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2018 Major League Soccer season

October 15, 2023

The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31, 2018 and concluded with MLS Cup 2018 on December 8, 2018. The league took a nine-day hiatus in early June for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reduced from previous breaks.[1]

Major League Soccer
Season2018
Dates
  • March 3 – October 28
    (regular season)
  • October 31 – December 8
    (Playoffs)
MLS CupAtlanta United FC (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldNew York Red Bulls (3rd shield)
Champions League
(United States)		Atlanta United FC
Houston Dynamo
New York Red Bulls
Champions League
(Canada)		Toronto FC
Matches played391
Goals scored1,249 (3.19 per match)
Top goalscorerJosef Martínez
(31 goals)
Best goalkeeperLuis Robles
(14 shutouts)
Biggest home win6 goals:
SKC 6–0 VAN
(April 20)
Biggest away win6 goals:
COL 0–6 RSL
(August 25)
Highest scoring8 goals:
MTL 3–5 LAFC
(April 21)
TOR 4–4 DC
(June 13)
RSL 6–2 LAG
(September 1)
TOR 5–3 LAG
(September 15)
Longest winning run9 games
Seattle Sounders FC
(July 21 – September 19)
Longest unbeaten run15 games
Portland Timbers
(April 14 – August 11)
Longest winless run13 games
Orlando City
(July 21 – October 21)
Longest losing run9 games
Orlando City
(May 13 – July 7)
Highest attendance72,243
ATL 1–1 SEA
(July 15)
Lowest attendance5,158
DC 2–2 HOU
(March 17)
Total attendance8,553,245
Average attendance21,875
← 2017
2019 →

Los Angeles FC joined the league as an expansion franchise, while D.C. United debuted their new soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field.

Toronto FC were the defending Supporters' Shield champions and defending MLS Cup champions.

New York Red Bulls won their third Supporters' Shield, with a league record 71 points, while Atlanta United FC won their first MLS Cup in their second year in the league.

Teams Edit

Stadiums and locations Edit

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
  1. ^
    Non-soccer specific stadium and artificially reduced capacity.

Personnel and sponsorship Edit

Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Atlanta United FC   Tata Martino   Michael Parkhurst American Family Insurance
Chicago Fire   Veljko Paunović   Dax McCarty Valspar
Colorado Rapids   Anthony Hudson   Tim Howard Transamerica
Columbus Crew SC   Gregg Berhalter   Wil Trapp Acura
D.C. United   Ben Olsen   Wayne Rooney Leidos
FC Dallas   Óscar Pareja   Matt Hedges AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo   Wílmer Cabrera   DaMarcus Beasley —
LA Galaxy   Dominic Kinnear[a]   Ashley Cole Herbalife
Los Angeles FC   Bob Bradley   Carlos Vela YouTube TV
Minnesota United FC   Adrian Heath   Francisco Calvo Target
Montreal Impact   Rémi Garde   Ignacio Piatti Bank of Montreal
New England Revolution   Brad Friedel   Claude Dielna UnitedHealthcare
New York City FC   Domènec Torrent[b]   David Villa Etihad Airways
New York Red Bulls   Chris Armas[c]   Luis Robles Red Bull
Orlando City SC   James O'Connor[d]   Jonathan Spector Orlando Health
Philadelphia Union   Jim Curtin   Alejandro Bedoya Bimbo Bakeries USA
Portland Timbers   Giovanni Savarese   Diego Valeri Alaska Airlines
Real Salt Lake   Mike Petke   Kyle Beckerman LifeVantage
San Jose Earthquakes   Matias Almeyda[e]   Chris Wondolowski Sutter Health
Seattle Sounders FC   Brian Schmetzer   Osvaldo Alonso Xbox
Sporting Kansas City   Peter Vermes   Matt Besler Ivy Funds
Toronto FC   Greg Vanney   Michael Bradley Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Craig Dalrymple[f]   Kendall Waston Bell Canada
  1. ^ Kinnear was named interim head coach of the Galaxy on September 10 following Sigi Schmid's departure on that day.
  2. ^ Torrent was named head coach of New York City FC on June 11 following Patrick Vieira's departure on that day to manage OGC Nice.
  3. ^ Armas was named head coach of the Red Bulls on July 6 following Jesse Marsch's departure on that day to join the coaching staff of RB Leipzig.
  4. ^ O'Connor was named head coach on June 29, but did not join Orlando City until July 1. Bobby Murphy, who had been named interim head coach on June 15 after Orlando City and Jason Kreis agreed to part ways, coached the team's June 30 match.
  5. ^ Almeyda was named head coach on October 8, replacing interim head coach Steve Ralston, who took over after the Earthquakes fired Mikael Stahre on September 17.
  6. ^ Dalrymple was named interim head coach after the Whitecaps parted ways with Carl Robinson on September 25.

Coaching changes Edit

Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure 		Date of
vacancy 		Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Montreal Impact   Mauro Biello Fired October 23, 2017 Pre-season   Rémi Garde November 8, 2017
New England Revolution   Tom Soehn (interim) End of interim period November 9, 2017   Brad Friedel November 9, 2017
Portland Timbers   Caleb Porter Resigned November 17, 2017   Giovanni Savarese December 18, 2017
San Jose Earthquakes   Chris Leitch Returned to technical director role November 24, 2017   Mikael Stahre November 24, 2017
Colorado Rapids   Steve Cooke (interim) End of interim period November 29, 2017   Anthony Hudson November 29, 2017
New York City FC   Patrick Vieira Signed by   Nice June 11, 2018 2nd in East, 4th overall   Domènec Torrent June 11, 2018
Orlando City SC   Jason Kreis Mutual decision June 15, 2018 6th in East, 14th overall   Bobby Murphy (interim) June 15, 2018
Orlando City SC   Bobby Murphy (interim) End of interim period June 29, 2018 8th in East, 17th overall   James O'Connor June 29, 2018
New York Red Bulls   Jesse Marsch Signed by   RB Leipzig July 6, 2018 2nd in East, 3rd overall   Chris Armas July 6, 2018
LA Galaxy   Sigi Schmid Resigned September 10, 2018 8th in West, 13th overall   Dominic Kinnear (interim) September 10, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes   Mikael Stahre Fired September 17, 2018 12th in West, 23rd overall   Steve Ralston (interim) September 17, 2018
Vancouver Whitecaps FC   Carl Robinson Fired September 25, 2018 8th in West, 14th overall   Craig Dalrymple (interim) September 25, 2018
San Jose Earthquakes   Steve Ralston (interim) End of interim period October 8, 2018 12th in West, 23rd overall   Matías Almeyda October 8, 2018

Regular season Edit

Format Edit

During the 2018 MLS regular season, each team played 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams faced each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams played one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams played two. All teams faced each non-conference opponent once.

Conference standings Edit

Eastern Conference Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Red Bulls 34 22 7 5 62 33 +29 71 Conference semifinals[a]
2 Atlanta United FC 34 21 7 6 70 44 +26 69
3 New York City FC 34 16 10 8 59 45 +14 56 Knockout round
4 D.C. United 34 14 11 9 60 50 +10 51
5 Columbus Crew 34 14 11 9 43 45 −2 51
6 Philadelphia Union 34 15 14 5 49 50 −1 50
7 Montreal Impact 34 14 16 4 47 53 −6 46
8 New England Revolution 34 10 13 11 49 55 −6 41
9 Toronto FC 34 10 18 6 59 64 −5 36
10 Chicago Fire 34 8 18 8 48 61 −13 32
11 Orlando City SC 34 8 22 4 43 74 −31 28
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goal differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.[2]

Western Conference Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sporting Kansas City 34 18 8 8 65 40 +25 62 Conference semifinals[a]
2 Seattle Sounders FC 34 18 11 5 52 37 +15 59
3 Los Angeles FC 34 16 9 9 68 52 +16 57 Knockout round
4 FC Dallas 34 16 9 9 52 44 +8 57
5 Portland Timbers 34 15 10 9 54 48 +6 54
6 Real Salt Lake 34 14 13 7 55 58 −3 49
7 LA Galaxy 34 13 12 9 66 64 +2 48
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 13 13 8 54 67 −13 47
9 Houston Dynamo 34 10 16 8 58 58 0 38
10 Minnesota United FC 34 11 20 3 49 71 −22 36
11 Colorado Rapids 34 8 19 7 36 63 −27 31
12 San Jose Earthquakes 34 4 21 9 49 71 −22 21
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goal differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to a change in format for the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular season conference champions did not automatically earn a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.[3]

Overall table Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification[a]
1 New York Red Bulls (X) 34 22 7 5 62 33 +29 71 2019 CONCACAF Champions League
2 Atlanta United FC (C) 34 21 7 6 70 44 +26 69
3 Sporting Kansas City 34 18 8 8 65 40 +25 62
4 Seattle Sounders FC 34 18 11 5 52 37 +15 59
5 Los Angeles FC 34 16 9 9 68 52 +16 57
6 FC Dallas 34 16 9 9 52 44 +8 57
7 New York City FC 34 16 10 8 59 45 +14 56
8 Portland Timbers 34 15 10 9 54 48 +6 54
9 D.C. United 34 14 11 9 60 50 +10 51
10 Columbus Crew 34 14 11 9 43 45 −2 51
11 Philadelphia Union 34 15 14 5 49 50 −1 50
12 Real Salt Lake 34 14 13 7 55 58 −3 49
13 LA Galaxy 34 13 12 9 66 64 +2 48
14 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34 13 13 8 54 67 −13 47
15 Montreal Impact 34 14 16 4 47 53 −6 46
16 New England Revolution 34 10 13 11 49 55 −6 41
17 Houston Dynamo 34 10 16 8 58 58 0 38 2019 CONCACAF Champions League
18 Minnesota United FC 34 11 20 3 49 71 −22 36
19 Toronto FC 34 10 18 6 59 64 −5 36 2019 CONCACAF Champions League
20 Chicago Fire 34 8 18 8 48 61 −13 32
21 Colorado Rapids 34 8 19 7 36 63 −27 31
22 Orlando City SC 34 8 22 4 43 74 −31 28
23 San Jose Earthquakes 34 4 21 9 49 71 −22 21
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goals scored; 7) away goal differential; 8) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (X) Supporters' Shield winner
Notes:
  1. ^
    CONCACAF Champions League
    Selection procedure
    • Four US-based teams qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Due to a change in format to the tournament, two qualifiers came from each of the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.[4] This combined qualification method was used for the 2019 tournament only. For the 2018 season, the following teams qualified:
      1. The winner of MLS Cup 2018 (Atlanta United FC);
      2. The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup (Houston Dynamo)
      Thus unlike previous seasons, the Supporters' Shield winner and the regular season conference champion that did not win the Supporters' Shield werw not guaranteed a berth. Each qualifier entered at the second phase of the tournament.
      One Canada-based team qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, also entering at the second phase (NOTE: Canadian teams could not qualify through MLS):
      1. The winner of the 2018 Canadian Championship (Toronto FC)

Aggregate 2017 and 2018 table Edit

As Toronto FC won MLS Cup 2017, one of the U.S. berths for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League had to be reallocated, to the U.S. non-champions with the best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons. As the top ranked team in the table, Atlanta United FC, also qualified for the Champions League by winning MLS Cup 2018, the Champions League spot via the aggregate table was instead awarded to the second-placed team, the New York Red Bulls.[5][6]

Note: Only U.S. teams are listed in this table.

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Atlanta United FC 68 36 16 16 140 84 +56 124 2019 CONCACAF Champions League[a]
2 New York Red Bulls 68 36 19 13 115 80 +35 121 2019 CONCACAF Champions League[b]
3 New York City FC 68 32 19 17 115 88 +27 113
4 Seattle Sounders FC 68 32 20 16 104 76 +28 112
5 Sporting Kansas City 68 30 17 21 105 69 +36 111 2019 CONCACAF Champions League[c]
6 Portland Timbers 68 30 21 17 114 98 +16 107
7 Columbus Crew 68 30 23 15 96 94 +2 105
8 FC Dallas 68 27 19 22 100 92 +8 103
9 Real Salt Lake 68 27 28 13 104 113 −9 94
10 Philadelphia Union 68 26 28 14 99 97 +2 92
11 Houston Dynamo 68 23 26 19 115 103 +12 88 2019 CONCACAF Champions League[d]
12 Chicago Fire 68 24 29 15 106 105 +1 87
13 New England Revolution 68 23 28 17 102 116 −14 86
14 D.C. United 68 23 31 14 91 110 −19 83
15 LA Galaxy 68 21 30 17 111 131 −20 80
16 Minnesota United 68 21 38 9 97 141 −44 72
17 Orlando City 68 18 37 13 82 132 −50 67
18 San Jose Earthquakes 68 17 35 16 84 126 −42 67
19 Colorado Rapids 68 17 38 13 67 114 −47 64
20 Los Angeles FC 34 16 9 9 68 52 +16 57
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) away goals scored; 7) away goal differential; 8) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:
  1. ^ As MLS Cup 2018 champions (USA1)
  2. ^ As best aggregate 2017 and 2018 record (USA4)
  3. ^ As 2017 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA2)
  4. ^ As 2018 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA3)

Playoffs Edit

Main article: 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket Edit

Knockout Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
December 8 – Atlanta, Georgia
                
E3 New York City FC 0 1 1
10/31 – Bronx, New York
E2 Atlanta United FC 1 3 4
E3 New York City FC 3
E6 Philadelphia Union 1
E2 Atlanta United FC 3 0 3
Eastern Conference
E1 New York Red Bulls 0 1 1
E5 Columbus Crew 1 0 1
11/1 – Washington, D.C.
E1 New York Red Bulls 0 3 3
E4 D.C. United 2 (2)
E5 Columbus Crew (p) 2 (3)
E2 Atlanta United FC 2
W5 Portland Timbers 0
W5 Portland Timbers (p) 2 2 4 (4)
10/31 – Frisco, Texas
W2 Seattle Sounders FC 1 3 4 (2)
W4 FC Dallas 1
W5 Portland Timbers 2
W5 Portland Timbers 0 3 3
Western Conference
W1 Sporting Kansas City 0 2 2
W6 Real Salt Lake 1 2 3
11/1 – Los Angeles, California
W1 Sporting Kansas City 1 4 5
W3 Los Angeles FC 2
W6 Real Salt Lake 3

Knockout round Edit

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Eastern Conference
New York City FC (E3) 3–1 Philadelphia Union (E6)
D.C. United (E4) 2–2
(2–3 p) 		Columbus Crew SC (E5)
Western Conference
Los Angeles FC (W3) 2–3 Real Salt Lake (W6)
FC Dallas (W4) 1–2 Portland Timbers (W5)

Conference semifinals Edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eastern Conference
Columbus Crew SC (E5) 1–3 New York Red Bulls (E1) 1–0 0–3
New York City FC (E3) 1–4 Atlanta United FC (E2) 0–1 1–3
Western Conference
Real Salt Lake (W6) 3–5 Sporting Kansas City (W1) 1–1 2–4
Portland Timbers (W5) 4–4
(4–2 p) 		Seattle Sounders FC (W2) 2–1 2–3 (a.e.t.)

Conference finals Edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eastern Conference
Atlanta United FC (E2) 3–1 New York Red Bulls (E1) 3–0 0–1
Western Conference
Portland Timbers (W5) 3–2 Sporting Kansas City (W1) 0–0 3–2

MLS Cup Edit

Main article: MLS Cup 2018
Atlanta United FC2–0Portland Timbers
  • Martínez   39'
  • Escobar   54'
 Report
Attendance: 73,019
Referee: Alan Kelly

Attendance Edit

See also: Major League Soccer attendance

Average home attendances Edit

As of October 29, 2018

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Pos. Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1 Atlanta United FC 17 901,033 72,243 44,696 53,002
2 Seattle Sounders FC 17 690,893 47,521 39,465 40,641
3 Toronto FC 17 452,675 30,799 23,011 26,628
4 LA Galaxy 17 415,543 27,068 16,231 24,444
5 Minnesota United FC 17 406,342 52,242 18,057 23,902
6 Orlando City SC 17 405,730 25,527 22,337 23,866
7 New York City FC 17 394,583 30,139 18,584 23,211
8 Los Angeles FC 17 374,716 22,716 22,000 22,042
9 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 17 373,089 27,863 17,357 21,946
10 Portland Timbers 17 359,448 21,144 21,144 21,144
11 Sporting Kansas City 17 339,148 21,064 18,508 19,950
12 San Jose Earthquakes 17 323,547 50,743 15,648 19,032
13 New York Red Bulls 17 316,956 25,219 14,768 18,644
14 Real Salt Lake 17 316,286 21,363 16,015 18,605
15 Montreal Impact 17 315,665 26,005 15,485 18,569
16 New England Revolution 17 311,897 36,573 10,547 18,347
17 D.C. United 17 299,803 20,573 5,128 17,635
18 Houston Dynamo 17 287,408 22,320 13,094 16,906
19 Philadelphia Union 17 280,805 19,013 14,795 16,518
20 FC Dallas 17 263,707 19,096 13,147 15,512
21 Colorado Rapids 17 260,660 17,837 10,790 15,333
22 Chicago Fire 17 251,708 21,915 8,551 14,806
23 Columbus Crew 17 211,603 19,121 7,683 12,447
 – Total 391 8,553,245 72,243 5,128 21,875

Highest attendances Edit

As of October 22, 2018

Regular season

Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Week Stadium
1 Atlanta United FC 1–1 Seattle Sounders FC 72,243 July 15, 2018 20 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2 Atlanta United FC 3–1 D.C. United 72,035 March 11, 2018 2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
3 Atlanta United FC 2–0 Real Salt Lake 72,017 September 22, 2018 30 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
4 Atlanta United FC 4–0 Orlando City SC 71,932 June 30, 2018 18 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
5 Atlanta United FC 2–1 Chicago Fire 71,812 October 22, 2018 34 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
6 Minnesota United FC 1–3 LA Galaxy 52,242 October 21, 2018 33 TCF Bank Stadium
7 San Jose Earthquakes 3–3 LA Galaxy 50,743 June 30, 2018 18 Stanford Stadium
8 Seattle Sounders FC 2–3 Portland Timbers 47,521 June 30, 2018 18 CenturyLink Field
9 Atlanta United FC 3–1 Columbus Crew 45,303 August 19, 2018 25 Mercedes-Benz Stadium
10 Atlanta United FC 5–0 Los Angeles FC 45,207 April 7, 2018 6 Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Player statistics Edit

See also: Major League Soccer § Player records

Shutouts Edit

Hat-tricks Edit

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date
  Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4–1 March 17
  Dominique Badji Colorado Rapids Philadelphia Union 3–0 March 31
  Johnny Russell Sporting Kansas City Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6–0 April 20
  Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact Los Angeles FC 3–5 April 21
  Cristian Techera Vancouver Whitecaps FC New England Revolution 3–3 May 26
  Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC Philadelphia Union 3–1 June 2
  Adama Diomande Los Angeles FC Philadelphia Union 4–1 June 30
  Darwin Quintero Minnesota United FC Toronto FC 4–3 July 14
  Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC D.C. United 3–1 July 21
  Michael Barrios FC Dallas Sporting Kansas City 3–2 July 28
  Zlatan Ibrahimović LA Galaxy Orlando City SC 4–3 July 29
  Luciano Acosta D.C. United Orlando City SC 3–2 August 12
  Damir Kreilach Real Salt Lake LA Galaxy 6–2 September 1
  Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls D.C. United 3–3 September 16
  Gyasi Zardes Columbus Crew SC Minnesota United FC 3–2 October 28

Awards Edit

Player of the Month Edit

Main article: MLS Player of the Month
Month Player Club Stats Ref
March   Felipe Gutiérrez Sporting Kansas City 5 GP, 5 G [10]
April   Miguel Almirón Atlanta United FC 4 GP, 5 G, 2 A [11]
May   Zack Steffen Columbus Crew 5 GP, 0 GA [12]
June   Adama Diomande Los Angeles FC 5 GP, 7 G [13]
July   Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 5 GP, 9 G, 1 A [14]
August   Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 4 GP, 4 G, 1 A [15]
September   Luciano Acosta D.C. United 5 GP, 4 G, 6 A [16]
October   Wayne Rooney D.C. United 5 GP, 5 G [17]

Player and team of the week Edit

  • Bold denotes league player of the week.
  • Italics denotes Audi player performance of the week.