cup, and the first team from any league to do so since New York Pancyprian-Freedoms in 1983.

#### Canadian championship

Toronto FC, as a Canadian-based MLS team, is not eligible to compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and instead contested the Canadian Championship with the two Canadian-based teams in the Division-2 Pro League, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact. Toronto FC won the tournament, claiming the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's entry into the preliminary round of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.