1997 Major League Soccer season

Last updated

1997 Major League Soccer season
Season1997
MLS Cup D.C. United (2nd title)
Supporters' Shield D.C. United (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' Cup D.C. United
Colorado Rapids
Matches played160
Goals scored522 (3.26 per match)
Top goalscorer Jaime Moreno
(16 goals)
Longest winning run Kansas City Wizards
Games: 7
(07/19 – 08/31)
Longest losing run New England Revolution
Games: 9
(07/20 – 09/12)
Highest attendance57,407
NE 2–1 TB
(April 20, 1997)
Lowest attendance4,120
COL 1–0 DAL
(April 23, 1997)
Total attendance2,336,889
Average attendance14,606
1996
1998

The 1997 Major League Soccer season was the second season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 85th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 19th with a national first-division league.

Contents

Following the 1996 season, the Wiz changed names, becoming the Wizards, following legal action from electronics retailer The Wiz.

The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on September 28. The 1997 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 4, and concluded with MLS Cup 1997 on October 26. D.C. United won their first Supporters' Shield and defended their MLS Cup championship becoming the first team to win back-to-back cups.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 22 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 26. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 16 games. The rest of the schedule consisted of three games against each team from the opposite conference, with four games against one designated team.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The conference semifinals and finals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

TeamStadiumCapacity
Colorado Rapids Mile High Stadium 76,273
Columbus Crew Ohio Stadium 102,329
D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000
Dallas Burn Cotton Bowl 92,100
Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 92,542
New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 60,292
NY/NJ MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200
San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny Houlihan's Stadium 74,301

Personnel and sponsorships

TeamHead coachCaptainShirt sponsor
Colorado Rapids Flag of the United States.svg Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew Flag of the United States.svg Tom Fitzgerald Flag of Argentina.svg Marcelo Carrera Snickers
D.C. United Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena MasterCard
Dallas Burn Flag of the United States.svg Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards Flag of England.svg Ron Newman
Los Angeles Galaxy Flag of Germany.svg Lothar Osiander
New England Revolution Flag of the Netherlands.svg Thomas Rongen
NY/NJ MetroStars Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Alberto Parreira Flag of the United States.svg Tony Meola
San Jose Clash Flag of England.svg Laurie Calloway Flag of the United States.svg John Doyle Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny Flag of Poland.svg John Kowalski

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy Flag of Germany.svg Lothar Osiander FiredJune 10, 1997 Flag of Ecuador.svg Octavio Zambrano June 10, 1997
San Jose Clash Flag of England.svg Laurie Calloway FiredJune 25, 1997 Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Quinn June 25, 1997

Standings

Eastern Conference

PosTeamPldWSOWLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 D.C. United 32174117053+1755 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32143155560545
3 Columbus Crew 32123174241+139
4 New England Revolution 321141740531337
5 NY/NJ MetroStars 321121943531035
Source: MLS

Western Conference

PosTeamPldWSOWLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Kansas City Wizards 32147115751+649 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 32142165544+1144
3 Dallas Burn 32133165549+642
4 Colorado Rapids 32122185059938
5 San Jose Clash 3293205559430
Source: MLS

Overall standings

PosTeamPldWSOWLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 D.C. United (C, S)32174117053+1755 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 Kansas City Wizards 32147115751+649
3 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32143155560545
4 Los Angeles Galaxy 32142165544+1144
5 Dallas Burn 32133165549+642
6 Columbus Crew 32123174241+139
7 Colorado Rapids 32122185059938 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
8 New England Revolution 321141740531337
9 NY/NJ MetroStars 321121943531035
10 San Jose Clash 3293205559430
Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup
             
1 D.C. United 4 1 (4) x
4 New England Revolution 1 1 (3) x
1 D.C. United 3 1 x
Eastern Conference
3 Columbus Crew 2 0 x
2 Tampa Bay Mutiny 1 0 x
3 Columbus Crew 2 2 x
1 D.C. United 2
4 Colorado Rapids 1
1 Kansas City Wizards 0 2 x
4 Colorado Rapids 3 3 x
4 Colorado Rapids 1 2 x
Western Conference
3 Dallas Burn 0 1 x
2 LA Galaxy 0 (0) 0 x
3 Dallas Burn 0 (2) 3 x

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United 41 New England Revolution
  • Wegerle Soccerball shade.svg13', 56'
  • Moreno Soccerball shade.svg65', 76'
Report
RFK Stadium , Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 12,540
Referee: Tim Weyland

Game 1
Tampa Bay Mutiny 12 Columbus Crew
Report
Houlihan's Stadium , Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 8,272
Referee: Noel Kenny
Game 2
Columbus Crew 20 Tampa Bay Mutiny
Report
Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 13,102
Referee: Joshua Patlak

Western Conference

Game 2
Dallas Burn 30 Los Angeles Galaxy
Washington Soccerball shade.svg29', 69'
Peinado Soccerball shade.svg86'
Report
Cotton Bowl , Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 11,248
Referee: Esse Baharmast

Game 1
Kansas City Wizards 03 Colorado Rapids
Report
Arrowhead Stadium , Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 10,174
Referee: Brian Hall
Game 2
Colorado Rapids 32 Kansas City Wizards
Report
Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 13,117
Referee: Paul Tamberino

Conference finals

Western Conference

Game 1
Dallas Burn 01 Colorado Rapids
Report
Cotton Bowl , Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 7,376
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Colorado Rapids 21 Dallas Burn
Report
Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 18,452
Referee: Noel Kenny

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United 32 Columbus Crew
Report
RFK Stadium , Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 11,820
Referee: Kevin Terry
Game 2
Columbus Crew 01 D.C. United
Report
Ohio Stadium , Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 9,506
Referee: Arturo Angeles

MLS Cup

D.C. United 21 Colorado Rapids
Report
RFK Stadium , Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 57,431
Referee: Brian Hall

Player statistics

Goals

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Jaime Moreno D.C. United 16
2 Flag of El Salvador.svg Raúl Díaz Arce D.C. United 15
3 Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg Giovanni Savarese NY/NJ MetroStars 14
4 Flag of the United States.svg Preki Kansas City Wizards 12
Flag of El Salvador.svg Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash
Flag of the United States.svg Dante Washington Dallas Burn
7 Flag of Mexico.svg Damián Álvarez Dallas Burn 11
Flag of Brazil.svg Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy
9 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Baicher San Jose Clash 10
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Chung Kansas City Wizards
Flag of the United States.svg Roy Lassiter Tampa Bay Mutiny
Flag of the United States.svg Lawrence Lozzano San Jose Clash

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Flag of El Salvador.svg Raúl Díaz Arce 4 D.C. United Colorado Rapids 5–2April 12
Flag of Argentina.svg Alberto Naveda New England Revolution NY/NJ MetroStars 3–1May 30
Flag of the United States.svg Dante Washington Dallas Burn San Jose Clash 3–1July 18
Flag of Ecuador.svg Eduardo Hurtado Los Angeles Galaxy Tampa Bay Mutiny 6–1September 7
Flag of El Salvador.svg Jose Vasquez Los Angeles Galaxy San Jose Clash 3–2September 21

Assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Flag of Colombia.svg Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny 15
2 Flag of the United States.svg Preki Kansas City Wizards 12
Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Lewis San Jose Clash
4 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Henderson Colorado Rapids 9
Flag of El Salvador.svg Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy
6 Flag of the United States.svg Lawrence Lozzano San Jose Clash 8
Flag of the United States.svg Steve Ralston Tampa Bay Mutiny
Flag of the United States.svg Eric Wynalda San Jose Clash
Flag of Uruguay.svg Adrián Paz Colorado Rapids
Flag of the United States.svg Miles Joseph NY/NJ MetroStars

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets
1 Flag of the United States.svg Brad Friedel Columbus Crew 7
2 Flag of Italy.svg Walter Zenga New England Revolution 6
3 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Ammann Kansas City Wizards 5
Flag of the United States.svg Marcus Hahnemann Colorado Rapids
Flag of the United States.svg Tony Meola NY/NJ MetroStars
6 Flag of Mexico.svg Jorge Campos Los Angeles Galaxy 4
7 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Dodd Dallas Burn 3
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Dougherty Tampa Bay Mutiny
Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Simpson D.C. United

Awards

Individual awards

AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable Player Flag of the United States.svg Preki Kansas City Wizards
Defender of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Pope D.C. United
Goalkeeper of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Brad Friedel Columbus Crew
Coach of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Arena D.C. United
Rookie of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Mike Duhaney Tampa Bay Mutiny
Scoring Champion Flag of the United States.svg Preki Kansas City Wizards
Goal of the Year Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Marco Etcheverry D.C. United
Fair Play Award Flag of the United States.svg Mark Chung Kansas City Wizards

Best XI

GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Flag of the United States.svg Brad Friedel, Columbus Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Agoos, D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg Thomas Dooley, Columbus
Flag of Scotland.svg Richard Gough, Kansas City
Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Pope, D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg Mark Chung, Kansas City
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
Flag of the United States.svg Preki, Kansas City
Flag of Colombia.svg Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay
Flag of El Salvador.svg Ronald Cerritos, San Jose
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Player of the Month

MonthPlayerClub
April Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Jaime Moreno D.C. United
May Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Alain Sutter Dallas Burn
June Flag of the United States.svg John Harkes D.C. United
July Flag of Brazil.svg Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy
August Flag of the United States.svg Brad Friedel Columbus Crew
September Flag of Italy.svg Walter Zenga New England Revolution

Weekly awards

Attendance

RankTeamGPCumulativeHighLowMean
1 New England Revolution 16340,76257,40710,24221,298
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 16330,01553,1477,23220,626
3 NY/NJ MetroStars 16270,28826,32210,51016,893
4 D.C. United 16267,17128,7499,67516,698
5 Columbus Crew 16240,65022,25910,66215,041
6 San Jose Clash 16217,54623,5017,95513,597
7 Colorado Rapids 16189,35536,2524,12011,835
8 Tampa Bay Mutiny 16181,32218,0706,98411,333
9 Dallas Burn 16154,84516,0894,4519,678
10 Kansas City Wizards 16144,93512,4856,2729,058
Total1602,336,88957,4074,12014,606

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