# 2015 MLS Cup playoffs

The 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs (officially the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 28 with D.C. United defeating New England Revolution and culminated on December 6, 2015, with MLS Cup 2015, the twentieth league championship match for MLS.
Twelve teams (top 6 per conference) competed, up from 10 the last 3 seasons. The first round of each conference had the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed, while the fourth-seed hosts the fifth, in a single match to determine who advances to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the second seed plays the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Conference Finals.
Both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals are played as two-legged aggregate series. If teams are level at the end of the second leg, the away goals rule will be used in attempt to determine a winner. If the away goals rule does not resolve the deadlock, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, but the away goals rule will not be applied after extra time. If scores are still level following extra time, a penalty shootout will be conducted.
The winners advance to the MLS Cup final, a single match hosted by the participant with the better regular season record.
The winner of MLS Cup 2015, Portland Timbers qualified for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. If a Canadian team were to win the MLS Cup, the next-best team from the United States will take their place.
On March 6, 2015, Audi was announced as the official sponsor of the playoffs starting in 2015.
The Portland Timbers won the MLS Cup by defeating the Columbus Crew SC by a score of 2–1. The Timbers' Diego Valeri scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds after Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark, made a fundamental error after he miscontrolled his defender's back-pass; allowing Valeri to strike at the opportunity.

## 2015 MLS Conference standings

The top 6 teams from each conference advance to the MLS Cup playoffs. Green background denotes also qualified for 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | Pts |
| 1 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 60 |
| 2 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 53 |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 51 |
| 4 | D.C. United | 34 | 51 |
| 5 | New England Revolution | 34 | 50 |
| 6 | Toronto FC | 34 | 49 |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 44 |
| 8 | New York City FC | 34 | 37 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 37 |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 30 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | Pts |
| 1 | FC Dallas | 34 | 60 |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 53 |
| 3 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 53 |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 51 |
| 5 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 51 |
| 6 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 51 |
| 7 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 47 |
| 8 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 42 |
| 9 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 41 |
| 10 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 37 |

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

## Schedule
### Conference semifinals
#### Eastern Conference

New York Red Bulls win 2–0 on aggregate
Columbus Crew wins 4–3 on aggregate

#### Western Conference

Portland Timbers win 2–0 on aggregate
FC Dallas wins 4–2 on penalties after 3–3 draw on aggregate

### Conference finals
#### Eastern Conference

Columbus Crew wins 2–1 on aggregate

#### Western Conference

Portland Timbers win 5–3 on aggregate

### MLS Cup
## Goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kei Kamara | Columbus Crew SC | 4 |
| 2 | Fanendo Adi | Portland Timbers | 2 |
| 2 | Patrice Bernier | Montreal Impact | 2 |
| 2 | Clint Dempsey | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 |
| 2 | Rodney Wallace | Portland Timbers | 2 |
| 6 | Anatole Abang | New York Red Bulls | 1 |
| 6 | Juan Agudelo | New England Revolution | 1 |
| 6 | Tesho Akindele | FC Dallas | 1 |
| 6 | Dairon Asprilla | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Nat Borchers | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Fabian Castillo | FC Dallas | 1 |
| 6 | Diego Chará | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Didier Drogba | Montreal Impact | 1 |
| 6 | Dilly Duka | Montreal Impact | 1 |
| 6 | Kevin Ellis | Sporting Kansas City | 1 |
| 6 | Ethan Finlay | Columbus Crew SC | 1 |
| 6 | Erik Friberg | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 |
| 6 | Federico Higuaín | Columbus Crew SC | 1 |
| 6 | Ryan Hollingshead | FC Dallas | 1 |
| 6 | Andreas Ivanschitz | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 |
| 6 | Sebastian Lletget | LA Galaxy | 1 |
| 6 | Chad Marshall | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 |
| 6 | Lucas Melano | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Dax McCarty | New York Red Bulls | 1 |
| 6 | Justin Meram | Columbus Crew SC | 1 |
| 6 | Krisztián Németh | Sporting Kansas City | 1 |
| 6 | Blas Pérez | FC Dallas | 1 |
| 6 | Ignacio Piatti | Montreal Impact | 1 |
| 6 | Chris Pontius | D.C. United | 1 |
| 6 | Liam Ridgewell | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Chris Rolfe | D.C. United | 1 |
| 6 | David Texeira | FC Dallas | 1 |
| 6 | Maximiliano Urruti | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Nelson Valdez | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 |
| 6 | Diego Valeri | Portland Timbers | 1 |
| 6 | Johan Venegas | Montreal Impact | 1 |
| 6 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | New York Red Bulls | 1 |
| 6 | Gyasi Zardes | LA Galaxy | 1 |
| 6 | Walker Zimmerman | FC Dallas | 1 |