2002 Major League Soccer season

7th season of Major League Soccer June 2017 June 2017 2002 10 Los Angeles Galaxy (1st title) Los Angeles Galaxy (2nd shield) 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Los Angeles GalaxyNew England RevolutionSan Jose Earthquakes Carlos RuizLos Angeles GalaxyGoals: 24 140 421 Colorado RapidsSeason: 289,663Game Avg.: 20,690 San Jose EarthquakesSeason: 156,104Game Avg.: 11,150 2,215,019 15,822 2001 2003 United States 525 right Locations of teams for the 2002 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 2002 Major League Soccer season was the seventh season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 90th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 24th with a national first-division league. According to FC Dallas president Dan Hunt, the entire league nearly folded during the 2001 offseason.https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/2848878/mls-nearly-folded-in-2001-fc-dallas-president-dan-hunt MLS nearly folded in 2001 - FC Dallas president Dan Hunt April 16, 2016 Saad Yousuf ESPN.com The owners agreed to shut down the league on a conference call in November 2001, but within two days Lamar Hunt convinced the other owners to give the league another year. On January 8, 2002, the league folded two of its teams, both of which were in Florida. The Miami Fusion ceased operations after only four years of existence due to low attendance and an unfavorable stadium deal. The Tampa Bay Mutiny also ceased operations due to the lack of local ownership. With the league reduced to ten teams, the Central Division was eliminated and the league returned to the original two-conference alignment. Two new stadiums opened this season. The Colorado Rapids moved into Invesco Field at Mile High and the New England Revolution moved into CMGI Field, which was renamed Gillette Stadium on August 5. Additionally, due to renovations at Soldier Field, the Chicago Fire played at Cardinal Stadium in the western suburb of Naperville. In an effort to lower costs, the number of games was reduced from 32 to 28, marking the fewest games played in league history. The playoffs were also reformatted as the teams with the 8 highest point totals qualified regardless of conference affiliation. The regular season began on March 23, and concluded on September 22. The 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 25, and concluded with MLS Cup 2002 on October 20. After three previous losses in the final, the Los Angeles Galaxy won their first MLS Cup with a victory over the New England Revolution. Overview Season format The season began on March 23 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 20. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 28 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and one designated opponent from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice. The top eight teams regardless of conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The first round and conference finals were played as a three game series, and the first team to 5 points advanced. The winners of the conference finals advanced to MLS Cup. 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 15,000 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 Cotton Bowl 92,100 Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 81,425 Los Angeles Galaxy Rose Bowl 92,542 MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200 New England Revolution CMGI Field 68,756 San Jose Earthquakes Spartan Stadium 30,456 Personnel and sponsorships Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Fire USA Bob Bradley — Colorado Rapids USA Tim Hankinson Columbus Crew USA Greg Andrulis Pepsi D.C. United ENG Ray Hudson — Dallas Burn USA Mike Jeffries Kansas City Wizards USA Bob Gansler — Los Angeles Galaxy USA Sigi Schmid — MetroStars ECU Octavio Zambrano USA Tab Ramos— New England Revolution SCO Steve Nicol — San Jose Earthquakes CAN Frank Yallop USA Jeff Agoos Yahoo! Sports Coaching changes Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming coach Date of appointment New England Revolution USA Fernando Clavijo Fired May 23, 2002 SCO Steve Nicol May 23, 2002 Standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Overall standings MLS Cup playoffs Bracket 3/3/1 Quarterfinals Semifinals MLS Cup 20px 260px 1 Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (6 Points) 3* 1 5 8 Kansas City Wizards (3 Points) 2 4 2 4 Dallas Burn (4 Points) 4 0 1 5 Colorado Rapids (SDET)** (4 Points) 2 1 1** 2 New England Revolution (6 Points) 2 1 2 7 Chicago Fire (3 Points) 0 2 0 3 San Jose Earthquakes (0 Points) 1 1 x 6 Columbus Crew (6 Points) 2 2 x 1 Los Angeles Galaxy (6 Points) 4 1 x 5 Colorado Rapids (0 Points) 0 0 x 2 New England Revolution (5 Points) 0 1 2 6 Columbus Crew (2 Points) 0 0 2 1 Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* 1 2 New England Revolution 0 Points systemWin = 3 Pts.Loss = 0 Pts.Draw = 1 Pt. ASDET*=Added sudden death extra time (game tie breaker)SDET**=Sudden death extra time (series tie breaker)Teams will advance at 5 points. Quarterfinals September 25, 2002 Kansas City Wizards 2–3 yes Los Angeles Galaxy Preki 25 Brown 70 Ruiz 62 pen. 99 Jones 85 Rose BowlPasadena, California 14,585 September 28, 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 1–4 Kansas City Wizards Albright 71 Simutenkov 19 Quill 37 Preki 70 Fabbro 73 Arrowhead StadiumKansas City, Missouri 9,484 October 2, 2002 Kansas City Wizards 2–5 Los Angeles Galaxy Klein 47 Preki 72 Ruiz 34 66 Jones 45+, 62 Tennyson 90+3 Rose BowlPasadena, California 14,713 Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6-3 on points. September 26, 2002 Chicago Fire 0–2 New England Revolution Twellman 13 Hernández 60 Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 6,306 September 29, 2002 New England Revolution 1–2 Chicago Fire Kamler 28 Razov 43 pen., 76 Cardinal StadiumNaperville, Illinois 9,434 October 2, 2002 Chicago Fire 0–2 New England Revolution Kamler 12 Twellman 65 Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 6,954 New England Revolution advance 6–3 on points. September 26, 2002 Columbus Crew 2–1 San Jose Earthquakes Buddle 38 García 81 Donovan 54 Spartan StadiumSan Jose, California 8,069 September 28, 2002 San Jose Earthquakes 1–2 Columbus Crew Graziani 58 García 50 McBride 81 Columbus Crew StadiumColumbus, Ohio 13,004 Columbus Crew advance 6–0 on points. September 25, 2002 Colorado Rapids 2–4 Dallas Burn Valderrama 2 Spencer (Pen) 75 Morrow 26 Kreis 49 Deering 68 Martínez 70 Cotton BowlDallas, Texas 6,360 September 28, 2002 Dallas Burn 0–1 Colorado Rapids Carrieri 78 INVESCO Field at Mile HighDenver, Colorado 9,637 October 2, 2002 Colorado Rapids 1–1 Dallas Burn Spencer 22 Rhine 6 Cotton BowlDallas, Texas 8,008   1–0 series OT (a.s.d.e.t.)   Chung 1 Colorado Rapids advance in series (sudden death) overtime, after 4–4 tie on points. Semifinals October 5, 2002 Colorado Rapids 0–4 Los Angeles Galaxy Califf 21 Ruiz 24 84 Hendrickson 71 Rose BowlPasadena, California 24,742 October 9, 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0 Colorado Rapids Ruiz 64 INVESCO Field at Mile HighDenver, Colorado 12,367 Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6–0 on points. October 6, 2002 Columbus Crew 0–0 New England Revolution Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 11,387 October 9, 2002 New England Revolution 1–0 Columbus Crew Heaps 3 Columbus Crew StadiumColumbus, Ohio 10,245 October 12, 2002 Columbus Crew 2–2 New England Revolution McBride 80 Washington 85 Ralston 17 Harris 47 Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 9,216 New England Revolution advance 5–2 on points. MLS Cup MLS Cup 2002 2002 10 20 Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0 (2OT) Report New England Revolution Ruiz 113 Gillette StadiumFoxborough, Massachusetts 61,316 Kevin Terry Player statistics Goals Rank Player Club Goals 1GUA Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy 24 2USA Taylor Twellman New England Revolution 23 3USA Jeff Cunningham Columbus Crew 16 4USA Ante Razov Chicago Fire 14ECU 1900 Ariel Graziani San Jose Earthquakes 6USA Jason Kreis Dallas Burn 13 7SEN Mamadou Diallo New England Revolution, MetroStars 12BRA Rodrigo Faria MetroStars 9USA Chris Carrieri Colorado Rapids 11USA Mark Chung Colorado Rapids USA Chris Henderson Colorado Rapids Hat-tricks List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks Player Club Against Result DateUSA Ante Razov Chicago Fire New England Revolution 3–1 md 2002 5 19USA Bobby Rhine Dallas Burn Colorado Rapids 4–1 md 2002 6 8SEN Mamadou Diallo4 MetroStars Los Angeles Galaxy 5–0 md 2002 6 15USA Chris Carrieri Colorado Rapids Chicago Fire 3–2 md 2002 7 4GUA Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy MetroStars 3–0 md 2002 8 31USA Taylor Twellman New England Revolution D.C. United 2–0 md 2002 9 2 Assists Rank Player Club Assists 1JAM Andy Williams MetroStars 13 2USA Steve Ralston New England Revolution 12 3USA Preki Kansas City Wizards 8 4USA Mark Chung Colorado Rapids 7USA Cobi Jones Los Angeles GalaxyMEX Antonio Martínez Dallas BurnCOL Carlos Valderrama Colorado Rapids 8USA Ramiro Corrales San Jose Earthquakes 6CAN Dwayne De Rosario San Jose EarthquakesNZL Simon Elliott Los Angeles Galaxy USA Bobby Rhine Dallas BurnBOL Joselito Vaca Dallas Burn Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1USA Joe CannonSan Jose Earthquakes82USA Nick RimandoD.C. United7USA Zach ThorntonChicago Fire4USA Adin BrownNew England Revolution5USA Jon BuschColumbus CrewUSA Kevin HartmanLos Angeles Galaxy7USA Scott GarlickColorado Rapids4USA Tim HowardMetroStars9USA Matt JordanDallas Burn3USA Tony MeolaKansas City Wizards Awards Individual awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable PlayerGUA Carlos RuizLos Angeles GalaxyDefender of the YearUSA Carlos BocanegraChicago FireGoalkeeper of the YearUSA Joe CannonSan Jose EarthquakesCoach of the YearSCO Steve NicolNew England Revolution Rookie of the YearUSA Kyle MartinoColumbus CrewComeback Player of the YearUSA Chris KleinKansas City WizardsScoring ChampionUSA Taylor TwellmanNew England Revolution Goal of the YearGUA Carlos RuizLos Angeles GalaxyFair Play Award USA Mark ChungColorado RapidsHumanitarian of the YearUSA Steve JolleyMetroStars 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 TotalAverageColorado Rapids 14 289,663 20,690Los Angeles Galaxy 14266,664 19,047MetroStars 14254,174 18,155Columbus Crew 14243,999 17,429New England Revolution 14 236,973 16,927 D.C. United 14 231,264 16,519 Dallas Burn 14 183,702 13,122 Chicago Fire 14 180,908 12,922 Kansas City Wizards 14 171,568 12,255 San Jose Earthquakes 14 156,104 11,150Totals1402,215,01915,822 References External links MLS Site 2002 1 United States