How FC Cincinnati MLS Cup playoff games decided if tied

FC Cincinnati's 2022 season was obviously a winning one ‒ 12 wins against nine losses.

But 2022 was also a season of draws for Cincinnati. The club tied 13 matches. Only Columbus Crew, which missed the playoffs due to a Decision Day loss Sunday to Orlando City SC, had more draws in MLS with 16.

Some of FC Cincinnati's draws felt like wins (see: vs. Atlanta United on April 16) while others were missed opportunities (see: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps on July 13).

But a draw won't happen in the MLS Cup playoffs. Instead, games are decided in the most nerve-racking scenario possible: Penalty kicks.

Since the club is adept at playing close matches against good teams, as well as letting lesser teams sneak back into games, here's what you need to know about how playoff matches are settled in MLS:

• Saturday's match at Red Bull Arena against New York Red Bulls (12 p.m.) will be like any regular-season match: 90 minutes long, and the team leading at the end of the 90 minutes will advance to the next round of the playoffs.
• If the game is tied after 90 minutes, a brief break will precede two 15-minute extra-time periods, amounting to 30 minutes of additional game play to decide a winner. This is soccer's version of overtime.
• It's not "sudden death" overtime, though. If a team takes a lead during the 30-minutes of overtime, the other team can try to fight back with a goal of its own. The extra-time periods are just a 30-minute extension of the first 90 minutes in terms of all the usual rules.
• If the 30 minutes conclude with the teams still tied, the match is officially considered a draw at that point −but it's far from over.
• One of the teams still needs to advance to the next round of the playoffs, so penalty kicks are used to settle any ties. Each team takes five kicks against the opposition goalkeeper. If a team is leading after five kicks (or sooner if the team trailing in the best-of-five kicks can't mathematically pull even), that teams advances to the next round.
• Prior to the start of the 2019 season, MLS changed to the current playoff format, which includes single-game elimination for each postseason round as opposed to two-game, aggregate score series used in conference semifinals and finals in the past.