2006 Major League Soccer season

The 2006 Major League Soccer season was the 11th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 94th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 28th with a national first-division league.

2006 Major League Soccer season
Season2006
MLS CupHouston Dynamo (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldD.C. United (3rd shield)
2007 CONCACAF Champions' CupHouston Dynamo
D.C. United
Matches played192
Goals scored503 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorerJeff Cunningham
Real Salt Lake
Goals: 16
Biggest home winNY 6–0 RSL
Biggest away winNY 1–4 DCU
LA 0–3 RSL
DCU 2–5 LA
Highest scoringNY 5–4 CHV
Longest winning runD.C. United
Wins: 6
(06/21 – 07/15)
Longest unbeaten runD.C. United
Wins: 14
(05/13 – 07/22)
Longest losing runK.C. Wizards
Loss: 7
(06/24 – 07/22)
Los Angeles Galaxy
Loss: 7
(05/06 -06/08)
Highest attendanceLos Angeles Galaxy
Season: 333,016
Game avg.: 20,814
Lowest attendanceK.C. Wizards
Season: 177,322
Game avg.: 11,083
Total attendance2,976,787
Average attendance15,504
← 2005
2007 →
2006 Major League Soccer season is located in the United States
D.C.United
D.C.
United
New YorkRed Bulls
New York
Red Bulls
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
New England Revolution
New England Revolution
ChicagoFire
Chicago
Fire
Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
FC Dallas
Chivas USA
Chivas USA
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
RealSalt Lake
Real
Salt Lake
Locations of teams for the 2006 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

The MetroStars were bought by Austrian company Red Bull and rebranded as the New York Red Bulls.

Due to owner AEG being unable to secure a soccer specific stadium in San Jose, the Earthquakes ceased operations and had their personnel transferred to the expansion Houston Dynamo.

In June, the Chicago Fire moved into their new soccer-specific stadium, Toyota Park, in Bridgeview, Illinois.

The regular season began on April 1, and concluded on October 15. The 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 21, and concluded with MLS Cup 2006 on November 12. Houston marked their inaugural season with a league championship by defeating the New England Revolution on penalties in MLS Cup.

Overview

Season Format

The season began on April 1 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 12. The 12 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, and every team in the opposite conference twice.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield and qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup also qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. If a team qualified for multiple berths into the Champions' Cup, then additional berths were awarded to the highest overall finishing MLS team(s) not already qualified. Qualification for the inaugural SuperLiga was also awarded to the MLS Cup Champion and Supporters' Shield winner, as well two invited teams, FC Dallas and LA Galaxy.

Automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup was awarded to the top three finishers in each conference. The rest of the U.S.-based MLS teams had to qualify for the remaining two berths via a series of play-in games.

Stadiums and locations
Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Team Stadium Capacity
Chicago Fire Toyota Park 20,000
Chivas USA Home Depot Center 27,000
Colorado Rapids Invesco Field at Mile High 76,125
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
FC Dallas Pizza Hut Park 21,193
Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium 32,000
Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756
New York Red Bulls Giants Stadium 80,200
Real Salt Lake Rice-Eccles Stadium 45,017

Personnel and sponsorships
Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire United States Dave Sarachan Honda
Chivas USA United States Bob Bradley —
Colorado Rapids United States Fernando Clavijo —
Columbus Crew United States Sigi Schmid United States Robin Fraser —
D.C. United Poland Piotr Nowak Sierra Mist
FC Dallas Northern Ireland Colin Clarke RadioShack
Houston Dynamo United States Dominic Kinnear United States Wade Barrett —
Kansas City Wizards United States Bob Gansler U.S. Soccer Foundation
Los Angeles Galaxy United States Steve Sampson Budweiser
New England Revolution Scotland Steve Nicol Sierra Mist
New York Red Bulls Scotland Mo Johnston France Youri Djorkaeff Red Bull
Real Salt Lake United States John Ellinger United States Jason Kreis —

Coaching changes
TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy United States Steve Sampson Fired June 6, 2006 Canada Frank Yallop June 7, 2006
New York Red Bulls Scotland Mo Johnston Fired June 27, 2006 United States Richie Williams June 28, 2006
New York Red Bulls United States Richie Williams Interim July 18, 2006 United States Bruce Arena July 18, 2006
Kansas City Wizards United States Bob Gansler Resigned July 19, 2006 United States Brian Bliss July 19, 2006

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United 32 15 7 10 52 38 +14 55 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 New England Revolution 32 12 8 12 39 35 +4 48
3 Chicago Fire 32 13 11 8 43 41 +2 47
4 New York Red Bulls 32 9 11 12 41 41 0 39
5 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 14 8 43 45 −2 38
6 Columbus Crew 32 8 15 9 30 42 −12 33
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Dallas 32 16 12 4 48 44 +4 52 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Houston Dynamo 32 11 8 13 44 40 +4 46
3 Chivas USA 32 10 9 13 45 42 +3 43
4 Colorado Rapids 32 11 13 8 36 49 −13 41
5 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 11 15 6 37 37 0 39
6 Real Salt Lake 32 10 13 9 45 49 −4 39
Source: MLS

Overall Standings
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United (S) 32 15 7 10 52 38 +14 55 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 FC Dallas 32 16 12 4 48 44 +4 52 North American SuperLiga
3 New England Revolution 32 12 8 12 39 35 +4 48
4 Chicago Fire 32 13 11 8 43 41 +2 47
5 Houston Dynamo (C) 32 11 8 13 44 40 +4 46 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6 Chivas USA 32 10 9 13 45 42 +3 43
7 Colorado Rapids 32 11 13 8 36 49 −13 41
8 New York Red Bulls 32 9 11 12 41 41 0 39
9 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 11 15 6 37 37 0 39 North American SuperLiga
10 Real Salt Lake 32 10 13 9 45 49 −4 39
11 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 14 8 43 45 −2 38
12 Columbus Crew 32 8 15 9 30 42 −12 33
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs
Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
          
E1 D.C. United 1 1
E4 New York 0 1
E1 D.C. United 0
Eastern Conference
E2 New England 1
E3 Chicago 1 1 (2)
E2 New England (p) 0 2 (4)
E2 New England 1 (3)
W2 Houston (p) 1 (4)
W1 Dallas 2 2 (4)
W4 Colorado (p) 1 3 (5)
W4 Colorado 1
Western Conference
W2 Houston 3
W3 Chivas USA 2 0
W2 Houston 1 2

Conference Semifinals
D.C. United1–0New York Red Bulls
Gómez 77' Report
Attendance: 8,630
Referee: Michael Kennedy
New York Red Bulls1–1D.C. United
Altidore 70' Report Gómez 86'
Attendance: 21,455
Referee: Tim Weyland

D.C. United advance 2–1 on aggregate.

New England Revolution0–1Chicago Fire
Report Mapp 35'
Attendance: 10,217
Referee: Tim Weyland
Chicago Fire1–2 (AET)New England Revolution
Jaqua 18' (Report) Twellman 41'
Noonan 58'
Penalties
Thiago soccer ball with red X
Gutiérrez soccer ball with check mark
Herron soccer ball with check mark
Guerrero soccer ball with red X		 2–4 soccer ball with check mark Cancela
soccer ball with check mark Reis
soccer ball with check mark Noonan
soccer ball with check mark Twellman
Attendance: 9,372
Referee: Jair Marrufo

New England Revolution advance 4–2 on penalties (2–2 aggregate after extra time).

FC Dallas2–1Colorado Rapids
Ruíz 15'
Thompson 55'		 Report Cooke 23'
Martins Red card 88'
Attendance: 4,176
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Colorado Rapids3–2 (AET)FC Dallas
Hernández 57', 83'
Mathis 114'		 Report Gbandi Red card 29'
Ruíz 48'
Goodson 92'
Penalties
Mathis soccer ball with check mark
Hernández soccer ball with check mark
Kirovski soccer ball with check mark
Beckerman soccer ball with check mark
Karanka soccer ball with red X
Mastroeni soccer ball with check mark		 5–4 soccer ball with check mark Ruíz
soccer ball with check mark O'Brien
soccer ball with check mark Mulrooney
soccer ball with red X Vanney
soccer ball with check mark Valakari
soccer ball with red X Sala
Attendance: 15,486
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties (4–4 aggregate after extra time).

Houston Dynamo1–2Chivas USA
Ching 75' Report Razov 45'
Palencia 68'
Attendance: 15,110
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Chivas USA0–2Houston Dynamo
Palencia Yellow card 57' Yellow-red card 58' Report Davis 64' (pen.)
Ching 90+3'
Attendance: 17,440
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Houston Dynamo advance 3–2 on aggregate.

Conference Finals
New England Revolution1–0D.C. United
Twellman 4' Report
Attendance: 19,552
Referee: Kevin Stott

New England Revolution advances 1–0 in single elimination.

Colorado Rapids1–3Houston Dynamo
Kirovski 4' Report Dalglish 10', 21'
Mullan 71'
Attendance: 23,107
Referee: Brian Hall

Houston Dynamo advances 3–1 in single elimination.

MLS Cup
Main article: MLS Cup 2006
Houston Dynamo1–1 (AET)New England Revolution
Ching 114' (Report) Twellman 113'
Penalties
Gray soccer ball with check mark
Holden soccer ball with check mark
De Rosario soccer ball with check mark
Davis soccer ball with red X
Ching soccer ball with check mark		 4–3 soccer ball with check mark Joseph
soccer ball with check mark Reis
soccer ball with red X Noonan
soccer ball with check mark Twellman
soccer ball with red X Heaps
Attendance: 22,427
Referee: Jair Marrufo

Player statistics

Goals
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 United States Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 16
2 Argentina Christian Gómez D.C. United 14
United States Ante Razov Chivas USA
4 Guatemala Carlos Ruiz FC Dallas 13
5 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 12
6 Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United 11
Canada Dwayne De Rosario Houston Dynamo
United States Taylor Twellman New England Revolution
United States Kenny Cooper FC Dallas
United States Brian Ching Houston Dynamo

Assists
RankPlayerClubAssists
1 United States Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 9
2 United States Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake 8
Argentina Christian Gómez D.C. United
United States José Burciaga Jr. Kansas City Wizards
United States Justin Mapp Chicago Fire
United States Carey Talley Real Salt Lake
Republic of Ireland Ronnie O'Brien FC Dallas
England Terry Cooke Colorado Rapids
9 United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 7
Wales Andy Dorman New England Revolution
United States Sasha Victorine Kansas City Wizards

Clean Sheets
Rank Player Club Clean
Sheets
1 United States Matt Reis New England Revolution 10
2 United States Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy 9
3 United States Troy Perkins D.C. United 8
4 United States Joe Cannon Colorado Rapids 7
United States Zach Thornton Chicago Fire
6 United States Preston Burpo Chivas USA 5
United States Jon Conway New York Red Bulls
United States Brad Guzan Chivas USA
United States Tony Meola New York Red Bulls
Canada Pat Onstad Houston Dynamo
United States Bo Oshoniyi Kansas City Wizards
Argentina Darío Sala FC Dallas

Awards

Individual awards
AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable PlayerArgentina Christian GómezD.C. United
Defender of the YearUnited States Bobby BoswellD.C. United
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Troy PerkinsD.C. United
Coach of the YearUnited States Bob BradleyChivas USA
Rookie of the YearUnited States Jonathan BornsteinChivas USA
Comeback Player of the YearUnited States Richard MulrooneyFC Dallas
Golden BootUnited States Jeff CunninghamReal Salt Lake
Goal of the YearUnited States Brian ChingHouston Dynamo
Fair Play AwardUnited States Chris KleinReal Salt Lake
Humanitarian of the YearUnited States Michael ParkhurstNew England Revolution

Best XI
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Troy Perkins, D.C. United United States Bobby Boswell, D.C. United
United States José Burciaga Jr., Kansas City
United States Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City		 United States Ricardo Clark, Houston
United States Clint Dempsey, New England
Canada Dwayne De Rosario, Houston
Argentina Christian Gómez, D.C. United
United States Justin Mapp, Chicago		 United States Jeff Cunningham, Salt Lake
Bolivia Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Attendance
Club Games Total Average
Los Angeles Galaxy 16 333,016 20,814
Chivas USA 16 317,432 19,840
Houston Dynamo 16 302,957 18,935
D.C. United 16 291,442 18,215
Real Salt Lake 16 261,855 16,366
FC Dallas 16 239,714 14,982
New York Red Bulls 16 233,112 14,570
Chicago Fire 16 225,775 14,111
Columbus Crew 16 212,699 13,294
Colorado Rapids 16 192,894 12,056
New England Revolution 16 188,569 11,786
Kansas City Wizards 16 177,322 11,083
Totals 192 2,976,787 15,504
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