MLS Cup 2016
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MLS Cup 2016 was the 21st edition of the
MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
, the championship match of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS), played on December 10, 2016. The
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
match was hosted at
BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada, and contested by
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...
and
Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
. It was the second final to be hosted in Toronto, after
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, 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 The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
. 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 The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
is the post-season championship of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS), a professional club soccer league in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. 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 team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
s 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 BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
on July 2.


Toronto FC

Toronto FC became the first
Canad Canad may refer to: * Sanjak of Çanad, an Ottoman-era district * Magyarcsanád, known in Serbian as Čanad, a village in Hungary * Cenad, known in Serbian as Čanad, a commune in Romania See also * Canad Inns, a chain of hotels * Canard (disambi ...
ian club to qualify for the
MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
final, in their tenth season in Major League Soccer. After eight consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance, Toronto hired manager
Greg Vanney Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player and head coach of the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. A defender and one of MLS's original players, Vanney spent 10 seasons in the league and another three-and ...
, general manager
Tim Bezbatchenko Timothy Bezbatchenko (born October 13, 1981) is an American retired soccer player and president of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Playing career As a youth player, Bezbatchenko was part of the United States National Pool in 1999–20 ...
, and a trio of star players: American midfielder Michael Bradley, forward
Jozy Altidore Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...
, and Italian playmaker
Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions. Gio ...
. 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 In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
. During the 2015–2016 offseason, Toronto acquired a new set of defensive players, including goalkeeper
Clint Irwin Clinton Robert Irwin (born April 1, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Minnesota United. Early life Irwin attended high school at Charlotte Christian School. As a student, he played basketball, where h ...
, midfielder Will Johnson, and defenders
Steven Beitashour Steven Mehrdad Beitashour ( ; fa, استیون مهرداد بیت‌آشور , ; born February 1, 1987) is a professional soccer player who currently plays as a right-back for Colorado Rapids. Born in the United States, he represented the Ira ...
and
Drew Moor Drew Moor (born January 15, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a center-back in Major League Soccer. Born in Dallas, Moor began playing college soccer for the Furman Paladins before transferring to the Indiana ...
. The team started their first eight matches on the road as
BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
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 The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...
. 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 The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...
in the single-match knockout round, winning 3–1 and advancing to a series against
New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...
. 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 The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
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 The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualif ...
each year. While they had won the
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...
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 FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
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 Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
, and
Joevin Jones Joevin Martin Jones (born 3 August 1991) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Jones' professional career began with W Connection ...
from Chicago. The team also lost several key players, including star forward
Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-d ...
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 Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American Association football, soccer Manager (association football), coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West ...
left the club on July 26, and was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach
Brian Schmetzer Brian Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and retired player. He is the head coach of the Seattle Sounders FC, who play in Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's departure ...
. The team signed Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro and saw the return of defender
Román Torres Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team. He represented the Panama nat ...
from a long-term injury, helping strengthen the team, but lost captain
Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...
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 Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
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 FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
, 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 The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...
, 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 Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
.


Summary of results

:''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''


Venue

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
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 MLS Cup 2010, the 15th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was played between the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas to decide the champion of the 2010 season. The championship was played at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on ...
as a neutral site, and had also hosted the
2008 MLS All-Star Game The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced West Ham United of the English Premier League. The game was played on July 24, 2008, with the MLS winning 3–2. New England Revolution coac ...
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 Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, 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 The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(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 The 104th Grey Cup (branded as the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was a Canadian football game that was played on November 27, 2016, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks, that decided the champion for ...
(which took place prior to the MLS Cup) and the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
'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 The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
and
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...
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 Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
on
terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, for the first time since 2008. The match was also carried by
UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
on
terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...
and
ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Ameri ...
on
terrestrial radio Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...
in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
within the United States.
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
broadcast the match on
satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
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 Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
in Latin America and Africa,
ESPN Brasil ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996, 2000, ...
in Brazil,
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
in the United Kingdom,
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
in Europe, and
BeIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
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 Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
app for the first time.


Commentary


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 September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. 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 A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
generated a 9.9 household rating for the match.


Match


Summary

The match kicked off at 8:16 p.m.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
at
BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada, where the ground temperature was reported as and estimated at with
wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...
. Alan Kelly was the head referee and his assistants were Frank Anderson, Joe Fletcher,
Allen Chapman Allen Chapman (born August 18, 1974) is an American soccer referee and member of PRO. He lives in Utah. Chapman regularly referees matches for Major League Soccer, and has done so since 2012. During an August 2016 USL match in New Jersey, ...
, 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 Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions. Gio ...
, 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. The first half of extra time remained scoreless, with Giovinco replaced by
Tosaint Ricketts Tosaint Antony Ricketts (born 6 August 1987) is a Canadian former professional soccer player. He last played for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and, until 2020, the Canada national team as a forward. Club career Early career Ricketts was one ...
after suffering from a cramp. By the second half, both teams had exhausted their available substitutes. In the 108th minute, Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei made a crucial save on a header from
Jozy Altidore Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...
, using his body to spring his left hand onto the ball; Frei would record seven total saves and be named the game's
most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
for his efforts. The second half of extra time drew to a close after more than 120 minutes of play, with Seattle failing to register a single shot on goal. The
penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
began with Toronto's Jozy Altidore, who scored his attempt. After the first two rounds, including a miss from Toronto's Michael Bradley, Seattle had a 2–1 lead. Seattle's Álvaro Fernández missed his shot in the third round, leading to a tie that would persist until the end of the first five rounds. During the sudden death rounds, Toronto's Justin Morrow missed his penalty, letting it hit the crossbar of the goal. Seattle defender
Román Torres Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team. He represented the Panama nat ...
scored in the following attempt, winning the shoot-out and cup for Seattle 5–4, their first ever MLS Cup title.


Details


Post-match

Seattle Sounders FC became the first MLS club to not register a shot on goal during regular play, surpassing the record of one shot on goal the club set earlier in the season against
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
. Stefan Frei, who was traded from Toronto to Seattle three years to the day of the final, was awarded the
MLS Cup Most Valuable Player The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
award for his shutout and penalty saves. The team's comeback performance under new head coach Brian Schmetzer, from second-to-last in the conference to MLS Cup champions, was called the most stunning turnaround in MLS history and a " cinderella season". The season was voted the Sports Story of the Year in a public contest held by Sportspress Northwest. The Sounders earned a berth into the
2018 CONCACAF Champions League The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 53rd edition of the premier footba ...
, their first since the 2015–16 edition. Toronto earned a berth into the same competition by winning the 2017 Canadian Championship; the team was ineligible from qualifying for the competition through an MLS Cup win due to confederation rules. As MLS Cup winners, the Sounders received a prize of $275,000, while Toronto were awarded $80,000 as runners-up. Both teams would later qualify for MLS Cup 2017, setting up a rematch at BMO Field that was won by Toronto. The Sounders celebrated their first MLS Cup with a
parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
in Seattle on December 13 from
Westlake Park Westlake Park can mean: *Westlake Park (Seattle), a park in Seattle, Washington * MacArthur Park, formerly Westlake Park, in Los Angeles, California *Westlake Park (Houston) Westlake Park is a office complex located in the Energy Corridor, Housto ...
to a rally at the
Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needl ...
, adjacent to the Sounders' first home stadium at Memorial Stadium; the parade and rally were attended by an estimated 10,000 fans.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mls Cup 2016
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
2016 Major League Soccer season Toronto FC matches Seattle Sounders FC matches
MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
Soccer in Toronto Sports competitions in Toronto December 2016 sports events in Canada Association football penalty shoot-outs