# 2016 MLS Cup playoffs

The 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) began on October 26, and ended on December 10 with MLS Cup 2016, the 21st league championship match for MLS. This was the 21st version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season.
Twelve teams (the top 6 per conference) competed. The first round of each conference had the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed while the fourth-seed hosted the fifth in a single match to determine who advanced to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed played the lowest remaining seed while the second played the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Conference Finals. Both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals were played as two-legged aggregate series. The winners advanced to the MLS Cup, a single match hosted by the participant with the better regular season record.
Seattle Sounders FC defeated Toronto FC 5–4 on penalties to win their first-ever MLS Cup. The game ended scoreless after extra time.
It was the first MLS Cup in league history that two expansion teams participated in the final. It was also the first time in the league's history that a Canadian MLS team competed in the MLS Cup.

## Conference standings

The top 6 teams from each conference advance to the MLS Cup playoffs. Green background denotes also qualified for 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | Pts |
| 1 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 57 |
| 2 | New York City FC | 34 | 54 |
| 3 | Toronto FC | 34 | 53 |
| 4 | D.C. United | 34 | 46 |
| 5 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 45 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 42 |
| 7 | New England Revolution | 34 | 42 |
| 8 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 41 |
| 9 | Columbus Crew SC | 34 | 36 |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 31 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | Pts |
| 1 | FC Dallas | 34 | 60 |
| 2 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 58 |
| 3 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 52 |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 48 |
| 5 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 47 |
| 6 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 46 |
| 7 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 44 |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 39 |
| 9 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 38 |
| 10 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 34 |

## Bracket

| Knockout round | Knockout round | Knockout round | | | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | MLS Cup December 10 – Toronto, Ontario | MLS Cup December 10 – Toronto, Ontario | MLS Cup December 10 – Toronto, Ontario |
| | | | | | E5 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| October 27 – Washington, D.C. | October 27 – Washington, D.C. | October 27 – Washington, D.C. | | | E5 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| October 27 – Washington, D.C. | October 27 – Washington, D.C. | October 27 – Washington, D.C. | | | E1 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | D.C. United | 2 | | | E1 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Montreal Impact | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Montreal Impact | 4 | | | | | | | | E5 | Montreal Impact | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E5 | Montreal Impact | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Toronto FC (a.e.t.) | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | |
| | | | | | E3 | Toronto FC | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | | | E3 | Toronto FC | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | October 26 – Toronto, Ontario | | | E2 | New York City FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Toronto FC | 3 | | | E2 | New York City FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Philadelphia Union | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Philadelphia Union | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | E3 | Toronto FC | 0 (4) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC (p) | 0 (5) |
| | | | | | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| October 27 – Seattle, Washington | October 27 – Seattle, Washington | October 27 – Seattle, Washington | | | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| October 27 – Seattle, Washington | October 27 – Seattle, Washington | October 27 – Seattle, Washington | | | W1 | FC Dallas | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | | | W1 | FC Dallas | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | | | | | | | | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | W3 | LA Galaxy | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | | | | | | | | |
| October 26 – Carson, California | October 26 – Carson, California | October 26 – Carson, California | | | W3 | LA Galaxy | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | | | | | | | | |
| October 26 – Carson, California | October 26 – Carson, California | October 26 – Carson, California | | | W2 | Colorado Rapids (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | |
| W3 | LA Galaxy | 3 | | | W2 | Colorado Rapids (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Real Salt Lake | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Knockout round
### Summary

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Eastern Conference |||
| Toronto FC | 3–1 | Philadelphia Union |
| D.C. United | 2–4 | Montreal Impact |
| Western Conference |||
| LA Galaxy | 3–1 | Real Salt Lake |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1–0 | Sporting Kansas City |

### Matches
## Conference semifinals
### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Toronto FC | 7–0 | New York City FC | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Montreal Impact | 3–1 | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Western Conference |||||
| LA Galaxy | 1–1 (1–3 p) | Colorado Rapids | 1–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 4–2 | FC Dallas | 3–0 | 1–2 |

### Matches

Toronto FC won 7–0 on aggregate.
Montreal Impact won 3–1 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Colorado Rapids won 3–1 on penalties.
Seattle Sounders FC won 4–2 on aggregate.

## Conference finals
### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Montreal Impact | 5–7 | Toronto FC | 3–2 | 2–5 (a.e.t.) |
| Western Conference |||||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 3–1 | Colorado Rapids | 2–1 | 1–0 |

### Matches

Toronto FC won 7–5 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders FC won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC | 5 |
| 2 | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 4 |
| 2 | Nicolás Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders FC | 4 |
| 2 | Matteo Mancosu | Montreal Impact | 4 |
| 2 | Ignacio Piatti | Montreal Impact | 4 |
| 6 | Emmanuel Boateng | LA Galaxy | 2 |
| 6 | Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 |
| 6 | Dominic Oduro | Montreal Impact | 2 |
| 6 | Jonathan Osorio | Toronto FC | 2 |
| 6 | Tosaint Ricketts | Toronto FC | 2 |
| 6 | Nelson Valdez | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 |