The 2017 Major League Soccer season was the 22nd season of
Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2017 and concluded on October 22, 2017. The
MLS Cup Playoffs
The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams quali ...
began on October 25, 2017 and concluded with
MLS Cup 2017 on December 9, 2017.
Two new clubs joined the league as expansion franchises:
Atlanta United FC
Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...
and
Minnesota United FC. The two franchises were the 21st and 22nd teams in the league.
Seattle Sounders FC were the defending
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...
champions, while
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
were the defending
Supporters' Shield champions.
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
became the first Canadian team to win the Cup and Shield. Toronto's win of the
Canadian Championship in the same year earned them the first
domestic treble
A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...
by an MLS side.
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.
Coaching changes
Regular season
Format
Current teams: Each team in the league (except for expansion teams
Atlanta United FC
Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...
and
Minnesota United FC) played 17 home and 17 away games (for a total of 34 games) using the following format:
* 2 games (home and away) against 10 teams in its conference (20 games).
* 1 extra game against 3 of its conference rivals (3 games).
* 1 game against 11 teams in the other conference (11 games).
Expansion teams: As expansion teams to the league in 2017, Atlanta United and Minnesota United played 17 home and 17 away games (for a total of 34 games) in a secondary format:
* 2 games (home and away) against 10 teams in its conference (20 games).
* 1 extra game against 2 of its conference rivals (2 games).
* 1 game against 10 teams in the other conference (10 games).
* 2 games (1 home and 1 away) against each other (2 games).
Conference standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Overall table
MLS Cup Playoffs
Bracket
Knockout round
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
MLS Cup
Attendance
Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
* game played at East Hartford
Highest attendances
Regular season
Player statistics
Goals
Assists
Shutouts
Hat-tricks
4 Scored 4 goals
Awards
Player of the Month
Player and Team of the week
* Bold denotes player of the week.
Goal of the Week
End-of-season awards
MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer.
Winners
*Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season.
Most appearances by a player
The following players have appeared ...
Player contracts
Highest-paid players
Allocation ranking
The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a player who is in the MLS allocation list. The 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 2016 season, taking playoff performance into account. Two expansion teams will take the top spots.
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.
Coaches
Eastern Conference
*
Atlanta United FC
Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...
:
Gerardo Martino
*
Chicago Fire:
Veljko Paunović
Veljko Paunović ( sr-Cyrl, Вељко Пауновић, ; born 21 August 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player who is the current manager of Liga MX club Guadalajara.
A versatile attacking unit, he could operate as an attacking ...
*
Columbus Crew SC
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
:
Gregg Berhalter
Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is also the current head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soc ...
*
D.C. United
D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
:
Ben Olsen
Benjamin Robert Olsen (born May 3, 1977) is an American sports executive, soccer coach, and former professional player who was formerly the president of Washington Spirit, a professional women's soccer club in the National Women's Soccer Leagu ...
*
Montreal Impact:
Mauro Biello
Mauro Biello (born August 8, 1972) is a Canadian professional assistant coach and former player who has been an assistant coach of the Canada men's national team since 2018. He played as a forward for several Canadian and American lower divisio ...
*
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...
:
Jay Heaps
John Franklin "Jay" Heaps (born August 2, 1976) is an American former soccer player who currently serves as president and general manager of Birmingham Legion FC. He is a former head coach for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer ...
and
Tom Soehn
Tom Soehn (born April 15, 1966) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach of USL Championship club Birmingham Legion. A former player, his career as a defender spanned seven clubs across 12 seasons, both indoors and outdoors.
Playing c ...
*
New York City FC
New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...
:
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...
*
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
:
Jesse Marsch
Jesse Alan Marsch (born November 8, 1973) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the current head coach of club Leeds United. Marsch played 14 seasons as a midfielder in Major League Soccer (MLS) with D.C. United, ...
*
Orlando City SC:
Jason Kreis
*
Philadelphia Union:
Jim Curtin
Jim Curtin (born June 23, 1979) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. He spent most of his playing career with the Chicago Fire.
Youth and ...
*
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
:
Greg Vanney
Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player and head coach of the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
A defender and one of MLS's original players, Vanney spent 10 seasons in the league and another three-and ...
Western Conference
*
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
:
Pablo Mastroeni
Pablo Mastroeni (born August 29, 1976) is an Argentine born American soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. He was formerly head coach of the Colorado Rapids, and assistant coach of the H ...
*
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
:
Óscar Pareja
Óscar Alexander Pareja Gómez (born 10 August 1968) is a Colombian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Orlando City in Major League Soccer. Pareja is nicknamed ''El Generalito'', the Little Gene ...
*
Houston Dynamo:
Wilmer Cabrera
*
LA Galaxy:
Curt Onalfo
Curt Onalfo (born November 19, 1969) is an American former soccer player and coach who currently serves as technical director of Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
As a player, he played two seasons in France, two in the USISL, on ...
and
Sigi Schmid
Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fam ...
*
Minnesota United FC:
Adrian Heath
Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He currently serves as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is best known for his six seasons at Everton, where h ...
*
Portland Timbers:
Caleb Porter
Caleb Porter (born February 18, 1975) is an American soccer coach who most recently served as the head coach of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew from 2019 to 2022. He was previously head coach of the Portland Timbers from 2013 until 2017. ...
*
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...
:
Jeff Cassar
Jeff Cassar (born February 2, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former goalkeeper who last coached Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.
Playing career
Cassar played college soccer at Florida International University, where he was roommat ...
and
Mike Petke
Mike Petke (born January 30, 1976) is an American former soccer player and coach who was most recently head coach of Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. Prior to his tenure with Real Salt Lake, he was head coach of the New York Red Bulls, ...
*
San Jose Earthquakes:
Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear (born July 26, 1967) is an American soccer coach and former player. On January 18, 2022, he was named an assistant coach by FC Cincinnati, his first coaching role since serving as the interim head coach of the LA Galaxy.
As a p ...
and
Chris Leitch
Chris Leitch (born April 1, 1979 in Pickerington, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player who is currently the general manager and a former head coach for the San Jose Earthquakes.
Career
College
Leitch played college soccer at the Univer ...
*
Seattle Sounders FC:
Brian Schmetzer
Brian Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and retired player. He is the head coach of the Seattle Sounders FC, who play in Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's departure ...
*
Sporting Kansas City:
Peter Vermes
Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head c ...
*
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...
:
Carl Robinson
Carl Robinson (born 13 October 1976) is a retired Welsh international footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach for Major League Soccer club D.C. United.
Club career Wolverhampton Wanderers
Robinson ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major League Soccer Season 2017
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
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