MLS Cup 2016 was the 21st edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), played on December 10, 2016. The soccer match was hosted at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and contested by Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC. It was the second final to be hosted in Toronto, after 2010, and the first there since the cup transitioned away from neutral-site venues.
The 2016 final was the first to be contested between two expansion teams and became the first in league history to end in a scoreless draw. The Sounders won their first title in a penalty shoot-out. Toronto FC became the first Canadian club to play in the MLS Cup, while Seattle capped a comeback season, who replaced their manager during the middle of the season and climbed from second-to-last in the conference to a playoff spot.
Road to the final
The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2016 season was the 21st in MLS history, and was contested by 20 teams in two conferences. Each club played 34 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team in the same conference at least twice and teams in the other conference at least once. The playoffs, running from October to December, were contested between the top six clubs in each conference and included four rounds: a one-match knockout round for the lowest-seeded teams, two rounds of home-and-away series, and the one-match final.
The 2016 edition of the MLS Cup was the first to feature two expansion teams not part of the original clubs from the league's inception, with Toronto joining in 2007 and Seattle in 2009. For the first time since the 2008 edition, both teams in the final were making their first appearance. Toronto and Seattle faced each other once during the 2016 regular season, ending in a 1–1 draw at BMO Field on July 2.
Toronto FC
Toronto FC became the first Canadian club to qualify for the MLS Cup final, in their tenth season in Major League Soccer. After eight consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance, Toronto hired manager Greg Vanney, general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, and a trio of star players: American midfielder Michael Bradley, forward Jozy Altidore, and Italian playmaker Sebastian Giovinco. The 2015 season marked the first time Toronto had qualified for the playoffs, as Giovinco set a league record by scoring a combined 38 goals and assists on his way to being named the league's most valuable player.
During the 2015–2016 offseason, Toronto acquired a new set of defensive players, including goalkeeper Clint Irwin, midfielder Will Johnson, and defenders Steven Beitashour and Drew Moor. The team started their first eight matches on the road as BMO Field had not finished renovation work, earning three wins and two draws and staying in a playoff position. Toronto slumped in May with a string of losses and draws, due in part to injuries to Altidore, Bradley, and Giovinco, but regained form in June with the reopening of BMO Field, capped off with a clinch of the Canadian Championship. Toronto lost only two of its final fifteen games, stretching from July to October, and qualified for the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto hosted the Philadelphia Union in the single-match knockout round, winning 3–1 and advancing to a series against New York City FC. Toronto won the home leg 2–0, and then proceeded to win 5–0 in New York City, setting a record for largest margin of victory on aggregate. In the Eastern Conference final, Toronto would face their rival Montreal Impact in a bid to be the first Canadian team to play in the MLS Cup. During the first leg, played in front of a record crowd of 61,004 in Montreal and delayed 41 minutes due to mistakes in the field markings, the Impact took a 3–0 lead shortly after halftime. Toronto responded with two late goals, giving them a potential away goal advantage. The second leg, played in Toronto, ended 3–2 after 90 minutes and forced extra time, where Toronto would score two unanswered goals to win 5–2. The series, ending with a 7–5 aggregate win for Toronto, set a league record for most goals scored in a two-legged series. Sports journalists called it the most thrilling series in MLS history and an "instant classic", drawing comparisons to the Los Angeles–San Jose series in the 2003 playoffs.
Seattle Sounders FC
The Seattle Sounders had been in Major League Soccer for eight seasons, qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs each year. While they had won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four times and the Supporters' Shield once, the Sounders never advanced further than the Western Conference Finals, which they reached on two previous occasions. The Sounders finished the 2015 season with a loss in the conference semifinals to FC Dallas and plans to retool their roster while chasing the "elusive" MLS Cup.
During the offseason, the club signed young players Jordan Morris, a homegrown player from Stanford, and Joevin Jones from Chicago. The team also lost several key players, including star forward Obafemi Martins two weeks before the start of the regular season. The Sounders won only six of their twenty matches, leaving them second to last place in the Western Conference by late July. Manager Sigi Schmid left the club on July 26, and was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Brian Schmetzer. The team signed Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro and saw the return of defender Román Torres from a long-term injury, helping strengthen the team, but lost captain Clint Dempsey to a diagnosed heart condition that would prevent him from playing for the rest of the season. The Sounders went on to win eight of their final fourteen matches under Schmetzer, qualifying on the final matchday for the playoffs as the fourth place seed in the Western Conference.
In the playoffs, the Sounders hosted Sporting Kansas City on October 27 in the single-match knockout round. The team won 1–0, off a headed goal in the 88th minute by Nelson Valdez, ending a personal scoring drought. Seattle advanced to the Conference Semifinals against FC Dallas, winning the home leg 3–0 and losing 2–1 away, for a 4–2 aggregate score. On November 27, the Sounders clinched their first Western Conference championship after a 3–1 aggregate win over the Colorado Rapids, after a 2–1 win at home and a 1–0 win in Colorado that came from a late goal by Morris, who was recovering from the flu.
Summary of results
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Toronto FCRoundSeattle Sounders FC3rd place in Eastern ConferenceRegular season4th place in Western ConferenceOpponent1st leg2nd legMLS Cup PlayoffsOpponent1st leg2nd legPhiladelphia Union3–1 (H)Knockout RoundSporting Kansas City1–0 (H)New York City FC7–02–0 (H)5–0 (A)Conference SemifinalsFC Dallas4–23–0 (H)1–2 (A)Montreal Impact7–52–3 (A)5–2 (H)Conference FinalsColorado Rapids3–12–1 (H)1–0 (A)
Venue
BMO Field was confirmed as the host of MLS Cup 2016 after Toronto FC won the Eastern Conference Championship, leaving them as the highest remaining seed. The stadium previously hosted MLS Cup 2010 as a neutral site, and had also hosted the 2008 MLS All-Star Game and the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. It was renovated prior to the 2016 season, adding additional seats and a roof to cover the stands at a cost of C$150 million. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the owners of BMO Field and Toronto FC, spent C$7 million on pitch maintenance for the 2016 season, in part due to the shared field with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
During the season, a temporary upper grandstand was built in the south end, originally to accommodate larger crowds for the CFL's 104th Grey Cup (which took place prior to the MLS Cup) and the National Hockey League's Centennial Classic (which was played after the MLS championship game). The club subsequently confirmed that the temporary seats would be made available to soccer fans if Toronto qualified for any playoff games that took place after the CFL championship game (specifically, the Eastern Conference Final and the MLS Cup). With the temporary seats, the stadium's capacity in its soccer configuration was about 36,000. The Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit announced increased service on bus and train routes to BMO Field on the night of the final.
Ticketing
Tickets for the match were divided into several blocs for allocation. A pre-sale event a week before the cup final sold 20,000 seats to existing season ticket holders, based on seniority; the sale did not guarantee similar seats to their season tickets, causing fans to complain on social media. A public sale on December 5 sold out 9,000 tickets, which quickly appeared on secondary markets for well above face value. An additional 5,000 seats were allocated to MLS, including 1,500 tickets for traveling supporters from Seattle.
Broadcasting
The 2016 final was broadcast by Fox Sports on terrestrial television in the United States, for the first time since 2008. The match was also carried by UniMás on terrestrial television and ESPN Deportes Radio on terrestrial radio in Spanish within the United States. SiriusXM broadcast the match on satellite radio in the United States. In Canada, the match was broadcast in English by TSN and in French by RDS. The MLS Cup was broadcast internationally by Fox Sports in Latin America and Africa, ESPN Brasil in Brazil, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Eurosport in Europe, and BeIN Sports in southeastern Asia and Australia.
Fox and TSN broadcast pre-game shows on their respective networks, in addition to regular coverage. Fox also broadcast the MLS Cup using a virtual reality app for the first time.
Commentary
Broadcaster Language Commentators Other staff Play-by-play Color Television Fox English John Strong Brad Friedel Alexi Lalas, Julie Stewart-Binks UniMás Spanish Raúl Guzmán Diego Balado, Marcelo Balboa Gonzalo Pineda, Ramsés Sandoval TSN English Luke Wileman Steven Caldwell Kristian Jack, Vic Rauter, Andi Petrillo, James Duthie RDS French Claudine Douville Jean Gounelle Patrick Friolet Radio SiriusXM English Joe Tolleson Janusz Michallik, Glenn Crooks TSN Radio English Gareth Wheeler Terry Dunfield
Viewership
The 2016 final set a new record for Major League Soccer viewership, with a total of 3.5 million viewers across all channels. Fox's broadcast reached 1.4 million viewers and was the most-watched English language broadcast of the MLS Cup in the United States since 2001. The Spanish-language broadcast on UniMás had an average 601,000 viewers. In Canada, an estimated audience of 1.5 million viewers watched the match on TSN and RDS, setting a new MLS record. The Seattle–Tacoma television market generated a 9.9 household rating for the match.
Match
Summary
The match kicked off at 8:16 p.m. Eastern Time at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the ground temperature was reported as and estimated at with wind chill. Alan Kelly was the head referee and his assistants were Frank Anderson, Joe Fletcher, Allen Chapman, and Danny Thornberry. Kelly and Anderson had been named the 2016 MLS Referee of the Year and the 2016 MLS Assistant Referee of the year, respectively, for their regular season performances.
During the first half, Toronto had the majority of possession and seven chances at goal, but were unable to score. Several hard tackles between players resulted in fouls being called and arguments, but no bookings from referee Alan Kelly.
The second half began with a major chance for Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco, who hit the side netting on an attempt at goal. Two Seattle players, Nelson Valdez and Erik Friberg, were substituted after suffering minor injuries. The rest of the half saw missed passes and touches from Toronto, along with a steadfast Seattle defense that let the match head into extra time at 0–0.