2002 Major League Soccer season

7th season of Major League Soccer

Football league season

2002 Major League Soccer seasonSeason| 2002

|

MLS Cup| Los Angeles Galaxy (1st title)
Supporters' Shield| Los Angeles Galaxy (2nd shield)
2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup| Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
San Jose Earthquakes
Matches played| 140
Goals scored| 421 (3.01 per match)
Top goalscorer| Carlos Ruiz
Los Angeles Galaxy
Goals: 24
Highest attendance| Colorado Rapids
Season: 289,663
Game Avg.: 20,690
Lowest attendance| San Jose Earthquakes
Season: 156,104
Game Avg.: 11,150
Total attendance| 2,215,019
Average attendance| 15,822

← 2001

2003 →

D.C. United

MetroStars

Columbus

Chicago

New England

Colorado

Dallas

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

class=notpageimage|

Locations of teams for the 2002 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference Eastern Conference

The 2002 Major League Soccer season was the seventh season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 90th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 24th with a national first-division league.

According to FC Dallas president Dan Hunt, the entire league nearly folded during the 2001 offseason.[1] The owners agreed to shut down the league on a conference call in November 2001, but within two days Lamar Hunt convinced the other owners to give the league another year.

On January 8, 2002, the league folded two of its teams, both of which were in Florida. The Miami Fusion ceased operations after only four years of existence due to low attendance and an unfavorable stadium deal. The Tampa Bay Mutiny also ceased operations due to the lack of local ownership. Additionally, the league eliminated the Central Division and returned to the original two-conference alignment.

Two new stadiums opened this season. The Colorado Rapids moved into Invesco Field at Mile High and the New England Revolution moved into CMGI Field, which was renamed Gillette Stadium on August 5. Additionally, due to renovations at Soldier Field, the Chicago Fire played at Cardinal Stadium in the western suburb of Naperville.

In an effort to lower costs, the number of games was reduced from 32 to 28, marking the fewest games played in league history. The playoffs were also reformatted as the teams with the 8 highest point totals qualified regardless of conference affiliation.

The regular season began on March 23, and concluded on September 22. The 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 25, and concluded with MLS Cup 2002 on October 20. After three previous losses in the final, the Los Angeles Galaxy won their first MLS Cup with a victory over the New England Revolution.

## Overview

[edit]

### Season format

[edit]

The season began on March 23 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 20. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 28 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and one designated opponent from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice.

The top eight teams regardless of conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The first round and conference finals were played as a three game series, and the first team to 5 points advanced. The winners of the conference finals advanced to MLS Cup.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. Additionally, 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

|
|

Chicago Fire | Cardinal Stadium | 15,000
Colorado Rapids | Invesco Field at Mile High | 76,125
Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 22,555
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
MetroStars | Giants Stadium | 80,200
New England Revolution | CMGI Field | 68,756
San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium | 30,456

### Personnel and sponsorships

[edit]

Team  | Head coach  | Captain  | Shirt sponsor

|
|
|

Chicago Fire |  Bob Bradley |  | —
Colorado Rapids |  Tim Hankinson |  |
Columbus Crew |  Greg Andrulis |  | Pepsi
D.C. United |  Ray Hudson |  | —
Dallas Burn |  Mike Jeffries |  |
Kansas City Wizards |  Bob Gansler |  | —
Los Angeles Galaxy |  Sigi Schmid |  | —
MetroStars |  Octavio Zambrano |  Tab Ramos |
New England Revolution |  Steve Nicol |  | —
San Jose Earthquakes |  Frank Yallop |  Jeff Agoos | Yahoo! Sports

### Coaching changes

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|

New England Revolution |  Fernando Clavijo | Fired  | May 23, 2002  |  Steve Nicol | May 23, 2002

## Standings

[edit]

### Eastern Conference

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | New England Revolution | 28  | 12  | 14  | 2  | 49  | 49  | 0  | 38  | MLS Cup Playoffs
2  | Columbus Crew | 28  | 11  | 12  | 5  | 44  | 43  | +1  | 38
3  | Chicago Fire | 28  | 11  | 13  | 4  | 43  | 38  | +5  | 37
4  | MetroStars | 28  | 11  | 15  | 2  | 41  | 47  | −6  | 35  |
5  | D.C. United | 28  | 9  | 14  | 5  | 31  | 40  | −9  | 32

Source: MLS

### Western Conference

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Los Angeles Galaxy | 28  | 16  | 9  | 3  | 44  | 33  | +11  | 51  | MLS Cup Playoffs
2  | San Jose Earthquakes | 28  | 14  | 11  | 3  | 45  | 35  | +10  | 45
3  | Dallas Burn | 28  | 12  | 9  | 7  | 44  | 43  | +1  | 43
4  | Colorado Rapids | 28  | 13  | 11  | 4  | 43  | 48  | −5  | 43
5  | Kansas City Wizards | 28  | 9  | 10  | 9  | 37  | 45  | −8  | 36

Source: MLS

### Overall standings

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | T  | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Los Angeles Galaxy (C, S) | 28  | 16  | 9  | 3  | 44  | 33  | +11  | 51  | CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2  | San Jose Earthquakes | 28  | 14  | 11  | 3  | 45  | 35  | +10  | 45
3  | Dallas Burn | 28  | 12  | 9  | 7  | 44  | 43  | +1  | 43  |
4  | Colorado Rapids | 28  | 13  | 11  | 4  | 43  | 48  | −5  | 43
5  | New England Revolution | 28  | 12  | 14  | 2  | 49  | 49  | 0  | 38  | CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6  | Columbus Crew | 28  | 11  | 12  | 5  | 44  | 43  | +1  | 38
7  | Chicago Fire | 28  | 11  | 13  | 4  | 43  | 38  | +5  | 37  |
8  | Kansas City Wizards | 28  | 9  | 10  | 9  | 37  | 45  | −8  | 36
9  | MetroStars | 28  | 11  | 15  | 2  | 41  | 47  | −6  | 35
10  | D.C. United | 28  | 9  | 14  | 5  | 31  | 40  | −9  | 32

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]

| Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | MLS Cup |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (6 Points) | 3* | 1 | 5 | | |
| 8 | Kansas City Wizards (3 Points) | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| | 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy (6 Points) | 4 | 1 | x |
|  |
| | | 5 | Colorado Rapids (0 Points) | 0 | 0 | x |
| 4 | Dallas Burn (4 Points) | 4 | 0 | 1 |

| 5 | Colorado Rapids (SDET)** (4 Points) | 2 | 1 | 1** |
| | 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* | 1 |
|  |
| | | 2 | New England Revolution | 0 |
| 2 | New England Revolution (6 Points) | 2 | 1 | 2 | |

| 7 | Chicago Fire (3 Points) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | 2 | New England Revolution (5 Points) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|  |
| | | 6 | Columbus Crew (2 Points) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | San Jose Earthquakes (0 Points) | 1 | 1 | x |

| 6 | Columbus Crew (6 Points) | 2 | 2 | x |

* Points system
Win = 3 Pts.
Loss = 0 Pts.
Draw = 1 Pt.
* ASDET*=Added sudden death extra time (game tie breaker)
SDET**=Sudden death extra time (series tie breaker)
Teams will advance at 5 points.

### Quarterfinals

[edit]

September 25, 2002

Kansas City Wizards| 2–3 (AET)| Los Angeles Galaxy

|
|

Preki 25'
Brown 70' |  | Ruiz 62' (pen.) 99'
Jones 85'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 14,585

September 28, 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy| 1–4| Kansas City Wizards

|
|

Albright 71' |  | Simutenkov 19'
Quill 37'
Preki 70'
Fabbro 73'

Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 9,484

October 2, 2002

Kansas City Wizards| 2–5| Los Angeles Galaxy

|
|

Klein 47'
Preki 72' |  | Ruiz 34' 66'
Jones 45'+,  62'
Tennyson 90+3'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 14,713

* Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6-3 on points.

* * *

September 26, 2002

Chicago Fire| 0–2| New England Revolution

|
|

|  | Twellman 13'
Hernández 60'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 6,306

September 29, 2002

New England Revolution| 1–2| Chicago Fire

|
|

Kamler 28' |  | Razov 43' (pen.),  76'

Cardinal Stadium
Naperville, Illinois

Attendance: 9,434

October 2, 2002

Chicago Fire| 0–2| New England Revolution

|
|

|  | Kamler 12'
Twellman 65'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 6,954

* New England Revolution advance 6–3 on points.

* * *

September 26, 2002

Columbus Crew| 2–1| San Jose Earthquakes

|
|

Buddle 38'
García 81' |  | Donovan 54'

Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California

Attendance: 8,069

September 28, 2002

San Jose Earthquakes| 1–2| Columbus Crew

|
|

Graziani 58' |  | García 50'
McBride 81'

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 13,004

* Columbus Crew advance 6–0 on points.

* * *

September 25, 2002

Colorado Rapids| 2–4| Dallas Burn

|
|

Valderrama 2'
Spencer (Pen)  75' |  | Morrow 26'
Kreis 49'
Deering 68'
Martínez 70'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 6,360

September 28, 2002

Dallas Burn| 0–1| Colorado Rapids

|
|

|  | Carrieri 78'

INVESCO Field at Mile High
Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 9,637

October 2, 2002

Colorado Rapids| 1–1| Dallas Burn

|
|

Spencer 22' |  | Rhine 6'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 8,008

| 1–0 series OT (ASDET)|

|
|

Chung 1' |  |

* Colorado Rapids advance in series (sudden death) overtime, after 4–4 tie on points.

### Semifinals

[edit]

October 5, 2002

Colorado Rapids| 0–4| Los Angeles Galaxy

|
|

|  | Califf 21'
Ruiz 24' 84'
Hendrickson 71'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 24,742

October 9, 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy| 1–0| Colorado Rapids

|
|

Ruiz 64' |  |

INVESCO Field at Mile High
Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 12,367

* Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6–0 on points.

* * *

October 6, 2002

Columbus Crew| 0–0| New England Revolution

|
|

|  |

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 11,387

October 9, 2002

New England Revolution| 1–0| Columbus Crew

|
|

Heaps 3' |  |

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 10,245

October 12, 2002

Columbus Crew| 2–2| New England Revolution

|
|

McBride 80'
Washington 85' |  | Ralston 17'
Harris 47'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 9,216

* New England Revolution advance 5–2 on points.

### MLS Cup

[edit]

Main article: MLS Cup 2002

October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20)

Los Angeles Galaxy| 1–0 (2OT)| New England Revolution

|
|

Ruiz 113' | Report |

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 61,316

Referee: Kevin Terry

## Player statistics

[edit]

### Goals

[edit]

Rank | Player | Club | Goals

|
|
|

1  |  Carlos Ruiz | Los Angeles Galaxy | 24
2  |  Taylor Twellman | New England Revolution | 23
3  |  Jeff Cunningham | Columbus Crew | 16
4  |  Ante Razov | Chicago Fire | 14
Ariel Graziani | San Jose Earthquakes
6  |  Jason Kreis | Dallas Burn | 13
7  |  Mamadou Diallo | New England Revolution,
MetroStars | 12
Rodrigo Faria | MetroStars
9  |  Chris Carrieri | Colorado Rapids | 11
Mark Chung | Colorado Rapids
Chris Henderson | Colorado Rapids

### Hat-tricks

[edit]

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks

Player | Club | Against | Result | Date

|
|
|
|

Ante Razov | Chicago Fire | New England Revolution | 3–1 | May 19
Bobby Rhine | Dallas Burn | Colorado Rapids | 4–1 | June 8
Mamadou Diallo4 | MetroStars | Los Angeles Galaxy | 5–0 | June 15
Chris Carrieri | Colorado Rapids | Chicago Fire | 3–2 | July 4
Carlos Ruiz | Los Angeles Galaxy | MetroStars | 3–0 | August 31
Taylor Twellman | New England Revolution | D.C. United | 2–0 | September 2

### Assists

[edit]

Rank | Player | Club | Assists

|
|
|

1  |  Andy Williams | MetroStars | 13
2  |  Steve Ralston | New England Revolution | 12
3  |  Preki | Kansas City Wizards | 8
4  |  Mark Chung | Colorado Rapids | 7
Cobi Jones | Los Angeles Galaxy
Antonio Martínez | Dallas Burn
Carlos Valderrama | Colorado Rapids
8  |  Ramiro Corrales | San Jose Earthquakes | 6
Dwayne De Rosario | San Jose Earthquakes
Simon Elliott | Los Angeles Galaxy
Bobby Rhine | Dallas Burn
Joselito Vaca | Dallas Burn

### Clean sheets

[edit]

Rank  | Player  | Club  | Clean
sheets

|
|
|

1  |  Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes | 8
2  |  Nick Rimando | D.C. United | 7
Zach Thornton | Chicago Fire
4  |  Adin Brown | New England Revolution | 5
Jon Busch | Columbus Crew
Kevin Hartman | Los Angeles Galaxy
7  |  Scott Garlick | Colorado Rapids | 4
Tim Howard | MetroStars
9  |  Matt Jordan | Dallas Burn | 3
Tony Meola | Kansas City Wizards

## Awards

[edit]

### Individual awards

[edit]

Award | Player | Club

|
|

Most Valuable Player |  Carlos Ruiz | Los Angeles Galaxy
Defender of the Year |  Carlos Bocanegra | Chicago Fire
Goalkeeper of the Year |  Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes
Coach of the Year |  Steve Nicol | New England Revolution
Rookie of the Year |  Kyle Martino | Columbus Crew
Comeback Player of the Year |  Chris Klein | Kansas City Wizards
Scoring Champion |  Taylor Twellman | New England Revolution
Goal of the Year |  Carlos Ruiz | Los Angeles Galaxy
Fair Play Award |  Mark Chung | Colorado Rapids
Humanitarian of the Year |  Steve Jolley | MetroStars

### Best XI

[edit]

Goalkeeper  | Defenders  | Midfielders  | Forwards

|
|
|

Tim Howard, MetroStars |  Wade Barrett, San Jose
Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago
Alexi Lalas, LA Galaxy |  Mark Chung, Colorado
Ronnie Ekelund, San Jose
Óscar Pareja, Dallas
Steve Ralston, New England |  Jeff Cunningham, Columbus
Carlos Ruiz, LA Galaxy
Taylor Twellman, New England

## Attendance

[edit]

Club  | Games  | Total  | Average

|
|
|

Colorado Rapids | 14  | 289,663  | 20,690
Los Angeles Galaxy | 14  | 266,664  | 19,047
MetroStars | 14  | 254,174  | 18,155
Columbus Crew | 14  | 243,999  | 17,429
New England Revolution | 14  | 236,973  | 16,927
D.C. United | 14  | 231,264  | 16,519
Dallas Burn | 14  | 183,702  | 13,122
Chicago Fire | 14  | 180,908  | 12,922
Kansas City Wizards | 14  | 171,568  | 12,255
San Jose Earthquakes | 14  | 156,104  | 11,150
Totals | 140 | 2,215,019 | 15,822

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Yousuf, Saad (April 16, 2016). "MLS nearly folded in 2001 - FC Dallas president Dan Hunt". ESPN.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
* Sporting Kansas City
* LA Galaxy
* Los Angeles FC
* Minnesota United FC
* Portland Timbers
* Real Salt Lake
* San Diego FC
* San Jose Earthquakes
* Seattle Sounders FC
* 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
* 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

2002 MLS season by team

* SuperDraft
* All-Star Game
* Playoffs
* MLS Cup
* Transfers

Eastern|

* Chicago Fire
* Columbus Crew
* D.C. United
* New England Revolution
* MetroStars

Western|

* Colorado Rapids
* Dallas Burn
* Kansas City Wiz
* Los Angeles Galaxy
* San Jose Earthquakes

* v
* t
* e

Major League Soccer seasons

1990s|

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

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2000s|

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2010s|

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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
*[L]: Lost
*[T]: Tied
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points