2004 Major League Soccer season
9th season of Major League Soccer
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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.
| Season | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| MLS Cup | D.C. United (4th title) |
| Supporters' Shield | Columbus Crew (1st shield) |
| 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup | D.C. United Kansas City Wizards |
| Matches | 150 |
| Goals | 392 (2.61 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Brian Ching San Jose Earthquakes Goals: 12 Eddie Johnson Dallas Burn Goals: 12 |
| Biggest home win | NE 6–1 COL |
| Biggest away win | LA 0–3 NY DAL 0–3 NE CHI 0–3 COL |
| Highest scoring | SJ 5–5 NY |
| Longest winning run | Columbus Crew Games: 4 (05/15 – 06/06) Columbus Crew Games: 4 (09/04 – 09/25) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Columbus Crew Games: 18 (07/03/2004) |
| Longest losing run | Dallas Burn Games: 4 (05/08 – 05/29) |
| Highest attendance | Los Angeles Galaxy Season: 357,137 Game Avg.: 23,809 |
| Lowest attendance | Dallas Burn Season: 136,319 Game Avg.: 9,088 |
| Total attendance | 2,333,797 |
| Average attendance | 15,559 |
← 2003 2005 → | |
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
| 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
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Galaxy |  Sigi Schmid |
Fired | August 16, 2004 | 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 |
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 |
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 |
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
| New England Revolution | 1–1 | Columbus Crew |
|---|---|---|
Twellman  81' |
Report | Buddle 90+2' |
New England Revolution advance 2–1 on aggregate.
| D.C. United | 2–0 | MetroStars |
|---|---|---|
| Stewart 67' Eskandarian 88' |
Report |
| MetroStars | 0–2 | D.C. United |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Moreno 85' Namoff 89' |
D.C. United advance 4–0 on aggregate.
| San Jose Earthquakes | 0–3 | Kansas City Wizards |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Stephenson 26' Ching  48' (o.g.) Jewsbury 90+2' |
Kansas City Wizards advance 3–2 on aggregate.
| Colorado Rapids | 0–2 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ruiz 30' Marshall 45+3' |
Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–1 on aggregate.
Conference finals
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 0–2 | Kansas City Wizards |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Arnaud 24', 68' |
D.C. United advance 4–3 on penalties (3–3 after full time).
MLS Cup
| Kansas City Wizards | 2–3 | D.C. United |
|---|---|---|
| Burciaga Jr. 6' Wolff 58' (pen.) |
Report | Eskandarian 19' 23' Zotinca 26' (o.g.)Kovalenko  57' |
Player statistics
Goals
Assists
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Busch |
Columbus Crew | 10 |
| Joe Cannon |
Colorado Rapids | ||
| 3 | Kevin Hartman |
Los Angeles Galaxy | 7 |
| Tony Meola |
Kansas City Wizards | ||
| Henry Ring |
Chicago Fire | ||
| 6 |  Pat Onstad |
San Jose Earthquakes | 6 |
| 7 | Bo Oshoniyi |
Kansas City Wizards | 5 |
| Jonny Walker |
MetroStars | ||
| 9 | Jeff Cassar |
Dallas Burn | 4 |
| Scott Garlick |
Dallas Burn | ||
| Nick Rimando |
D.C. United | ||
Awards
Individual awards
Best XI
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Cannon, Colorado |
Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Robin Fraser, Columbus Ryan Nelsen, D.C. United Eddie Pope, MetroStars |
Eddie Gaven, MetroStars Amado Guevara, MetroStars Ronnie O'Brien, Dallas Kerry Zavagnin, Kansas City |
Brian Ching, San Jose 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 |