MLS Cup 1996
Event | MLS Cup | ||||||
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After Esse Baharmast[1] | |||||||
Attendance | 34,643[1] | ||||||
Weather | Rain, 54 °F (12 °C) | ||||||
MLS Cup 1996 was the inaugural edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level soccer league of the United States. Hosted at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on October 20, 1996, it was contested by D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the 1996 season.
Both finalists finished in the top two spots of their respective conferences, with D.C. placing second in the East and Los Angeles atop the West. The two teams also had identical win–loss records in the first two rounds of the playoffs, losing the opening match of the Conference Semifinals and winning the remaining four matches of both rounds. The final match was played in heavy rain due to the proximity of Hurricane Lili, which also inundated the field. The MLS Cup had an attendance of 34,643 spectators, falling short of the 42,000 people who paid for tickets, and included a large contingent of traveling D.C. supporters.
The match ended in a 3–2 victory for D.C. United, with a golden goal scored by Eddie Pope in overtime that followed a second-half comeback for the team. Los Angeles had taken a 2–0 lead in the 56th minute on goals by Eduardo Hurtado and Chris Armas, but conceded two goals to D.C. in the second half to force overtime. Marco Etcheverry assisted both goals, which began as free kicks that were headed into the goal by substitutes Tony Sanneh and Shawn Medved. Etcheverry went on to take the corner kick that led to Pope's goal and was named the man of the match. The finalists also earned a berth in the 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup and met in the semifinals, which ended in a victory for the Galaxy.
Venue
Foxboro Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts, was announced as the venue of the inaugural MLS Cup during a league press conference on August 29, 1996. The other finalist, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., was instead given hosting priority for the 1997 edition.[2] The 58,098-seat stadium was the home venue of the New England Revolution and the New England Patriots of the National Football League.[3] The league had planned to limit capacity to 33,000 seats for the championship, but canceled those plans as ticket sales reached more than 40,000 in the days prior to the cup.[4]
Road to the final
The inaugural MLS season was delayed to 1996 and consisted of ten teams organized into two conferences, divided between east and west.[10] Each team played 32 matches in the regular season, which ran from April to September, facing opponents from the same conference four times and outside of their conference three to four times.[2][11] The top four teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs, which were organized into three rounds and played from late September to October. The first two rounds, named the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, were home-and-away series organized into a best-of-three format with a hosting advantage for the higher seed. The winners of the Conference Finals advanced to the single-match MLS Cup final, which would be held at a predetermined neutral venue.[12][13]
MLS Cup 1996 was contested by
D.C. United
Washington, D.C., was awarded an MLS franchise on June 15, 1994, which would play at
D.C. United played in the
The team remained in second place behind Tampa Bay for much of July and August, with a losing record, but was the fourth-highest scoring team in the league.[29][30] The points gap between the two teams had increased to eleven at the beginning of August, but was reduced to five after D.C. United defeated the Mutiny three times.[31][32] D.C. won four straight matches in late August and clinched a playoff berth, but still fell short of home-field advantage in the playoffs.[33] The team finished the season with two more wins and two losses, retaining its second-place spot with a 16–16 record.[34][35]
In the first round of the playoffs, D.C. played the third-place
United faced the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the regular season champions with a home advantage, in the Eastern Conference Final, which was rescheduled due to stadium conflicts for both teams.[41][42] D.C. hosted the first leg and took advantage of Tampa's missing defender Frank Yallop to win 4–1 after being tied 1–1 at halftime. Díaz Arce scored a hat-trick, while Rammel scored the winning goal with a header in the 54th minute.[43] D.C. United went on to win 2–1 in the second leg hosted by Tampa Bay, with goals by Richie Williams and Díaz Arce in the second half to clinch an MLS Cup appearance.[44]
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles was one of the original seven franchises awarded by MLS in 1994, and was owned by a group of investors led by banker Marc Rapaport.[45] Former U.S. national team manager Lothar Osiander was hired as the first head coach of the Los Angeles franchise, which was named the Los Angeles Galaxy.[46] The Galaxy had already acquired Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos, the league's first major international signing, and were also allocated American defender Dan Calichman, Salvadorian midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos, and Ecuadorian striker Eduardo Hurtado.[47][48] Osiander selected several experienced national team members in the general draft, including defenders Robin Fraser and Curt Onalfo, and midfielder Jorge Salcedo.[48] The team also filled its roster by adding midfielders Greg Vanney and Chris Armas and forwards Guillermo Jara and Ante Razov from the collegiate and supplemental drafts in early March.[49] National team winger Cobi Jones also signed with the Galaxy as a marquee player and left the team with 23 players on its roster, which was cut to 18 to fall under league regulations.[50][51]
The Galaxy debuted to a crowd of 69,255 spectators at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and defeated the MetroStars 2–1.[52][53] The team quickly took first place in the Western Conference by winning its first twelve matches, including the first eight without a shootout.[54][55] The Galaxy led the league with 2.4 goals per game and 1.0 goals against average, with Eduardo Hurtado leading eleven goalscorers with seven goals.[56] The winning streak was broken by the last-place Colorado Rapids on June 30, beginning a four-match losing streak that lasted through July and caused tension between the players and coaching staff.[57][58]
Los Angeles alternated between wins and losses in early August before beginning a five-match losing streak that saw them fall to second place in the Western Conference behind the
The Galaxy faced the fourth-place San Jose Clash in the Conference Semifinals, who they won all four regular season matches against.
The Western Conference Final was played between the Galaxy and the third-seeded Kansas City Wiz, who had defeated the second-place Dallas Burn.[72] Los Angeles hosted the first leg and won 2–1 with a volleyed goal by Chris Armas in the 48th minute and a 25-yard (23 m) shot by Greg Vanney in the 57th minute; Kansas City had responded to the first goal with an equalizer by Preki in the 52nd minute after a run through the Galaxy defense, but were unable to find a second goal.[73][74] Preki opened the scoring in the 69th minute of the second leg with a penalty kick after being fouled in the box by Vanney, who went on to tie the match in the 77th minute after finishing a cross from Cienfuegos. The second leg remained tied after regulation time and overtime, with several disallowed goals called against Kansas City, and was decided in a penalty shootout from 35 yards (32 m).[75] The shootout was won 3–1 by the Galaxy, with the winning shot by Robin Fraser in the fifth round, and the team advanced to the MLS Cup final.[76][77]
Summary of results
- Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Playoffs were in best-of-three format with penalty shootout(SO) if scores were tied.
D.C. United | Round | Los Angeles Galaxy
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2nd place in Eastern Conference
Source: MLS Qualified for playoffs |
Regular season | 1st place in Western Conference
Source: MLS Qualified for playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opponent | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg | MLS Cup Playoffs
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Opponent | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NY/NJ MetroStars (2–1)
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2–2 (5–6 SO) (A) | 1–0 (H) | 2–1 (H) | Conference Semifinals | San Jose Clash (2–1)
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0–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Mutiny (2–0) | 4–1 (H) | 2–1 (A) | — | Conference Finals | Kansas City Wiz (2–0)
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2–1 (H) | 1–1 (3–1 SO) (A) | — |
Broadcasting
The inaugural MLS Cup final was broadcast in the United States on
Match
Summary
A nor'easter swept through New England following Hurricane Lili, bringing winds gusting at 30 to 50 miles per hour (48 to 80 km/h) and a rainstorm that inundated the field ahead of the match, which weighed down the tarp covering the field and created several shallow puddles.[82][83] The weather caused league officials to consider cancellation or postponement of the MLS Cup final, but the lack of lightning allowed the match to continue as planned, kicking off with a temperature of 54 °F (12 °C).[84][85] The storm also caused the cancellation of Major League Baseball's World Series opening game, which was being played on the same night in New York City.[86] A total of 42,368 tickets were sold before the match, but only 34,643 spectators were counted in attendance,[35][86] including approximately 5,000 to 7,000 United fans and supporters' group members who traveled from Washington, D.C.[84][87] The match also attracted international attention, resulting in an overfilled press box that was cleared out by the fire marshal for a potential capacity code violation.[88]
Both teams fielded most of their regular players, with the exception of Los Angeles captain Dan Calichman, who was suspended for yellow card accumulation during the playoffs.[89] The Galaxy kicked off the match and had early control of possession, which they leveraged into several attacking chances. The opening goal of the final was scored in the fifth minute by Eduardo Hurtado, who headed a cross from Mauricio Cienfuegos on the right wing.[84] Hurtado celebrated by sliding stomach-first with his teammates onto the waterlogged pitch.[90] D.C. gained more possession of the ball during the remainder of the first half while looking for an equalizing goal, while Los Angeles switched to counter-attacking plays. Several shots towards goal from United, including a chance for Richie Williams in the 11th minute, missed the target or were saved by Jorge Campos.[84][88]
The Galaxy continued to have the most scoring chances early in the second half and took a 2–0 lead in the 56th minute as Chris Armas dribbled past four defenders to make a left-footed shot from 16 yards (15 m).[84][91] Weather conditions worsened as the match went on, with passes and other balls stopped by the water-logged field and higher winds.[28] D.C. United coach Bruce Arena brought on two midfielders, Tony Sanneh and Shawn Medved, midway through the second half who helped shift momentum in the team's favor.[84] Sanneh scored D.C.'s first goal in the 73rd minute, heading in a free kick that was won by Jaime Moreno and taken by Marco Etcheverry from 40 yards (37 m).[28] Los Angeles coach Lothar Osiander responded by sending on two of his own substitutes, forward Ante Razov and defender Curt Onalfo, but the team was unable to extend its lead after Cobi Jones hit the crossbar with a chipped shot in the 78th minute.[92]
Moreno won a second free kick near the penalty area in the 81st minute, setting up another shot taken by Etcheverry. Jorge Campos saved the free kick with a punch and a follow-up shot by Medved, but was unable to keep the rebound from Medved, who scored the tying goal from 8 yards (24 ft).
Details
D.C. United
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Los Angeles Galaxy
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MLS Cup Most Valuable Player:
Assistant referees:[1]
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Match rules
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Post-match
The match was called "a great exclamation point on an incredible season" by league commissioner
D.C. and Los Angeles qualified as the U.S. representatives for the
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{{cite news}}
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