2024 MLS Cup playoffs

2024 MLS Cup playoffs
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
Canada
DatesOctober 22 – December 7
Teams18
Defending championsColumbus Crew
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Goals scored47 (2.61 per match)
Attendance435,378 (24,188 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Scotland Ryan Gauld
(5 goals)
← 2023
2025 →

All statistics correct as of November 3, 2024.

The 2024 MLS Cup playoffs (branded as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the 29th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2024 season. The playoffs began on October 22 and will conclude with MLS Cup 2024 on December 7.[1][2]

The Columbus Crew entered the playoffs as the defending MLS Cup champions, but were eliminated by the New York Red Bulls in round one. Inter Miami CF entered as Supporters' Shield winners.

Format

[edit]

Similar to the 2023 edition, the playoffs feature a field of eighteen teams—the top nine teams from each conference. The top seven teams in each conference automatically qualified for round one, while the eighth and ninth-placed teams in each conference contested a single wild card match for the right to play the best-ranked team in their conference, with only a penalty shoot-out occurring if the game is tied. Round one will comprise a best-of-three format, with higher seeds playing against lower seeds. The round does not have the aggregate score kept, and tied matches proceed directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The remaining three rounds — the conference semifinals, conference final, and MLS Cup — will be single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.[1][3] The team with the better regular season record hosts the match in all rounds except for the best-of-three series in round one, where the lower seed hosts the second of three possible matches. All matches are broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass, a streaming service operated by Apple.[1]

Qualified teams

[edit]

The playoffs are contested by eighteen teams. The date listed indicates when each team qualified for the playoffs.

Conference standings

[edit]

Bracket

[edit]

The higher seeded teams host single-elimination matches, with the MLS Cup host determined by overall points in the Supporters' Shield table. During the best-of-three round, the team with higher seed hosts the first match and the third match if necessary.

Wild card
single match 		Round one
best-of-three series 		Conference semifinals
single match 		Conference finals
single match 		MLS Cup
single match
E1 Inter Miami CF 2 1
E8 CF Montréal 2 (4) E9 Atlanta United FC 1 2
E9 Atlanta United FC 2 (5)  
 
E4 Orlando City SC 2 0 (1) Eastern Conference
E5 Charlotte FC 0 0 (3)
 
 
E3 FC Cincinnati 1 1
E6 New York City FC 0 3
 
E7 New York Red Bulls
E2 Columbus Crew 0 2 (4) –
E7 New York Red Bulls 1 2 (5) –
 
 
W1 Los Angeles FC 2 0
W8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 5 W8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 3
W9 Portland Timbers 0  
W4 Seattle Sounders FC
W4 Seattle Sounders FC 0 (5) 1 (7) – Western Conference
W5 Houston Dynamo FC 0 (4) 1 (6) –
 
 
W3 Real Salt Lake 0 (4) 1 (1) –
W6 Minnesota United FC 0 (5) 1 (3) –
W6 Minnesota United FC
W2 LA Galaxy
W2 LA Galaxy 5 4 –
W7 Colorado Rapids 0 1 –

Wild card round

[edit]

Eastern Conference

[edit]
CF Montréal2–2Atlanta United FC
 Report
Penalties
 4–5
Attendance: 16,566
Referee: Joe Dickerson

Western Conference

[edit]
Vancouver Whitecaps FC5–0Portland Timbers
 Report
Attendance: 19,143
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Round one

[edit]
Team 1 Series Team 2 Match 1 Match 2 Match 3
Eastern Conference
Inter Miami CF 1–1 Atlanta United FC 2–1 1–2 Nov 9
Columbus Crew 0–2 New York Red Bulls 0–1 2–2 (4–5 p) —
FC Cincinnati 1–1 New York City FC 1–0 1–3 Nov 9
Orlando City SC 1–1 Charlotte FC 2–0 0–0 (1–3 p) Nov 9
Western Conference
Los Angeles FC 1–1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2–1 0–3 Nov 8
LA Galaxy 2–0 Colorado Rapids 5–0 4–1 —
Real Salt Lake 0–2 Minnesota United FC 0–0 (4–5 p) 1–1 (1–3 p) —
Seattle Sounders FC 2–0 Houston Dynamo FC 0–0 (5–4 p) 1–1 (7–6 p) —

Eastern Conference

[edit]
Atlanta United FC2–1Inter Miami CF
 Report
Attendance: 68,455
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Columbus Crew0–1New York Red Bulls
Report
Attendance: 19,050
Referee: Timothy Ford

New York Red Bulls won the series 2–0.

FC Cincinnati1–0New York City FC
 Report
Attendance: 21,413
Referee: Sergii Boiko
New York City FC3–1FC Cincinnati
 Report
Attendance: 19,585
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Orlando City SC2–0Charlotte FC
 Report
Attendance: 17,787
Referee: Drew Fischer

Western Conference

[edit]
Los Angeles FC2–1Vancouver Whitecaps FC
 Report
Attendance: 22,298
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Vancouver Whitecaps FC3–0Los Angeles FC
 Report
Attendance: 20,695
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
LA Galaxy5–0Colorado Rapids
 Report
Attendance: 24,537
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Colorado Rapids1–4LA Galaxy
 Report
Attendance: 16,010
Referee: Victor Rivas

LA Galaxy won the series 2–0.

Minnesota United FC won the series 2–0.

Seattle Sounders FC won the series 2–0.

Conference semifinals

[edit]

The higher-seeded team as determined by regular season ranking will host the match.[1]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Eastern Conference
TBD TBD TBD
TBD TBD New York Red Bulls
Western Conference
TBD TBD TBD
LA Galaxy TBD Minnesota United FC

Eastern Conference

[edit]
TBDvTBD
TBD, TBD
TBDvNew York Red Bulls
TBD, TBD

Western Conference

[edit]
TBDvTBD
TBD, TBD

Conference finals

[edit]

The higher-seeded team as determined by regular season ranking will host the match.[1]

Eastern Conference

[edit]
TBDvTBD
TBD, TBD

Western Conference

[edit]
TBDvTBD
TBD, TBD

MLS Cup 2024

[edit]
Main article: MLS Cup 2024

The highest-ranked finalist in the overall Supporters' Shield table will host the match.[1]

TBDvTBD
TBD, TBD

Top goalscorers

[edit]
As of November 3, 2024
Rank Player Club Goals[23]
1 Scotland Ryan Gauld Vancouver Whitecaps FC 5
2 Spain Riqui Puig LA Galaxy 4
3 Bosnia and Herzegovina Dejan Joveljić LA Galaxy 2
Venezuela Josef Martínez CF Montréal
5 31 players 1

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Due to a scheduling conflict at BC Place, the match was played at Providence Park, with the Vancouver Whitecaps serving as the home team.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "MLS announces new playoff format for 2023 season". Major League Soccer. February 21, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Inter Miami begin Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs path with standalone match". Major League Soccer. October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "MLS adds best-of-3 series to expanded playoffs for 2023 season". ESPN. February 21, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ^ "Atlanta United clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. October 19, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Charlotte FC clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  6. ^ "FC Cincinnati clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  7. ^ "Columbus Crew clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Inter Miami clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  9. ^ "CF Montréal clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. October 19, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "New York City FC clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  11. ^ "New York Red Bulls clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Orlando City clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Colorado Rapids clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Houston Dynamo clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "LA Galaxy clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "LAFC clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Minnesota United clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  18. ^ "Portland Timbers clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "Real Salt Lake clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "Seattle Sounders clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps clinch Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". Major League Soccer. September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  22. ^ "Whitecaps FC to open 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs versus Portland Timbers". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. October 19, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "MLS Player Stats". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
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