1997 Major League Soccer season

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.

1997 Major League Soccer season
Season1997
MLS CupD.C. United (2nd title)
Supporters' ShieldD.C. United (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' CupD.C. United
Colorado Rapids
Matches played160
Goals scored522 (3.26 per match)
Top goalscorerJaime Moreno
(16 goals)
Longest winning runKansas City Wizards
Games: 7
(07/19 – 08/31)
Longest losing runNew 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 →
Locations of teams for the 1997 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

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
Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Team Stadium Capacity
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
Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Colorado Rapids Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew Tom Fitzgerald Marcelo Carrera Snickers
D.C. United Bruce Arena MasterCard
Dallas Burn Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards Ron Newman —
Los Angeles Galaxy Lothar Osiander —
New England Revolution Thomas Rongen —
NY/NJ MetroStars Carlos Alberto Parreira Tony Meola
San Jose Clash Laurie Calloway John Doyle Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny John Kowalski

Coaching changes
TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy Lothar Osiander Fired June 10, 1997[1][2] Octavio Zambrano June 10, 1997[1][2]
San Jose Clash Laurie Calloway Fired June 25, 1997 Brian Quinn June 25, 1997

Standings

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United 32 17 4 11 70 53 +17 55 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 14 3 15 55 60 −5 45
3 Columbus Crew 32 12 3 17 42 41 +1 39
4 New England Revolution 32 11 4 17 40 53 −13 37
5 NY/NJ MetroStars 32 11 2 19 43 53 −10 35
Source: MLS

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Kansas City Wizards 32 14 7 11 57 51 +6 49 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 14 2 16 55 44 +11 44
3 Dallas Burn 32 13 3 16 55 49 +6 42
4 Colorado Rapids 32 12 2 18 50 59 −9 38
5 San Jose Clash 32 9 3 20 55 59 −4 30
Source: MLS

Overall standings
Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United (C, S) 32 17 4 11 70 53 +17 55 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 Kansas City Wizards 32 14 7 11 57 51 +6 49
3 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 14 3 15 55 60 −5 45
4 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 14 2 16 55 44 +11 44
5 Dallas Burn 32 13 3 16 55 49 +6 42
6 Columbus Crew 32 12 3 17 42 41 +1 39
7 Colorado Rapids 32 12 2 18 50 59 −9 38 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
8 New England Revolution 32 11 4 17 40 53 −13 37
9 NY/NJ MetroStars 32 11 2 19 43 53 −10 35
10 San Jose Clash 32 9 3 20 55 59 −4 30
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
  • The ties were a best-of-three series.
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. United4–1New England Revolution
  • Wegerle 13', 56'
  • Moreno 65', 76'
 Report
Attendance: 12,540
Referee: Tim Weyland
Game 2
New England Revolution1–1D.C. United
 Report
Penalties
 3–4
Attendance: 16,233
  • D.C. United advance to the Conference Finals.
Game 1
Tampa Bay Mutiny1–2Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 8,272
Referee: Noel Kenny
Game 2
Columbus Crew2–0Tampa Bay Mutiny
 Report
Attendance: 13,102
Referee: Joshua Patlak
  • Columbus Crew advance to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy0–0Dallas Burn
Report
Penalties
 0–2
Attendance: 18,921
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Dallas Burn3–0Los Angeles Galaxy
Washington 29', 69'
Peinado 86'		 Report
Attendance: 11,248
  • Dallas Burn advance to the Conference Finals.
Game 1
Kansas City Wizards0–3Colorado Rapids
Report
Attendance: 10,174
Referee: Brian Hall
Game 2
Colorado Rapids3–2Kansas City Wizards
 Report
Attendance: 13,117
  • Colorado Rapids advance to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Western Conference

Game 1
Dallas Burn0–1Colorado Rapids
Report
Attendance: 7,376
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Colorado Rapids2–1Dallas Burn
 Report
Attendance: 18,452
Referee: Noel Kenny
  • Colorado Rapids advance to MLS Cup.

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United3–2Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 11,820
Referee: Kevin Terry
Game 2
Columbus Crew0–1D.C. United
Report
Attendance: 9,506
  • D.C. United advance to MLS Cup.

MLS Cup
Main article: MLS Cup 1997
D.C. United2–1Colorado Rapids
 Report
Attendance: 57,431
Referee: Brian Hall

Player statistics

Goals
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Jaime Moreno D.C. United 16
2 Raúl Díaz Arce D.C. United 15
3 Giovanni Savarese NY/NJ MetroStars 14
4 Preki Kansas City Wizards 12
Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash
Dante Washington Dallas Burn
7 Damián Álvarez Dallas Burn 11
Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy
9 Jeff Baicher San Jose Clash 10
Mark Chung Kansas City Wizards
Roy Lassiter Tampa Bay Mutiny
Lawrence Lozzano San Jose Clash

Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks
PlayerClubAgainstResultDate
Raúl Díaz Arce4D.C. UnitedColorado Rapids5–2April 12
Alberto NavedaNew England RevolutionNY/NJ MetroStars3–1May 30
Dante WashingtonDallas BurnSan Jose Clash3–1July 18
Eduardo HurtadoLos Angeles GalaxyTampa Bay Mutiny6–1September 7
Jose VasquezLos Angeles GalaxySan Jose Clash3–2September 21

Assists
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny 15
2 Preki Kansas City Wizards 12
Eddie Lewis San Jose Clash
4 Chris Henderson Colorado Rapids 9
Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy
6 Lawrence Lozzano San Jose Clash 8
Steve Ralston Tampa Bay Mutiny
Eric Wynalda San Jose Clash
Adrián Paz Colorado Rapids
Miles Joseph NY/NJ MetroStars

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

Awards

Individual awards
AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable Player PrekiKansas City Wizards
Defender of the Year Eddie PopeD.C. United
Goalkeeper of the Year Brad FriedelColumbus Crew
Coach of the Year Bruce ArenaD.C. United
Rookie of the Year Mike DuhaneyTampa Bay Mutiny
Scoring Champion PrekiKansas City Wizards
Goal of the Year Marco EtcheverryD.C. United
Fair Play Award Mark ChungKansas City Wizards

Best XI
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Brad Friedel, Columbus Jeff Agoos, D.C. United
Thomas Dooley, Columbus
Richard Gough, Kansas City
Eddie Pope, D.C. United		 Mark Chung, Kansas City
Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
Preki, Kansas City
Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay		 Ronald Cerritos, San Jose
Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Player of the Month
MonthPlayerClub
April Jaime MorenoD.C. United
May Alain SutterDallas Burn
June John HarkesD.C. United
July WéltonLos Angeles Galaxy
August Brad FriedelColumbus Crew
September Walter ZengaNew England Revolution

Weekly awards

Attendance
Main article: Major League Soccer attendance
Rank Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1New England Revolution16340,76257,40710,24221,298
2Los Angeles Galaxy16330,01553,1477,23220,626
3NY/NJ MetroStars16270,28826,32210,51016,893
4D.C. United16267,17128,7499,67516,698
5Columbus Crew16240,65022,25910,66215,041
6San Jose Clash16217,54623,5017,95513,597
7Colorado Rapids16189,35536,2524,12011,835
8Tampa Bay Mutiny16181,32218,0706,98411,333
9Dallas Burn16154,84516,0894,4519,678
10Kansas City Wizards16144,93512,4856,2729,058
Total1602,336,88957,4074,12014,606

References
  1. Jones, Grahame L. (June 10, 1997). "Galaxy Dumps Osiander". Los Angeles Times. p. 37. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Caldwell, Kevin (June 11, 1997). "Osiander out, Caligiuri in as Galaxy making changes". News-Pilot. p. 20. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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