The MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer held at the end of the regular season en route to the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. 10 teams in total from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference qualify for the tournament based on regular-season records, and a tiebreaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. Awarding the league championship through a postseason tournament differs from most other soccer leagues around the world. In these cases, the team with the most points at the end of the season is deemed champion. However, MLS awards the "regular season" winners with the Supporters' Shield and a direct berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, the continental tournament.
For 2012, the league's previous system of "wild card" qualification—which had the potential for "crossover" series in which one team could play in the other conference's bracket—was scrapped. Instead, the top five teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs, in which the two brackets are entirely separate. The First Round of each conference is a one-off match between the 4th- and 5th-place teams, with the 4th-place team hosting. The First Round winner advances to play the conference's top seed in the Conference Semifinals.
Caleb Porter is an American soccer coach who is currently the head coach of the United States U-23 team and the men's soccer team at the University of Akron. A former midfielder, he played college soccer for Indiana University before his short professional career in Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League was ended by persistent knee injuries.
Porter attended Indiana University where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1994 to 1997. He graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor's degree in sports management. In February 1998, the San Jose Clash selected Porter with the 3rd round (27th overall) in the 1998 MLS College Draft. He played no games with the Clash in 1998 and only four in 1999. The Clash sent him on loan with the Sacramento Geckos of the A-League. After playing four games for the Clash in 1999, the team waived him in June and he was immediately signed by the Tampa Bay Mutiny. He suffered from several knee injuries and had arthroscopic surgery on both knees during the off season. He retired on June 30, 2000. In 1997, Porter was a member of the U.S. soccer team which took the bronze medal at the 1997 World University Games.