2004 Major League Soccer season

The 2004 Major League Soccer season was the ninth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 92nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 26th with a national first-division league.

2004 Major League Soccer season
Season2004
MLS CupD.C. United (4th title)
Supporters' ShieldColumbus Crew (1st shield)
2005 CONCACAF Champions' CupD.C. United
Kansas City Wizards
Matches played150
Goals scored392 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorerBrian Ching
San Jose Earthquakes Goals: 12
Eddie Johnson
Dallas Burn
Goals: 12
Biggest home winNE 6–1 COL
Biggest away winLA 0–3 NY
DAL 0–3 NE
CHI 0–3 COL
Highest scoringSJ 5–5 NY
Longest winning runColumbus Crew
Games: 4
(05/15 – 06/06)
Columbus Crew
Games: 4
(09/04 – 09/25)
Longest unbeaten runColumbus Crew
Games: 18
(07/03/2004)
Longest losing runDallas Burn
Games: 4
(05/08 – 05/29)
Highest attendanceLos Angeles Galaxy
Season: 357,137
Game Avg.: 23,809
Lowest attendanceDallas Burn
Season: 136,319
Game Avg.: 9,088
Total attendance2,333,797
Average attendance15,559
← 2003
2005 →
2004 Major League Soccer season is located in the United States
D.C.United
D.C.
United
MetroStars
MetroStars
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
New England Revolution
New England Revolution
ChicagoFire
Chicago
Fire
Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
DallasBurn
Dallas
Burn
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
Locations of teams for the 2004 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

After playing one season in the suburb of Southlake, the Dallas Burn returned to the Cotton Bowl.

D.C. United signed 14-year-old prodigy Freddy Adu, who made his debut as a substitute in their season opener becoming the youngest player in North American sports history. The Columbus Crew emerged as a dominant team in the second half of the regular season, running off an MLS-record 18-game unbeaten streak en route to winning the Supporters' Shield.

The regular season began on April 3, and concluded on October 17. The 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 22, and concluded with MLS Cup 2004 on November 14. D.C. United won their record 4th league title by defeating the Kansas City Wizards in MLS Cup.

Overview

Season Format

The season began on April 3 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 14. 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
Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums
Team Stadium Capacity
Chicago Fire Soldier Field 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 Cotton Bowl 92,100
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 United States Dave Sarachan —
Colorado Rapids United States Tim Hankinson
Columbus Crew United States Greg Andrulis United States Robin Fraser Pepsi
D.C. United Poland Piotr Nowak —
Dallas Burn Northern Ireland Colin Clarke
Kansas City Wizards United States Bob Gansler —
Los Angeles Galaxy United States Sigi Schmid Budweiser
MetroStars United States Bob Bradley United States Eddie Pope
New England Revolution Scotland Steve Nicol
San Jose Earthquakes United States Dominic Kinnear United States Jeff Agoos Yahoo! en Español

Coaching changes
TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Los Angeles Galaxy United States Sigi Schmid Fired August 16, 2004 United States Steve Sampson August 18, 2004

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Columbus Crew 30 12 5 13 40 32 +8 49 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 D.C. United 30 11 10 9 43 42 +1 42
3 MetroStars 30 11 12 7 47 49 −2 40
4 New England Revolution 30 8 13 9 42 43 −1 33
5 Chicago Fire 30 8 13 9 36 44 −8 33
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Kansas City Wizards 30 14 9 7 38 30 +8 49 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 11 9 10 42 40 +2 43
3 Colorado Rapids 30 10 9 11 29 32 −3 41
4 San Jose Earthquakes 30 9 10 11 41 35 +6 38
5 Dallas Burn 30 10 14 6 34 45 −11 36
Source: MLS

Overall Standings
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Columbus Crew (S) 30 12 5 13 40 32 +8 49
2 Kansas City Wizards 30 14 9 7 38 30 +8 49 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
3 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 11 9 10 42 40 +2 43
4 D.C. United (C) 30 11 10 9 43 42 +1 42 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
5 Colorado Rapids 30 10 9 11 29 32 −3 41
6 MetroStars 30 11 12 7 47 49 −2 40
7 San Jose Earthquakes 30 9 10 11 41 35 +6 38
8 Dallas Burn 30 10 14 6 34 45 −11 36
9 New England Revolution 30 8 13 9 42 43 −1 33
10 Chicago Fire 30 8 13 9 36 44 −8 33
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
Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
          
E1 Columbus 0 1
E4 New England (wins 2–1 agg.) 1 1
E4 New England 3
Eastern Conference
E2 D.C. United (wins 4–3 on PK's) 3*
E2 D.C. United (wins 4–0 agg.) 2 2
E3 MetroStars 0 0
E2 D.C. United 3
W1 Kansas City 2
W1 Kansas City (wins 3–2 agg.) 0 3
W4 San Jose 2 0
W1 Kansas City 2
Western Conference
W2 Los Angeles 0
W2 Los Angeles (wins 2–1 agg.) 0 2
W3 Colorado 1 0

Conference Semifinals
Columbus Crew0–1New England Revolution
Report John 25'
Attendance: 5,679
Referee: N/A
New England Revolution1–1Columbus Crew
Twellman 81' Report Buddle 90+2'
Attendance: 15,224
Referee: Alex Prus

New England Revolution advance 2–1 on aggregate.

D.C. United2–0MetroStars
Stewart 67'
Eskandarian 88'		 Report
Attendance: 11,161
Referee: Kevin Stott
MetroStars0–2D.C. United
Report Moreno 85'
Namoff 89'
Attendance: 15,763
Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela

D.C. United advance 4–0 on aggregate.

Kansas City Wizards0–2San Jose Earthquakes
Report De Rosario 40'
Waibel 52'
Attendance: 8,659
Referee: Kevin Terry
San Jose Earthquakes0–3Kansas City Wizards
Report Stephenson 26'
Ching 48' (o.g.)
Jewsbury 90+2'
Attendance: 10,022
Referee: Terry Vaughn

Kansas City Wizards advance 3–2 on aggregate.

Los Angeles Galaxy0–1Colorado Rapids
Report Peguero 30'
Attendance: 8,028
Referee: Terry Vaughn
Colorado Rapids0–2Los Angeles Galaxy
Report Ruiz 30'
Marshall 45+3'
Attendance: 20,026
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–1 on aggregate.

Conference finals
Los Angeles Galaxy0–2Kansas City Wizards
Report Arnaud 24', 68'
Attendance: 11,931
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
New England Revolution3–3 (AET)D.C. United
Twellman 17'
Ralston 44' (pen.)
Noonan 85'		 Report Eskandarian 11'
Moreno 21'
Gomez 67'
Penalties
Ralston soccer ball with red X
Reis soccer ball with check mark
Twellman soccer ball with check mark
Heaps soccer ball with red X
Joseph soccer ball with check mark
Dempsey soccer ball with red X		 3–4 soccer ball with red X Olsen
soccer ball with check mark Quaranta
soccer ball with check mark Adu
soccer ball with check mark Eskandarian
soccer ball with red X Moreno
soccer ball with check mark Carroll
Attendance: 21,201
Referee: Terry Vaughn

D.C. United advance 4–3 on penalties (3–3 after full time).

MLS Cup
Main article: MLS Cup 2004
Kansas City Wizards2–3D.C. United
Burciaga Jr. 6'
Wolff 58' (pen.)		 Report Eskandarian 19' 23'
Zotinca 26' (o.g.)
Kovalenko Red card 57'
Attendance: 25,797
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Player statistics

Goals
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 United States Brian Ching San Jose Earthquakes 12
United States Eddie Johnson Dallas Burn
3 United States Edson Buddle Columbus Crew 11
United States Pat Noonan New England Revolution
Jamaica Damani Ralph Chicago Fire
Guatemala Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy
7 United States Alecko Eskandarian D.C. United 10
Honduras Amado Guevara MetroStars
United States Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards
United States John Wolyniec MetroStars

Assists
RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Uruguay José Cancela New England Revolution 8
New Zealand Simon Elliott Columbus Crew
Honduras Amado Guevara MetroStars
4 United States Landon Donovan San Jose Earthquakes 7
5 Austria Andreas Herzog Los Angeles Galaxy 6
United States Chris Klein Kansas City Wizards
Ukraine Dema Kovalenko D.C. United
Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United
United States Richard Mulrooney San Jose Earthquakes
Republic of Ireland Ronnie O'Brien Dallas Burn
Jamaica Andy Williams Chicago Fire

Clean Sheets
Rank Player Club Clean
Sheets
1 United States Jon Busch Columbus Crew 10
United States Joe Cannon Colorado Rapids
3 United States Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy 7
United States Tony Meola Kansas City Wizards
United States Henry Ring Chicago Fire
6 Canada Pat Onstad San Jose Earthquakes 6
7 United States Bo Oshoniyi Kansas City Wizards 5
United States Jonny Walker MetroStars
9 United States Jeff Cassar Dallas Burn 4
United States Scott Garlick Dallas Burn
United States Nick Rimando D.C. United

Awards

Individual awards
AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable PlayerHonduras Amado GuevaraMetroStars
Defender of the YearUnited States Robin FraserColumbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Joe CannonColorado Rapids
Coach of the YearUnited States Greg AndrulisColumbus Crew
Rookie of the YearUnited States Clint DempseyNew England Revolution
Comeback Player of the YearUnited States Brian ChingSan Jose Earthquakes
Scoring ChampionHonduras Amado Guevara
United States Pat Noonan		MetroStars
New England Revolution
Goal of the YearCanada Dwayne De RosarioSan Jose Earthquakes
Fair Play AwardUnited States Eddie PopeMetroStars
Humanitarian of the YearUnited States Chris HendersonColorado Rapids

Best XI
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Joe Cannon, Colorado United States Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City
United States Robin Fraser, Columbus
New Zealand Ryan Nelsen, D.C. United
United States Eddie Pope, MetroStars		 United States Eddie Gaven, MetroStars
Honduras Amado Guevara, MetroStars
Republic of Ireland Ronnie O'Brien, Dallas
United States Kerry Zavagnin, Kansas City		 United States Brian Ching, San Jose
Bolivia Jaime Moreno, D.C. United

Attendance
Club Games Total Average
Los Angeles Galaxy 15 357,137 23,809
D.C. United 15 258,484 17,232
MetroStars 15 257,923 17,195
Chicago Fire 15 257,295 17,153
Columbus Crew 15 253,079 16,872
Kansas City Wizards 15 222,235 14,816
Colorado Rapids 15 212,925 14,195
San Jose Earthquakes 15 195,015 13,001
New England Revolution 15 183,385 12,226
Dallas Burn 15 136,319 9,088
Totals 150 2,333,797 15,559

References
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