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 Personnel and sponsorships Coaching changes ==Standings==