MLS Cup 2017

The MLS Cup 2017 was the 22nd edition of the MLS Cup, the championship of Major League Soccer. It took place on December 9, 2017, between Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC. The match was held at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, for the second year in a row and the third time overall.

After a quiet first half with no goals, Toronto FC scored in the 67th minute with a goal by Jozy Altidore. The game ended with Toronto winning 2–0, with a final goal by Víctor Vázquez in the 94th minute. This victory made Toronto FC the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup and the first team to win all three major titles in a single year, known as a domestic treble.

Because of this win, Toronto FC was unable to take part in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Instead, the spot went to the New York Red Bulls. However, Toronto FC still played in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League after winning the Canadian Championship. They also got to play in the first ever Campeones Cup against Tigres UANL.

Road to the final

Further information: 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs

The MLS Cup is the big championship game for Major League Soccer, a soccer league in the United States and Canada. In 2017, 22 teams played 34 games each from March to October. The top teams then played in the playoffs from October to December to decide who would face off in the MLS Cup final.

Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC met again in the final, just like they did in 2016. Toronto had a great season, finishing with the most points ever in MLS history. They beat some strong teams to get to the final. Seattle, the defending champions, had a slower start but improved and also beat tough opponents to reach the final. Both teams were looking to win the big championship game.

Toronto FC

Further information: 2017 Toronto FC season

Toronto FC wanted to win the MLS Cup after losing the year before. They added some new players and focused on strong defense. They played really well most of the season and finished first overall. In the playoffs, they beat New York Red Bulls and then Columbus Crew SC to reach the final.

Seattle Sounders FC

Further information: 2017 Seattle Sounders FC season

The Sounders were the current champions and made some changes to their team. They started slowly but then had a great run of games without losing. They finished second in their group and then beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Houston Dynamo to get to the final.

Summary of results

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

Venue

BMO Field was chosen to host the MLS Cup 2017 after Toronto FC won the Eastern Conference Championship on November 29, 2017. The stadium had been renovated and expanded before the 2016 season and had also hosted MLS Cup 2016. For the 2017 cup, the stadium had about 30,000 seats, which was the normal capacity.

On December 1, tickets were first sold to season seat holders and sold out quickly. More tickets became available to everyone on December 4 and also sold out in less than an hour.

Broadcasting

The MLS Cup final was shown in English by ESPN in the United States and TSN in Canada. In the United States, UniMás and Univision Deportes provided the Spanish broadcast, and in Canada, TVA Sports provided the French broadcast.

Many people watched the match. ESPN had a 0.7 Nielsen rating, which was higher than the 2015 broadcast. The total number of viewers in the United States was 1.1 million, which was lower than the 2016 final. In Canada, 1.3 million people watched on TSN, also fewer than the year before.

Match

Summary

The MLS Cup 2017 match was played on December 9, 2017, between Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC. It took place at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. Even though the weather was expected to be cold and snowy, the game started in cloudy conditions at 1 °C (34 °F). Toronto changed their usual team formation to try to stop Seattle's strong middle players.

Toronto had more control of the game in the first half but couldn’t score because Seattle’s goalkeeper, Stefan Frei, made several great saves. He tied a record for the most saves in a half during an MLS Cup final. In the second half, Toronto finally scored when Jozy Altidore made a shot over Frei. Later, Víctor Vázquez scored again for Toronto, giving them a 2–0 win.

Details

December 9, 2017 (2017-12-09)

4:00 p.m. EST

BMO Field, Toronto, Canada

Attendance: 30,584

Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)

Toronto FC

Seattle Sounders FC

Post-match

Toronto FC became the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup. They also won other big prizes that year. As the winners, Toronto received a cash prize, while Seattle got a smaller prize. Because of Toronto's win, a special spot in a future competition will go to a team from the United States.

Toronto celebrated their victory with a parade two days after the final. Many fans joined, and the mayor of Toronto declared that day "Reds Day." This was the second big celebration in the city in a few weeks, after the local football team also won their championship earlier.