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MLS 101: Explaining a Regular Season 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.