MLS Cup 2019 was the 24th edition of the
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 Conference ...
, the championship match of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS), and took place on November 10, 2019, at
CenturyLink Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in S ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, United States. The
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
match was contested by
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
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 BMO ...
to determine the champion of the
2019 season. It was a rematch of the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
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 ser ...
editions of the MLS Cup, which were won by Seattle and Toronto, respectively. This was the third final for both teams and the first to be hosted by the Sounders, as both of the previous Seattle–Toronto finals were held at
BMO Field
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada.
The Sounders won 3–1 to claim their second MLS Cup title, in front of 69,274 spectators at CenturyLink Field, setting a new stadium record. All four of the goals were scored in the second half, beginning with a deflected shot by
Kelvin Leerdam
Kelvin Leerdam (; born 24 June 1990) is a Surinamese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for LA Galaxy and the Suriname national team.
Club career
Early career
Leerdam was born in Paramaribo, the capital and largest city of Suri ...
and followed by strikes from substitute
Víctor Rodríguez (later named the match MVP) and
Raúl Ruidíaz
Raúl Mario Ruidíaz Misitich (, Croatian: ''Misitić''; born 25 July 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who currently plays for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders and the Peru national team, as a striker.
He is of maternal ...
;
Jozy Altidore
Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...
scored a late consolation goal for Toronto in
stoppage time. The match marked the conclusion of the
2019 MLS Cup Playoffs, which was contested by fourteen teams under a new
single-elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
format that replaced the former
two-legged tie
In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum o ...
s. As a result, this was the earliest calendar date for the MLS Cup showdown since
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
.
The defending MLS Cup champions were
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 ...
, who were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by Toronto FC. As MLS Cup champions, Seattle qualified for the
2020 CONCACAF Champions League and the later-cancelled
2020 Campeones Cup.
Road to the final
The
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 Conference ...
is the post-season championship of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The
2019 season was the 24th in MLS history, and was contested by 24 teams organized into the
eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
conferences. Each club played 34 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team in their conference twice and those in the other conference once. The playoffs, running from October to early November, were contested between the top seven clubs in each conference through four rounds. Each round had a
single-elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
match hosted by the higher-seeded team, a change from the
two-legged tie
In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum o ...
s used in previous seasons; the top team in each conference was also given a
bye to the Conference Semifinals. The shortened playoff schedule moved the date of the final to November 10, its earliest staging since
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
.
The finalists,
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
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 BMO ...
, played each other in the MLS Cup final for the third time in four years, following their participation in the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
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 ser ...
finals.
Both matches were hosted in Toronto, with the 2016 cup won by Seattle in a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
and the 2017 cup won by Toronto in regulation time.
The two teams had met 14 times in regular season play, with Seattle winning nine times. Seattle and Toronto played each other once in the 2019 regular season, ending in a 3–2 win for the Sounders at home in April.
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC played in their third MLS Cup final in four seasons, having won in their first appearance in 2016 under manager
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 ...
. The team had qualified for the playoffs in all of their eleven MLS seasons and finished as runner-up in MLS Cup 2017.
In 2018, the team finished second in the Western Conference through a late-season winning streak, but were knocked out by the
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
in the Conference Semifinals during a penalty shootout. During the 2019 offseason, the Sounders lost defensive midfielder and captain
Osvaldo Alonso
Osvaldo Alonso Moreno (born November 11, 1985) is a Cuban professional footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Atlanta United FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He defected from Cuba in 2007 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012. ...
, who was released into
free agency
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
and signed by
Minnesota United FC
Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...
.
The Sounders made few offseason moves, signing several
homegrown players for use by their
affiliate team, and went winless in preseason matches. The team lost once in their opening 13 matches of the season, including a six-match unbeaten streak, but lost veteran center-back
Chad Marshall
Chad Marshall (born August 22, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player. During his 16-year career, he played for Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer. He was a three-time MLS Defender of the Year Award wi ...
when he retired in late May. Earlier in the month, the Sounders had signed center-back
Xavier Arreaga
Xavier Ricardo Arreaga Bermello (born 28 September 1994) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the Ecuador national team.
Career
Arreaga made his debut for Ecuado ...
to a
Designated Player
The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...
contract and left-back
Joevin Jones
Joevin Martin Jones (born 3 August 1991) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
Jones' professional career began with W Connection ...
upon his return to the team from the
2. Bundesliga.
The team lost several players to injuries and international call-ups in June and had a three-match losing streak before recovering to win four matches in late June and early July. Seattle then lost defender
Román Torres
Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team.
He represented the Panama nat ...
in early August to a ten-match suspension for
performance-enhancing substance
Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...
s and were winless in four matches before defeating the
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
. Seattle won four of their last seven matches to clinch a playoff berth and finish second in the Western Conference behind
Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...
(LAFC), who won the
Supporters' Shield and set new league records for points and goal differential.
In the first round of the playoffs, Seattle hosted
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
and struck first through
Raúl Ruidíaz
Raúl Mario Ruidíaz Misitich (, Croatian: ''Misitić''; born 25 July 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who currently plays for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders and the Peru national team, as a striker.
He is of maternal ...
and
Jordan Morris to take a 2–0 lead in the first half, but conceded a goal before halftime. Dallas's
Matt Hedges
Matthew James Hedges (born April 1, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Hedges has been one of the better defenders in MLS since 2014, landing on the MLS Best X ...
tied the match in the 64th minute, but Morris briefly restored the Sounders' lead before the match was tied 3–3 by the end of regulation time. In
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, Morris completed his first career
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
with a goal in the 113th minute to cap a 4–3 victory. Seattle went on to host
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 20 ...
in the Conference Semifinals and won 2–0 with a goal and assist from
Nicolás Lodeiro in the second half.
Gustav Svensson
Karl Gustav Johan Svensson (born 7 February 1987) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg as a midfielder. Starting off his footballing career in Sweden with IFK Göteborg in 2005, he went on to play p ...
opened the scoring in the 64th minute by heading in a corner kick taken by Lodeiro, which was followed up by a strike of his own in the 81st minute on a counterattack. The team extended their home winning streak in the playoffs to eleven matches.
The Sounders traveled to play Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference Final at
Banc of California Stadium
Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened on ...
.
LAFC took the lead in the 17th minute through a free kick by
Eduard Atuesta, but Seattle scored twice within nine minutes with goals on transitions by Ruidíaz and Lodeiro to close out the first half.
Ruidíaz added a second goal for himself, shooting from just outside the box, and the team prevented involvement from LAFC captain and MLS scoring leader
Carlos Vela
Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (born 1 March 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer who captains and plays for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Described as a versatile player who can play as a forward, winger, and attacking midfield ...
to complete a 3–1
upset victory that returned the Sounders to the MLS Cup final.
Toronto FC
Toronto FC won their first MLS Cup in 2017, which also completed the first domestic
treble in MLS history after the team also won the Supporters' Shield and
Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...
during the same season. The team finished the
2018 season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, failing to qualify for the playoffs, and lost key players
Sebastian Giovinco
Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions.
Gio ...
and
Víctor Vázquez to teams in the Middle East.
General manager
Tim Bezbatchenko
Timothy Bezbatchenko (born October 13, 1981) is an American retired soccer player and president of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew.
Playing career
As a youth player, Bezbatchenko was part of the United States National Pool in 1999–20 ...
also left the club to take on a role with the
Columbus Crew SC
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an Soccer in the United States, 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 ( ...
, but head coach
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 ...
remained for his sixth season with Toronto.
During the preseason, Toronto's new general manager
Ali Curtis
Ali Curtis (born December 18, 1978) is a sports executive and former American soccer player. He was the 1999 Hermann Trophy and 2000 MAC Award winner before playing in Major League Soccer from 2001 to 2004. Curtis became the first African Americ ...
signed several MLS returnees, including midfielder
Nick DeLeon
Nicholas Lee DeLeon (born July 17, 1990) is an American soccer player. Although he is capable of playing as a full-back, he typically plays as a wide midfielder, working towards the center. He is highly regarded for his work rate and 1-on-1 ski ...
and defender
Laurent Ciman
Laurent Franco Ciman (born 5 August 1985) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He currently serves as an assistant coach for CF Montréal in Major League Soccer.
Club career Charleroi
Ciman began his career in ...
.
The club also acquired Spanish attacking midfielder
Alejandro Pozuelo
Alejandro Pozuelo Melero (born 20 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF.
Developed in the Betis system, he amassed La Liga totals of 40 matches and t ...
from
Genk
Genk () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. I ...
on a Designated Plated contract. During the summer transfer window, Toronto also signed U.S. defender
Omar Gonzalez
Omar Alejandro Gonzalez (born October 11, 1988) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer.
A college soccer player for the Maryland Terrapins, he joined the LA G ...
on his return from
Liga MX
The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year.
The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...
, Venezuelan midfielder
Erickson Gallardo, and midfielder
Nicolas Benezet
Nicolas Benezet (born 24 February 1991) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Nîmes Olympique, Nîmes.
Club career France
Born in Montpellier, Benezet played in the youth academ ...
on loan from French club
Guingamp
Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...
.
The club began their season in the
CONCACAF Champions League
The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...
, having qualified as the winners of the
Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...
, and lost 5–1 on aggregate to Panamanian club
Club Independiente in the Round of 16. Toronto opened the MLS regular season with three wins against Eastern Conference opponents, tying a franchise record for best start, but earned only two more wins in their next 13 games, which also included an eight-match winless streak lasting into late June.
Several key players were called away to their national teams to play in the
Gold Cup, but returned to begin the second half of the season with four wins in eight matches by the end of July. The addition of several depth players in the summer transfer window, including Gonzalez, Benezet, and
Patrick Mullins
Patrick Michael Mullins (born February 5, 1992) is an American retired soccer player. A left-footed forward, he was a two-time winner of the Hermann Trophy as the top men's college soccer player and was the leading scorer in NCAA Division I s ...
, also improved the team's defense. In their last ten regular season matches, Toronto went undefeated with four wins and six draws, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. Forward
Jozy Altidore
Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...
left the final match of the regular season with a
quadriceps
The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...
injury that kept him out of the playoffs. The team also lost the
Canadian Championship Final to the
Montreal Impact in September, leaving them without a berth in the
2020 CONCACAF Champions League.
Toronto hosted fifth-place
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 ...
in the first round of the playoffs at
BMO Field
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
and took a half-time lead through a goal by
Marky Delgado
Marco Antonio Delgado (born May 16, 1995), known as Mark Delgado or Marky Delgado, is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
Early life
Delgado grew up watching his two older broth ...
, who capitalized on a goalkeeping mistake from
Bill Hamid
Abdul Bilal "Bill" Hamid ( ; born November 25, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for D.C. United in Major League Soccer.
Born in Annandale, Virginia, Hamid was the first D.C. United Academy player to s ...
.
Lucas Rodríguez equalized for D.C. in
stoppage time at the end of the second half, forcing the match into
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. Toronto proceeded to score four unanswered goals, including two in the first five minutes from
Richie Laryea
Richmond Mamah Laryea ( ; Ga: ; born January 7, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a right-back or midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, and the Can ...
and
Jonathan Osorio
Jonathan Osorio (born June 12, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Canada national team. He holds the Toronto FC club record for most appearances. Osorio al ...
. Osorio added his second in the 103rd minute and was followed two minutes later by
Nick DeLeon
Nicholas Lee DeLeon (born July 17, 1990) is an American soccer player. Although he is capable of playing as a full-back, he typically plays as a wide midfielder, working towards the center. He is highly regarded for his work rate and 1-on-1 ski ...
to complete a 5–1 victory in the first half of extra time.
The team traveled to play top-seeded
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 ...
(NYCFC) in the Conference Semifinals, earning a 2–1 victory at
Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
. After a scoreless first half, Pozuelo scored two minutes into the second half after receiving a ball off a failed header from New York's
Maxime Chanot. NYCFC equalized through a shot by
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (born 28 March 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up ...
, who made a late run into the box in the 69th minute, but Toronto earned a penalty in the 90th minute that was converted by Pozuelo with a
Panenka for a 2–1 win. Toronto continued to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they faced defending MLS Cup champions
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 ...
at their home stadium. Atlanta took the lead in the fourth minute through a goal by
Julian Gressel
Julian Emil Kurt Gressel (born December 16, 1993) is a professional soccer player who plays as a full-back for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps. Born in Germany, he represents the United States national team. He began his career i ...
and were awarded a penalty kick minutes later for a foul by
Michael Bradley, but the 11th-minute penalty taken by
Josef Martínez
Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia (born 19 May 1993) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United and the Venezuela national team.
Josef Martínez began his career with Caracas. ...
was saved by goalkeeper
Quentin Westberg
Quentin Oyamo Westberg (born April 25, 1986) is a soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Atlanta United. Born in France, Westberg opted to represent the United States on the international level and is a former youth international having r ...
.
Two minutes later, Nicolas Benezet scored with a curling shot from the edge of the box to equalize for Toronto; the Reds completed their 2–1 upset victory with a strike from Nick DeLeon that beat goalkeeper
Brad Guzan
Bradley Edwin Guzan (; born September 9, 1984) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC.
A college soccer second ...
. The team reached the MLS Cup final, their third in four seasons, on a thirteen-match unbeaten streak across MLS competitions.
Summary of results
:''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''
Venue and preparations
![King County Metro trolleybus 4314 with MLS Cup advertisement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/King_County_Metro_trolleybus_4314_with_MLS_Cup_advertisement.jpg)
MLS Cup 2019 was hosted by the Sounders at their home stadium,
CenturyLink Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in S ...
in Seattle, Washington.
It was the venue's second time as MLS Cup host, as the
2009 edition was played there as a neutral-site venue; at the time, the stadium was named Qwest Field. The 69,000-seat stadium opened in 2002 as a shared venue for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
and soccer, with the Sounders entering MLS seven years later.
The Sounders announced that they would open all seating areas in the upper deck of the stadium for the MLS Cup final, making a total of 69,000 seats available, a change from previous rounds of the playoffs that were limited to 37,722 seats. Tickets were distributed to
season ticket holders after the Eastern Conference Final, selling 50,000 seats, and were released for public sale beginning November 1. The remaining tickets were sold out within 20 minutes of the public release, including 3,000 allocated to away fans by the league.
Prices for tickets on secondary markets peaked at an average of $622, surpassing all but one Seattle sporting event on
SeatGeek
SeatGeek is a mobile-focused ticket platform that enables users to buy and sell tickets for live sports, concerts and theater events. SeatGeek allows both mobile app and desktop users to browse events, view interactive color-coded seatmaps, compl ...
.
The club released a limited number of
standing-room only
An event is described as standing-room only when it is so well-attended that all of the chairs in the venue are occupied, leaving only flat spaces of pavement or flooring for other attendees to stand, at least those spaces not restricted by occup ...
tickets at the
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
prior to the match that were also sold out.
The Sounders hosted several fan events during the MLS Cup weekend, including the installation of a giant replica of the
Philip F. Anschutz Trophy
The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy is a silver trophy that is awarded to winners of MLS Cup. Since the inaugural MLS Cup in 1996, three trophies have been used: the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy from 1996 to 1998, a second version of the Rothenberg Tro ...
at
Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pu ...
and the lighting of several city landmarks in rave green. The MLS Cup trophy was also taken on a tour of the city, arriving aboard a
state ferry and sent to the
Space Needle
The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...
to be displayed with former Sounders goalkeeper
Kasey Keller
Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...
. The club also organized a viewing party at
Occidental Park with a concert by Sounders minority owner
Macklemore
Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...
. A
seismograph
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...
was temporarily installed at the stadium by the
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network to record fan reactions to events.
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
ran several
Sounder commuter train trips to
King Street Station
King Street Station is a train station in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is served by Amtrak's '' Cascades'', ''Coast Starlight'', and ''Empire Builder'', as well as Sounder commuter trains run by Sound Transit. The station also anchor ...
to accommodate the expected number of fans.
Broadcasting
The match was broadcast in the United States on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in English, for the first time since
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, and
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
in Spanish. In Canada, coverage was provided by
TSN4
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by commu ...
in English and
TVA Sports
TVA Sports is a Canadian French-language sports specialty channel owned by the Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. The channel is a general-interest sports network, and the first major competitor to RDS, the only other Fre ...
in French.
On ABC, ESPN's
Jon Champion
Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as the lead association football commentator for ESPN (US). Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC ...
called the play-by-play with color commentator
Taylor Twellman
Taylor Timothy Twellman (born February 29, 1980) is an American former soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2010. He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator.
Twellman is best known for his play with the New Eng ...
, who also hosted previews on ''
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'' and ESPN+. The Univision broadcast featured Jorge Luis López Salido, Raúl Guzmán, Diego Balado, and Marcelo Balboa. The TSN broadcast, which included a simulcast on TSN Radio 1050 in the Toronto area, was headlined by play-by-play commentator Luke Wileman and color analyst Steven Caldwell.
The match was also carried by ESPN (Latin America), ESPN International in Spanish with commentary by and Herculez Gomez in Central America; Hernán De Lorenzi and Pedro Wolff in South America; and in Portuguese with Everaldo Marques and Gustavo Hoffman.
The ABC broadcast averaged 823,000 viewers and peaked in the second half with 1.1 million viewers, including a 13.2 local rating in the Seattle–Tacoma market. The Univision broadcast averaged 447,000 viewers, while the TSN4 broadcast in Canada averaged 748,000 viewers.
Match
Summary
![MLS Cup 2019 tifo display from west side by SiempreSeattle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/MLS_Cup_2019_tifo_display_from_west_side_by_SiempreSeattle.jpg)
The match began at 12:08 p.m. local time, with cloudy skies and a kickoff temperature of .
The national anthem was performed by Pearl Jam's Mike McCready on his electric guitar as the Emerald City Supporters unveiled a tifo that was choreographed with a card display from the entire stadium. Both teams fielded most of their regular starting lineups, with Seattle starting
Román Torres
Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team.
He represented the Panama nat ...
in place of
Xavier Arreaga
Xavier Ricardo Arreaga Bermello (born 28 September 1994) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the Ecuador national team.
Career
Arreaga made his debut for Ecuado ...
and Toronto replacing
Laurent Ciman
Laurent Franco Ciman (born 5 August 1985) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He currently serves as an assistant coach for CF Montréal in Major League Soccer.
Club career Charleroi
Ciman began his career in ...
with Omar Gonzalez. Allen Chapman was assigned as the head referee for the match, reprising his role from the 2017 Toronto–Seattle final.
Toronto had the majority of possession and attacking chances in the first half, with the Sounders responding with counterattacks and defending from turnovers.
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei made several saves to keep Toronto scoreless, blocking a pair of shots by
Nicolas Benezet
Nicolas Benezet (born 24 February 1991) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Nîmes Olympique, Nîmes.
Club career France
Born in Montpellier, Benezet played in the youth academ ...
and another from
Jonathan Osorio
Jonathan Osorio (born June 12, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Canada national team. He holds the Toronto FC club record for most appearances. Osorio al ...
.
In the last minute before first half
stoppage time, Sounders forward
Raúl Ruidíaz
Raúl Mario Ruidíaz Misitich (, Croatian: ''Misitić''; born 25 July 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who currently plays for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders and the Peru national team, as a striker.
He is of maternal ...
broke away from Toronto defender
Omar Gonzalez
Omar Alejandro Gonzalez (born October 11, 1988) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer.
A college soccer player for the Maryland Terrapins, he joined the LA G ...
with a chance to score, but his shot was unable to go past goalkeeper
Quentin Westberg
Quentin Oyamo Westberg (born April 25, 1986) is a soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Atlanta United. Born in France, Westberg opted to represent the United States on the international level and is a former youth international having r ...
.
Seattle manager Brian Schmetzer responded at halftime by moving
Jordan Morris to the right wing and
Joevin Jones
Joevin Martin Jones (born 3 August 1991) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
Jones' professional career began with W Connection ...
to the left, while Toronto made no significant adjustments.
The scoring deadlock for the Sounders was broken in the 57th minute by right-back
Kelvin Leerdam
Kelvin Leerdam (; born 24 June 1990) is a Surinamese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for LA Galaxy and the Suriname national team.
Club career
Early career
Leerdam was born in Paramaribo, the capital and largest city of Suri ...
, who collected a ball from Ruidíaz and attempted a cross to the back-post that was instead deflected into the goal by Toronto defender Justin Morrow.
Toronto's players protested that the goal was preceded by a foul on Jonathan Osorio by Cristian Roldan, but the goal stood and was awarded to Leerdam by match officials after confusion over whether it counted as an own goal.
Toronto manager
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 ...
responded by substituting Benezet for forward
Jozy Altidore
Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...
, who had missed the playoffs with an injury.
The attacking momentum of the match changed in Seattle's favor, with several chances falling to the Sounders that they were unable to finish.
Víctor Rodríguez, who had entered the match as a substitute in the 60th minute, added a second goal for Seattle in the 76th minute with a strike from atop the penalty area after a laid-off ball from Nicolás Lodeiro.
Toronto attempted to halve the lead in the 87th minute with a header from Omar Gonazlez that went wide as he collided with Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
At the end of regulation time, Ruidíaz out-muscled Chris Mavinga while chasing a long overhead ball from
Gustav Svensson
Karl Gustav Johan Svensson (born 7 February 1987) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg as a midfielder. Starting off his footballing career in Sweden with IFK Göteborg in 2005, he went on to play p ...
and beat Westberg to score the team's third and final goal of the match. Jozy Altidore earned a consolation goal for Toronto with a header in the third minute of stoppage time as the match ended with a 3–1 scoreline.
Details
Post-match
The Sounders became the sixth team to win multiple MLS Cup titles and ended a 267-minute scoreless streak in MLS Cup play with Leerdam's goal.
The match was the first MLS Cup final since the MLS Cup 2012, 2012 edition to feature four or more goals.
The announced attendance of 69,274 was the second-highest for an MLS Cup final and set new records for the largest sporting event at the stadium and soccer attendance in state history.
Sounders midfielder Victor Rodríguez was named the MLS Cup most valuable player for scoring the winning goal; he left the club less than two weeks later with the intent of returning to his native Spain. A victory parade took place on November 12 in Downtown Seattle, running from Westlake Park (Seattle), Westlake Park to a rally at the Seattle Center, and was attended by thousands of fans. The club's two MLS Cup trophies also made several stops around Seattle landmarks as part of a victory tour for fans, including several trips on the Washington State Ferries system. The United States congressional delegations from Washington, Washington state delegation to the United States Congress introduced congratulatory resolutions to honor the Sounders and their successful season.
As MLS Cup champions, the Sounders earned $275,000 in prize money, while Toronto earned $80,000. Seattle also earned a berth in the
2020 CONCACAF Champions League, despite having already qualified in another slot as the highest-ranked regular season team to remain in the playoffs. They were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Honduran club C.D. Olimpia in a penalty shootout at CenturyLink Field following a 4–4 tie on aggregate. The Sounders were also scheduled to host the
2020 Campeones Cup in August against the winner of the Mexican Campeón de Campeones, but the match was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sounders went on to play in the MLS Cup 2020, 2020 edition of the MLS Cup after a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were unable to defend their title, losing 3–0 to hosts
Columbus Crew SC
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an Soccer in the United States, 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 ( ...
.
References
External links
MLS Cup Playoffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mls Cup 2019
MLS Cup, 2019
2019 Major League Soccer season
Seattle Sounders FC matches
Toronto FC matches
Sports competitions in Seattle
November 2019 sports events in the United States
2019 in Seattle