Best Ever MLS Cup Finals
If you ask Canadian soccer fans which year produced the best MLS Cup battle in the league’s brief history, you’re probably going to get one answer above them all: 2017. That’s the year Toronto FC beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to become the first and only team north of the border to be named Major League Soccer champions. Maybe you were even in Toronto for the victory parade from Maple Leaf Square to Nathan Phillips Square, but where does it rank in the best ever MLS Cup finals?
It was a heck of a match. Jozy Altidore finally broke the scoreless draw with a left-footer in the 67th minute, then Victor Vazquez sealed the deal in injury time in front of over 30,000 screaming fans at BMO Field. Seattle had their moments, but the Reds were the better team that day, possessing the ball 56% of the time and putting 11 shots on goal to just two for the Sounders.
Unfortunately for Toronto fans, this was the one time in three attempts that the Reds managed to beat Seattle for the MLS Cup – and it wasn’t quite good enough to make our list of the Best Ever MLS Cup finals here at Bodog Sportsbook. Let’s take a look back at the games that did make the cut, starting with Toronto’s first trip to the final.
8. Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto FC, 2016
Toronto FC were nearing their peak in 2016, their third season under coach Greg Vanney. They squeaked into the MLS Playoffs for the first time in 2015, finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference, then improved to third the following year (and fifth overall) with 14 wins, nine losses and 11 draws.
The Sounders, meanwhile, have been an MLS force to be reckoned with ever since they hit the ground running in 2009, having risen two years previous from the ashes of the former Sounders franchise that played in the A-League and elsewhere. They weren’t the better team on paper in this matchup, finishing fourth in the Western Conference at 14-14-6, but despite failing to register a single shot on goal during regulation time, Seattle rode the hot goaltending of Stefan Frei to a 5-4 victory on penalties at BMO Field.
7. Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy, 2009
This was supposed to be the crowning moment for David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham put MLS on the map when he came to the US in 2007, fresh off winning La Liga with Real Madrid; with Beckham as their talisman, the Galaxy were the talk of the town, and their ascension to the MLS Cup throne seemed inevitable.
That’s the thing about soccer: Anyone can win. Real Salt Lake had only formed in 2005, and they still weren’t top-class in 2009, barely making the playoffs at 11-12-7 while the Galaxy won the West at 12-6-12. You can understand why it was considered such an upset when Real beat LA 5-4 on penalties to claim the Cup, after holding the Galaxy to a 1-1 stalemate at Qwest Field in Seattle. But to be fair, the West was stacked that season, and all five of their playoff-bound teams were solid – Real (+8) even had a better goal differential than LA (+5).
6. Chicago Fire vs. DC United, 1998
Bruce Arena was a rising star in the coaching ranks when United hired him in 1996. Right after they faced the Chicago Fire at MLS Cup 1998, Arena was officially hired as the head coach of the US men’s national team. This is soccer, though, so of course the expansion Chicago Fire (second in the West at 20-12-2, +17 differential) marched into the Rose Bowl and beat the superior United side (first in the East at 24-8-7, +26) 2-0 at MLS Cup 1998.
Arena’s team had several USMNT members, including defender Eddie Pope and midfielder Jeff Agoos, plus a league MVP in midfielder Marco Etcheverry and an MLS Golden Boot winner up front in Roy Lassiter, who also had 34 caps on the national squad. But Chicago had Arena’s nemesis: coach Bob Bradley, Arena’s former right-hand man at United. Bradley would also later succeed Arena as USMNT coach in 2006. If only things had worked out in Toronto.
5. DC United vs. Kansas City Wizards, 2004
Don’t feel too bad for United: They won the first two MLS Cups under Arena and Bradley in 1996 and 1997, and they won it again in 1999 after Arena’s departure, using mostly the same players. But everything fell apart after that, and it wasn’t until Freddy Adu came along in 2004 that United’s fortunes started turning around.
While Adu never did blossom into the superstar everyone was hoping for, he did help lead United to second place in the East at 11-10-9. And again, they weren’t supposed to beat the mighty Wizards, the top team in the West at 14-9-7, but United exploded for three goals in the first half (including a brace by Alecko Eskandarian) and held on for the 3-2 win at Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
4. San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy, 2001
These were strange times in Major League Soccer. They were still new, and trying new things – including different playoff formats. The 2001 postseason was thrown into further chaos by the September 11 attacks, so they forgot about the three divisions (East, Central and West at the time) and went with the overall standings; the Galaxy finished third at 14-7-5 for 1.91 points per game, while the Earthquakes were close behind in fifth at 13-7-6 for 1.73 points per game.
The Cup final at Columbus Crew Stadium wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. Luis Hernandez struck first for LA in the 21st minute, then Landon Donovan responded for San Jose in the 43rd, and on they went until Canada’s own Dwayne De Rosario scored the golden goal six minutes into extra time. This was after the Earthquakes had dominated the match in possession and shot attempts, so on this occasion at least, soccer justice was served.
3. San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire, 2003
The Earthquakes weren’t done there. Two years after their California Clasico, San Jose returned to the Cup final to face Chicago at Home Depot Center, and they didn’t leave the result in doubt this time, stamping out the Fire 4-2. It wasn’t the most competitive match in Cup history, but it did set a number of records. Ronnie Ekelund needed only five minutes to score the opener for San Jose, and when Donovan rounded out the scoring in the 71st, he did so by completing the first-ever Cup brace.
Who knew this would be the last time either team would appear in the final? This version of the Earthquakes became the Houston Dynamo after the 2005 campaign (the newest Earthquakes debuted in 2008), and the Fire have been competing for the Wooden Spoon for most of the past decade.
2. DC United vs. LA Galaxy, 1996
Sometimes, you get it exactly right on the first try. Major League Soccer crowned its first champion on October 20, 1996 at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts, and while fewer than 35,000 of the 42,000+ who paid for tickets were willing to brave Hurricane Lili, they were treated to arguably the best match in MLS history – until our next match, that is.
It was another suitably even match as well between United, first in the East at 24-8-7, and the Western-champion Galaxy at 24-8-2. The Galaxy stormed ahead 2-0 on goals by Eduardo Hurtado and Chris Armas, then DC countered twice in the second on Marco Etcheverry free kicks that were headed in by Tony Sanneh and Shawn Medved. Etcheverry also took the corner kick that led to Eddie Pope’s golden goal in the 94th minute, earning Man of the Match for his efforts.
1. LAFC vs. Philadelphia Union, 2022
The MLS Cup 2022 bout between Los Angeles FC (first in the West at 21-9-4) and Philadelphia (first in the East at 19-5-10) wasn’t just an instant classic – it may have saved Major League Soccer. After years of bad luck, LAFC finally made it to their first Cup final, playing on home soil at Banc of California Stadium; likewise, the Union were in their first final, one year after their promising 2021 run was cut short by COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
Make sure to check this match out if you haven’t already. Every time LAFC took the lead, the Union responded, then Jack Elliott looked like he had the match won for Philly when he completed his brace in the 124th minute. Not so; Gareth Bale equalized four minutes later on a dramatic header, and LAFC won 3-0 on penalties after goalkeeper John McCarthy shut down the Union to win MVP honours.
JOIN BODOG TODAY!
Do you agree with our list of the best ever MLS Cup finals? We’d love to hear your favourites, so get in touch over on ‘X’ and let us know yours.