MLS 101: Explaining a Regular Season Match

Part 2 of the MLS 101 series will explain how a MLS match works, and what to expect when you’re watching your favorite club.

Catch Up on MLS 101

• Part 1: Explaining the SuperDraft and how to watch online

So how long is a MLS match?

If you ever find yourself watching your favorite sports game and banging your head against the wall when the commercials air every five minutes, then MLS may just be the league for you. MLS matches don’t tend to stretch an hour and a half of gameplay into three to four hours like some sports may.

MLS matches are divided into two halves, each half containing 45 minutes of play. The clock does not stop during a soccer matchup, so there’s no time for commercial breaks. Any time that is not spent in play will be calculated by the referee and added to the end of a half. This is known as “Extra Time”.

The break between halves is typically the only commercial time, and the break typically lasts about 15 minutes. Once halftime is over, it’s back to 45 minutes plus of straight soccer action.

Short answer: 90 minutes of play, 15 minutes for halftime, and typically 5-10 minutes of extra time.

Short-er answer: About 2 hours.

If there’s no commercial breaks, why have I always heard soccer is boring?

Soccer is a game of constant action. There is rarely a dull moment on the field. There are no time outs to stop the action, there’s no huddles in between play, there’s very little time that the match will stop for anything.

American sports tend to train one to expect scoring pretty constant throughout a game, so when somebody hears of a soccer match ending 0-0 they incorrectly assume that the match was boring. That’s not to say soccer fans are huge marks for scoreless matches, but in soccer goal scoring is truly special.

Short answer: You heard wrong.

So if a match ends in a tie, how does overtime work?

It doesn’t. In soccer if a match ends in a tie, the match is over. It’s considered a draw. We’ll get into what a draw entails later in the MLS 101 series when we discuss how the Conference rankings work.

For those of you who watched the MLS Cup last year, you may be calling shenanigans on me right now as you saw the match go to overtime and a shoot-out, but I’m strictly speaking about a Regular Season matchup. There are circumstances where a shoot-out or overtime are necessary, but that only comes in the post-season. We’ll talk about that when we get to the MLS 101 on the playoffs and MLS Cup. (stay tuned for future editions of MLS 101)

Short answer: It doesn’t.

What’s with those cards that the referee holds up?

There are two types of cards the referee can assign to a player, based on the severity of their actions and the referee’s discernment.

Yellow card: indicates a “caution” for the following infractions:

1. unsporting behavior
2. dissent by word or action
3. persistently breaking the rules
4. delaying the restart of play
5. failing to stay the required distance away from the kicker on a corner kick, free kick or throw-in
6. entering or re-entering the field without the referee’s permission
7. deliberately leaving the field without the referees permission

Red card: the player issued a red card will be sent out of the match, and the player’s club cannot replace them. The club will play the rest of the match short a player. Red cards may also result in a player being suspended in following matches. Red card infractions include:

1. Serious foul play
2. Violent conduct
3. Spitting at anyone
4. Intentionally using your hand to deny the opposing team a goal or goal scoring opportunity by handling the ball.
5. Fouling an opponent inside the penalty box to prevent an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
6. Using offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
7. Receiving two yellow cards in the same match

Short answer: Read the long answer.

There are many common misconceptions with Americans about soccer. Such as the sport is boring, the sport isn’t physical, nobody watches or attends the matches. These are all very far from the truth, and as Major League Soccer gains momentum and more eyes are on the world’s most popular sport, those misconceptions will change.

Until then, faithful MLS 101 reader, we can just chuckle when we hear somebody call soccer boring, and tell them to enjoy their commercials.

Next: A Complete Review of January 22nd’s MLS Transfer Rumors and Dealings

Coming up on MLS 101: Explaining the Regular Season, the Supporters Shield, the Playoffs and MLS Cup, and more! Stay tuned to MLSmultiplex.com for all your MLS 101 updates, and news from around the league, and keep the conversation going in the comments section at the bottom of the page!