1998 Major League Soccer season
Season1998
MLS CupChicago Fire (1st title)
Supporters' ShieldLos Angeles Galaxy (1st shield)
1999 CONCACAF Champions' CupChicago Fire
D.C. United
Los Angeles Galaxy
Matches played192
Goals scored701 (3.65 per match)
Top goalscorerStern John
(26 goals)
Longest winning runChicago Fire
Games: 11
(05/16 – 07/09)
Longest losing runNew England Revolution
Games: 9
(05/13 – 07/04)
Highest attendanceLos Angeles Galaxy
Season: 348,549
Game Avg.: 21,784
Lowest attendanceKansas City Wizards
Season: 129,163
Game Avg.: 8,073
Total attendance2,747,897
Average attendance14,312
← 1997
1999 →
1998 Major League Soccer season is located in the United States
D.C.United
D.C.
United
MetroStars
MetroStars
MiamiFusion
Miami
Fusion
Tampa Bay Mutiny
Tampa Bay Mutiny
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
New England Revolution
New England Revolution
Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
DallasBurn
Dallas
Burn
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
San Jose Clash
San Jose Clash
ChicagoFire
Chicago
Fire
Locations of teams for the 1998 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

The 1998 Major League Soccer season was the third season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 86th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 20th with a national first-division league.

The Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion played their inaugural seasons as the league's first two expansion teams.

The NY/NJ MetroStars dropped the New York/New Jersey from their name and rebranded as just MetroStars, with no city, state or regional name attached to it.

The regular season began on March 15, and concluded on September 27. The 1998 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 30, and concluded with MLS Cup 1998 on October 25. Chicago became the first expansion team to win MLS Cup and the first to win it in its inaugural season.

Overview

Season Format

The season began on March 15 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 25. The 12 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 20 games. The remaining schedule consisted of two games against each team from the opposite conference.

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 and qualified automatically for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

Team Stadium Capacity
Chicago Fire Soldier Field 66,944
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
MetroStars Giants Stadium 80,200
Miami Fusion Lockhart Stadium 20,450
New England Revolution Foxboro Stadium 60,292
San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium 30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny Houlihan's Stadium 74,301

Personnel and sponsorships

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire United States Bob Bradley —
Colorado Rapids United States Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew United States Tom Fitzgerald Snickers
D.C. United United States Bruce Arena MasterCard
Dallas Burn United States Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards England Ron Newman —
Los Angeles Galaxy Ecuador Octavio Zambrano —
MetroStars Spain Alfonso Mondelo United States Tony Meola
Miami Fusion Argentina Carlos Cordoba —
New England Revolution Netherlands Thomas Rongen —
San Jose Clash Republic of Ireland Brian Quinn United States John Doyle Honda
Tampa Bay Mutiny Poland John Kowalski

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
Tampa Bay Mutiny Poland John Kowalski Resigned June 6, 1998 United States Tim Hankinson June 8, 1998
Miami Fusion Argentina Carlos Cordoba Fired July 24, 1998 Brazil Ivo Wortmann July 25, 1998
New England Revolution Netherlands Thomas Rongen Fired August 24, 1998 Italy Walter Zenga August 24, 1998
MetroStars Spain Alfonso Mondelo Fired September 21, 1998 Serbia and Montenegro Bora Milutinović September 21, 1998

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D.C. United 32 17 7 8 74 48 +26 58 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Columbus Crew 32 15 0 17 67 56 +11 45
3 MetroStars 32 12 3 17 54 63 −9 39
4 Miami Fusion 32 10 5 17 46 68 −22 35
5 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 11 1 20 46 57 −11 34
6 New England Revolution 32 9 2 21 53 66 −13 29
Source: MLS

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 22 2 8 85 44 +41 68 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 Chicago Fire 32 18 2 12 62 45 +17 56
3 Colorado Rapids 32 14 2 16 62 69 −7 44
4 Dallas Burn 32 11 4 17 43 59 −16 37
5 San Jose Clash 32 10 3 19 48 60 −12 33
6 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 2 20 45 50 −5 32
Source: MLS

Overall Standings

Pos Team Pld W SOW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Los Angeles Galaxy (S) 32 22 2 8 85 44 +41 68 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 D.C. United 32 17 7 8 74 48 +26 58
3 Chicago Fire (C) 32 18 2 12 62 45 +17 56
4 Columbus Crew 32 15 0 17 67 56 +11 45
5 Colorado Rapids 32 14 2 16 62 69 −7 44
6 MetroStars 32 12 3 17 54 63 −9 39
7 Dallas Burn 32 11 4 17 43 59 −16 37
8 Miami Fusion 32 10 5 17 46 68 −22 35
9 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 11 1 20 46 57 −11 34
10 San Jose Clash 32 10 3 19 48 60 −12 33
11 Kansas City Wizards 32 10 2 20 45 50 −5 32
12 New England Revolution 32 9 2 21 53 66 −13 29
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
             
E1 D.C. United 2 0 (3) x
E4 Miami 1 0 (2) x
E1 D.C. United 2 2 3
Eastern Conference
E2 Columbus 0 4 0
E2 Columbus 5 1 (3) x
E3 MetroStars 3 1 (2) x
E1 D.C. United 0
W2 Chicago 2
W1 Los Angeles 6 3 x
W4 Dallas 1 2 x
W1 Los Angeles 0 1 (1) x
Western Conference
W2 Chicago 1 1 (2) x
W2 Chicago 1 (3) 1 x
W3 Colorado 1 (2) 0 x

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United2–1Miami Fusion
 Report
Attendance: 15,187
Referee: Brian Hall
  • D.C. United advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Game 1
Columbus Crew5–3MetroStars
 Report
Attendance: 10,996
Referee: Ali Saheli
  • Columbus Crew advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy6–1Dallas Burn
 Report
Attendance: 10,047
Referee: Ted Covaciu
Game 2
Dallas Burn2–3Los Angeles Galaxy
 Report
Attendance: 8,130
Referee: Brian Hall
  • Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Game 2
Colorado Rapids0–1Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 6,582
Referee: Noel Kenny
  • Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

Game 1
D.C. United2–0Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 17,755
Referee: Kevin Stott
Game 2
Columbus Crew4–2D.C. United
 Report
Attendance: 13,193
Referee: Rich Grady
Game 3
D.C. United3–0Columbus Crew
 Report
Attendance: 21,453
Referee: Noel Kenny
  • D.C. United advance 2–1, to MLS Cup

Western Conference

Game 1
Los Angeles Galaxy0–1Chicago Fire
Report
Attendance: 25,107
Referee: Kevin Terry
  • Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to MLS Cup

MLS Cup

Chicago Fire2–0D.C. United
 Report
Attendance: 51,350
Referee: Kevin Terry

Player statistics

Goals

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Trinidad and Tobago Stern John Tampa Bay Mutiny 26
2 United States Cobi Jones Los Angeles Galaxy 19
3 United States Roy Lassiter D.C. United 18
El Salvador Raúl Díaz Arce New England Revolution
5 Brazil Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy 17
6 Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United 16
7 Venezuela Giovanni Savarese MetroStars 14
8 Jamaica Wolde Harris Colorado Rapids 13
El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy
El Salvador Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash

Assists

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Ecuador Eduardo Hurtado MetroStars 14
2 United States Marco Etcheverry D.C. United 13
3 Poland Jerzy Podbrożny Chicago Fire 12
4 United States Joe-Max Moore New England Revolution 11
5 Uruguay Adrián Paz Colorado Rapids 10
6 El Salvador Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash 9
England Paul Dougherty MetroStars
United States Cobi Jones Los Angeles Galaxy
9 10 players 8

Clean Sheets

Rank Player Club Clean
Sheets
1 United States Zach Thornton Chicago Fire 8
2 United States Scott Garlick D.C. United 7
United States Kevin Hartman Los Angeles Galaxy
4 United States Mark Dodd Dallas Burn 6
5 United States Mike Ammann Kansas City Wizards 5
United States Ian Feuer New England Revolution
United States David Kramer San Jose Clash
8 United States Marcus Hahnemann Colorado Rapids 4
United States Tony Meola MetroStars
United States Juergen Sommer Columbus Crew

Awards

Individual awards

AwardPlayerTeam
Most Valuable PlayerBolivia Marco EtcheverryD.C. United
Defender of the YearCzech Republic Luboš KubíkChicago Fire
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Zach ThorntonChicago Fire
Coach of the YearUnited States Bob BradleyChicago Fire
Rookie of the YearUnited States Ben OlsenD.C. United
Scoring ChampionTrinidad and Tobago Stern JohnColumbus Crew
Goal of the YearUnited States Brian McBrideColumbus Crew
Fair Play AwardUnited States Thomas DooleyColumbus Crew

Best XI

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
United States Zach Thornton, Chicago United States Thomas Dooley, Columbus
United States Robin Fraser, LA Galaxy
Czech Republic Luboš Kubík, Chicago
United States Eddie Pope, D.C. United		 United States Chris Armas, Chicago
El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos, LA Galaxy
Bolivia Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
Poland Piotr Nowak, Chicago		 Trinidad and Tobago Stern John, Columbus
United States Cobi Jones, LA Galaxy

Weekly awards

Monthly awards

Attendance

Rank Team GP Cumulative High Low Mean
1Los Angeles Galaxy16348,54953,6559,11321,784
2New England Revolution16307,00435,46213,07419,188
3Chicago Fire16286,19037,1227,59817,887
4MetroStars16264,31656,4048,82616,520
5D.C. United16256,12723,6319,75516,008
6Colorado Rapids16236,99546,7225,48514,812
7San Jose Clash16218,45022,6949,10213,653
8Columbus Crew16196,39415,6289,16612,275
9Dallas Burn16175,16215,2809,19711,769
10Tampa Bay Mutiny16164,99922,7044,47310,312
11Miami Fusion16164,54820,4506,12710,284
12Kansas City Wizards16129,16313,1464,1308,073
Total1922,747,89756,4044,13014,312

References

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