2003 Major League Soccer season

8th season of Major League Soccer June 2017 June 2017 2003 10 San Jose Earthquakes (2nd title) Chicago Fire (1st shield) 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup San Jose EarthquakesChicago Fire Carlos RuizLos Angeles GalaxyGoals: 15Taylor TwellmanN.E. RevolutionGoals: 15 150 433 CHI 4–0 COLCLB 6–2 CHI SJ 1–4 CHIDAL 0–3 SJ NY 4–4 SJCLB 6–2 CHI Colorado RapidsGames: 5(07/04 – 08/09)MetroStars Games: 5(04/26 – 05/24) Chicago FireGames: 7(07/19 – 08/24)Colorado RapidsGames: 7(08/16 – 10/01) Colorado RapidsGames: 4(05/03 – 05/25)Dallas BurnGames: 4(07/19 -08/13) Los Angeles GalaxySeason: 329,752Game Avg.: 21,983 Dallas BurnSeason: 118,585Game Avg.: 7,906 2,234,747 14,898 2002 2004 United States 525 right Locations of teams for the 2003 Major League Soccer season8px Western Conference   8px Eastern Conference United States 38.889722 -76.971667 D.C. United bottom ButtonBlue.svg United States 40.737411 -74.153763 MetroStars left ButtonBlue.svg United States 40.009444 -82.991111 Columbus left ButtonBlue.svg United States 41.742432 -87.806789 Chicago top ButtonBlue.svg United States 42.090833 -71.264444 New England top ButtonBlue.svg United States 39.35 -104.8918 Colorado top ButtonRed.svg United States 33.154444 -96.835278 Dallas right ButtonRed.svg United States 33.864444 -118.261111 Los Angeles bottom ButtonRed.svg United States 39.1218 -94.8237 Kansas City bottom ButtonRed.svg United States 37.350556 -121.936667 San Jose top ButtonRed.svg The 2003 Major League Soccer season was the eighth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 91st season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 25th with a national first-division league. The Los Angeles Galaxy moved into the league's second soccer-specific stadium when the Home Depot Center opened on June 1, 2003. The Chicago Fire continued to play at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville but returned to the newly renovated Soldier Field for their final regular season game. The number of games was increased to 30 after a reduction to 28 for the 2002 season. Instead of a best-of-three series, the playoffs were tweaked so that the conference semifinals would be determined by a home-and-away aggregate score over two matches, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. Additionally, the two conference finals became single-leg hosted by the higher seed. The regular season began on April 5, and concluded on October 26. The 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs began on November 1, and concluded with MLS Cup 2003 on November 23. The San Jose Earthquakes won their second MLS Cup in three years with a victory over Chicago. Overview Season format The season began on April 5 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 23. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and two designated opponents from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice. The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks 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. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup and the runner-up qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Stadiums and locations List of Major League Soccer stadiums Team Stadium Capacity Chicago Fire Cardinal Stadium Soldier Field 15,000 61,500 Colorado Rapids Invesco Field at Mile High 76,125 Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 22,555 D.C. United RFK Stadium 46,000 Dallas Burn Dragon Stadium 11,000 Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425 Los Angeles Galaxy Home Depot Center 27,000 MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200 New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 68,756 San Jose Earthquakes Spartan Stadium 30,456 Personnel and sponsorships Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Fire USA Dave Sarachan — Colorado Rapids USA Tim Hankinson Columbus Crew USA Greg Andrulis Pepsi D.C. United ENG Ray Hudson — Dallas Burn NIR Colin Clarke Kansas City Wizards USA Bob Gansler — Los Angeles Galaxy USA Sigi Schmid Budweiser MetroStars USA Bob Bradley USA Eddie Pope— New England Revolution SCO Steve Nicol — San Jose Earthquakes CAN Frank Yallop USA Jeff Agoos Yahoo! en Español Coaching changes Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment Dallas Burn USA Mike Jeffries Fired September 15, 2003 NIR Colin Clarke September 15, 2003 Standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Overall standings MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket 2/1/1 Conference semifinals Conference finals MLS Cup Eastern Conference Western Conference 240px E1 Chicago (wins 4–0 agg.) 2 2 E4 D.C. United 0 0 E2 New England (wins 3–1 agg.) 2 1 E3 MetroStars 0 1 W1 San Jose (wins 5–4 agg.) 0 5* W4 Los Angeles 2 2 W3 Kansas City (wins 3–1 agg.) 1 2 W2 Colorado 1 0 E1 Chicago 1 E3 New England 0 W1 San Jose 3 W3 Kansas City 2 E1 Chicago 2 W1 San Jose 4 Eastern Conference semifinals November 1, 2003 Chicago Fire 2–0 D.C. United Williams 4 Razov 94 RFK StadiumWashington, D.C. 15,202 November 9, 2003 D.C. United 0–2 Chicago Fire Ralph 17 Razov 55 Soldier FieldChicago, Illinois 15,312 Chicago Fire won 4–0 on aggregate. November 1, 2003 New England Revolution 2–0 MetroStars Fabbro 17 Noonan 65 Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, New Jersey 10,211 November 9, 2003 MetroStars 1–1 New England Revolution Guevara 45 pen. Noonan 21 Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 14,823 New England Revolution won 3–1 on aggregate. Western Conference semifinals November 1, 2003 San Jose Earthquakes 0–2 Los Angeles Galaxy Victorine 59Ruiz 62 Home Depot CenterCarson, California 20,201 November 9, 2003 Los Angeles Galaxy 2–5 yes San Jose Earthquakes Ruiz 7Vagenas 13 Agoos 21Donovan 35Walker 50Roner 90Faria 96 Spartan StadiumSan Jose, California 14,145 San Jose Earthquakes won 5–4 on aggregate after golden goal extra time. November 4, 2003 Kansas City Wizards 1–1 Colorado Rapids Harris 3 Borchers 53 INVESCO Field at Mile HighDenver, Colorado 6,434 November 8, 2003 Colorado Rapids 0–2 Kansas City Wizards Simutenkov 45Klein 63 Arrowhead StadiumKansas City, Missouri 10,712 Kansas City Wizards won 3–1 on aggregate. Conference finals Eastern Conference November 14, 2003 New England Revolution 0–1 yes Chicago Fire Armas 101 Soldier FieldChicago, Illinois 14,610 Western Conference November 15, 2003 Kansas City Wizards 2–3 yes San Jose Earthquakes Simutenkov 57Klein 72 Lagos 61Mullan 83Donovan 117 Spartan StadiumSan Jose, California 16,108 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2003 November 23, 2003 Chicago Fire 2–4 San Jose Earthquakes Beasley 49Roner 54 o.g. Ekelund 5Donovan 38 71Mulrooney 50 Home Depot CenterCarson, California 27,000 Player statistics Goals Rank Player Club Goals 1GUA Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy 15USA Taylor Twellman New England Revolution 3USA Ante Razov Chicago Fire 14SCO John Spencer Colorado Rapids 5USA Landon Donovan San Jose Earthquakes 12USA Brian McBride Columbus CrewUSA Preki Kansas City Wizards 8USA Mark Chung Colorado Rapids 11JAM Damani Ralph Chicago Fire 10USA Edson Buddle Columbus Crew 10USA Pat Noonan New England Revolution Assists Rank Player Club Assists 1USA Preki Kansas City Wizards 12 2 HON 1949 Amado Guevara MetroStars 9 3USA Mark Lisi MetroStars 6USA Ross Paule Columbus CrewUSA Steve Ralston New England Revolution 6USA Cobi Jones Los Angeles Galaxy 5USA Manny Lagos San Jose EarthquakesUSA Brian Mullan San Jose EarthquakesUSA Richard Mulrooney San Jose EarthquakesUSA Pat Noonan New England RevolutionUSA Eric Quill Kansas City WizardsJAM Andy Williams Chicago Fire Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1USA Scott GarlickColorado Rapids9CAN Pat OnstadSan Jose Earthquakes3USA Zach ThorntonChicago Fire84USA Nick RimandoD.C. United75USA Adin BrownNew England Revolution4USA Jon BuschColumbus CrewUSA Kevin HartmanLA GalaxyUSA Tony MeolaKansas City WizardsUSA Jonny WalkerMetroStars10USA D.J. CountessDallas Burn3USA Tim HowardMetroStars Awards Individual awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable PlayerUSA PrekiKansas City WizardsDefender of the YearUSA Carlos BocanegraChicago FireGoalkeeper of the YearCAN Pat OnstadSan Jose EarthquakesCoach of the YearUSA Dave SarachanChicago FireRookie of the YearJAM Damani RalphChicago Fire Comeback Player of the YearUSA Chris ArmasChicago FireScoring ChampionUSA PrekiKansas City WizardsGoal of the YearJAM Damani RalphChicago FireFair Play AwardUSA Brian McBrideColumbus CrewHumanitarian of the YearUSA Ben OlsenD.C. United Best XI GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwardsUSA Tim Howard, MetroStars USA Wade Barrett, San JoseUSA Carlos Bocanegra, ChicagoUSA Alexi Lalas, LA GalaxyUSA Mark Chung, Colorado DEN Ronnie Ekelund, San JoseCOL Óscar Pareja, DallasUSA Steve Ralston, New EnglandUSA Jeff Cunningham, ColumbusGUA Carlos Ruiz, LA GalaxyUSA Taylor Twellman, New England Attendance ClubGames SeasonGame Avg.Los Angeles Galaxy15329,75221,983 Colorado Rapids 15251,578 16,772Columbus Crew15243,75616,250MetroStars15237,326 15,822 Kansas City Wizards 15233,59415,573D.C. United 15233,47615,565New England Revolution15219,61114,641Chicago Fire15210,08014,005San Jose Earthquakes15156,98910,466Dallas Burn15118,5857,906Totals1502,234,74714,898 References External links MLS Site 2003 1 United States