2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Four
Fly-half Tian Schoeman kicked 16 points to maintain his spot at the top of the points scoring charts, while winger Jamba Ulengo scored two tries in the match to top the try scoring charts. Dries Swanepoel also scored two tries as the visitors outscored Griquas by six tries to four. The  Free State Cheetahs secured their second consecutive win by beating  Western Province 28–21 in a match in Bloemfontein to move into the semi-final spots for the first time this season. Western Province remain in third despite suffering their second consecutive defeat. The  Sharks kept in touch with the play-off places by securing a narrow 24–20 victory over the  Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth, fighting back from losing 0–13 shortly before half-time.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Five
The  Golden Lions preserved their unbeaten status, winning their fifth consecutive match of the competition by beating the  Eastern Province Kings 37–21 in Johannesburg. They scored five tries – which included their fourth penalty try of the season – against the visitors' three, which included a brace from loose-forward Paul Schoeman. The Golden Lions moved one point ahead of the  Blue Bulls on the log after the latter failed to get a bonus point in their 24–17 victory over the  Free State Cheetahs.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Five
Both teams scored two tries, with the kicking by competition top-scorer Tian Schoeman and replacement Louis Fouché proving decisive for the Blue Bulls. The Free State Cheetahs also slipped out of the semi-final positions, with a 27–26 victory for the  Sharks over the  Pumas ensuring the team from Durban move up to fourth. Winger Wandile Mjekevu contributed two tries for the Sharks and full-back Joe Pietersen contributed 12 points with the boot against a Pumas side that remained in sixth position. In Cape Town,  Western Province returned to winning ways after two consecutive defeats by beating  Griquas 33–15.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Five
They also got a bonus point for scoring four tries in the match through four different try scorers, while the highest points contribution of the round came from Clinton Swart, who kicked five penalties for a  Griquas team who remain bottom of the log with a single point to their name.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Six
The  Golden Lions beat their trans-Jukskei rivals the  Blue Bulls 36–28 in the top-of-the-table match between two previously unbeaten teams. The Blue Bulls outscored the Golden Lions by four tries to three (with Blue Bulls winger Jamba Ulengo getting two tries), but it was not enough as 21 points from the boot of Marnitz Boshoff decided the match in the favour of the team from Johannesburg. This allowed  Western Province to close the gap to the Blue Bulls after they beat the  Sharks 37–27 in Durban and securing a bonus point for their four tries.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Six
At the bottom of the log, both the  Eastern Province Kings and  Griquas picked up their first wins of the season. The Eastern Province Kings beat the  Free State Cheetahs 32–24 in Port Elizabeth despite playing the majority of the second half with just fourteen players following JP du Plessis' sending off for a punch. The Free State Cheetahs scored four tries, but Scott van Breda kicked 22 points to secure the victory for the home side. In Kimberley, two tries from Carel Greeff helped Griquas to a 32–15 win over the  Pumas. Despite scoring four tries in the match, the result left Griquas bottom of the log, one point behind the Eastern Province Kings.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Seven
The  Golden Lions beat the  Sharks 26–18 in their clash in Johannesburg to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches and also ensuring a semi-final slot. Both sides scored two tries as 16 points from the boot of Marnitz Boshoff proved decisive for the home side. The  Free State Cheetahs got the biggest win of the weekend, beating their Super Rugby franchise partners  Griquas 44–24 in Bloemfontein.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Seven
The Free State Cheetahs were the only side to secure a four-try bonus point during the round, with Sergeal Petersen scoring two of their five tries as they leap-frogged the  Sharks into fourth spot on the log, while Ruhan Nel got a brace for the visitors. Western Province closed the gap to the  Blue Bulls in second place, avenging their Round Three defeat in a 29–14 victory in Cape Town. The lowest-scoring match of the weekend saw the  Pumas scoring two tries in a 20–9 victory over the  Eastern Province Kings in Nelspruit.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Eight
The  Golden Lions won their eighth consecutive match in the competition, scoring ten tries as they beat the  Free State Cheetahs 73–31 in Bloemfontein. Courtnall Skosan and Jaco Kriel scored two tries each and fly-half Marnitz Boshoff had a faultless kicking performance, converting all ten tries after opening the scoring with his only penalty attempt of the match. A hat-trick by Cheetahs flanker Vince Jobo helped his side get a four-try bonus point to remain in fourth spot on the log, in the final semi-final position.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Eight
The  Blue Bulls remained in second spot on the log as they beat the  Sharks 17–13 in Durban, but  Western Province drew level on points with the Blue Bulls as both sides secured a semi-final berth. Western Province beat the  Pumas 50–19 in Cape Town, with fly-half Robert du Preez scoring two tries and contributing a further 11 points with the boot for Western Province, while the Pumas' Roscko Speckman also scored a brace for his side.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Eight
In the bottom-of-the-log clash,  Eastern Province Kings captain Tim Whitehead scored a try after the hooter – his second of the match – to help his side to a 40–37 victory over  Griquas. EP Kings flanker Paul Schoeman also got two tries in the match, as did Griquas winger Danie Dames.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Nine
The  Golden Lions secured top spot on the log (and home advantage in their semi-final match) after a 62–32 victory over third-placed  Western Province. The Golden Lions scored nine tries from nine different try scorers in their victory, while Western Province secured a bonus point for scoring four tries, with Sikhumbuzo Notshe scoring two of those. The  Blue Bulls overturned a 17–20 half time deficit to win their match against the  Eastern Province Kings 48–27. Francois Hougaard and Lappies Labuschagné each scored two of the Blue Bulls' seven tries as they consolidated second spot on the log.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Nine
The results in the other two matches ensured that the Round Ten match between the  Free State Cheetahs and  Sharks would determine the final semi-finalist; the Free State Cheetahs drew 37-all with the  Pumas in Nelspruit, outscoring the hosts five tries to four, while the Sharks scored six tries in Kimberley in their 45–20 rout of  Griquas, for whom Ruhan Nel scored two tries.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Ten
With three of the semi-finalists already confirmed, the winner of the match between the  Free State Cheetahs and the  Sharks would clinch the final semi-final berth. The Free State Cheetahs led 17–13 at half-time, but the Sharks fought back and had a 34–20 lead by the 75th minute.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Ten
However, the Free State Cheetahs responded with two late tries of their own, both of which were converted by Niel Marais – the second of those after the final hooter went – to earn themselves a 34-all draw, which was enough to see them remain in fourth spot on the log, with the Sharks remaining in fifth. The  Golden Lions – already assured of top spot on the log – beat the bottom side  Griquas 29–19 in Johannesburg to complete the regular season with 10 wins out of 10.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Round Ten
Jacques Nel scored two tries for the home side as the result guaranteed Griquas would finish bottom. Home advantage in the other semi-final was still up for grabs and the  Blue Bulls secured it, with two tries from both Deon Stegmann and Jamba Ulengo helping them to a closely fought 25–24 win over the  Pumas in Nelspruit. The Blue Bulls' semi-final opponents,  Western Province got a convincing 45–14 victory over the  Eastern Province Kings in Cape Town with Dillyn Leyds scoring two of their six tries.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Semi-Finals
Defending champions  Western Province ensured they would play in their fourth consecutive Currie Cup final by beating the  Blue Bulls 23–18 in Pretoria. There were no tries scored in the first half, with the Blue Bulls' Tian Schoeman and Western Province's Robert du Preez each kicking three penalties as the teams went into the half-time break at 9-all. Schoeman scored a further three penalties in the second half, but tries from Cheslin Kolbe and Jano Vermaak for the visitors – both converted by Du Preez – secured a spot in the final for the team from Cape Town.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Semi-Finals
The other semi-final was a high-scoring affair, with the  Golden Lions beating the  Free State Cheetahs 43–33 in Johannesburg. Golden Lions captain Jaco Kriel scored two tries, lock Lourens Erasmus scored one and a 65th minute penalty try completed the Golden Lions' try-scoring, while fly-half Marnitz Boshoff successfully converted the four tries and also kicked all five of his penalty attempts to finish the match with a personal points tally of 23 points.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Semi-Finals
The  Free State Cheetahs actually scored one try more than the Golden Lions with Francois Venter, Boom Prinsloo, Gerhard Olivier, Niel Marais and Sias Ebersohn each getting a try, but kicked just 11 points through Marais as the visitors fell just short. The result set up a repeat of the 2014 Currie Cup final between Western Province and Golden Lions, this time to be played at the latter's home ground in Johannesburg.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Final
The  Golden Lions secured their eleventh Currie Cup title by beating  Western Province 32–24 in Johannesburg. They scored two tries in the first quarter of the match through Warren Whiteley and Ross Cronjé – both converted by Marnitz Boshoff to lead 14–0. A Robert du Preez penalty put Western Province on the scoreboard in the 27th minute, but the Golden Lions responded minutes later when Ross Cronjé scored his second try of the match to lead 22–3.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Final
Western Province scored a try of their own at the end of the first half, with Robert du Preez scoring and converting the try for a half-time score of 22–10 to the hosts. Just two minutes after the restart, a further try Golden Lions centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, again converted by Boshoff, stretched their lead to 29–10.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Fixtures and results, Final
Western Province reduced the deficit to eight points by the 63rd minute after scoring tries through Nizaam Carr and Sikhumbuzo Notshe – converted by Du Preez and Kurt Coleman respectively – on either side of a Boshoff penalty for the Golden Lions, but neither team could get on the scoreboard after that and the Golden Lions won the match 32–24 to go through the entire season unbeaten to win their first title since 2011.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division was:


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Players, Points scorers
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division:


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Players, Appearances
The player appearance record in the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division is as follows:


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Players, Appearances
For each team, (c) denotes the team captain. For each match, the player's squad number is shown. Starting players are numbered 1 to 15, while the replacements are numbered 16 to 22. If a replacement made an appearance in the match, it is indicated by . "App" refers to the number of appearances made by the player, "Try" to the number of tries scored by the player, "Kck" to the number of points scored via kicks (conversions, penalties or drop goals) and "Pts" refer to the total number of points scored by the player.


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division:


2015 Currie Cup qualification
The 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament was a competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which featured seven teams and was played between 12 June and 25 July 2015. The winner of the tournament would qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, while the remaining six teams would play in the 2015 Currie Cup First Division.


2015 Currie Cup qualification
For the second season in succession, Griquas won the tournament to earn a place in the Premier Division.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Competition rules and information
The top six teams from 2014 –  Western Province,  Golden Lions,  Sharks,  Blue Bulls,  Free State Cheetahs and  Pumas – were guaranteed participation in the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, as is the 'anchor' side  Eastern Province Kings.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Competition rules and information
2014 Currie Cup Premier Division side  Griquas, by virtue of finishing outside the top six in the Premier Division, as well as the teams from the 2014 Currie Cup First Division – the  Leopards,  Griffons,  SWD Eagles,  Falcons,  Boland Cavaliers and  Border Bulldogs – played in a qualifying tournament, with the winner qualifying to the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Competition rules and information
The seven teams played each other once over the course of the qualification, either at home or away. Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by 7 points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Competition rules and information
The top team qualified for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, while the other six teams qualified for the 2015 Currie Cup First Division.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Competition rules and information
In November 2014, the Kenya RFU revealed that they were in negotiations with SARU to enter a team in the competition. However, they withdrew from the 2015 Vodacom Cup due to financial considerations and were not included in the Currie Cup fixtures when those were released.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Teams
The same seven teams that took part in the 2014 Currie Cup qualification tournament also played in the 2015 edition.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams took part in the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Log
The final league standings for the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament are:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Log
The top team will qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, all other sides will qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup First Division. Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Log, Round-by-round
The table below shows a team's progression throughout the season.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Log, Round-by-round
For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Fixtures and results
The following fixtures for the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series were released:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament was as follows:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Players, Player statistics
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2015 Currie Cup qualification, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series:


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup
The 2015 Cyprus Women's Cup was the eighth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place from 4–11 March 2015.


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup, Group stage
Teams were placed into three groups of four. New Zealand were originally drawn in Group C, but later withdrew and were replaced by South Africa.


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup, Group stage, Tie-breaking criteria
For the group stage of this tournament, where two or more teams in a group tied on an equal number of points, the finishing positions will be determined by the following tie-breaking criteria in the following order:


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup squads
This article lists the squads for the 2015 Cyprus Women's Cup, the 8th edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup. The cup consisted of a series of friendly games, and was held in Cyprus from 4 to 11 March 2015. The twelve national teams involved in the tournament registered a squad of 23 players.


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup squads
The age listed for each player is on 4 March 2015, the first day of the tournament. The numbers of caps and goals listed for each player do not include any matches played after the start of tournament. The club listed is the club for which the player last played a competitive match prior to the tournament. The nationality for each club reflects the national association (not the league) to which the club is affiliated. A flag is included for coaches that are of a different nationality than their own national team.


2015 Cyprus Women's Cup squads, Group B, England
The squad was announced on 20 February 2015. On 3 March 2015, Toni Duggan was added to the squad.


2015 Czech Lion Awards
2016 Czech Lion Awards ceremony was held on 5 March 2016. Petr Zelenka's Lost in Munich received highest number of nominations but won only 2 categorie. The Snake Brothers has won 6 awards, including Best picture film.


2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2015 MotoGP season. It was held at the Masaryk Circuit in Brno on 16 August 2015.


2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix
In the premier class, Jorge Lorenzo took his second pole position of the season and ultimately his fifth win of the season, ahead of Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi. Andrea Iannone finished fourth, while fifth place was contested by Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, with Pedrosa ultimately coming out on top by 0.075 seconds. Cal Crutchlow, Maverick Viñales, Alex de Angelis, and Eugene Laverty all crashed out of the race before the halfway mark. With these results, Lorenzo's win gave him the championship lead over Rossi, by virtue of more wins at that point.


2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix
In the junior classes, Moto2 championship leader Johann Zarco extended his lead in the championship, winning ahead of Esteve Rabat and Álex Rins. In a restarted Moto3 race, Gresini Racing rider Niccolò Antonelli took his first victory ahead of Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder, with the top nine riders being split by 1.42 seconds at the finish.


2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix, Classification, Moto3
The first attempt to run the race was interrupted following two separate accidents involving multiple riders. For the restart, the race distance was reduced from 19 to 12 laps.


2015 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round eleven has concluded.


2015 Czech Social Democratic Party leadership election
The Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) leadership election of 2015 was held in March 2015. The incumbent leader and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was re-elected for another term. Sobotka was the only candidate. He received over 85% votes from delegates. 706 delegates were allowed to vote.


2015 D.C. United season
The 2015 D.C. United season was the club's twentieth season of existence, and their twentieth in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club entered the season as the defending Eastern Conference regular season champions.


2015 D.C. United season
Outside of MLS regular season play, the club participated in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup, as well as the knockout stages of the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League and group stages of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
D.C. United entered 2015 with fresh memories of the team's remarkable 2014 campaign, during which the team registered the greatest turnaround in the history of Major League Soccer from one MLS season to the next. The 2014 campaign also saw D.C. United go undefeated in 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League group play. The team sought to continue its sudden success by maintaining much of the roster that had produced such surprising, consistent and strong results in 2014.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
In the final month of 2014, the team traded its late-season 2014 acquisition, reserve fullback/midfielder Samuel Inkoom, along with back-up goalkeeper Joe Willis, to the Houston Dynamo, in exchange for the MLS rights to Andrew Driver, whose contract had not been renewed by Houston. The main purpose of the trade was to remove an international player, Inkoom, from the roster, so the team could protect all of the major 2014 players in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
In the expansion draft, the team did lose veteran reserve midfielder Lewis Neal along with Thomas McNamara, who had just been acquired by the team in the 2014 MLS Dispersal Draft that followed the dissolution of Chivas USA. The team added depth in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, selecting a projected winger, Miguel Aguilar, along with a central midfielder from the nearby University of Maryland, Dan Metzger. Several days before the draft, the team also signed veteran Finnish international, Markus Halsti, from the Swedish side Malmö FF.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
With Malmö, Halsti had played defensive midfield in recent years, after having spent the early years in his career playing as a defender. On the day before the SuperDraft, the team also traded one of its unused international player roster slots to the Columbus Crew in exchange for forward Jairo Arrieta.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
Ben Olsen, who was awarded league honors as the 2014 MLS Coach of the Year, continued to manage the side along with General Manager Dave Kasper. The team lost two 2014 assistant coaches, goalkeepers coach Preston Burpo and staff assistant Enzo Concina. Prior to the Superdraft, the team prepared to hire longtime MLS goalkeeper, former league All-Star and Maryland native Zach Thornton to replace Burpo. Several D.C. United players were invited to participate in a January training camp for the United States men's national soccer team, including Perry Kitchen and Steve Birnbaum. 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Bill Hamid had to decline because of a lingering shoulder injury.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
The big offseason news for the team, however, did not involve players or the coaching staff. At the end of 2014, the team culminated years of searching for a site to construct a new stadium. The team's long efforts were rewarded in December 2014, with the passage of legislation by the D.C. City Council that committed the city to spend as much as $150 million to acquire and prepare the necessary land at Buzzard Point, which would be leased to the team for at least 30 years.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, January
The team was prepared to build a stadium on the site for another $150 million. The bill was signed into law by the outgoing Mayor Vincent C. Gray, in his final days in office. D.C. United hoped to move into its new 'soccer-specific' stadium for the 2017 season, and prepared to play the team's final 2 seasons in RFK Stadium.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, February
D.C. United acquired Michael Farfan with its MLS Allocation signing spot and soon after released Driver and Metzger from the team. The team travelled to Austin, Texas where the Austin Aztex hosted a friendly 4-team tournament, the ATX Pro Challenge. D.C. managed to win this tournament by beating the host team with a pair of early goals in the semifinals, and then beating runner-up FC Dallas in the finals. The team won a bronze armadillo trophy for their efforts.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, February
After the tourney, David Estrada was released from the team and undrafted goalkeeper Travis Worra was signed to provide depth at the position after Willis' departure. The team travelled to Costa Rica to fight Alajuelense in the quarterfinals of the CCL. Bill Hamid struggled with a back issue and stayed home while backup Andrew Dykstra was given the starting job. Unfortunately, several errors by Dykstra and the defense led D.C. United to a horrendous 2–5 defeat.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Pre-season, March
Despite a great effort to dig themselves out of a three-goal deficit, a lack of successful finishes and an accidental Own Goal by Chris Korb meant D.C. United would be knocked out of the CCL on a 4–6 aggregate score. The match was also notable for the referee handing out a combined nine yellow cards to both sides.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season
After the MLS and the MLS Players Union managed to sign a new CBA, the team successfully opened the 2015 MLS season with a 1–0 win at home against the Montreal Impact. Fabian Espindola, Eddie Johnson and Luis Silva were all unable to play in the match, heavily draining DC's offense. The newly added Jairo Arrieta started at forward alongside a healthy Chris Pontius and scored the first goal of the season for the team. Following a bye week, DC United traveled to New Jersey to fight the rival New York Red Bulls. Unfortunately, an anemic offense and poor marking by the DC backline led to a dispiriting 2-0 defeat.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season
DC returned home to fight the defending MLS Champions, the LA Galaxy, in RFK. Sophomore center back Steve Birnbaum landed awkwardly on his ankle and had to be taken off the field in the fifth minute of play as Kofi Opare got his first league cap in a DC United uniform.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season
Just as it appeared the game would end in a scoreless draw, at the very last minute of the match, Nick DeLeon broke free down the right wing and sent in a cross to Pontius, who fought off his own defender to head the ball past the keeper for a 1–0 victory.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, April
A similar scenario would unfold in the very next match against Orlando City SC. Orlando had an advantage in ball possession and shots on goal, but Hamid's excellent saves would earn him another clean sheet. Silva, who finally returned from his preseason injury as a substitute, bent a direct free kick into the opposing net in stoppage time and secured a 1–0 victory for DC. When DC United returned home following the Orlando match, press reports emerged that Eddie Johnson's career was in jeopardy because of a heart defect.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, April
Although the team continued official radio silence on the issue, the Washington Post eventually reported that Johnson would no longer continue to be paid by the team. Outstanding issues remained to be negotiated before this would be officially confirmed. These issues included whether DC would be allowed to sign a replacement using the salary cap space budgeted to Johnson's contract.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, April
On the pitch, things continued fairly brightly for the team, which finished the month atop both the Eastern Conference and overall MLS standings based on most points per game. Despite squandering second-half leads at home against both the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo, United did not lose in April. Against New York, DC, took a 2–0 lead on a pair of goals by Perry Kitchen. The Red Bulls came back to get a point, culminating the comeback as Lloyd Sam knocked in a rebound when Hamid could not control a Sacha Kljestan free kick.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, April
In the next match, against the Dynamo, United's Chris Rolfe scored on a free kick from almost the same spot that the Red Bulls took their game-tying free-kick in the previous match. Once again, though, the defense failed to prevent a late goal on a tap-in following a rebound allowed by the DC goalie, This time it was Andrew Dykstra who was in the net, unable to prevent the tying goal. After the successive disappointing home draws, DC United finished the month with a surprising win in Vancouver, a first ever for the franchise.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, April
The Whitecaps opened the scoring in that match with a goal on their first foray forward, but DC responded with a goal by Bobby Boswell to knot the score. Just before halftime, Fabian Espindola, drew a foul along with a second yellow card for Whitecaps player, Matias Laba. Espindola was making his MLS season debut after serving a 6-game suspension. Playing with a man-advantage, United took the lead in the second half on a goal by Chris Rolfe. Defending the lead was made more challenging when goalie Andrew Dykstra injured his ankle and had to be subbed off. Dykstra was playing because Bill Hamid was back in Washington, missing his second straight match, nursing a thigh injury. Rookie Travis Worra came on to make his MLS debut, manning the goal as United held on for a 2–1 win.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
The winning ways continued for United with three home games to start the month. In the first, United defeated the Columbus Crew 2–0, with two first half goals. The first came on a shot by Espindola that finished off a play that began with a 40-yard run by Rolfe, who got the assist on a perfectly weighted pass through the Crew defense. Espindola had the assist on the second goal with a corner kick to the far post when Sean Franklin volleyed for the goal. Back in goal for this game, Hamid earned yet another shutout.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
United's impressive home unbeaten streak continued a week later, with a 1–1 draw against Sporting Kansas City. A long pass from Perry Kitchen found Pontius, who chested the ball into the path of Jairo Arrieta, and Arrieta's shot found the back of the net. United gave away the lead about a minute later, just before halftime, as a cross by Sporting's Roger Espinoza found the foot of Dom Dwyer for the tying goal. Four nights later, United again defended Fortress RFK, against MLS debutantes, Orlando City SC.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
Missing star striker Espindola due to injury, United started slowly and Orlando capitalized as rookie Cyle Larin, the first pick in the 2015 MLS Superdraft, pounced on a loose ball in the box and beat goalie Bill Hamid. However, United was able to rally with two goals over the final 20 minutes to come away with a 2–1 win and regain the lead in the Supporters Shield race. A free kick by Taylor Kemp found the head of Opare, who was starting in place of the injured Birnbaum. Rolfe got the game-winner, stretching his leg out to get on the end of a cross by Arrieta, and tipping it in for the goal that sent the crowd into a frenzy.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
An eight-game unbeaten streak came to a gut-wrenching end in Philadelphia. Despite playing an unfamiliar midfield that included Markus Halsti and Miguel Aguilar getting their first starts ever for United, and Michael Farfan in his second start, United seemed headed to an earning a point with a scoreless draw against the Philadelphia Union. After using all three substitutions, United was suddenly shorthanded in the game's final minutes, when Silva left the match because of a hamstring injury. In the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Zach Pfeffer got the winning goal for the Union.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
Traveling to Foxboro the next weekend to play the New England Revolution, United seemed headed to a dispiriting second straight loss, trailing 1-0 at halftime. When two players were shown red cards early in the second half, there was reason to expect United to rally and take the 3 points. Nonetheless, the team struggled to generate good chances. Desperate to find the tying goal, Coach Olsen even turned to a new player, Facundo Coria, who had been signed only the week before.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
Coria reward the move, sending a pass to Kemp in the left corner, and Kemp's cross found the foot of the streaking Arrieta, who scored the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw that kept United on top of the Eastern Conference. United finished a hugely challenging road trip, playing the 3rd straight road game over an 8-day span, against the Portland Timbers. Because of injuries and tired legs, Olsen rolled out a decidedly second-choice lineup that featured a midfield consisting of Halsti, Aguilar, Jared Jeffrey and Luke Mishu. These players had a combined two starts in prior matches.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
Jeffrey was making only his second appearance in 2015 for United, and Mishu was not only starting for the first time, but making his first ever appearance in an MLS match. The makeshift lineup played surprisingly well, especially in the second half, but an early turnover by Kemp led to the game's only goal, as United left Portland empty-handed, with a 1–0 loss.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, May
United closed out the month with another uplifting comeback in RFK. A 2–1 win over the Union extended United's home unbeaten streak to a team-record tying 19 games. Despite falling behind in the first 5 minutes for the second time in 4 nights, United was able to knot the score on a header by Pontius just before halftime, on another great cross into the box by Kemp. The winning goal came on a penalty kick taken by Rolfe in the 85th minute, leaving United where it began the month, on top of the Eastern Conference.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
The first match for United in June saw yet another roaring comeback for the home side, setting a new team record by stretching the home unbeaten streak to 20 games. The Chicago Fire faced another patchwork lineup from United. Birnbaum made his first start ever at left back with both Kemp and Korb out for injuries.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
Silva (who had not played since the injury he suffered in Philadelphia), Pontius and Hamid were also late scratches, and Rolfe was out on a game suspension for a kick to the chest of an opposing player that was caught on video during the prior game against the Union. Goalie Dykstra saved a  first half penalty kick, but the Fire went out ahead a minute later on a goal by David Accam. Halftime substitution Fabian Espindola engineered a comeback win in his comeback from injury. Arrieta got the tying goal on a header off a corner by Espindola. The go-ahead goal was also scored by Arrieta, and the final goal in a 2–1 United win came on a cross by Espindola that was redirected into the net by  Conor Doyle, for his first goal of the season.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
Two unlikely streaks ended 3 nights later at RFK Stadium. DC United had surrendered the first goal in each of the preceding six games, but that streak ended when an early goal by Steve Birnbaum gave DC United a 1–0 lead against Toronto FC. However, Toronto's highly regarded  Designated Player Sebastian Giovinco tallied a first half goal to knot up the score. In the 83rd minute, Giovinco again beat United's second-string goalkeeper, Dykstra, this time from distance, to earn all 3 points for the visiting team.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
The home defeat was the first for United since dropping a game to the Sounders nearly a year earlier in June 2014. United's home unbeaten streak ended at 20 games, but the team still held on to first place in the Eastern Conference. A week later, the team traveled to Orlando where they fell by a 1–0 scoreline, marking the first time in 2015 that D.C. United lost two consecutive games. The decisive blow came on a penalty kick that followed a very controversial call against Taylor Kemp. Bill Hamid was actually able to deny the PK shot by the legendary former FIFA Player of the Year Kaka, but Kaka was able to pounce on the loose ball and knock it in for the decisive score.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
Despite the team's sudden struggles on the field, fans got great news about the franchise's future stadium. Speculation had arisen in early June about meetings with Virginia officials about a possible move to Loudoun County, but the team and the District of Columbia government soon announced that they had agreed to the final terms on the proposed deal for a stadium in the District's Buzzard Point neighborhood, which was to be completed for the 2018 season.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
United made their debut in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup three nights after the loss in Orlando, with the team's first ever trip to the Steel City to face the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Pittsburgh proved to be a tough opponent, taking their MLS opposition into extra time, but D.C. United prevailed with two goals in the overtime period, to win 3–1, on goals by Coria, Opare and Deleon. United returned to RFK four nights later, where they rediscovered their home field winning ways, with yet another striking comeback, to defeat the New England Revolution, by a now very familiar 2–1 score.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
United fell behind in the first half, when one-time D.C. United striker, Charlie Davies put the visitors in front in the 10th minute. The home team struggled for much of the game, but salvaged a win on 2 second-half goals by Chris Rolfe. Espindola had the assist on the first goal, and Rolfe's game-winner came on a penalty kick. Fixture congestion forced Coach Ben Olsen to use a decidedly second-choice lineup on a midweek trip to Chicago, but the visiting team came away with a surprising 1–0 victory.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
The game-winner was scored in the 73rd minute, when Conor Doyle struck an absolute cannon of a shot that was probably the team's most impressive goal of the year to that point. United remained on the road with a trip to Toronto at the end of that week. The teams played to a 0-0 scoreless draw in very adverse weather conditions, with rain and very heavy winds. Despite being outplayed, United nearly won the game in the last minute, but Jairo Arrieta's bid for Goal of the Year, a bicycle attempt, was frantically tipped over the bar by Toronto FC goalie, Chris Konopka.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
The draw in Toronto extended the team's Eastern Conference lead to 11 points, though United had played more games than any other Eastern Conference team. The team also led the Supporters Shield race by 3 points, but the team below them in the table, Vancouver Whitecaps held 2 games in hand. United closed out June with another U.S. Open Cup match, at Philadelphia. The continued fixture congestion meant coach Olsen continued with his rotation and trotted out a nearly fully second choice lineup, with only one regular, defender Steve Birnbaum. Despite the disparity in lineup strength, United struck first.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, June
Shortly after Philadelphia Union striker C.J. Sapong was shown a red card, United exploited the man advantage with Arrieta scoring on a deflected cross from rookie Miguel Aguilar. Though they were down a man, the Union soon dominated much of the ensuing play, and won the game on two second half goals, eliminating D.C. from the 2015 Open Cup competition.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
Given the team's recent offensive struggles, United fans might have thought they caught a break on the timing of a cross-country trip to face Seattle Sounders. The Sounders were playing without stars Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, but United were soon without their starting forwards, in fairly short order, too. Once again, Luis Silva had to leave a game because of muscle injury, this time in the 5th minute. About 20 minutes later, the team was also down a man, after Espindola was shown a straight red card, for a retaliatory elbow.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
Despite conceding a man advantage, United held strong until a cannon shot Goal-of-the-Week game-winner off the foot of fullback Tyrone Mears in the 88th minute, against back-up netminder, Dykstra. Despite the loss, United remained atop the Supporters Shield standings, just 3 points ahead of the Sounders. United also had a two-week break to nurse a number of injured players to health in advance of a trip to Dallas. The injured list included, Silva, Pontius, Franklin, Farfan and Hamid. The news was especially disappointing regarding Hamid, who was leading the league in several categories, despite battling a few injuries.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
It was announced that Hamid had undergone surgeries on his knee and hand, and would miss another 4–6 weeks. 2 days before the Dallas game, DC United also announced the trade of Luis Silva to Real Salt Lake in exchange for the Costa Rican striker Alvaro Saborio. While Saborio's addition seemed promising for a team desperate to find a goal-scorer, he could not yet join his new club, because Costa Rica was still involved in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. United's match against FC Dallas followed a troubling pattern that was becoming all-too familiar for United.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
Playing without the suspended Espindola in addition to all the missing, injured players, the DC side had little possession or attack, leaving the defense and goalie Andrew Dykstra under regular pressure. The United dam finally broke in the 73rd minute with a goal by Kellyn Acosta. United seemingly had managed to claim a draw and a point a few minutes later when Taylor Kemp's attempted cross to Arrieta was knocked into the Dallas net by an FC Dallas defender. However, once again, United's stout defense folded in the final minutes, allowing a stoppage-time winner by Fabian Castillo.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
In United's next match, home cooking seemed to make all the difference, as the team won 3–2 on their return to RFK for United's first home match in 5 weeks. Playing at home in front of over 19,000 fans was probably a boost to the team, but an even bigger boost might have been the sight of the team's new striker tandem of Espindola and Saborio. The game started horribly for the home side as the Philadelphia Union scored in the first and fourth minute to take what might have seemed a commanding 2–0 lead.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, July
United began to claw their way back into the game as Saborio scored on his United debut, with a 37th minute volley of a Korb cross. The game was tied midway through the second half when Nick DeLeon finished a rebound of an Espindola shot. D.C. United finally went ahead on an Espindola header, with Chris Korb getting his second assist of the match. DeLeon's goal was his first in over a year in a regular season match.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
August began explosively for D.C. United, with United defeating visitors Real Salt Lake in a wild 6–4 shooting gallery of a game. As they did the previous weekend at home, United surrendered an extremely early goal, this time in the second minute. Once again, United also soon gave up another goal, falling behind 2–0 before rallying to victory. Rolfe scored unassisted from about 7 yards before halftime. Chris Rolfe tied the score in the second half, on a penalty kick that set off an incredible spree of goals.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
Five minutes after Rolfe's penalty kick evened the score, Taylor Kemp put the home team in front with a prodigious one-time strike on a loose ball from about 25 yards. The visitors evened the score only 3 minutes later with a header for goal on a free kick taken by Javier Morales. The tie score lasted about a minute, as Fabian Espindola was credited with a goal as he stretched to try and connect with a loose rebound, following a shot by Alvaro Saborio.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
RSL defender Justen Glad attempted to clear the loose ball off the line, but his attempted clearance hit Espindola's outstretched leg and the ball crossed the line before the defense could react. Once again, United failed to protect the lead, as RSL's Morales again picked apart the defense and earned his second assist within 6 minutes. This time, the tie score lasted for 11 minutes as Kemp served in a cross after a short corner kick, with Perry Kitchen getting on the end of the cross, heading it for the game-winning goal, in the 79th minute.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
Six minutes later, Nick DeLeon knifed through the RSL defense and blasted a long-range shot for an unassisted goal, capping off the 6-4 win. The six goals scored by United were the most the team had scored since a game in 2004, tying the team's all-time record mark. The combined 10 goals were also the most in any MLS game since 2004, a total that had been exceeded only once in league history. The win put D.C. United back on top of the Supporters Shield standings. Several teams held games in hand and the chance to catch United in that race, but only FC Dallas had earned more points per game played.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
United's next match was on the road, against Montreal Impact, and the game could not have been more different than the nearly record-setting 6-4 shootout in United's prior game at home against RSL. The surprising, quick return from injury by goalie Bill Hamid and the sprained knee injury suffered by Fabian Espindola during training the day before the match virtually guaranteed that United would play a cautious, defensive-minded game. Statistics from the game bore that out, as United was outshot 25–1 by the home team, and possession was more than 2–1 in the Impact's favor.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
Amazingly though, United emerged with a 1–0 victory, thanks to strong goalkeeping and a first-half goal by Rolfe that finished off a play assisted by Arrieta's high pressure. Arrieta forced a turnover by the Montreal defense and directed the ball to Rolfe who scored what proved to be the game-winner on United's only shot of the game. United became the first team ever to win an MLS match having recorded only one shot all game.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
The road trip continued with a midweek at Yankee Stadium, United's first match there and first ever match against NYCFC. As in Montreal, United capitalized on first half defensive error, this time by Italian footballing legend Andrea Pirlo, to take a first-half lead. Rolfe intercepted a pass by Pirlo, raced toward goal and found Saborio in front of goal, waiting to finish. However, United turned in one of its poorest 45 minutes of soccer in the second half, surrendering 3 goals, despite a pair of spectacular saves by Hamid, and United's 3-game winning streak came to a crashing end.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
United not only lost the game, but also lost Korb to a season-ending ACL knee injury. The next 3 matches for United saw Olsen go to a tried-and-true rotation. United opened up its 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League campaign in Panama, as a squad of reserves weathered consistent pressure by Arabe Unido to emerge with a 1–0 win on a late goal by Miguel Aguilar. The goal was Aguilar's first professional goal, coming off a spectacular no-look back-heel pass by Michael Farfan.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
The team returned home for an MLS match with San Jose Earthquakes, and the first team's struggles continued in a 2–0 loss, played without star goalie Hamid, whose post-surgical knee kept him out of the lineup. Hamid and the other regulars were not needed in the next game, a CONCACAF Champions League match @ RFK against a Jamaican side that was still in preseason form. United defeated Montego Bay United F.C. 3–0, on goals by Aguilar, Opare and Doyle, and two assists for Farfan.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, August
As the team closed out August, United continued to struggle mightily. Bill Hamid was back in goal as the team made a trip to the New York Red Bulls home field. Without Espindola though, United's attack remained absolutely toothless. NYRB dominated the midfield, perhaps in part because United was playing without Arnaud, who had suffered a concussion against San Jose. Hamid made some pivotal saves early on, but the floodgates eventually opened as the Red Bulls repeatedly sliced through the United defense, utterly dominating the contest which finished 3–0 in favor of NYRB. The loss left United clinging to a 2-point lead in the Eastern Conference, but NYRB held 3 games in hand.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
September began with a familiar feel for D.C. United fans. After almost a two-week break that saw the Red Bulls pass United in the standings and seize first place in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United traveled to Denver to face Colorado Rapids. Even with Espindola back in the lineup, United's offense continued to struggle to string together any passes or to generate scoring chances. The Rapids went out to a first half lead when defender Bobby Burling capitalized on a poor clearance by Saborio with a shot that sneaked past Hamid.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
United managed to rescue a point and snap their 3-game MLS losing streak when Steve Birnbaum finished off a free kick play with a header for a late goal that gave United a 1–1 draw. The result drew United into a numerical tie for first place, but the Red Bulls had played 3 fewer games. Perhaps more importantly, the result in Colorado left United one point of ahead of Columbus Crew SC, with the two teams scheduled to face each other the following weekend in Washington, D.C.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
If the first team continued to struggle in MLS play, the reserves continued United's good fortune and winning streak in CONCACAF Champions League play. United won its seventh straight group play match over two years, with a 2–0 home-field win over Arabe Unido. Conor Doyle got United on the board in the first minute off an assist from Pontius, and Jeffrey doubled the lead later in the match with a header off a corner kick taken by Coria. The 2–0 clinched first place in the group, sending United through once more to the knockout stages to be played in 2016.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
Even a return to RFK Stadium was not enough to cure whatever had been ailing United over the last 2 or 3 months of league play. United fell behind 2–0 against Columbus, but an attempt at a late rally came up short. A penalty kick by Rolfe put United on the scoreboard. Later, Saborio appeared to have tied the score in the 84th minute, off a through pass by Pontius, but the Costa Rican was controversially ruled offside. The result vaulted the Crew to the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference, while United slipped to 4th place.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
With dreams of MLS hardware slipping away, D.C. United still had top position in CONCACAF Champions League group play, which the team locked down in their final group match of 2015, a 3–3 draw in Jamaica, against Montego Bay United. The Jamaican side jumped out to an early lead when a quick restart caught out a really makeshift D.C. defense, that included Aguilar making his first start as a fullback, and Jalen Robinson making his first start as a center back. That goal was Montego Bay's first ever tally in CCL play.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
The home side extended the lead 3 minutes later and took what appeared to be a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second half on a penalty kick, after a phantom foul call against midfielder Jared Jeffrey. D.C. however rallied, with goals by Arrieta and Opare, and earned a draw and a point, when Michael Farfan collected a loose ball deep into stoppage time and aimed his shot into the top corner of the goal.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
The draw was the first CCL group match that D.C. United didn't win over the last two entries into CONCACAF play, but it did extend their CCL group play unbeaten streak to 8 games and left the team with 10 points, waiting to learn their seeding and knockout round opponent when Champions League play resumes in 2016.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
Needing only one win to clinch a playoff spot, D.C. United's five-game MLS winless streak stretched to six games when the Montreal Impact's new star addition, Didier Drogba scored twice early in the first half, and United's anemic attack failed to answer.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, September
The loss left United only 3 points ahead of the Impact, who still held the final playoff slot, but also having played two fewer games than D.C. Toronto FC held the 5th slot, 2 points behind D.C. Orlando City SC remained outside of the playoff seedings, in seventh place, 7 points behind D.C., with 3 games remaining for both teams.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
New York City FC made their first trip to RFK Stadium, and the debutante side proved to be the tonic that D.C. United needed to break their spirit-crushing winless streak, which had begun at NYCFC's home field seven games earlier. When the game began, it seemed that United's losing ways were destined to continue. At the 45-second mark, Frank Lampard followed up the rebound of a David Villa shot, and gave the visitors a very early 1-0 lead.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
It was not even the first time this season that United had fallen behind in the first minute, but that knowledge was probably little comfort. Over the next 70 minutes, both teams squandered chances, but D.C. finally broke through when Espindola scored off of a rebound that came when NYCFC goalie Josh Saunders made a diving stop on a long-range strike by Chris Pontius. In stoppage time, Pontius was dragged down making a long run, setting up a free kick for the home team. Espindola's service found its way to substitute Saborio, after a misplay by a NYCFC defender.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
Saborio delivered with a memorable game-winner for D.C. The 2-1 victory, D.C. United's first ever win over NYCFC, not only ended almost two months of frustration for the team, it also clinched a playoff spot for the team. This would be the first time since 2006 and 2007 that United would qualify for the playoffs in each of two consecutive seasons.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
D.C. United's sudden turn in fortunes continued in the team's final home regular-season match, against cellar-dwelling Chicago Fire. United broke through late in the first half, when Pontius won a race, beating two defenders and the Fire's goalie, Jon Busch to the ball and then rounding the goalie and slotting home the first goal. Midway through the second half, Boswell scored with a header on a corner kick taken by Espindola. A few minutes later, Espindola got his own goal, with an assist to DeLeon, when a sharply taken shot was deflected just inside the near post.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
A 4-0 scoreline was completed when a deflected shot came to Saborio in the 6-yard box, and the Costa Rican striker's shot beat the Fire 'keeper. The four-goal margin was the team's largest margin of victory since August 2011. The team would close out the regular season in Columbus, part of MLS' first Decision Day. Going into this final day, United held a one-point lead over Columbus for second place in the Eastern Conference, but four teams would be playing with a chance at claiming second place and a bye through the first round of MLS playoffs.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
That prize would depend on the results in Columbus and in a match being played at the same time between visiting Montreal and host Toronto. As United geared to play the MLS regular season finale, CONCACAF group play concluded. Thanks to a goal surrendered by the Los Angeles Galaxy on the last kick of their game in Guatemala, D.C. United would carry the #2 seed into the CONCACAF quarterfinals, matching them against the #7 seed, Queretaro F.C. in early 2016.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
The regular season concluded with the match in Columbus, and the result matched the all-time worst in United's team history. The United attack hardly ever threatened, but it was shoddy work by the back line that really did in the team, as a 5-0 loss dropped the team into 4th place. That left United as host for a midweek 'play-in' match at home against a New England Revolution team that finished the season with a convincing 3-1 win at NYCFC.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
On a rainy day in the D.C. area, one of the smallest crowds of the year turned out to watch what proved to be one of the most entertaining games in the MLS season. Typical of the 2015 edition of the team, D.C. United fell behind in the first 15 minutes, but it was hard to fault the quality of a spectacular bicycle goal by New England's Juan Agudelo. Following the goal, the Revolution continued to press but Hamid was able to keep United in the match with some big saves.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
United leveled the score on a free kick in the 45th minute, as Pontius scored on a header set-up by Espindola's service. Pontius would have to leave the game in the second half, due to hamstring tightness. The D.C. team missed a chance to go ahead in the 75th minute, when Rolfe failed to convert a penalty kick, striking the inside of the post. Rolfe, however, got redemption, scoring in the 83rd minute, finishing off a cutback centering pass from Espindola, DeLeon was also credited with an assist for his nifty back-heel that set-up Espindola's run to the end line.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
Another spectacular save by Hamid denied a header bid by Revolution's Jermaine Jones in the late-going. The game ended on a controversial note, as Jermaine Jones was shown a red card for grabbing the referee while protesting the decision not to award a penalty kick for an apparent handball against United defender Sean Franklin in the 92nd minute. United had led the league with 8 comeback victories during the regular season, so the comeback win was a fitting way to kick off the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, October
In the conference semifinal series, United would face their arch-rival, the New York Red Bulls. With the first game at home, United still had to overcome the sudden loss of 2 starters—Pontius to a hamstring injury, and Boswell, who was given a one-game suspension for an off-the-ball incident during the Revolution match. The team was also without Arnaud, who hadn't played in over two months, suffering the lingering effects of a concussion, and Jeffrey, who had suffered facial fractures in training a couple of weeks earlier.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, November
The semifinal series was very typical of the way D.C United played throughout the second half of the season. The attack, such as it was, generated a handful of chances at best, and United became the first team in league history to fail to record a shot on goal as the home team in a playoff match. The passing accuracy was the 3rd worst for any MLS team in any game since 2010.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, November
The Red Bulls dominated possession and finally broke through in the second half as one-time United player Dax McCarty headed home the winner in a 1-0 defeat for United. The return match didn't go much better for United. Again, the Red Bulls dominated possession, but thanks to some big saves by Hamid, United still had a chance to try and knot the series as the game drifted into stoppage time. The Red Bulls, however, would finish off United's 2015 season, with a counter-attack goal in stoppage time, scored by Bradley Wright-Phillips, giving NYRB a 2-0 aggregate series win.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, November
With the disappointing second half of the season, it was no surprise that DC United didn't take home any pos-season awards, in contrast to the 2014 season. Bill Hamid finished 3rd in voting for Goalkeeper of the Year, despite finishing first in voting among MLS club management. Although his save percentage made him the league leader, presumably the amount of time he missed for injuries played a factor in the voting, The team went into the offseason with a plan to keep the core together, announcing new deals for Saborio, Rolfe, Boswell and DeLeon, while discussions continued with Kitchen.


2015 D.C. United season, Background, Regular season, December
As the 2015 MLS season wound up, word emerged that DC United was completing a pair of trades. The player with the longest tenure with the club, the oft-injured and highly compensated Chris Pontius, was sent to the Philadelphia Union, in exchange for allocation money. To fill Pontius' slot, United sent allocation  money to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for Lamar Neagle.


2015 DBL Playoffs
The 2015 DBL Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the Dutch Basketball League's (DBL) 2014–15 season. The tournament concluded with Donar Groningen playing SPM Shoeters Den Bosch in the Finals.


2015 DBL Playoffs, Bracket
Because the number of teams in the DBL decreased to 9, a new Playoff format was chosen. After the seeds 3 till 6 played a best-of-three series in the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and finals would be played in a best-of-seven system.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final
The 2015 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, the 72nd season of Germany's premier football cup. It was played on 30 May 2015 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final
Borussia Dortmund, runners-up in the previous final, faced VfL Wolfsburg, who won the game 3–1 to capture their first title, with all four goals in the first half.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final
As winners, Wolfsburg played against Bayern Munich, champions of the 2014–15 Bundesliga, in the 2015 DFL-Supercup, winning in a penalty shoot-out. Wolfsburg also would have qualified for the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, although they had already qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League via their league position.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final
Because of this, the sixth-placed team in the Bundesliga, Schalke 04, earned automatic qualification for the group stage of next year's edition of the UEFA Europa League, and the league's third qualifying round spot went to the team in seventh, Borussia Dortmund; this was the first season in which the cup runners-up would not have qualified for the Europa League if the cup winner had qualified for the Champions League via their league position.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Background
It was Dortmund's seventh final and they have a record of three victories (most recently against Bayern in 2012) and three defeats (most recently against the same opponents two years later). Wolfsburg's only prior appearance was in 1995, losing 0–3 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda died in a car accident in January 2015. In his honour, they wore shirts with his squad number 19 within a heart.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Background
The game was Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp's final match, after seven years in charge of the team.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final
The DFB-Pokal began with 64 teams in a single-elimination knockout cup competition. There were a total of five rounds leading up to the final. Teams were drawn against each other, and the winner after 90 minutes would advance. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time was played. If the score was still level, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final, Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund, of the Bundesliga, started the tournament in the first round on 17 August 2014, playing away at 3. Liga club Stuttgarter Kickers, and winning 4–1 with goals by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2) and Adrián Ramos. On 28 October, they played the second round away at FC St. Pauli of the 2. Bundesliga, winning 3–0 with goals from Ciro Immobile, Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa. The third round on 3 March 2015 again had Dortmund travel, to third-tier Dynamo Dresden, where they won 2–0 from two goals by Immobile in the second half, after losing Reus to injury in the first half.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final, Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund's first home fixture of the tournament came in the quarter-finals on 7 April, against their first top-flight opponent, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. They gained the lead when defender Neven Subotić volleyed from a corner kick, but within two minutes Kevin Volland equalised with his own volley. Shortly afterwards, Subotić's defensive error allowed Roberto Firmino to put Hoffenheim into the lead. In the second half, Aubameyang equalised for Dortmund, heading in Erik Durm's cross. The game went to extra time, in which Sebastian Kehl scored a long-range volleyed winner for Dortmund.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final, Borussia Dortmund
On 28 April, Dortmund went to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, a repeat of the last season's final. The hosts took the lead through Robert Lewandowski, whom they had signed from Dortmund in the summer, but Dortmund equalised with 15 minutes to play, Aubameyang finishing Mkhitaryan's cross. The game went to a penalty shootout, in which all four Bayern takers including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer missed, but Dortmund's İlkay Gündoğan and Kehl scored.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final, VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg, also of the Bundesliga, began in the first round away to 2. Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 on 17 August. After a goalless draw, they won on penalties: Naldo missed their first attempt, but Maurice Exslager and Milan Ivana missed for the hosts. They then hosted a 4–1 win over second-tier 1. FC Heidenheim in the second round: despite conceding Marc Schnatterer's opener for the visitors, they replied with goals by Daniel Caligiuri, Bas Dost and Luiz Gustavo (2). In the third round on 4 March, they travelled to the Red Bull Arena where they defeated 2. Bundesliga club RB Leipzig 2–0, with a goal in either half from Caligiuri and Timm Klose.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final, VfL Wolfsburg
In the quarter-finals on 7 April, Wolfsburg hosted their first top-flight opponent, SC Freiburg. In the second half, Caligiuri was fouled by Julian Schuster for a penalty, which Ricardo Rodríguez converted past Roman Bürki for the only goal of the game. They played away to third-tier DSC Arminia Bielefeld in the semi-finals 22 days later. Wolfsburg won 4–0, with two goals by Maximilian Arnold and further strikes by Luiz Gustavo and Ivan Perišić.


2015 DFB-Pokal Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Mark Borsch (Mönchengladbach)Stefan Lupp (Zossen)Fourth official:Robert Hartmann (Wangen im Allgäu)


2015 DFL-Supercup
The 2015 DFL-Supercup was the sixth edition of the German Super Cup under the name DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It featured Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2014–15 Bundesliga, and VfL Wolfsburg, the winners of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal.


2015 DFL-Supercup
Bayern lost 2–0 in the previous edition, to Borussia Dortmund.


2015 DFL-Supercup
The match was played on 1 August 2015. Wolfsburg defeated Bayern Munich 5–4 on penalties after the match had ended 1–1.


2015 DFL-Supercup, Teams
In the following table, matches until 1996 were in the DFB-Supercup era, since 2010 were in the DFL-Supercup era.


2015 DFL-Supercup, Match, Summary
Arjen Robben had put Bayern Munich ahead in the 49th minute from close range after goalkeeper Koen Casteels had fumbled a cross from the left from Douglas Costa. Nicklas Bendtner leveled the game in the 89th minute scoring at the near post after a cross from Kevin De Bruyne from the right. Bendtner went on to score the decisive penalty in the penalty shoot-out shooting high into the top left corner as Wolfsburg won 5–4.


2015 DHB-Pokal
The 2015 DHB-Pokal was the 39th edition of the tournament.


2015 DHB-Pokal, Format
The six best placed teams from the 2013–14 Handball-Bundesliga received a bye into the second round. The first round was split into north and south parts.


2015 DPR Korea Football League
Statistics of DPR Korea Football League in the 2015 season.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Overview
Twelve teams took part in the 2015 Highest Class Football League, with the tournament held as a simple round-robin tournament. The participating teams were April 25, Hwaebul, Kigwancha, Kyŏnggong'ŏp, Ponghwasan, Sobaeksu, P'yŏngyang City, Rimyŏngsu, Myohyangsan, Chobyŏng, Amrokkang, and Sŏnbong. Chobyŏng had earned promotion to the top flight for the first time after winning the second division, but they finished last in 2015 and were once again relegated.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Overview
Play began on 20 September, and the final was played in late October, with all matches played at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in P'yŏngyang.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Overview
The 2015 champions of the Highest Class Football League were April 25.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions, Hwaebul Cup
The final of the 2015 edition of the Hwaebul Cup was held at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in P'yŏngyang. April 25 defeated Kigwanch'a by a score of 5–1.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions, Man'gyŏngdae Prize
The 2015 edition of the Man'gyŏngdae Prize was won by April 25, who defeated Kigwanch'a in the final with a score of 1–0.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions, Osandŏk Prize
The first competition for the Osandŏk Prize in football was held at Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in P'yŏngyang starting on 5 December 2015. Hwaebul won the inaugural prize.


2015 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions, Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize
The 2015 edition of the Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize was won by P'yŏngyang City, who defeated Rimyŏngsu 2–1 in extra time in the final, played at Kim Il-sung Stadium in P'yŏngyang.


2015 Dacorum Borough Council election
The 2015 Dacorum Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Dacorum Borough Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Dadri lynching
The 2015 Dadri lynching refers to case of lynching in which a mob of villagers attacked the home of 52 year old  Mohammed Akhlaq, killing him, for suspicion of slaughtering a Cow. The attack took place at night, on 28 September 2015 in Bisahda village (बिसाहड़ा गांव), near Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, India . The mob consisting of local villagers, attacked Akhlaq's house with sticks, bricks and knives, saying that they suspected of him stealing and slaughtering a cow calf.


2015 Dadri lynching
52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi (Ikhlaq according to some sources) died in the attack, and his son, 22-year-old Danish, was seriously injured. Later an Indian court found prima facie evidence of meat that may have been either mutton or beef, and ordered registration of a first information report against the slain Mohammed Akhlaq. The then state government changed the original report and  concluded that he was not storing beef for consumption.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Background
On 28 September 2015 evening, one of Ikhlaq's neighbors allegedly accused him of stealing and slaughtering his missing calf. Soon a crowd gathered and insisted on searching the house of Ikhlaq for traces of slaughter. This was refused by family of suspect. Soon things took an ugly turn when two boys used the local temple's public address system and announced that the family of Mohammad Akhlaq had killed the cow calf and consumed its meat on Eid-ul-Adha. Cows are sacred in Hinduism and in most Indian states including Uttar Pradesh, killing cows is unlawful. The police said that this was the cause of the outrage of citizens.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Attack
Mob carrying sticks arrived at Mohammad Akhlaq's house at around 10:30pm. The family had finished dinner and were about to go to sleep. Akhlaq and his son Danish were already asleep. The mob woke them and accused them of consuming beef. They found some meat in the refrigerator and seized it, but the family insisted it was mutton. The mob dragged the entire family outside and Akhlaq and Danish were repeatedly kicked, hit with bricks and stabbed. The family's neighbours tried to stop the mob but were not able to. The police were called and arrived an hour later. By then, Akhlaq was dead and Danish was badly injured.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Attack
The family had been living in the village for about the 70 years. The family consisted of Akhlaq, 52; his brother Jan Mohammad Saifi, 42; mother Asgari Begum, 82; wife Ikram; son Danish, 22; and daughter Sajida. Akhlaq's elder son, Mohammad Sartaj, 27, works as a corporal-ranked technician in the Indian Air Force and was in Chennai at the time of attack.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Aftermath and arrests
The police arrested the temple's priest and his assistant for questioning. A first information report (FIR) was filed naming ten of the attackers based on the testimony of the family members. The FIR contained charges under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 458 (house-breaking), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. Six of them were found and arrested by 1 October. On 1 October, the number of arrests went to eight. The arrests were protested by locals. The protesters set fire on vehicles and vandalised shops. The police had to fire in the air to disperse them. One person was injured in the protests. Personnel from Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary and the Rapid Action Force were deployed in the village.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Aftermath and arrests
The temple priest denied involvement. He said that he was forced to make the announcement by some youngsters. The priest said that he had only announced that a cow had been killed and asked people to gather near the temple. On 3 October, a man named Vishal, the son of a local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, was arrested in connection to the case. By 4 October, Danish had spent 4 days in the Intensive Care Unit and undergone two brain surgeries. He had been admitted in Kailash Hospital, Greater Noida. Mohammed Akhlaq's son was later shifted to Army Hospital Research and Referral.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Aftermath and arrests
Some female relatives of the arrested persons attacked journalists and pelted stones at media vans. They claimed that these persons had been wrongly arrested and the media was covering only the victim's story.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Aftermath and arrests
On 5 October, Uttar Pradesh Police asked microblogging site Twitter to remove certain text and photographs related to the incident, which it considered provocative. The family left Bisahda village and moved to an Indian Air Force zone in Delhi on 6 October.


2015 Dadri lynching, Events, Aftermath and arrests
Subsequently, 19 people were charged under the case, including Vishal Singh Rana (the son of a local small time BJP party worker Sanjay Rana) and Vishal, his friend. 16 of the accused were subsequently invited by Uttar Pradesh's chief minister Adityanath to be present at his election rallies.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
The lynching was followed by political reactions on all sides, with the BJP trying to distance itself from direct responsibility for the killings, yet at the same time taking advantage of them in some rallies, and other parties like Congress and BSP trying to gain political mileage from the incident. The then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav announced as ex-gratia of ₹10,00,000 for the family on 30 September 2015. He also directed the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Noida Police to provide police protection to the family. On 3 October 2015, the ex-gratia was raised to ₹20,00,000. Mohammad Akhlaq's elder son Mohammad Sartaj, a technician in the Indian Air Force, said that he has decided to move the family out of Dadri. However, fearing for their safety, the family shifted to Delhi on 6 Oct 2015.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
Home Minister and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Rajnath Singh, appealed to people to maintain communal harmony and promised strict action against those try to disrupt it. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said such incidents affect the image of the nation and people should rise above them. Mahesh Sharma, a Union Minister and Lok Sabha MP of Gautam Buddha Nagar, said that the Dadri lynching was not planned but an unfortunate accident. However, he promised justice to the family. Another BJP leader Tarun Vijay said that this incident may derail the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of development.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
He asked Hindus to look after cows instead of resorting to violence. He also pointed to the issues of beef export and stray cows consuming plastic from garbage. Another BJP leader, Sakshi Maharaj criticised the exgratia amount and said that if a Hindu had been killed his family would have received much less.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, criticized the police's decision to test the meat, calling this an irrelevance in light of the violent attack. He also criticized the ruling party of the state for inaction and the local BJP leaders for seeking to defending the attackers.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha called the incident unfortunate and said that they were trying to move the family to an Indian Air Force area to help and protect them. Former Bihar Chief Minister and leader of RJD political party Lalu Yadav said that poor people  and Indian expatriates eat beef and that there was no biological difference between beef and goat. He added that eating meat and beef was not good for health. However he later he retracted his statements, admitting he had spoken without any thought.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
After the murder of Akhlaq, BJP legislator T. Raja Singh posted on Twitter sections from the Hindu text the Vedas that allegedly mandated killing people who slaughter cows. They were subsequently found to be lies.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
On 6 October 2015, author Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award in protest of the growing intolerance in the country. She pointed to the recent murders of M. M. Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, and called  Dadri lynching her last straw. Later, Ashok Vajpeyi and Rahman Abbas also returned their awards.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
On 7 October 2015, Azam Khan, a cabinet minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, said that he will raise the Dadri lynching issue at United Nations. Also on 7 October 2015, President of India Pranab Mukherjee said that diversity, tolerance and plurality are the core of Indian civilisation and they kept India united for centuries.


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, referencing the President's speech, said in a public rally on 8 October 2015 to follow President's message and ignore statements of communal political leaders, urging people to stay united. He stated, "Hindus and Muslims should fight against poverty and not against each other".


2015 Dadri lynching, Reactions
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in a speech on 15 October, has termed the incident dukhad [saddening]. But he questioned the logic behind blaming the centre for it. Mr. Modi also termed undesirable the opposition to Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali's concert in Mumbai by the Shiv Sena, but sought to know how the centre was responsible for it. Modi was criticized for waiting 10 days before speaking out against the killing.


2015 Dadri lynching, Request to close all inquiries
The relatives of Mohammad Akhlaq met the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav in the first week of December 2015. They expressed satisfaction on the monetary support they received and the progress of the case inquiry. At the same time, they requested the Chief Minister to close all further inquiries into the case.


2015 Dadri lynching, FIR against victim and his kin
9 July 2016, judicial magistrate Vijay Kumar at the Surajpur district court (Greater Noida) issued direction under section 156 (3), on a petition filed by a Bisahda village resident against murdered Mohammad Akhlaq and his kin. On the night of September 28, 2015 police collected a sample of the meat from Akhlaq's house in Bisahda and sent it to a vet for preliminary testing. These tests suggested it was mutton, but the Uttar Pradesh Police sent the sample to another lab in Mathura for a conclusive test, as per which meat was beef.


2015 Dahsyatnya Awards
The 2015 Dahsyatnya Awards was an awards show for Indonesian musicians. It was the seventh annual show. The show was held on January 23, 2015, at the Istora Senayan in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. The awards show was hosted by Raffi Ahmad, Ayu Dewi, Denny Cagur, Nagita Slavina, Marcel Chandrawinata, Syahnaz Sadiqah, and Lolita Agustine. The awards ceremonies will held theme for "Dahsyatnya Tanpa Batas".


2015 Dahsyatnya Awards
Andien led the nominations with six categories, followed by Noah with five nominations. Fatin Shidqia, Repvblik, and Tulus were the biggest winners of the night, taking home two awards apiece. Shidqia received awards for Outstanding Female Solo Singer and Outstanding Duet/Collaboration (with The Overtunes). Repvblik received awards for Outstanding Band and Outstanding Song for "Selimut Tetangga". Tulus received awards for Outstanding Video Clip and Outstanding Video Clip Director, both for "Baru".


2015 Dakar Rally
The 2015 Dakar Rally was the 37th running of the event and the seventh successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 4, then ran through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, before returning to Buenos Aires on January 17 after 13 stages of competition, for a total distance of 9,000 km (5,600 mi). For the first time, organizers reserved separate rest days for different categories so that at least two classes raced on each day.


2015 Dakar Rally
Marc Coma won a fifth title in the motorcycle category for KTM, while Rafał Sonik secured a maiden quads crown aboard his Yamaha. Nasser Al-Attiyah took his second title for the X-Raid Mini squad in the car category, while Ayrat Mardeev continued Kamaz's winning streak – a third successive win in the Dakar Rally – in the truck category, with his maiden success.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
The race was expected to be a fight between KTM, led by defending champion Marc Coma, and Honda's fleet, spearheaded by Joan Barreda, which had not triumphed since returning to Dakar as a works operation. KTM's Sam Sunderland won the opening stage, but dropped time getting lost on the second stage before retiring after injuring his shoulder and collarbone in a crash on the fourth stage. That handed the lead to Barreda, who extended his advantage to almost 13 minutes over Coma with wins in the second and fourth stages. Coma fought back with his first (and only) stage victory the following day, Barreda having his lead reduced to six-and-a-half minutes on the seventh stage after a fall which damaged his handlebar.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
Worse was to come for Barreda on the eighth stage however, as a mechanical failure while traversing the damp Uyuni salt flats meant he had to be towed by teammate Jeremias Israel, losing over three hours as a result and any chance of victory. Barreda's misfortune left Coma with a lead of just under ten minutes from Paulo Gonçalves, around whom the rest of the Honda team rallied in order to challenge Coma in the subsequent stages.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
Gonçalves nonetheless saw his own victory hopes ruined by a penalty for an engine change on Stage 11, Barreda also losing his fourth stage win of the rally for similar reasons. Ultimately, Coma would finish the rally with just under 17 minutes in hand from Gonçalves, who took his first ever Dakar podium as Coma clinched a fifth title in the category.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
Rookie Toby Price (KTM) finished third overall after winning the penultimate stage, the best performance by an Australian on a bike in the Dakar since Andy Haydon finished in the same position in 1998. Fellow newcomer Matthias Walkner (KTM) was equally impressive, winning the third stage but ultimately had to retire due to illness. The top five was rounded out by KTM privateers Pablo Quintanilla, who won the eighth stage, and Štefan Svitko, with Coma's water carrier Ruben Faria finishing sixth despite suffering a broken collarbone as recently as November. Laia Sanz finished ninth to become the most successful ever female rider in Dakar history, ahead of top Yamaha rider Olivier Pain, who struggled with an under-developed bike.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
Hélder Rodrigues (Honda), suffering from influenza early in the rally, won stages 6 and 9 but would drop down the standings when he turned his attentions to helping Gonçalves' bid for victory, finishing 12th. Barreda meanwhile recovered to finish 17th, once again taking more stage victories – with 3 – than any other rider, as he did in 2014. Notable non-finishers included 2014 runner-up Jordi Viladoms (KTM) and factory Sherco rider Juan Pedrero.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Quads
After six years of South American domination, the 2015 edition crowned Polish rider Rafał Sonik, who along with defending champion Ignacio Casale began the event as favourite for victory. The duel between the Yamaha pair was finely balanced until the tenth stage, which saw Casale, who had been running second just four minutes down on Sonik, withdrawing with mechanical problems, while third-place rider Sergio Lafuente (Yamaha) also suffered a violent accident. This gave Sonik a lead of nearly three hours over nearest rival Jeremias González (Yamaha), which he duly maintained to the finish. Rounding out the podium was top Honda rider Walter Nosiglia, almost a further hour behind González.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
The event began disastrously for defending champion Nani Roma, who suffered a breakdown a short way into the opening stage and had to be towed to the bivouac by an assistance vehicle – immediately ruling him out of the fight for the victory and relegating him to a support player in the X-Raid Mini team. Roma's teammate Orlando Terranova inherited the first stage win after a speeding penalty for Nasser Al-Attiyah, but Terranova would suffer a roll in the second stage, effectively ending his challenge. Three more wins in the next five stages allowed Al-Attiyah to build up an 11-minute advantage over Giniel de Villiers in his Toyota Hilux, who would be the closest driver to attempt to keep up with Al-Attiyah.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
After closing to within eight minutes of Al-Attiyah, de Villiers would lose around 16 minutes to his rival on stage 9 due to a navigational error, taking the pressure off the leader. Al-Attiyah was not to be challenged again, winning stages 10 and 11, to take the overall title by a margin of 35 minutes from de Villiers. It was Al-Attiyah's second overall win at the Dakar.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
Debutant Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota) was the race's surprise, winning the eighth stage and holding third in the overall standings for much of the rally prior to retiring three stages later due to mechanical issues. That promoted Krzysztof Hołowczyc to the final place on the podium, over 90 minutes adrift of teammate Al-Attiyah, with privateers Erik van Loon and Vladimir Vasilyev – winner of stage five – making it four Minis in the top five. After winning the ninth stage, Roma would withdraw after a heavy accident the next day, while Terranova won a further trio of stages after his opening day success to end the event 18th overall.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
If Mini dominated the race – winning 11 of the 13 stages – Peugeot, returning after 25 years, were left disillusioned as their two-wheel drive, diesel-powered 2008 DKR contender suffered from many reliability issues. 11-time event winner Stéphane Peterhansel finished 11th overall, never challenging for stage wins, while Cyril Despres could not better 34th position, struggling to adapt to the car category after much success on two wheels. Carlos Sainz was the fastest of the Peugeot team and the only one to rival the pace of the Minis and Toyotas, but he lost two hours with mechanical problems in the fourth stage and retired the next day due to a violent crash.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
The ever-popular Robby Gordon, back with his new Gordini buggy – a shorter version of the Hummer H3 – would suffer from overheating brakes on the second stage, losing four hours, and experienced further problems on the fourth stage. Victory in the shortened final stage put Gordon 19th overall. Ronan Chabot was the highest-ranked buggy driver, taking the SMG prototype to 10th in the standings. Guerlain Chicherit, with a buggy from the X-Raid team – similar to that used by Al-Attiyah and Sainz in 2013 – was only 45th, plagued from the start with several mechanical and electrical problems, including a fire that nearly destroyed the car.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Trucks
The race was totally dominated by the Kamaz team, which won 8 of the 13 stages and swept the podium with its drivers Ayrat Mardeev – son of the recently deceased Ilgizar Mardeev, runner-up in 2007 – Eduard Nikolaev and reigning champion Andrey Karginov. Winning four of the first six stages, Nikolaev had built up a lead of 13 minutes over Mardeev, but dropped back with mechanical problems on stage 7, handing Mardeev an advantage of 22 minutes over Karginov. Nikolaev fought his way back up to second with two more stage wins. However, he fell just under 14 minutes short of overhauling Mardeev, with Karginov 51 minutes down by the finish.


2015 Dakar Rally, Summary, Trucks
Aleš Loprais switched from Tatra to MAN machinery and was the only competitor able to keep pace with the Kamaz fleet, winning the seventh stage but finished the rally fourth overall and more than an hour from the podium places. Iveco, despite four stage wins courtesy of Hans Stacey, suffered from reliability issues, with the result that Stacey could do no better than sixth – just behind Kamaz's fourth driver Dmitry Sotnikov – and Gerard de Rooy ninth. The Belarusian Siarhei Viazovich almost caused an upset when he came close to winning stage 2 for MAZ, but finished all the way down in 34th after suffering severe gearbox issues.


2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season
The 2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season is the sixth season in the club's history, and the first season after relegation from the Chinese Super League.


2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Background
When they were relegated from the Super League, Aerbin sold many starting players trying to minimize their expenses.


2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Background
Aerbin signed Swedish manager Mikael Stahre before the season started. However, financial issue was still a tough problem for the team. As the performance was below expectation, another back pay was reported to be connected with the team.


2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Background
On 8 July, Dalian Yifang Group became the major share holder of the club to gain full control of the team, before officially changed the team name to Dalian Yifang F.C. (Chinese: 大连一方足球俱乐部) by the end of the season.


2015 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Player information, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open
The 2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first tournament in the 2015 WTA 125K series and took place in Dalian, China, from 8 to 13 September 2015.


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open, Singles draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open, Doubles draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open – Doubles
This was a new event to the WTA 125K series.


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open – Doubles
Zhang Kailin and Zheng Saisai won the title, defeating Chan Chin-wei and Darija Jurak in the final, 6–3, 6–4.


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open – Singles
This was a new event to the WTA 125K series.


2015 Dalian Women's Tennis Open – Singles
Top seed Zheng Saisai won the title, defeating Julia Glushko in the final 2–6, 6–1, 7–5.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season
The 2015 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 56th season in the National Football League, the seventh playing their home games at AT&T Stadium and the fifth full season under head coach Jason Garrett. The team finished the regular season at 4–12. It was the team's worst record since 1989, when they went 1–15. Despite starting 2–0, they would struggle immensely. Key injuries, including starting quarterback Tony Romo were factors in their struggles of the season. They were eliminated from playoff contention with their Week 15 loss to the Jets. This would be the last losing season for the Cowboys until 2020.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Regular season
Despite starting the season 2-0 and leading the NFC East, the Cowboys lost their next seven games and finished the season by going 2-12 in their final 14 games. They were eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the NY Jets in week 15. Their collapse from a solid start was primarily due to injuries by starting quarterback Tony Romo and starting wide receiver Dez Bryant. Bryant broke a bone in his foot during the week 1 win against the Giants, and Romo suffered a broken clavicle in the week 2 triumph at Philadelphia.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Regular season
Brandon Weeden started the next 3 games in which the team lost, and then was benched in week 7 following the bye week in replacement for Matt Cassel who was acquired via trade from the Buffalo Bills following Romo's injury. The Cowboys, with Cassell at the helm, lost their next 4 games. Tony Romo, not fully recovered from his broken collarbone injury, started the next game against the Dolphins, which they won. However, in a week 12 loss against the undefeated Panthers, Romo suffered a second collarbone injury and was later ruled out for the season.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Regular season
Matt Cassel then started the next 3 games for the Cowboys with a week 13 win against the rival Redskins. However, after a poor performance against the New York Jets in week 15 in the 1st half, Cassel was benched in favor of backup Kellen Moore, and the team went on to lose the rest of the games of the season.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. New York Giants
The Cowboys opened the season at home against their rival, the New York Giants, led by the quarterback-receiver tandem of Eli Manning and young Odell Beckham Jr..


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. New York Giants
Tony Romo came back late in the fourth quarter and nailed the game-winning drive to Jason Witten to give Dallas a narrow 27-26 victory.


2015 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. New York Giants
The victory, however, was bittersweet as Dez Bryant broke his foot in the second half. The injury required surgery and he was expected to miss 10–12 weeks. Cameras caught Bryant congratulating his teammates in the locker room after a close victory. Romo spoke on Bryant's injury: "You can't replace Dez Bryant." Three days later, the NFL came forward and apologized to the Giants for 2 blown calls.