2009 Major League Soccer season

Major League Soccer
Season2009
MLS CupReal Salt Lake (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldColumbus Crew (3rd shield)
Champions LeagueColumbus Crew
Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy
Seattle Sounders FC
SuperLigaHouston Dynamo
Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
New England Revolution
Matches played226
Goals scored571 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerJeff Cunningham
FC Dallas
Goals: 17
Biggest home winRSL 6–0 NE
(April 25)[1]
DAL 6–0 KC
(August 1)
Biggest away winCHI 0–3 DAL
(May 31)
SJ 0–3 CLB
(August 8)
Highest scoringLA 3–6 DAL
(September 12)[2]
Longest winning run5 wins:
Houston Dynamo
(May 23 – Jun 13)
Columbus Crew
(Jul 18 – Aug 15)
Longest unbeaten run11 matches:
Chicago Fire
(Mar 21 – May 28)
Houston Dynamo
(Apr 11 – Jun 20)
Longest winless run13 matches:
New York Red Bulls
(May 16 – Aug 15)
Longest losing run6 losses:
New York Red Bulls
(Jun 24 – Aug 15)
Highest attendanceCLB @ SJ: 61,572
Lowest attendanceSJ @ DAL: 5,724
Total attendance3,562,847
Average attendance16,037
2008
2010

The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league.

The Seattle Sounders FC debuted as the league's 15th club and were the second team in history to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. The club set a league record for attendance and averaged 30,943 per regular season match at Qwest Field.[3]

After three seasons, the MLS Reserve League was discontinued. As a result, each team's Developmental Roster spots were reduced from 10 to four, and each team's Senior Roster spots were increased from 18 to 20. This had the effect of reducing each team's total roster from 28 to 24 players.

The regular season began on March 19, and concluded on October 25. The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 29, and concluded with MLS Cup 2009 on November 22. Real Salt Lake won their first MLS Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in a penalty shootout.

  1. ^ Coon, John (April 25, 2009). "RSL's record-setting rout dooms Revs". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  2. ^ King, Jeffrey J. (September 13, 2009). "Dallas earns crucial win over Galaxy". MLSworks. Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 17, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Romero, José Miguel (January 27, 2010). "Keeping Sounders FC together is key to long-range success". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 14, 2023.