MLS Cup 2013
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MLS Cup 2013, the 18th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was a soccer match which took place on Saturday, December 7, 2013, between Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. The soccer match was to decide the winner of the 2013 season. Sporting KC were making their third appearance in the competition's final, having won in 2000 and losing in 2004. RSL were appearing in their second final, having won their only other in 2009.
It was the first MLS Cup final to be held at Sporting Park and the second time the championship match was not held at a predetermined neutral site. Sporting Kansas City won the right to host the match by besting Real Salt Lake in the regular season standings. This was the first time Kansas City hosted an MLS Cup final and the second final hosted at Sporting Park, the other being the 2012 U.S. Open Cup final.
MLS Cup 2013 was the coldest match in league history, with a recorded temperature of 22°F (−6°C) at kickoff, and broke a record set two weeks earlier by Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Final. The match was tied 1–1 after regulation time and extra time. The penalty shootout was won 7–6 by Sporting Kansas City, ending with the longest shootout in MLS Cup history at ten rounds.
Road to the final
Both teams qualified for the playoffs by finishing in the top five of their respective conferences at the end of the regular season. Sporting Kansas City then beat New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo to reach the final, while Real Salt Lake knocked out defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy and Portland Timbers.
| Sporting Kansas City | Round | Real Salt Lake | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts. New York Red Bulls 3417985841+1759 Sporting Kansas City 34171074730+1758 New England Revolution 34141194938+1151 Houston Dynamo 34141194141051 Montreal Impact 34141375049+149 | Regular season | Western Conference Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts. Portland Timbers 34145155433+2157 Real Salt Lake 34161085741+1656 Los Angeles Galaxy 34151185338+1553 Seattle Sounders FC 34151274242052 Colorado Rapids 34141194538+751 | ||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
| New York Red Bulls | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 59 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 58 |
| New England Revolution | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 49 | 38 | +11 | 51 |
| Houston Dynamo | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 51 |
| Montreal Impact | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 49 |
| Western Conference | ||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
| Portland Timbers | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 57 |
| Real Salt Lake | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 56 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 53 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 52 |
| Colorado Rapids | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 51 |
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Playoffs | Opponent | Result | Legs | ||
| New England Revolution | 4–3 | 1–2 away; 3–1 home | Conf. Semifinals | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–1 | 0–1 away; 2–0 home | ||
| Houston Dynamo | 2–1 | 0–0 away; 2–1 home | Conference Finals | Portland Timbers | 5–2 | 4–2 home; 1–0 away |
Pre-match
The 2013 Cup was the first-ever small media market cup, with both Kansas City and Salt Lake City outside of the Top 10 media markets in the US (Kansas City is #28 and Salt Lake City is #32). The tickets for the match were the highest price for the MLS Cup in the past five years, coming in at an average of $302 on the secondary market. This made it the highest priced sports event in the Kansas City area in four years, with the exception of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game.
Match
Details
| Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake |
| MLS Cup MVP: France Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City) Assistant referees: Paul Scott (United States) Bill Dittmar (United States) Fourth official: Ismail Elfath (United States) | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. |
Statistics
| Sporting Kansas City | Real Salt Lake | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 1 | 1 |
| Total shots | 24 | 12 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 2 |
| Saves | 1 | 4 |
| Corner kicks | 9 | 1 |
| Fouls committed | 19 | 21 |
| Offsides | 4 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Post-match
As MLS Cup finalists, both teams were supposed to be qualified for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League. Sporting Kansas City (the champion) was to be placed in pot A, and Real Salt Lake (the runner-up) was to be placed in pot B. However, on December 13, 2013, CONCACAF accepted the US Soccer/MLS proposal to change the qualification rules, so that the spot reserved for the MLS Cup runner-up is instead awarded to the regular season conference winner that is not the Supporters' Shield champion, the Portland Timbers. Sporting Kansas City was not affected by this change.