MLS Cup final 2022: What happens if there is a tie? Is there extra time and a penalty shootout?
The LAFC ‘Black and Gold’ face Philadelphia Union on Saturday at the Banc of California Stadium with the 2022 MLS Cup title on the line.
For the first time since 2003, the top seeds from the MLS Eastern and Western Conferences will play against each other in the championship decider, with the 2022 MLS Cup final set to take place at Banc of California Stadium (Los Angeles) on Saturday as LAFC host Philadelphia Union.
Both teams are in contention to win their first ever MLS Cup with LAFC one of the new faces in MLS having played their first season in 2018 and won the Supporters’ Shield for topping the Western Conference the following year. Their journey to the final was truncated at the semi-final stage as they fell to eventual champions Seattle Sounders (3-1).
This year saw LAFC secure their second Supporters’ Shield as the side romped to secure top spot in the West leading second placed Austin FC by eleven points in a solid regular season that saw Cherundolo’s men only fall to nine defeats throughout the campaign.
Founded in 2008, the Union debuted as the league’s 16th team in 2010 but it took a whole decade before they saw the fruits of their efforts. The first trophy arrived at the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic - in August 2020 when the Union picked up the Supporters’ Shield for being the team with the best record in MLS, ending a whittled-down regular season program on 47 points in the Eastern Conference.
Saturday’s clash promises to be a tightly fought affair by the best sides in MLS at present, but what happens should they game be tied after 90 minutes?
Deciding the MLS Cup winner
Should the scoreline at the Banc of California Stadium on Saturday be tied at the end of the regulation 90 minutes, a further 30 minutes (two fifteen minutes halves) will be played to decide a winner. Should things remain all square after 120 minutes of football, then penalty kicks will be used to decide who lifts the coveted trophy.
Last year’s MLS Cup final in Oregon was resolved this way after the game between the Portland Timbers and NYCFC ended up 1-1 after extra time. The side from the ‘Big Apple’ running out winners with a 4-2 victory in the shootout in a typical North-West deluge at Providence Park.
Five MLS Cup finals have been resolved from the penalty spot with six games being decided after a period of extra-time.