1998 Major League Soccer season

1998 Major League Soccer season
Season	1998
MLS Cup	Chicago Fire (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	Los Angeles Galaxy (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Chicago Fire; D.C. United; Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played	192
Goals scored	701 (3.65 per match)
Top goalscorer	Stern John; (26 goals)
Longest winning run	Chicago Fire; Games: 11; (05/16 – 07/09)
Longest losing run	New England Revolution; Games: 9; (05/13 – 07/04)
Highest attendance	56,404; MET 4–2 MIA ; (May 23, 1998)
Lowest attendance	4,130; KC 1–0 CHI ; (April 8, 1998)
Total attendance	2,747,897
Average attendance	14,312
	← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 Major League Soccer season was the third season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 86th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 20th with a national first-division league.

D.C. United

MetroStars

Miami

Tampa Bay

Columbus

New England

Colorado

Dallas

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

Chicago

class=notpageimage|

Locations of teams for the 1998 Major League Soccer season

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

The Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion played their inaugural seasons as the league's first two expansion teams.

The NY/NJ MetroStars dropped the New York/New Jersey from their name and rebranded as just MetroStars, with no city, state or regional name attached to it.

The regular season began on March 15, and concluded on September 27. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 30, and concluded with MLS Cup on October 25. Chicago became the first expansion team to win MLS Cup and the first to win it in its inaugural season.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 15 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 25. The 12 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 20 games. The remaining schedule consisted of two games against each team from the opposite conference.

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 and qualified automatically for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Chicago Fire	Soldier Field	66,944
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
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
Miami Fusion	Lockhart Stadium	20,450
New England Revolution	Foxboro Stadium	60,292
San Jose Clash	Spartan Stadium	30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Houlihan's Stadium	74,301

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Bob Bradley		—
Colorado Rapids	Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew	Tom Fitzgerald		Snickers
D.C. United	Bruce Arena		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards	Ron Newman		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Octavio Zambrano		—
MetroStars	Alfonso Mondelo	Tony Meola
Miami Fusion	Carlos Cordoba		—
New England Revolution	Thomas Rongen		—
San Jose Clash	Brian Quinn	John Doyle	Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny	John Kowalski

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Tampa Bay Mutiny	John Kowalski	Resigned	June 6, 1998	Tim Hankinson	June 8, 1998
Miami Fusion	Carlos Cordoba	Fired	July 24, 1998	Ivo Wortmann	July 25, 1998
New England Revolution	Thomas Rongen	Fired	August 24, 1998	Walter Zenga	August 24, 1998
MetroStars	Alfonso Mondelo	Fired	September 21, 1998	Bora Milutinović	September 21, 1998

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D.C. United	32	17	7	8	74	48	+26	58	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Columbus Crew	32	15	0	17	67	56	+11	45
3	MetroStars	32	12	3	17	54	63	−9	39
4	Miami Fusion	32	10	5	17	46	68	−22	35
5	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	11	1	20	46	57	−11	34
6	New England Revolution	32	9	2	21	53	66	−13	29

Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	22	2	8	85	44	+41	68	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	32	18	2	12	62	45	+17	56
3	Colorado Rapids	32	14	2	16	62	69	−7	44
4	Dallas Burn	32	11	4	17	43	59	−16	37
5	San Jose Clash	32	10	3	19	48	60	−12	33
6	Kansas City Wizards	32	10	2	20	45	50	−5	32

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Los Angeles Galaxy (S)	32	22	2	8	85	44	+41	68	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2	D.C. United	32	17	7	8	74	48	+26	58
3	Chicago Fire (C)	32	18	2	12	62	45	+17	56
4	Columbus Crew	32	15	0	17	67	56	+11	45
5	Colorado Rapids	32	14	2	16	62	69	−7	44
6	MetroStars	32	12	3	17	54	63	−9	39
7	Dallas Burn	32	11	4	17	43	59	−16	37
8	Miami Fusion	32	10	5	17	46	68	−22	35
9	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	11	1	20	46	57	−11	34
10	San Jose Clash	32	10	3	19	48	60	−12	33
11	Kansas City Wizards	32	10	2	20	45	50	−5	32
12	New England Revolution	32	9	2	21	53	66	−13	29

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

E1

D.C. United

2

0 (3)

x

E4

Miami

1

0 (2)

x

E1

D.C. United

2

3

Eastern Conference

E2

Columbus

0

4

0

E2

Columbus

5

1 (3)

x

E3

MetroStars

3

1 (2)

x

E1

D.C. United

0

W2

Chicago

2

W1

Los Angeles

6

3

x

W4

Dallas

1

2

x

W1

Los Angeles

0

1 (1)

x

Western Conference

W2

Chicago

1

1 (2)

x

W2

Chicago

1 (3)

1

x

W3

Colorado

1 (2)

0

x

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

September 30, 1998

Game 1

D.C. United	2–1	Miami Fusion
Lassiter 28' Moreno 38'	Report	McLaren 69'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 15,187

Referee: Brian Hall

October 4, 1998

Game 2

Miami Fusion	0–0	D.C. United
	Report
Penalties
Gutierrez Maessner Vargas Cullen Serna Boyce	2–3	Wood Etcheverry Moreno Aunger Harkes Agoos

Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Attendance: 13,128

Referee: Tim Weyland

D.C. United advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

September 30, 1998

Game 1

Columbus Crew	5–3	MetroStars
McBride 9', 12' Smith 33' Farrell 38' John 58'	Report	Hurtado 53' Sorber 60' (pen.) Joseph 80'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 10,996

Referee: Ali Saheli

October 3, 1998

Game 2

MetroStars	1–1	Columbus Crew
Ramos 13'	Report	John 22'
Penalties
Ramos Savarese Duhaney Sorber Petke	2–3	Thompson Yeagley Dooley John Williams

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 11,686

Referee: Michael Kennedy

Columbus Crew advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

October 1, 1998

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy	6–1	Dallas Burn
Pena 10', 69' Hermosillo 16', 32' Cienfuegos 20' Wélton 41'	Report	Washington 47'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 10,047

Referee: Ted Covaciu

October 4, 1998

Game 2

Dallas Burn	2–3	Los Angeles Galaxy
Haynes 44' Kreis 48'	Report	Hendrickson 80' Caligiuri 85' Mathis 88'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 8,130

Referee: Brian Hall

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

October 1, 1998

Game 1

Chicago Fire	1–1	Colorado Rapids
Kubík 50' (pen.)	Report	Sáenz 79'
Penalties
Kubík Soehn Klopas Wolff Kuhn Marsch	3–2	Bravo Sáenz Henderson Vaudreuil Harris Vermes

Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Attendance: 12,610

Referee: Kevin Terry

October 5, 1998

Game 2

Colorado Rapids	0–1	Chicago Fire
	Report	Kubík 24' (pen.)

Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 6,582

Referee: Noel Kenny

Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

October 11, 1998

Game 1

D.C. United	2–0	Columbus Crew
Sanneh 68' Etcheverry 78'	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 17,755

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 18, 1998

Game 2

Columbus Crew	4–2	D.C. United
McBride 8', 47' Dooley 37' John 81'	Report	Sanneh 65' Lassiter 77'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 13,193

Referee: Rich Grady

October 21, 1998

Game 3

D.C. United	3–0	Columbus Crew
Agoos 12' Lassiter 44', 79'	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 21,453

Referee: Noel Kenny

D.C. United advance 2–1, to MLS Cup

Western Conference

October 10, 1998

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy	0–1	Chicago Fire
	Report	Marsch 86'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 25,107

Referee: Kevin Terry

October 16, 1998

Game 2

Chicago Fire	1–1	Los Angeles Galaxy
Nowak 31'	Report	Pena 37'
Penalties
Nowak Razov Soehn Marsch Podbrożny	2–1	Jones Wélton Machón Cienfuegos Vanney

Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Attendance: 32,744

Referee: Paul Tamberino

Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to MLS Cup

MLS Cup

October 25, 1998

Chicago Fire	2–0	D.C. United
Podbrożny 29' Gutiérrez 45'	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 51,350

Referee: Kevin Terry

Player statistics

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Stern John	Columbus Crew	26
2	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy	19
3	Roy Lassiter	D.C. United	18
3	Raúl Díaz Arce	New England Revolution	18
5	Wélton	Los Angeles Galaxy	17
6	Jaime Moreno	D.C. United	16
7	Giovanni Savarese	MetroStars	14
8	Wolde Harris	Colorado Rapids	13
	Mauricio Cienfuegos	Los Angeles Galaxy
	Ronald Cerritos	San Jose Clash

Hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Stern John	Columbus Crew	Miami Fusion	5–1	April 18
Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	7–4	May 6
Musa Shannon	Tampa Bay Mutiny	New England Revolution	3–4	May 10
Vitalis Takawira	Kansas City Wizards	New England Revolution	3–1	May 16
Martín Machón	Los Angeles Galaxy	Columbus Crew	3–1	May 17
Stern John	Columbus Crew	Chicago Fire	5–1	May 30
Harut Karapetyan	Los Angeles Galaxy	Dallas Burn	8–1	June 4
Roy Lassiter	D.C. United	Chicago Fire	4–1	July 18
Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	6–1	August 5
Stern John	Columbus Crew	Kansas City Wizards	5–3	August 16
Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy	New England Revolution	5–1	August 22
Diego Serna	Miami Fusion	New England Revolution	3–2	August 30
Preki	Kansas City Wizards	San Jose Clash	5–1	September 5

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Eduardo Hurtado	MetroStars	14
2	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United	13
3	Jerzy Podbrożny	Chicago Fire	12
4	Joe-Max Moore	New England Revolution	11
5	Adrián Paz	Colorado Rapids	10
6	Ronald Cerritos	San Jose Clash	9
	Paul Dougherty	MetroStars
	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
9	10 players		8

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Zach Thornton	Chicago Fire	8
2	Scott Garlick	D.C. United	7
2	Kevin Hartman	Los Angeles Galaxy	7
4	Mark Dodd	Dallas Burn	6
5	Mike Ammann	Kansas City Wizards	5
	Ian Feuer	New England Revolution
	David Kramer	San Jose Clash
8	Marcus Hahnemann	Colorado Rapids	4
	Tony Meola	MetroStars
	Juergen Sommer	Columbus Crew

Awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
Defender of the Year	Luboš Kubík	Chicago Fire
Goalkeeper of the Year	Zach Thornton	Chicago Fire
Coach of the Year	Bob Bradley	Chicago Fire
Rookie of the Year	Ben Olsen	D.C. United
Scoring Champion	Stern John	Columbus Crew
Goal of the Year	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew
Fair Play Award	Thomas Dooley	Columbus Crew

Best XI

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Zach Thornton, Chicago	Thomas Dooley, Columbus Robin Fraser, LA Galaxy Luboš Kubík, Chicago Eddie Pope, D.C. United	Chris Armas, Chicago Mauricio Cienfuegos, LA Galaxy Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United Piotr Nowak, Chicago	Stern John, Columbus Cobi Jones, LA Galaxy

Player of the Month

Week	Player	Club
March	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
April	Juergen Sommer	Columbus Crew
May	Piotr Nowak	Chicago Fire
June	Ross Paule	Colorado Rapids
July	Roy Lassiter	D.C. United
August	Stern John	Columbus Crew
September	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion

Weekly awards

Player of the Week
Week	Player	Club
Week 1	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 2	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 3	Frank Klopas	Chicago Fire
Week 4	Jason Farrell	Columbus Crew
Week 5	Stern John	Columbus Crew
Week 6	Paul Bravo	Colorado Rapids
Week 7	Tony Meola	MetroStars
Week 8	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 9	Vitalis Takawira	Kansas City Wizards
Week 10	Peter Nowak	Chicago Fire
Week 11	Stern John	Columbus Crew
Week 12	Jerzy Podbrożny	Chicago Fire
Week 13	Zach Thornton	Chicago Fire
Week 14	Roman Kosecki	Chicago Fire
Week 15	Luboš Kubík	Chicago Fire
Week 16	John Harkes	D.C. United
Week 17	Roy Lassiter	D.C. United
Week 18	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
Week 19	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 20	Stern John	Columbus Crew
Week 21	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 22	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion
Week 23	Carlos Hermosillo	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 24	Josh Wolff	Chicago Fire
Week 25	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion

Attendance

Rank	Team	GP	Cumulative	High	Low	Mean
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	16	348,549	53,655	9,113	21,784
2	New England Revolution	16	307,004	35,462	13,074	19,188
3	Chicago Fire	16	286,190	37,122	7,598	17,887
4	MetroStars	16	264,316	56,404	8,826	16,520
5	D.C. United	16	256,127	23,631	9,755	16,008
6	Colorado Rapids	16	236,995	46,722	5,485	14,812
7	San Jose Clash	16	218,450	22,694	9,102	13,653
8	Columbus Crew	16	196,394	15,628	9,166	12,275
9	Dallas Burn	16	175,162	15,280	9,197	11,769
10	Tampa Bay Mutiny	16	164,999	22,704	4,473	10,312
11	Miami Fusion	16	164,548	20,450	6,127	10,284
12	Kansas City Wizards	16	129,163	13,146	4,130	8,073
Total		192	2,747,897	56,404	4,130	14,312

References

MLS Site

Season	1998
MLS Cup	Chicago Fire (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	Los Angeles Galaxy (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Chicago Fire D.C. United Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played	192
Goals scored	701 (3.65 per match)
Top goalscorer	Stern John (26 goals)
Longest winning run	Chicago Fire Games: 11 (05/16 – 07/09)
Longest losing run	New England Revolution Games: 9 (05/13 – 07/04)
Highest attendance	56,404 MET 4–2 MIA (May 23, 1998)
Lowest attendance	4,130 KC 1–0 CHI (April 8, 1998)
Total attendance	2,747,897
Average attendance	14,312
← 1997 1999 →