Reigning champs look to defend MLS Cup title
Back-to-back Supporters' Shield winners open Conference Semifinal series at Real Salt Lake on Saturday, followed by Game 2 at Crew Stadium on Nov. 5
Related
Game 1 is scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 31, at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be televised statewide in progress on ONN-TV immediately following the Miami-Toledo college football game. Fans in central Ohio can catch that broadcast in its entirety over the air on WBNS-DT 10.2, as well as on Insight Cable Ch. 432 and WOW! Cable Ch. 101.
The second leg of the two-game, total-goals series is slated for Thursday, Nov. 5, at Crew Stadium at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised live nationally on ESPN2.
The top-seeded Crew (13-7-10, 49 pts.) and No. 4 Real Salt Lake (11-12-7, 40 pts.) split their two-game, regular-season series with both teams winning at home.
Should the Supporters' Shield-winning Crew advance, it would host either second-seeded Chicago or No. 3 New England in the Eastern Conference Championship on Nov. 12 or 14. MLS Cup 2009 is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 22, at Qwest Field in Seattle.
Both two-game Crew playoff ticket packages and individual-game tickets are currently on sale at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 800-745-3000 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. Each package includes the Crew's two potential playoff games - Game 2 of the conference semifinals on Nov. 5, which is guaranteed, and the Eastern Conference Championship, should it advance.
2009 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule
All times Eastern; schedule subject to changeConference Semifinals - Game #1
Eastern Conference: (1) Columbus Crew at (4) Real Salt Lake, Saturday, Oct. 31 - 6 p.m. ET (ONN-TV, WBNS-HD 10.2, Direct Kick, MLSnet.com) (2) Chicago Fire at (3) New England Revolution, Saturday, Oct. 31 - 4 p.m. ET (FSC, FSE)
Western Conference: (1) Los Angeles Galaxy at (4) Chivas USA, Sunday, Nov. 1 - 5 p.m. ET (ESPN2, Deportes) (2) Houston Dynamo at (3) Seattle Sounders FC, Thursday, Oct. 29 - 10 p.m. ET (ESPN2, Deportes)
Conference Semifinals - Game #2
Eastern Conference: (4) Real Salt Lake at (1) Columbus Crew, Thursday, Nov. 5 - 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2, Deportes) (3) New England Revolution at (2) Chicago Fire, Saturday, Nov. 7 - 8:30 p.m. ET (FSC, FSE)
Western Conference: (3) Seattle Sounders FC at (2) Houston Dynamo, Sunday, Nov. 8 - 3 p.m. ET (TeleFutura, Regional TV) (4) Chivas USA at (1) Los Angeles Galaxy, Sunday, Nov. 8 - 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, Deportes)
Conference Championships (times TBD based on match-ups) Thursday, Nov. 12 (ESPN2, Deportes) Saturday, Nov. 14 (FSC, FSE)
MLS Cup 2009 Sunday, Nov. 22 - 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN and Galavision)
MLS Cup Playoffs Format Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The lower seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game. The winners of those four series advance to single-game Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup Finalists.
The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-home series advances to the single elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary. The team with the higher seed between the two Conference finalists will host the Conference Championship game.
In the case of ties after 90 minutes of regulation in the Eastern and Western Conference Championship games and MLS Cup, 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary, to determine the winners.
