MLS Cup 2002

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MLS Cup 2002
EventMLS Cup
Los Angeles Galaxy
 New England Revolution
1 0
After
extra time
DateOctober 20, 2002
VenueGillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, US
Man of the MatchCarlos Ruiz
(Los Angeles Galaxy)
RefereeKevin Terry
Attendance61,316
WeatherSunny, 56 °F (13 °C)
← 2001
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MLS Cup 2002 was the seventh edition of the

Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the 2002 season
. The Revolution, who were named hosts before the season, were playing in their first MLS Cup; Los Angeles had lost in all three of their previous cup appearances.

Los Angeles won their first championship 1–0 in the second overtime on a sudden-death goal scored by Carlos Ruiz. The match was attended by 61,316 spectators, the largest figure for any MLS Cup until 2018. It was also the last MLS final to end with a golden goal.

Venue

Gillette Stadium, host of MLS Cup 2002

1997.[7][8] The stadium's capacity was restricted to 60,000 seats, excluding the box and club seats, and the field itself measured 75 by 106 yards (69 m × 97 m), wider than the configuration used in 1999 at Foxboro Stadium.[9]

Road to the final

Main article: 2002 Major League Soccer season

The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league based in the United States. The 2002 season was the seventh in the league's history and was contested by ten teams in two conferences following the folding of two teams in Florida and the reorganization of the Central Division.[10][11] Each team played a total of 28 matches in the regular season, which ran from March to September, facing teams within their conference four times and outside of their conference two times.[12] The playoffs ran from late September to October and was contested by the top eight teams overall, with the top two teams in each conference given a higher seed regardless of overall standing.[13] The playoffs were organized into three rounds, the first two being a home-and-away series organized into a best-of-three format with the first team to earn five points advancing, and the single-match MLS Cup final.[14]

MLS Cup 2002 was contested by the

2001 U.S. Open Cup Final, where Los Angeles won 2–1 in overtime.[18]

Los Angeles Galaxy

The Los Angeles Galaxy had qualified for the playoffs in each of the league's previous six seasons and were runners-up at the MLS Cup on three previous occasions: losing to

CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the team were compared to the NFL's Buffalo Bills, who were runners-up at the Super Bowl several times in the 1990s.[15][19] Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz, who was acquired in the offseason, scored 24 goals in his first season with the Galaxy and was named the league's most valuable player (MVP).[20] The Galaxy finished as Supporters' Shield champions with 51 points, while the remaining Western Conference teams all qualified for the playoffs.[13][16] Veteran forward Cobi Jones ranked second in goals scored for the Galaxy, behind Ruiz, and enjoyed a comeback season alongside defender and U.S. compatriot Alexi Lalas.[17]

In the Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles faced the bottom-seeded

INVESCO Field in Denver, bringing the Galaxy to their fourth MLS Cup final.[24][25]

New England Revolution

New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman, who led the team in scoring

The Revolution failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2001,

Allocation Draft following the contraction of the two clubs, including league MVP Alex Pineda Chacón, forward Mamadou Diallo, midfielder Steve Ralston, and defender Carlos Llamosa.[30] New England also drafted forward Taylor Twellman in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft following a successful college career and a return from TSV 1860 Munich.[31]

Head coach

coach of the year award.[15][32] New England finished the season with a six-match unbeaten streak and a total record of 12 wins, 14 losses, and two draws, scoring a league-high 49 goals.[32][33] The team narrowly qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season, with all three qualifiers from the Eastern Conference within one point of each other.[7][15]

New England played the seventh-seeded

1997, which also held the attendance record.[17] Despite a sprain in his right knee after the last match of the Conference Final, Twellman recovered in time for the cup final.[40]

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 requiring five points to advance and sudden death
extra time as a tiebreaker.
Los Angeles Galaxy
 Round New England Revolution
1st place in Western Conference
 
Pos. Club Pld. W L D Pts.
1
Los Angeles Galaxy (SS
)		 28 16 9 3 51
2 San Jose Earthquakes 28 14 11 3 45
3
Dallas Burn
 28 12 9 7 43
4 Colorado Rapids 28 13 11 4 43
5
Kansas City Wizards
 28 9 10 9 36

Source: MLS

     Qualified for playoffs
     Supporters' Shield winner

Regular season 1st place in Eastern Conference
 
Pos. Club Pld. W L D Pts.
1 New England Revolution 28 12 14 2 38
2
Columbus Crew
 28 11 12 5 38
3
Chicago Fire
 28 11 13 4 37
4
MetroStars
 28 11 15 2 35
5 D.C. United 28 9 14 5 32

Source: MLS

     Qualified for playoffs

Opponent
(Pts.) 		1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
MLS Cup Playoffs
 Opponent
(Pts.) 		1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
Kansas City Wizards
(6–3) 		3–2 (
a.e.t.
) (H) 		1–4 (A) 5–2 (H) Conference Semifinals
Chicago Fire
(6–3) 		2–0 (H) 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H)
Colorado Rapids (6–0) 4–0 (H) 1–0 (A) — Conference Finals
Columbus Crew
(5–2) 		0–0 (H) 1–0 (A) 2–2 (H)

Broadcasting

The MLS Cup final was televised in the United States on ABC in English and Spanish using secondary audio programming. English play-by-play commentary was provided by JP Dellacamera with color analysis by Ty Keough; the pregame and half-time shows were hosted by Terry Gannon and Eric Wynalda, reprising their roles from ABC's coverage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[41][42] The Spanish broadcast was handled by play-by-play commentator Ernesto Motta and color analyst Andres Rodriguez.[43] The ABC broadcast was watched by an estimated audience of 1.2 million views, the lowest for an MLS Cup at the time.[44]

Match

Summary

Forward Carlos Ruiz, whose golden goal won the MLS Cup for the Los Angeles Galaxy

The 2002 final was referred by Kevin Terry, who previously officiated the 1998 final. In the event of a draw after regulation time, the match would be decided by two 15-minute overtime periods with the golden goals followed by a penalty shootout if necessary.[9][45] At kickoff, set for 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the weather in Foxborough was sunny with a temperature of 56 °F (13 °C).[46]

Los Angeles kicked off the match and had most of the chances in the scoreless first half while preventing the Revolution from making a single shot on goal.

yellow card in the 24th minute for a challenge on Cobi Jones, one of several that the two captains traded.[48]

The second half began with a series of hard challenges by players on both teams to win possession of the ball, which was sent down the flanks by the Galaxy's Cobi Jones and the Revolution's

stoppage time was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, his first of the match, and the MLS Cup final was sent into overtime.[48]

The Galaxy took control of the match during overtime, with an early chance in the 93rd minute missed by Jones. A

Winston Griffiths in the 111th minute was deflected and hit the crossbar, preventing the game-winning goal.[48] The Galaxy cleared the deflected ball and followed two minutes later with a diagonal cross by defender Tyrone Marshall that found Ruiz, who hit a left-footed that shot past Brown and went into the net.[52] The MLS Cup final, the longest match in MLS Cup history, ended after 113 minutes with Ruiz's golden goal.[47][49] Ruiz was named the MLS Cup most valuable player for his winning goal.[46]

Details

13:30 EDT
Los Angeles Galaxy
1–0 (2OT)New England Revolution
Ruiz gold-colored soccer ball 113' Report
Attendance: 61,316
Referee: Kevin Terry
GK 22 United States Kevin Hartman
DF 23 United States Danny Califf
DF 30 United States Alexi Lalas
DF 14 Jamaica Tyrone Marshall
MF 17 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ezra Hendrickson
MF 13 United States Cobi Jones (c)
MF 12 New Zealand Simon Elliott Yellow card 95'
MF 10 El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos downward-facing red arrow 62'
MF 11 United States Sasha Victorine
FW 20 Guatemala Carlos Ruiz
FW 10 Venezuela Alejandro Moreno downward-facing red arrow 67'
Substitutes:
MF 8 United States Peter Vagenas upward-facing green arrow 62'
FW 5 United States Chris Albright upward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
United States Sigi Schmid
GK 24 United States Adin Brown
DF 6 United States Jay Heaps
DF 18 United States Carlos Llamosa Yellow card 60' downward-facing red arrow 90+2'
DF 12 Mali Daouda Kanté
DF 8 United States Joe Franchino (c) Yellow card 24'
MF 14 United States Steve Ralston
MF 2 United States Leo Cullen
MF 7 United States Daniel Hernández
MF 5 United States Brian Kamler downward-facing red arrow 90'
FW 13 Jamaica Wolde Harris downward-facing red arrow 75'
FW 20 United States Taylor Twellman
Substitutes:
DF 19 United States Rusty Pierce upward-facing green arrow 90+2'
MF 10 Honduras Alex Pineda Chacón upward-facing green arrow 75'
MF 25
Winston Griffiths
 upward-facing green arrow 90'
Manager:
Scotland Steve Nicol

MLS Cup Most Valuable Player:
Guatemala Carlos Ruiz (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Assistant referees:[53]
United States Greg Barkey
United States Richard Eddy
Fourth official:
United States Michael Kennedy

Match rules[45]

Post-match

The match was the first in MLS Cup history to have a scoreless half and remain scoreless at the end of regulation time.

extra time period in 2004.[54][55] The match was attended by 61,316 spectators, a figure that remains among the highest in MLS playoff history and set a record for an MLS Cup final that was later surpassed in 2018 by Atlanta.[56][57][58]

The Galaxy finished their 2002 season with a loss to the Columbus Crew in the 2002 U.S. Open Cup four days later in Columbus, Ohio.[59] Both teams qualified for the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, where the Revolution would be eliminated in the first round and the Galaxy would lose in the quarterfinals.[60][61]

The Galaxy and Revolution met again in the

Houston Dynamo and in 2014 to the Galaxy, who would claim their fifth title.[63] Due to their finishes as MLS Cup runners-up, the Revolution are known as the "Buffalo Bills of MLS", mirroring the football team's second-place finishes at the Super Bowl in the 1990s.[64]

References

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