2003 Major League Soccer season
8th season of Major League Soccer
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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.
| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| MLS Cup | San Jose Earthquakes (2nd title) |
| Supporters' Shield | Chicago Fire (1st shield) |
| 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup | San Jose Earthquakes Chicago Fire |
| Matches | 150 |
| Goals | 433 (2.89 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy Goals: 15 Taylor Twellman N.E. Revolution Goals: 15 |
| Biggest home win | CHI 4–0 COL CLB 6–2 CHI |
| Biggest away win | SJ 1–4 CHI DAL 0–3 SJ |
| Highest scoring | NY 4–4 SJ CLB 6–2 CHI |
| Longest winning run | Colorado Rapids Games: 5 (07/04 – 08/09) MetroStars Games: 5 (04/26 – 05/24) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Chicago Fire Games: 7 (07/19 – 08/24) Colorado Rapids Games: 7 (08/16 – 10/01) |
| Longest losing run | Colorado Rapids Games: 4 (05/03 – 05/25) Dallas Burn Games: 4 (07/19 -08/13) |
| Highest attendance | Los Angeles Galaxy Season: 329,752 Game Avg.: 21,983 |
| Lowest attendance | Dallas Burn Season: 118,585 Game Avg.: 7,906 |
| Total attendance | 2,234,747 |
| Average attendance | 14,898 |
← 2002 2004 → | |
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
| 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
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Burn |  Mike Jeffries |
Fired | September 15, 2003 |  Colin Clarke |
September 15, 2003 |
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | |
| 3 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | |
| 4 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 |
Western Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 42 | |
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 40 | |
| 4 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 5 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 23 |
Overall standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire (S) | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 2 | San Jose Earthquakes (C) | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 42 | |
| 5 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | |
| 6 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 40 | |
| 7 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 | |
| 9 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 10 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 23 |
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 | Chicago (wins 4–0 agg.) | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||
| E3 | New England | 0 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | New England (wins 3–1 agg.) | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | MetroStars | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose (wins 5–4 agg.) | 0 | 5* | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Los Angeles | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City | 2 | |||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City (wins 3–1 agg.) | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Colorado | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Conference semifinals
| Chicago Fire | 2–0 | D.C. United |
|---|---|---|
Williams  4' Razov 94' |
| D.C. United | 0–2 | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph 17' Razov 55' |
Chicago Fire won 4–0 on aggregate.
| New England Revolution | 2–0 | MetroStars |
|---|---|---|
| Fabbro 17' Noonan 65' |
| MetroStars | 1–1 | New England Revolution |
|---|---|---|
| Guevara 45' (pen.) |
Noonan 21' |
New England Revolution won 3–1 on aggregate.
Western Conference semifinals
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–5 (a.e.t.) | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Ruiz 7' Vagenas 13' |
Agoos 21' Donovan 35'Walker 50'Roner 90'Faria  96' |
San Jose Earthquakes won 5–4 on aggregate after golden goal extra time.
| Kansas City Wizards | 1–1 | Colorado Rapids |
|---|---|---|
| Harris 3' |
Borchers 53' |
Kansas City Wizards won 3–1 on aggregate.
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
| New England Revolution | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Armas 101' |
Western Conference
| Kansas City Wizards | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Simutenkov 57' Klein 72' |
Lagos 61' Mullan 83'Donovan 117' |
MLS Cup
| Chicago Fire | 2–4 | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Beasley 49' Roner 54' (o.g.) |
Ekelund 5' Donovan 38', 71'Mulrooney 50' |
Player statistics
Goals
Assists
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Garlick |
Colorado Rapids | 9 |
 Pat Onstad |
San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| 3 | Zach Thornton |
Chicago Fire | 8 |
| 4 | Nick Rimando |
D.C. United | 7 |
| 5 | Adin Brown |
New England Revolution | 4 |
| Jon Busch |
Columbus Crew | ||
| Kevin Hartman |
LA Galaxy | ||
| Tony Meola |
Kansas City Wizards | ||
| Jonny Walker |
MetroStars | ||
| 10 | D.J. Countess |
Dallas Burn | 3 |
| Tim Howard |
MetroStars | ||
Awards
Individual awards
Best XI
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Howard, MetroStars |
Wade Barrett, San Jose Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Alexi Lalas, LA Galaxy |
Mark Chung, Colorado  Ronnie Ekelund, San Jose Óscar Pareja, Dallas Steve Ralston, New England |
Jeff Cunningham, Columbus Carlos Ruiz, LA Galaxy Taylor Twellman, New England |
Attendance
| Club | Games | Season | Game Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 15 | 329,752 | 21,983 |
| Colorado Rapids | 15 | 251,578 | 16,772 |
| Columbus Crew | 15 | 243,756 | 16,250 |
| MetroStars | 15 | 237,326 | 15,822 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 15 | 233,594 | 15,573 |
| D.C. United | 15 | 233,476 | 15,565 |
| New England Revolution | 15 | 219,611 | 14,641 |
| Chicago Fire | 15 | 210,080 | 14,005 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 15 | 156,989 | 10,466 |
| Dallas Burn | 15 | 118,585 | 7,906 |
| Totals | 150 | 2,234,747 | 14,898 |