What happens if there’s a tie in the MLS Cup playoffs? Extra time, penalty shootout

After a two-week hiatus, the MLS Cup playoffs return this weekend with a quartet of conference semi-finals.

Round one of the postseason saw a number of contenders cut from the field as Inter Miami, Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati all fell at the first hurdle. This leaves the competition wide open as we reach the dramatic finale of a historic 2024 MLS campaign.

The conference semi-finals are single-legged straight elimination ties. The winner will be decided on the night, the loser will go home.

If the scores are level at the end of the 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) a 30-minute period of extra time will be played in search of a winner. If the teams are still level at the end of extra time, the victor will be decided with a penalty shootout.

“In playoff Football, the margins are so small that you have to live on the edge at moments and be brave, and you have to try and take your chances on the other end,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said after his team’s penalty shootout win over Cincinnati. “This is a tough place to come and win. Our record here will show that. So, to get to penalties was a positive because it gave us a chance.”

Which teams have never won MLS Cup?

The 2024 MLS Cup will not be a star-studded success for Inter Miami or a second consecutive triumph for Columbus Crew. What it does offer, however, is a genuine shot at the title for teams that have never previously been crowned MLS champions.

Of the eight semi-finalists, Minnesota United, Orlando City and New York Red Bulls have never previously lifted the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.

Of that trio, the Red Bulls' failure to get over the line is the most egregious. One of the league’s founding teams in 1996 - albeit as the Metrostars, initially - the Red Bulls are currently in possession of the longest streak of postseason appearances in US sports. This year marks the 15th consecutive year in which NYRB have made it to the playoffs but they’re yet to come out on top.

At the other end of the scale, LA Galaxy are looking to add to their league-record five MLS Cup titles. The Galaxy dominated the first 20 years of MLS but have now gone a decade without a championship. There is a sense that this could be the year in which the Galaxy see their name up in lights once again.

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