D.C. United will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2014 MLS Playoffs and has earned a berth in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League with its 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at RFK Stadium.
D.C. United (17-9-7, 58 points) has also completed the biggest single-season turnaround in MLS history, improving by 42 points from its 3-24-7 (16 points) finish in 2013. New York recorded a 39-point improvement in 2000 from its finish in 1999.
The specific dates for United’s playoff matches, including its home game at RFK Stadium on the weekend of Nov. 8-9, will be announced at a later date. Tickets are on sale by clicking here.
This is the team’s second postseason berth in three years and the second under Head Coach Ben Olsen. It is the 11th time that D.C. United has reached the playoffs in Major League Soccer’s 19-year history. The Black-and-Red are fourth in MLS playoff games (40) with an all-time playoff record of 25-10-5.
D.C. United previous playoff history
1996 MLS Cup Champion
1997 MLS Cup Champion
1998 MLS Cup runner-up
1999 MLS Cup Champion
2003 Eastern Conference semifinals
2004 MLS Cup Champion
2005 Eastern Conference semifinals
2006 Eastern Conference finals
2007 Eastern Conference semifinals
2012 Eastern Conference finals
Major League Soccer recently announced the dates for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs presented by AT&T. The MLS Cup final will take place on Sunday, December 7, while playoffs begin on October 29-30 with the first Conference Knockout round.
Following the second leg of the Conference Semifinals, teams will break for FIFA international match competition on Nov. 14 and 18, returning for Leg 1 of the Conference Championships on Nov. 22-23. This will signal the first time MLS playoff games will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving (Nov. 29-30), which allows for more weekend games than in the past and a better overall rhythm for postseason play.
The playoff format will remain unchanged as 10 clubs will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs -- the top five in points from each conference at the end of the regular season:
- The 4th- and 5th- place teams will play a single knockout game, and the winner will advance to the Conference Semifinals and face the 1st-place team in the conference;
- The Conference Semifinals will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format;
- The Conference Championships will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format;
- MLS Cup will be hosted by the finalist that finished the regular season with the most points in the standings
Many of the playoff games will air across the League’s partner networks, ESPN, NBC/NBCSN, Univision, TSN and RDS. MLS Cup will air at 3pm ET on Sun., Dec. 7 at 3pm ET on ESPN, UniMas, TSN and RDS networks.
The dates for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs are as follows:
Conference Knockout Round
- Wed-Thurs, Oct. 29-30
Conference Semifinals
- Leg 1, Sat-Sun, Nov. 1-2
- Leg 2, Sat-Sun, Nov. 8-9
Conference Championships
- Leg 1, Sat-Sun, Nov. 22-23
- Leg 2, Sat-Sun., Nov. 29-30
MLS Cup Final
- 3pm ET, Sun., Dec. 7
D.C. United is the most successful professional soccer organization in the history of the United States. United is four-time MLS Cup Champions (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004) and winners of the 1996 and 2008 U.S. Open Cup, the 1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 1998 Interamerican Cup and the 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2007 MLS Supporters Shield.
