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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

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

Coaching changes

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

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

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks
Player Club Against Result Date
El Salvador Raúl Díaz Arce4 D.C. United Colorado Rapids 5–2 April 12
Argentina Alberto Naveda New England Revolution NY/NJ MetroStars 3–1 May 30
United States Dante Washington Dallas Burn San Jose Clash 3–1 July 18
Ecuador Eduardo Hurtado Los Angeles Galaxy Tampa Bay Mutiny 6–1 September 7
El Salvador Jose Vasquez Los Angeles Galaxy San Jose Clash 3–2 September 21

Assists

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

Clean sheets

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

Awards

Individual awards

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

Best XI

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

Player of the Month

Month Player Club
April Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United
May Switzerland Alain Sutter Dallas Burn
June United States John Harkes D.C. United
July Brazil Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy
August United States Brad Friedel Columbus Crew
September Italy Walter Zenga New England Revolution

Weekly awards

Attendance

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

  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.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_MLS_Cup_Playoffs
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