Wikipedia

1998 Major League Soccer season

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.

1998 Major League Soccer season
Season1998
MLS CupChicago Fire (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldLos Angeles Galaxy (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' CupChicago Fire
D.C. United
Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played192
Goals scored701 (3.65 per match)
Top goalscorerStern John
(26 goals)
Longest winning runChicago Fire
Games: 11
(05/16 – 07/09)
Longest losing runNew England Revolution
Games: 9
(05/13 – 07/04)
Highest attendance56,404
MET 4–2 MIA
(May 23, 1998)
Lowest attendance4,130
KC 1–0 CHI
(April 8, 1998)
Total attendance2,747,897
Average attendance14,312
← 1997
1999 →
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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

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Season format

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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

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Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
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

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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

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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

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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 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

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Pos Team
 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

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Pos Team
 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

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Bracket

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  • 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 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

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Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United2–1Miami Fusion
 Report
Attendance: 15,187
Referee: Brian Hall
Game 2
Miami Fusion0–0D.C. United
Report
Penalties
 2–3
Attendance: 13,128
Referee: Tim Weyland
  • D.C. United advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Game 1
Columbus Crew5–3MetroStars
 Report
Attendance: 10,996
Referee: Ali Saheli
Game 2
MetroStars1–1Columbus Crew
 Report
Penalties
 2–3
Attendance: 11,686
Referee: Michael Kennedy
  • Columbus Crew advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy6–1Dallas Burn
 Report
Attendance: 10,047
Referee: Ted Covaciu
Game 2
Dallas Burn2–3Los Angeles Galaxy
 Report
Attendance: 8,130
Referee: Brian Hall
  • Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Game 1
Chicago Fire1–1Colorado Rapids
 Report
Penalties
 3–2
Attendance: 12,610
Referee: Kevin Terry
Game 2
Colorado Rapids0–1Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 6,582
Referee: Noel Kenny
  • Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

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Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United2–0Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 17,755
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Columbus Crew4–2D.C. United
 Report
Attendance: 13,193
Referee: Rich Grady
Game 3
D.C. United3–0Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 21,453
Referee: Noel Kenny
  • D.C. United advance 2–1, to MLS Cup

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy0–1Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 25,107
Referee: Kevin Terry
Game 2
Chicago Fire1–1Los Angeles Galaxy
 Report
Penalties
 2–1
Attendance: 32,744
  • Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to MLS Cup

MLS Cup

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Main article: MLS Cup 1998
Chicago Fire2–0D.C. United
 Report
Attendance: 51,350
Referee: Kevin Terry

Player statistics

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Goals

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Stern John Columbus Crew 26
2   Cobi Jones Los Angeles Galaxy 19
3   Roy Lassiter D.C. United 18
  Raúl Díaz Arce New England Revolution
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

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Main article: List of Major League Soccer 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

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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

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Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1   Zach Thornton Chicago Fire 8
2   Scott Garlick D.C. United 7
  Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy
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

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Individual awards

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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

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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

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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

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Attendance

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Main article: Major League Soccer 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

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