2004 D.C. United season

The 2004 season was the eighth season for D.C. United. It was highlighted by winning their first MLS Cup championship since 1999.

D.C. United
2004 season
OwnerD.C. United Holdings
Head coachPiotr Nowak
MLS4th
MLS CupChampions
U.S. Open CupFourth round
Atlantic CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Eskandarian (14)
← 2003
2005 →

The season was hallmarked by United winning their fourth Major League Soccer championship, winning MLS Cup 2004 3–2 over Kansas City Wizards. To date, this was the last time in franchise history that the team has won an MLS Cup title. Additionally, by winning the championship, some cite that it marked a "second golden age" in United. Following the 2004 title, United would go on to win two MLS Supporters' Shields, to claim the most in the league, as well as their second U.S. Open Cup title.

In terms of player and manager transactions, the offseason saw English head coach Ray Hudson end his two-season stint with the club, as United management fired him out of dissatisfaction with his results as a manager. United signed retired MLS star Piotr Nowak to the role of head coaching duties. Hitherto, no other head coach had been a former MLS player. The signing of Nowak marked a new trend of first-generation MLS players assuming coaching duties for second generation MLS players.

In 2003, United made national and international headlines by drafting 14-year-old prospect Freddy Adu as the first pick of the MLS SuperDraft. MLS orchestrated a series of negotiations between United and Dallas Burn, who had the first overall selection. A series of agreements between the two sides gave Dallas additional allocation from United so that Adu could play for his local club, as he grew up near Potomac, Maryland.[1]

Review and events

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Preseason

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January
  • Freddy Adu signs with D.C. United[1]
February
March

Regular season

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April
May
June
July
August
September
Early October

Playoffs

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Late October
November
  • United deft. NE Revs in the 2004 Eastern Conf. championship to go to MLS Cup 2004. Considered best match in MLS history[2][3][4][5][6]
  • United win their first MLS Cup title since 1999 with a 3–2 win over the Kansas City Wizards at the Home Depot Center[7]

Non-competitive

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Midseason exhibitions

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June 23, 2004 Rochester Rhinos 0–2 D.C. United Rochester, New York
19:35 EDT Report
  • Moreno   4'
  • Gros   54'
  • Adu   70'
Stadium: Frontier Field
Attendance: 14,426
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
September 29, 2004 D.C. United   6–0   Municipal Washington, D.C.
20:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 10,177
Referee: Alex Pruss

Competitive

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Major League Soccer

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Results by round

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Results

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April 3, 2004 1 D.C. United 2–1 San Jose Earthquakes Washington, D.C.
16:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 24,603
Referee: Kevin Stott
April 10, 2004 2 LA Galaxy 1–1 D.C. United Carson, California
22:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: The Home Depot Center
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Terry Vaughn
April 17, 2004 3 MetroStars 3–2 D.C. United East Rutherford, New Jersey
16:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: Giants Stadium
Attendance: 31,419
Referee: Alex Prus
April 24, 2004 4 D.C. United 0–1 Chicago Fire Washington, D.C.
17:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 21,235
Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela
May 15, 2004 Kansas City Wizards H 1–0 Moreno
May 19, 2004 Los Angeles Galaxy H 2–4 Cerritos, Adu
May 22, 2004 Colorado Rapids A 2–1 Gros
May 29, 2004 New England Revolution A 0–1 Kamler (o.g.)
June 5, 2004 Chicago Fire A 3–0
June 12, 2004 Colorado Rapids H 0–0
June 19, 2004 Columbus Crew H 3–1 Moreno, Eskandarian (2)
June 26, 2004 Dallas Burn A 1–1 Eskandarian
July 3, 2004 MetroStars H 6–2 Nelsen, Moreno, Eskandarian (2)
Stewart, Olsen
July 10, 2004 Kansas City Wizards A 1–0
July 17, 2004 Los Angeles Galaxy H 1–1 Nelsen
July 24, 2004 Dallas Burn A 5–1 Gibbs (o.g.)
August 7, 2004 San Jose Earthquakes A 2–0
August 11, 2004 Colorado Rapids H 3–1 Adu, Stewart, Kotschau (o.g.)
August 14, 2004 New England Revolution H 2–2 Moreno (2)
August 21, 2004 Columbus Crew A 2–2 Eskandarian, Moreno
August 28, 2004 New England Revolution A 0–0
September 4, 2004 Chicago Fire A 3–1 Stewart
September 8, 2004 Dallas Burn H 3–0 Eskandarian (2), Adu
September 18, 2004 Chicago Fire H 3–1 Gomez, Eskandarian, Olsen
September 25, 2004 Columbus Crew A 1–0
October 2, 2004 MetroStars A 0–1 Adu
October 9, 2004 New England Revolution H 1–0 Gomez
October 17, 2004 MetroStars H 3–2 Gomez (2), Petke

Source: RSSSF

MLS Cup

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Conference semifinals

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October 22, 2004 First leg MetroStars 0–2 D.C. United East Rutherford, New Jersey
19:00 EDT Stadium: Giants Stadium
Attendance: 11,161
October 30, 2004 Second leg D.C. United 2–0
(4–0 agg.)
MetroStars Washington, D.C.
19:00 EDT Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 15,763

Conference final

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November 6, 2004 Final D.C. United 3–3 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
New England Revolution Washington, D.C.
19:00 EDT Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 21,201

MLS Cup

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November 14, 2004 Final D.C. United 3–2 Kansas City Wizards Carson, California
19:00 EDT Stadium: The Home Depot Center
Attendance: 25,797

U.S. Open Cup

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June 30, 2004 Third round Richmond Kickers   2–1   D.C. United Richmond, Virginia
19:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: University of Richmond Stadium
Attendance: 8,776
Referee: Hector Tobin

Club

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Roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF   USA David Stokes
3 FW   USA Jason Thompson
4 DF   USA Brandon Prideaux
7 DF   NZL Ryan Nelsen
8 MF   USA Earnie Stewart
9 MF   USA Freddy Adu
11 FW   USA Alecko Eskandarian
12 DF   USA Mike Petke
13 MF   ARG Christian Gómez
14 MF   USA Ben Olsen
16 MF   USA Brian Carroll
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   USA Joshua Gros
18 GK   USA Nick Rimando
21 MF   UKR Dema Kovalenko
22 GK   USA Troy Perkins
23 FW   SLV Eliseo Quintanilla
24 MF   GHA Nana Kuffour
25 MF   USA Santino Quaranta
26 DF   USA Bryan Namoff
27 FW   USA Tim Lawson
99 FW   BOL Jaime Moreno

Statistics

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List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition[8][9]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Major League Soccer MLS Cup U.S. Open Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   USA Doug Warren 1 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF   USA David Stokes 11 0 3+8 0 0 0 0 0
3 FW   USA Jason Thompson 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
4 DF   USA Brandon Prideaux 23 0 16+7 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF   VIN Ezra Hendrickson 2 0 0+0 0 1+1 0 0 0
6 MF   USA Kevin Ara 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
7 DF   USA Ryan Nelsen 17 2 17+0 2 0 0 0 0
8 MF   USA Earnie Stewart 26 3 23+3 3 0 0 0 0
9 FW   USA Freddy Adu 34 5 14+16 5 3+1 0 0 0
11 FW   USA Alecko Eskandarian 28 14 19+5 10 4+0 4 0 0
12 DF   USA Mike Petke 26 1 23+3 1 0 0 0 0
13 MF   ARG Christian Gómez 13 5 8+1 4 4+0 1 0 0
14 MF   USA Ben Olsen 25 3 25+0 3 0 0 0 0
16 MF   USA Brian Carroll 30 4 26+4 4+0 0 0 0 0
17 DF   USA Joshua Gros 33 1 21+8 1 1+3 0 0 0
18 GK   USA Nick Rimando 13 0 13+0 0 0 0 0 0
21 MF   UKR Dema Kovalenko 28 3 25+0 3 3+0 0 0 0
22 GK   USA Troy Perkins 16 0 16+0 0 0 0 0 0
23 FW   SLV Eliseo Quintanilla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF   GHA Nana Kuffour 6 1 1+4 0 0 0 1+0 1
25 MF   USA Santino Quaranta 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
27 FW   USA Tim Lawson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
99 FW   BOL Jaime Moreno 31 9 27+0 7 4+0 2 0 0

Transfers

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Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
January 16, 2004 MF 9   Freddy Adu   IMG Academy Drafted [10]
March 2, 2004 MF 6   Kevin Ara   Harvard Crimson Drafted [11]
March 2, 2004 FW 99   Jaime Moreno   MetroStars Traded[a] [12]
March 2, 2004 MF 17   Joshua Gros   Rutgers Scarlet Knights Drafted [11]
March 2, 2004 GK 22   Troy Perkins   Evansville Purple Aces Free [11]
June 23, 2004 DF 5   Ezra Hendrickson   Charleston Battery Free [13]
July 14, 2004 MF 24   Nana Kuffour   Assi IF Free [14]
July 23, 2004 FW 3   Jason Thompson   Dallas Burn Traded[b] [15]
August 1, 2004 MF 13   Christian Gómez   Arsenal de Sarandí Undisclosed [16]

SuperDraft picks

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2004 D.C. United SuperDraft Class
Round Selection Player Position School Status
1 1   Freddy Adu MF Heights School (MD) Signed with first team
3 24   Kevin Ara MF Harvard Signed with first team
4 34   Joshua Gros MF Rutgers Signed with first team
5 44   Kevin Hudson MF SMU Unsigned draft pick


Sourced list of players sold or loaned out during the season

Awards

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Only official awards regarding individuals associated with the club

  • FA Premier League Player of the Month (January): Patrick Scorer
  • FA Premier League Manager of the Month (January): Lucas Boss

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Traded for future considerations[12]
  2. ^ Traded for a fourth round pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft and future considerations.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "14-year-old signs with MLS". Deseret News. November 23, 2009. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  2. ^ Dure, Beau (November 11, 2004). "Harkes keeps both feet in the soccer world". USA Today. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  3. ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (July 26, 2005). "10 of the best... MLS games". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  4. ^ Goff, Steven (November 3, 2006). "Revolution Ready to Take Another Shot". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  5. ^ "D.C. United & Comcast SportsNet to launch 'Brunch with D.C. United'". Major League Soccer. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  6. ^ Lifton, David (May 11, 2005). "Looking back: Unforgettable in every way". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  7. ^ Goff, Steven (November 15, 2004). "United Captures 4th Title". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "Statistics: 2004 Regular Season". D.C. United. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  9. ^ "Statistics: 2004 Postseason". D.C. United. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  10. ^ Goff, Steven (January 16, 2004). "United's Pick Is No Secret". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "D.C. United Signs Ara, Gros and Perkins". OurSportsCentral. March 2, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "MetroStars Trade Rights to Jaime Moreno to D.C. United". Our Sports Central. March 2, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "D.C. United Signs Ezra Hendrickson". OurSports Central. June 23, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  14. ^ "Kuffuor put on D.C. United developmental roster". Ghanaweb.net. July 14, 2004. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  15. ^ a b "D.C. United Signs F Jason Thompson". Our Sports Central. July 23, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Quispe, Emmanuel (February 3, 2012). "What Ever Happened To ... Christian Gomez". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.