Wikipedia

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
Teams10
MLS CupD.C. United (2nd title)
Supporters' ShieldD.C. United (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' CupD.C. United
Colorado Rapids
Matches160
Goals522 (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 →

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

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Season format

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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

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Personnel and sponsorships

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Coaching changes

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

Standings

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Eastern Conference

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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

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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

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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

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Bracket

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  • 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

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Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United4–1New England Revolution
 Report
Attendance: 12,540
Referee: Tim Weyland
  • 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 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

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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

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D.C. United2–1Colorado Rapids
 Report
Attendance: 57,431
Referee: Brian Hall

Player statistics

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Goals

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Hat-tricks

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Assists

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Clean sheets

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Awards

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Individual awards

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Best XI

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Player of the Month

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Weekly awards

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Attendance

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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

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  1. 1 2 Jones, Grahame L. (June 10, 1997). "Galaxy Dumps Osiander". Los Angeles Times. p. 37. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 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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