TheWestern Conferenceis one ofMajor League Soccer's two conferences, along with theEastern Conference.The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of theMississippi Riverfrom theGreat Lakesto theGulf of Mexico,with clubs on, or west of the river in the Western Conference.
| League | Major League Soccer |
|---|---|
| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Los Angeles FC(2023) (2nd title) |
| Most titles | LA Galaxy (8 titles) |
As of 2023, the Western Conference contains 14 teams. The conference has produced 11Supporters' Shieldchampions and 17MLS Cupwinners in Major League Soccer's first 28 seasons. In 2000 and 2001, the conference was referred to as theWestern Divisionwhen Major League Soccer briefly reorganized into three divisions.
2024 standings
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 64 | Qualification forround oneand theCONCACAF Champions Cup round one |
| 2 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 69 | 50 | +19 | 64 | Qualification forround one |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 59 | |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 57 | |
| 5 | Houston Dynamo FC | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 54 | |
| 6 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 52 | |
| 7 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 61 | 60 | +1 | 50 | |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 47 | Qualification for thewild-card round |
| 9 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 47 | |
| 10 | Austin FC | 34 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 42 | |
| 11 | FC Dallas | 34 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 41 | |
| 12 | St. Louis City SC | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 50 | 63 | −13 | 37 | |
| 13 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 8 | 19 | 7 | 51 | 66 | −15 | 31 | |
| 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 6 | 25 | 3 | 41 | 78 | −37 | 21 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
Members
editCurrent
editTimeline
edit
Western Conference memberEastern Conference memberCentral Division member
Conference lineups by year
edit1996 (5 teams)
editChanges from 1995:Creation of the Major League Soccer.
1997 (5 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- Dallas Burn
- Kansas City Wizards
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- San Jose Clash
Changes from 1996:Kansas City changed their name fromWiz toWizards.
1998–99 (6 teams)
edit- Chicago Fire
- Colorado Rapids
- Dallas Burn
- Kansas City Wizards
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- San Jose Clash
Changes from 1997:The Chicago Fire was added in the 1998 expansion.
2000–01 (asWestern Division) (4 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- Kansas City Wizards
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- San Jose Earthquakes
Changes from 1999:The Western Conference renamed itself the Western Division upon the creation of theCentral Division;Chicago FireandDallas Burnmoved into the new division; TheSan Jose Clashrenamed to theEarthquakes.
2002–04 (5 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- Dallas Burn
- Kansas City Wizards
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- San Jose Earthquakes
Changes from 2001:The Western Division renamed back to Western Conference following the contraction of theMiami Fusionand theTampa Bay Mutiny,resulting in the disbanding of the Central Division; Dallas Burn moved in from the Central Division.
2005 (6 teams)
edit- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
Changes from 2004:Chivas USAandReal Salt Lakewere added in the 2005 expansion; Kansas City Wizards moved to theEastern Conference;TheDallas Burnrenamed toFC Dallas.
2006–07 (6 teams)
edit- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Real Salt Lake
Changes from 2005:TheSan Jose Earthquakeswas put on hiatus; TheHouston Dynamojoined the league as an expansion franchise.
2008 (7 teams)
edit- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
Changes from 2007:The San Jose Earthquakes return to MLS after its hiatus.
2009–10 (8 teams)
edit- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
Changes from 2008:Seattle Sounders FC were added in the 2009 expansion.
2011–14 (9 teams)
edit- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2010:The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC were added in the 2011 expansion; Houston Dynamo moved to theEastern Conference.
2015–16 (10 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2014:Chivas USAceases operations;Sporting Kansas Cityand theHouston Dynamomove in from the Eastern Conference.[1]
2017 (11 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2016:Minnesota United FCwas added in the 2017 expansion.[2]
2018–19 (12 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- LA Galaxy
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2017:Los Angeles FCwas added in the 2018 expansion.
2020 (12 teams)
edit- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- LA Galaxy
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2019:Nashville SCwas added in the 2020 expansion, but moved to the Eastern Conference since theMLS is Back Tournamentup to the end of the2020 season.[3]
2021 (13 teams)
edit- Austin FC
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo FC
- LA Galaxy
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2020:Nashville SC moved to the Eastern Conference;[4]Austin FCwas added in the 2021 expansion; Houston Dynamo added "FC" to their name.
2022 (14 teams)
edit- Austin FC
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo FC
- LA Galaxy
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Nashville SC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Change from 2021:Nashville SC moved in from the Eastern Conference.[5][6]
2023–24 (14 teams)
edit- Austin FC
- Colorado Rapids
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo FC
- LA Galaxy
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
- St. Louis City SC
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Changes from 2022:Nashville SC moved back to the Eastern Conference as expansion side St. Louis City SC was added to the Western Conference.[7]
Western Conference playoff champions by year
editNote: The conference finals were a best-of-three series through 2001 (including the MLS semifinals in 2000 and 2001, when a conference playoff format was not used). Matches tied after regulation were decided by ashoot-out.In 2002, a similar format was used except that draws were allowed and the team earning the most points advanced. From 2003 through 2011, the Finals were a single match. Matches tied after regulation went toextra time(Golden goalextra time was implemented for 2003 only), then a shoot-out if necessary. Beginning in 2012, the finals were atwo-match aggregate series.Theaway goalsrule for series that finished even on aggregate was first implemented in 2014. Extra time and shoot-outs were used if necessary, although away goals did not apply in extra time. In 2019, the playoffs returned to a single match, single elimination format (including the conference finals), which were hosted by the higher placed team in the regular season.
From 2015 to 2021, the Western Conference was represented in the MLS Cup by eitherSeattle Sounders FCor thePortland Timbers.[8]
| Bold | MLS Cupchampions |
E– Eastern Conference team.
Western Conference Champion counts by team
editAs of the 2023 season, a total of fourteen different teams have competed in the Western Conference finals, and twelve of those teams have won at least once. In the table below, teams are ordered first by the number of appearances in a Western Conference finals, then by the number of wins, and finally by year. Note that this table does not include years that a Western Conference team appeared in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs (such as2010), and it does include appearances by Eastern Conference teams.Chivas USA(defunct),Nashville SC,St. Louis City SCandVancouver Whitecaps FChave never made it to the Western Conference finals.
| Club | Appearances | Wins | Losses | Most recent Year of Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA Galaxy | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2014 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2020 |
| Houston Dynamo FC | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2023 |
| Colorado Rapids | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2016 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2007 |
| FC Dallas | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2015 |
| Real Salt Lake | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2013 |
| Portland Timbers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2021 |
| New York Red Bulls(Eastern Conference team) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2008 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2003 |
| Chicago Fire FC(now in Eastern Conference) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1998 |
| Minnesota United FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2020 |
| Los Angeles FC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| Austin FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2022 |
Western Conference regular season champions by year
edit| Bold | Supporters' Shieldchampions |
^ – MLS did not have draws until the 2000 season.
† – The LA Galaxy were declared winners of the Western Division in 2001 after theSeptember 11, 2001 terrorist attacksforced the cancellation of the rest of the regular season. The MLS Cup playoffs began on September 20.
MLS West at the MLS All-Star Game
editIn 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004, theMajor League Soccer All-Star Gamewas contested between an all-star team from the Western Conference against an all-star team from theEastern Conference.In total, theMLS Westall-star team has 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses against the east.
| Year | Result | Score | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Lost | 2–3 | East 1–0–0 |
| 1997 | Lost | 4–5 | East 2–0–0 |
| 1999 | Won | 6–4 | East 2–1–0 |
| 2000 | Lost | 4–9 | East 3–1–0 |
| 2001 | Tied | 6–6 | East 3–1–1 |
| 2004 | Lost | 2–3 | East 4–1–1 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"MLS announces new strategy for Los Angeles market, 2015 conference alignment".mlssoccer.Major League Soccer.RetrievedOctober 27,2014.
- ^"Atlanta to join Eastern Conference in 2017, Minnesota to compete in West".Major League Soccer. August 20, 2016.RetrievedNovember 19,2016.
- ^"Nashville SC moves to Eastern Conference for remainder of 2020 season".MLSsoccer.June 10, 2020.RetrievedJune 11,2020.
- ^Hills, Drake (December 8, 2020)."MLS Commissioner: Nashville SC in Eastern Conference next season but spot unknown beyond 2021".Tennessean.RetrievedDecember 9,2020.
- ^"MLS Announces 2022 Schedule Format & Conference Alignment".MLSSoccer.MLS Digital. November 5, 2021.RetrievedDecember 18,2021.
- ^Hills, Drake (November 5, 2021)."MLS reassigns Nashville SC to Western Conference for 2022 season. Here's what it means".Tennessean.RetrievedDecember 14,2021.
- ^"MLS moving Nashville SC back to Eastern Conference".September 30, 2022.RetrievedDecember 2,2022.
- ^"Portland Timbers win continues Pacific Northwest dominance of Western Conference titles".MLSsoccer.December 4, 2021.RetrievedOctober 30,2022.