The moment all fans waited for is finally in the history books. The 2023 MLS Cup, match between Columbus Crew and Los Angeles FC gave us many exciting moments, as expected.
The Crew managed to get off to a strong start and jumped to a 2-0 first-half lead behind strikes from Juan Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah. LAFC fought hard, , with Denis Bouanga cutting Columbus’ lead in half with 15 minutes left in the game, but to no avail. The Crew won 2-1 in a game for the ages.
The MLS Cup has existed from the very beginning of the league. Inspired by other North American sports competitions, MLS has a regular season followed by a playoff format to determine the champion. From 1996, only a handful of teams got their hands on the coveted trophy.
MLS Cup champions by year
DC United were dominant in the first years of the MLS Cup, making the finals in four straight editions between 1996 and 1999. However, Los Angeles Galaxy eventually overshadowed their early success by becoming the winningest team in league history.
- 1996: DC United (3-2 OT win over LA Galaxy)
- 1997: DC United (2-1 vs. Colorado Rapids)
- 1998: Chicago Fire (2-0 vs. DC United)
- 1999: DC United (2-0 vs. LA Galaxy)
- 2000: Kansas City Wizards (1-0 vs. Chicago Fire)
- 2001: San Jose Earthquakes (2-1 OT win vs. LA Galaxy)
- 2002: LA Galaxy (1-0 vs. New England Revolution)
- 2003: San Jose Earthquakes (4-2 vs. Chicago Fire)
- 2004: DC United (3-2 vs. Kansas City Wizards)
- 2005: LA Galaxy (1-0 vs. New England Revolution)
- 2006: Houston Dynamo (1-1, 4-3 on penalties vs. NE Revolution)
- 2007: Houston Dynamo (2-1 vs. NE Revolution)
- 2008: Columbus Crew (3-1 vs. NY Red Bulls)
- 2009: Real Salt Lake (1-1, 5-4 on penalties vs. LA Galaxy)
- 2010: Colorado Rapids (2-1 OT win vs. Dallas)
- 2011: LA Galaxy (1-0 vs. Houston Dynamo)
- 2012: LA Galaxy (3-1 vs. Houston Dynamo)
- 2013: Sporting Kansas City (1-1, 7-6 on penalties vs. Sporting KC)
- 2014: LA Galaxy (2-1 OT win vs. NE Revolution)
- 2015: Portland Timbers (2-1 vs. Columbus Crew)
- 2016: Seattle Sounders (0-0, 5-4 on penalties vs. Toronto)
- 2017: Toronto (2-0 vs. Sounders)
- 2018: Atlanta United (2-0 vs. Timbers)
- 2019: Seattle Sounders (3-1 vs. Toronto)
- 2020: Columbus Crew (3-0 vs. Sounders)
- 2021: New York City FC (1-1, 4-2 on penalties vs. Timbers)
- 2022: LAFC (3-3, 3-0 on penalties vs. Philadelphia Union)
- 2023: Columbus Crew (2-1 vs. LAFC)
List of MLS Cup trophies by team
- LA Galaxy: 5 (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014)
- DC United: 4 (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004)
- Columbus Crew: 3 (2008, 2020, 2023)
- Houston Dynamo: 2 (2006, 2007)
- Seattle Sounders: 2 (2016, 2019)
- Sporting Kansas City: 2 (2000, 2013)
- San Jose Earthquakes: 2 (2001, 2003)
- Chicago Fire: 1 (1998)
- Toronto FC: 1 (2017)
- Portland Timbers: 1 (2015)
- Colorado Rapids: 1 (2010)
- Real Salt Lake: 1 (2009)
- Atlanta United: 1 (2018)
- New York City FC: 1 (2021)
- LAFC: 1 (2022)
