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1997 Major League Soccer season
Season	1997
MLS Cup	D.C. United (2nd title)
Supporters' Shield	D.C. United (1st shield)
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	D.C. United; Colorado Rapids
Matches played	160
Goals scored	522 (3.26 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jaime Moreno; (16 goals)
Longest winning run	Kansas City Wizards; Games: 7; (07/19 – 08/31)
Longest losing run	New England Revolution; Games: 9; (07/20 – 09/12)
Highest attendance	57,407; NE 2–1 TB ; (April 20, 1997)
Lowest attendance	4,120; COL 1–0 DAL ; (April 23, 1997)
Total attendance	2,336,889
Average attendance	14,606
	← 1996 1998 →

D.C. United

MetroStars

Tampa Bay

Columbus

New England

Colorado

Dallas

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

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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

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	Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew	Tom Fitzgerald	Marcelo Carrera	Snickers
D.C. United	Bruce Arena		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards	Ron Newman		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Octavio Zambrano		—
New England Revolution	Thomas Rongen		—
NY/NJ MetroStars	Carlos Alberto Parreira	Tony Meola
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
Los Angeles Galaxy	Lothar Osiander	Fired	June 10, 1997^[1]^[2]	Octavio Zambrano	June 10, 1997^[1]^[2]
San Jose Clash	Laurie Calloway	Fired	June 25, 1997	Brian Quinn	June 25, 1997

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team v t e	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 v t e	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 v t e	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

October 5, 1997

Game 1

D.C. United	4–1	New England Revolution
Wegerle 13', 56' Moreno 65', 76'	Report	Burns 89'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 12,540

Referee: Tim Weyland

October 8, 1997

Game 2

New England Revolution	1–1	D.C. United
Moore 72'	Report	Williams 53'
Penalties
Moore Burns Chronopoulos Galderisi Naveda Keegan McKinley	3–4	Etcheverry Moreno Kelderman Agoos Iroha Harkes Llamosa

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 16,233

D.C. United advance to the Conference Finals.

October 5, 1997

Game 1

Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	Columbus Crew
Gilmar 35'	Report	Farrell 11' Wood 83'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 8,272

Referee: Noel Kenny

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Columbus Crew	2–0	Tampa Bay Mutiny
McBride 43' Warzycha 73'	Report

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 13,102

Referee: Joshua Patlak

Columbus Crew advance to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

October 5, 1997

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy	0–0	Dallas Burn
	Report
Penalties
Karapetyan Armas Machón Vanney	0–2	Sutter Soehn Santel Álvarez

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 18,921

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Dallas Burn	3–0	Los Angeles Galaxy
Washington 29', 69' Peinado 86'	Report

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 11,248

Referee: Esse Baharmast

Dallas Burn advance to the Conference Finals.

October 4, 1997

Game 1

Kansas City Wizards	0–3	Colorado Rapids
	Report	Henderson 25' Bravo 67' Paule 75'

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 10,174

Referee: Brian Hall

October 8, 1997

Game 2

Colorado Rapids	3–2	Kansas City Wizards
Bravo 16', 68' Harris 83'	Report	Takawira 9' Preki 88'

Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 13,117

Referee: Paul Tamberino

Colorado Rapids advance to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Western Conference

October 12, 1997

Game 1

Dallas Burn	0–1	Colorado Rapids
	Report	Henderson 42'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 7,376

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 15, 1997

Game 2

Colorado Rapids	2–1	Dallas Burn
Patiño 22' Henderson 87'	Report	Álvarez 5'

Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 18,452

Referee: Noel Kenny

Colorado Rapids advance to MLS Cup.

Eastern Conference

October 12, 1997

Game 1

D.C. United	3–2	Columbus Crew
Sanneh 9', 45' Díaz Arce 29'	Report	Farrell 57' Dooley 73'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 11,820

Referee: Kevin Terry

October 15, 1997

Game 2

Columbus Crew	0–1	D.C. United
	Report	Díaz Arce 47'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 9,506

Referee: Arturo Angeles

D.C. United advance to MLS Cup.

MLS Cup

October 26, 1997

D.C. United	2–1	Colorado Rapids
Moreno 37' Sanneh 68'	Report	Paz 75'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 57,431

Referee: Brian Hall

Player statistics

Goals

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

Hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Raúl Díaz Arce⁴	D.C. United	Colorado Rapids	5–2	April 12
Alberto Naveda	New England Revolution	NY/NJ MetroStars	3–1	May 30
Dante Washington	Dallas Burn	San Jose Clash	3–1	July 18
Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy	Tampa Bay Mutiny	6–1	September 7
Jose Vasquez	Los Angeles Galaxy	San Jose Clash	3–2	September 21

Assists

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

Clean sheets

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

Awards

Individual awards

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

Best XI

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

Player of the Month

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

Weekly awards

Player of the Week
Week	Player	Club
Week 1	Dave Salzwedel	San Jose Clash
Week 2	Giuseppe Galderisi	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 3	Carlos Valderrama	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 4	Raúl Díaz Arce	D.C. United
Week 5	Dante Washington	Dallas Burn
Week 6	Roberto Donadoni	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 7	Doctor Khumalo	Columbus Crew
Week 8	Damian Alvarez	Dallas Burn
Week 9	Chiquinho Conde	New England Revolution
Week 10	Preki Radosavljević	Kansas City Wizards
Week 11	Eric Wynalda	San Jose Clash
Week 12	Preki Radosavljević	Kansas City Wizards
Week 13	Gilmar	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 14	Paul Bravo	Colorado Rapids
Week 15	Tab Ramos	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 16	Dante Washington	Dallas Burn
Week 17	Antony de Ávila	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 18	Gilmar	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 19	Wolde Harris	Colorado Rapids
Week 20	Thomas Dooley	Columbus Crew
Week 21	Giovanni Savarese	NY/NJ MetroStars
Week 22	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
Week 23	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 24	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 25	Martín Vásquez	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 26	Marcelo Balboa	Colorado Rapids

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