1997 Major League Soccer season

2nd season of Major League Soccer

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|

Football league season

1997 Major League Soccer seasonSeason| 1997

|

MLS Cup| D.C. United (2nd title)
Supporters' Shield| D.C. United (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' Cup| D.C. United
Colorado Rapids
Matches played| 160
Goals scored| 522 (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 attendance| 57,407
NE 2–1 TB
(April 20, 1997)
Lowest attendance| 4,120
COL 1–0 DAL
(April 23, 1997)
Total attendance| 2,336,889
Average attendance| 14,606

← 1996

1998 →

D.C. United

MetroStars

Tampa Bay

Columbus

New England

Colorado

Dallas

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

class=notpageimage|

Locations of teams for the 1997 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference Eastern Conference

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.

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

[edit]

### Season format

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 |  Octavio Zambrano |  | —
New England Revolution |  Thomas Rongen |  | —
NY/NJ MetroStars |  Carlos Alberto Parreira |  Tony Meola |
San Jose Clash |  Brian Quinn |  John Doyle | Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny |  John Kowalski |  |

### Coaching changes

[edit]

Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date 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

[edit]

### Eastern Conference

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| 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

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| 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

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| 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

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

Eastern Conference

October 5, 1997

Game 1

D.C. United| 4-1| New England Revolution

|
|

* Wegerle 13', 56'
* Moreno 65', 76'

| Report |

* Burns 89'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 12,540

Referee: Tim Weyland

October 8, 1997

Game 2

New England Revolution| 1-1| D.C. United

|
|

* Moore 72'

| Report |

* Williams 53'

Penalties

* Moore
* Burns
* Chronopoulos
* Galderisi
* Naveda
* Keegan
* McKinley

| 3–4 |

* Etcheverry
* Moreno
* Kelderman
* Agoos
* Iroha
* Harkes
* Llamosa

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 16,233

* D.C. United advance to the Conference Finals.

* * *

October 5, 1997

Game 1

Tampa Bay Mutiny| 1-2| Columbus Crew

|
|

* Gilmar 35'

| Report |

* Farrell 11'
* Wood 83'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 8,272

Referee: Noel Kenny

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Columbus Crew| 2-0| Tampa Bay Mutiny

|
|

* McBride 43'
* Warzycha 73'

| Report |

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 13,102

Referee: Joshua Patlak

* Columbus Crew advance to the Conference Finals.

* * *

Western Conference

October 5, 1997

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy| 0-0| Dallas Burn

|
|

| Report |
Penalties

* Karapetyan
* Armas
* Machón
* Vanney

| 0–2 |

* Sutter
* Soehn
* Santel
* Álvarez

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 18,921

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Dallas Burn| 3-0| Los Angeles Galaxy

|
|

Washington 29', 69'
Peinado 86' | Report |

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 11,248

Referee: Esse Baharmast

* Dallas Burn advance to the Conference Finals.

* * *

October 4, 1997

Game 1

Kansas City Wizards| 0-3| Colorado Rapids

|
|

| Report |

* Henderson 25'
* Bravo 67'
* Paule 75'

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 10,174

Referee: Brian Hall

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Colorado Rapids| 3-2| Kansas City Wizards

|
|

* Bravo 16', 68'
* Harris 83'

| Report |

* Takawira 9'
* Preki 88'

Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 13,117

Referee: Paul Tamberino

* Colorado Rapids advance to the Conference Finals.

### Conference finals

[edit]

Western Conference

October 12, 1997

Game 1

Dallas Burn| 0-1| Colorado Rapids

|
|

| Report |

* Henderson 42'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 7,376

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 15, 1997

Game 2

Colorado Rapids| 2-1| Dallas Burn

|
|

* Patiño 22'
* Henderson 87'

| Report |

* Álvarez 5'

Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 18,452

Referee: Noel Kenny

* Colorado Rapids advance to MLS Cup.

* * *

Eastern Conference

October 12, 1997

Game 1

D.C. United| 3-2| Columbus Crew

|
|

* Sanneh 9', 45'
* Díaz Arce 29'

| Report |

* Farrell 57'
* Dooley 73'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 11,820

Referee: Kevin Terry

October 15, 1997

Game 2

Columbus Crew| 0-1| D.C. United

|
|

| Report |

* Díaz Arce 47'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 9,506

Referee: Arturo Angeles

* D.C. United advance to MLS Cup.

### MLS Cup

[edit]

Main article: MLS Cup 1997

October 26, 1997

D.C. United| 2-1| Colorado Rapids

|
|

* Moreno 37'
* Sanneh 68'

| Report |

* Paz 75'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 57,431

Referee: Brian Hall

## Player statistics

[edit]

### Goals

[edit]

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

[edit]

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks

Player | Club | Against | Result | Date

|
|
|
|

Raúl Díaz Arce4 | D.C. United | Colorado Rapids | 5–2 | April 12
Alberto Naveda | New England Revolution | NY/NJ MetroStars | 3–1 | May 30
Dante Washington | Dallas Burn | San Jose Clash | 3–1 | July 18
Eduardo Hurtado | Los Angeles Galaxy | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 6–1 | September 7
Jose Vasquez | Los Angeles Galaxy | San Jose Clash | 3–2 | September 21

### Assists

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Individual awards

[edit]

Award | Player | Club

|
|

Most Valuable Player |  Preki | Kansas City Wizards
Defender of the Year |  Eddie Pope | D.C. United
Goalkeeper of the Year |  Brad Friedel | Columbus Crew
Coach of the Year |  Bruce Arena | D.C. United
Rookie of the Year |  Mike Duhaney | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Scoring Champion |  Preki | Kansas City Wizards
Goal of the Year |  Marco Etcheverry | D.C. United
Fair Play Award |  Mark Chung | Kansas City Wizards

### Best XI

[edit]

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

[edit]

Month | Player | Club

|
|

April |  Jaime Moreno | D.C. United
May |  Alain Sutter | Dallas Burn
June |  John Harkes | D.C. United
July |  Wélton | Los Angeles Galaxy
August |  Brad Friedel | Columbus Crew
September |  Walter Zenga | New England Revolution

### Weekly awards

[edit]

Player of the Week

Week | Player | Club
Week 1 |  Dave Salzwedel | San Jose Clash
Week 2 |  Giuseppe Galderisi | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 3 |  Carlos Valderrama | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 4 |  Raúl Díaz Arce | D.C. United
Week 5 |  Dante Washington | Dallas Burn
Week 6 |  Roberto Donadoni | NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 7 |  Doctor Khumalo | Columbus Crew
Week 8 |  Damian Alvarez | Dallas Burn
Week 9 |  Chiquinho Conde | New England Revolution
Week 10 |  Preki Radosavljević | Kansas City Wizards
Week 11 |  Eric Wynalda | San Jose Clash
Week 12 |  Preki Radosavljević | Kansas City Wizards
Week 13 |  Gilmar | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 14 |  Paul Bravo | Colorado Rapids
Week 15 |  Tab Ramos | NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 16 |  Dante Washington | Dallas Burn
Week 17 |  Antony de Ávila | NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 18 |  Gilmar | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 19 |  Wolde Harris | Colorado Rapids
Week 20 |  Thomas Dooley | Columbus Crew
Week 21 |  Giovanni Savarese | NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 22 |  Marco Etcheverry | D.C. United
Week 23 |  Eduardo Hurtado | Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 24 |  Cobi Jones | Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 25 |  Martín Vásquez | Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 26 |  Marcelo Balboa | Colorado Rapids

## Attendance

[edit]

Main article: Major League Soccer attendance

Rank  | Team  | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Mean

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | New England Revolution | 16 | 340,762 | 57,407 | 10,242 | 21,298
2 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 16 | 330,015 | 53,147 | 7,232 | 20,626
3 | NY/NJ MetroStars | 16 | 270,288 | 26,322 | 10,510 | 16,893
4 | D.C. United | 16 | 267,171 | 28,749 | 9,675 | 16,698
5 | Columbus Crew | 16 | 240,650 | 22,259 | 10,662 | 15,041
6 | San Jose Clash | 16 | 217,546 | 23,501 | 7,955 | 13,597
7 | Colorado Rapids | 16 | 189,355 | 36,252 | 4,120 | 11,835
8 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 16 | 181,322 | 18,070 | 6,984 | 11,333
9 | Dallas Burn | 16 | 154,845 | 16,089 | 4,451 | 9,678
10 | Kansas City Wizards | 16 | 144,935 | 12,485 | 6,272 | 9,058
Total | 160 | 2,336,889 | 57,407 | 4,120 | 14,606

## References

[edit]

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

## External links

[edit]

* MLS Site

* v
* t
* e

Major League Soccer

* Seasons
* 2025 season
* Records and statistics
* 400 or more appearances
* 100 or more goals
* Hat-tricks
* Players Association
* Rivalry cups
* History
* Timeline
* Expansion
* U.S. Soccer
* Canada Soccer

Eastern Conference|

* Atlanta United FC
* Charlotte FC
* Chicago Fire FC
* FC Cincinnati
* Columbus Crew
* D.C. United
* Inter Miami CF
* CF Montréal
* Nashville SC
* New England Revolution
* New York City FC
* New York Red Bulls
* Orlando City SC
* Philadelphia Union
* Toronto FC

Western Conference|

* Austin FC
* Colorado Rapids
* FC Dallas
* Houston Dynamo FC
* LA Galaxy
* Los Angeles FC
* Minnesota United FC
* Portland Timbers
* Real Salt Lake
* San Diego FC
* San Jose Earthquakes
* Seattle Sounders FC
* Sporting Kansas City
* St. Louis City SC
* Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Former teams|

* Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–2001)
* Miami Fusion (1998–2001)
* Chivas USA (2005–2014)

Personnel|

* Foreign players
* National team players
* International slots
* Designated Players
* Homegrown Players
* Generation Adidas Cup
* Current season transfers
* Coaches
* Owners
* Professional Referee Organization
* Professional Soccer Referees Association

Competition|

* MLS Cup
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Trophy
* Supporters' Shield
* SuperDraft
* Stadiums
* Attendance
* Television
* Broadcasters
* All-Star Game
* MLS Cup

Associated
competitions|

* All-Star Game
* MLS Next
* CONCACAF Champions Cup
* Campeones Cup
* Leagues Cup
* U.S. Open Cup
* Canadian Championship
* Reserve League
* eMLS Cup
* MLS is Back Tournament
* MLS Next
* MLS Next Pro

Other|

* Generation Adidas
* Performance in Champions Cup
* Hall of Fame
* Valuations
* Central Division (2000–2001)
* Fraser v. Major League Soccer (2002)

* Category
* Portal
* Multimedia

* v
* t
* e

1997 MLS season by team

* College Draft
* Supplemental Draft
* All-Star Game
* Playoffs
* MLS Cup
* Transfers

Eastern|

* Columbus Crew
* D.C. United
* New England Revolution
* New York/New Jersey MetroStars
* Tampa Bay Mutiny

Western|

* Colorado Rapids
* Dallas Burn
* Kansas City Wizards
* Los Angeles Galaxy
* San Jose Clash

* v
* t
* e

Major League Soccer seasons

1990s|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  1996 |  1997 |  1998 |  1999

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2000s|

|  2000 |  2001 |  2002 |  2003 |  2004 |  2005 |  2006 |  2007 |  2008 |  2009

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2010s|

|  2010 |  2011 |  2012 |  2013 |  2014 |  2015 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 |  2019

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2020s|

|  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |  2023 |  2024 |  2025 |  |  |  |

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*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[SOW]: Shootout Wins
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points