MLS Cup 2003

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MLS Cup 2003
EventMLS Cup
DateNovember 23, 2003
Venue
Home Depot Center, Carson, California, US
Man of the MatchLandon Donovan
(San Jose Earthquakes)
RefereeBrian Hall
Attendance27,000
WeatherSunny, 71 °F (22 °C)
2002

MLS Cup 2003 was the eighth edition of the

Chicago Fire and the San Jose Earthquakes to decide the champion of the 2003 season
. Both teams had previously won the MLS Cup and were looking for their second championship.

San Jose defeated Chicago 4–2, clinching their second championship in three years;

penalty kick
awarded in a final. It was also the highest-scoring final, with six goals in total.

Venue

Los Angeles Galaxy

The under construction

The 2003 edition was the second MLS Cup to be hosted in the Los Angeles area, following the

StubHub Center, would go on to host the MLS Cup in 2012 and 2014.[9]

Road to the final

The

penalty shootout if necessary; a single-match Conference Final; and the MLS Cup final.[12][13]

MLS Cup 2003 was contested by the

Chicago Fire

The Chicago Fire entered as one of the league's first two

Kansas City Wizards, and won the 2000 U.S. Open Cup.[19] The team finished the 2002 season as the third-placed seed in the Eastern Conference, its worst-ever performance,[20] and were eliminated by the New England Revolution in the Conference Semifinals.[21] The Fire had moved to Cardinal Stadium, a college venue in Naperville, Illinois, for the 2002 and 2003 seasons while Soldier Field was renovated.[22]

MLS Coach of the Year prior to the MLS Cup final, where a win would clinch a treble for the first time in American soccer history.[20][24]

Chicago entered the playoffs as top seed and faced

overtime, where captain Chris Armas scored the golden goal in the 101st minute.[26] The Fire became the first team to reach an MLS Cup final without conceding a goal in the playoffs, earning three straight shutouts.[27]

San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes (originally the

Columbus Crew in the Conference Semifinals.[29][32]

The Earthquakes acquired several rookie players in the 2003 SuperDraft, including midfielder Todd Dunivant, forward Jamil Walker, and goalkeeper Josh Saunders, capping a busy off-season that saw the departure of several veteran players. San Jose began the season with a six-match unbeaten streak and continued to stay atop the Western Conference standings despite injuries to several key players and absences due to national team call-ups.[33] The team held on to finish second overall behind the Chicago Fire with 51 points, with Landon Donovan leading the team's scoring with 12 goals and Pat Onstad setting new goalkeeping records for the club.[29][34]

San Jose were paired with rivals Los Angeles in the Conference Semifinals and lost the away leg 2–0, conceding goals to

Kansas City Wizards on November 15, San Jose conceded the first goal and rallied to equalize before trailing 2–1. Earthquakes midfielder Brian Mullan then equalized again and sent the match to overtime, where Landon Donovan scored a golden goal in the 117th minute.[40]

Summary of results

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
Chicago Fire
Round San Jose Earthquakes
1st place in Eastern Conference
 
Pos. Club Pld. W L D Pts.
1
Chicago Fire (SS
)
30 15 7 8 53
2 New England Revolution 30 12 9 9 45
3
MetroStars
30 11 10 9 42
4 D.C. United 30 10 11 9 39
5
Columbus Crew
30 10 12 8 38

Source: MLS

     Qualified for playoffs
     Supporters' Shield winner

Regular season 1st place in Western Conference
 
Pos. Club Pld. W L D Pts.
1 San Jose Earthquakes 30 14 7 9 51
2
Kansas City Wizards
30 11 10 9 42
3 Colorado Rapids 30 11 12 7 40
4
Los Angeles Galaxy
30 9 12 9 36
5
Dallas Burn
30 6 19 5 23

Source: MLS

     Qualified for playoffs

Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
MLS Cup Playoffs
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
D.C. United 4–0 2–0 (A) 2–0 (H) Conference Semifinals
Los Angeles Galaxy
5–4 0–2 (A) 5–2 (
a.e.t.
) (H)
New England Revolution 1–0 (H) Conference Final
Kansas City Wizards
3–2 (H)

Broadcasting and entertainment

The MLS Cup final was televised in the United States on

Nielsen rating of 0.6, the lowest figure recorded for an MLS Cup.[42]

The match's half-time show featured singer Michelle Branch, who performed her hit single "Breathe".[43][44]

Match

Summary

San Jose forward Landon Donovan scored two goals and was named match MVP at MLS Cup 2003

Referee of the Year Brian Hall was chosen to officiate the match and was previously the head referee at MLS Cup 1997.[27] At kickoff, set for 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time, the weather in Carson was sunny with a temperature of 71 °F (22 °C).[45] Both teams fielded their regular lineups arranged in a 4–4–2 formation.[46]

The Earthquakes kicked off the match and made a series of attacks that won them a

free kick outside of the penalty box. After a faked shot by Jeff Agoos, Danish midfielder Ronnie Ekelund drove the ball past the defensive wall and scored the first goal of the final, tying the record for fastest MLS Cup goal.[47] Chicago had the majority of possession and chances in the first half, including two shots that were missed by striker Ante Razov and a poor touch by Damani Ralph, but eventually conceded a second goal to San Jose.[48][49] An Earthquakes counter-attack in the 38th minute sprung Jamil Walker, who sent a through-pass to Landon Donovan, who sprinted pass several defenders and shot the ball past goalkeeper Zach Thornton.[50]

The second half opened with a sequence of three goals by both teams within five minutes, beginning with a short pass by

penalty kick to the Earthquakes two minutes later after a tackle from behind on Damani Ralph in the penalty area.[48] Ante Razov took the penalty kick, the first in MLS Cup history,[49] but it was saved by goalkeeper Pat Onstad with a dive to his right side to catch the ball.[52]

Razov attempted to score an equalizing goal in the 58th minute, taking a shot in front of Onstad that grazed the corner of the net. San Jose forward Jamil Walker suffered an injury and was replaced in the 60th minute by

stoppage time, a cross by Nate Jaqua that he headed wide in front of the goal.[48] Despite having fewer shots and corner kicks, the San Jose Earthquakes won the match 4–2 and earned their second championship in three years.[48]

Details

Chicago Fire
2–4San Jose Earthquakes
Report
(Archived)
Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Brian Hall
GK 18 United States Zach Thornton
DF 3 United States Evan Whitfield
DF 5 United States Jim Curtin downward-facing red arrow 81'
DF 4 United States Carlos Bocanegra
DF 20 United States Orlando Perez downward-facing red arrow 45'
MF 16 Jamaica Andy Williams downward-facing red arrow 70'
MF 15 United States Jesse Marsch
MF 14 United States Chris Armas (c)
MF 7 United States DaMarcus Beasley
FW 8 Jamaica Damani Ralph
FW 9 United States Ante Razov
Substitutes:
GK 1 United States Curtis Spiteri
DF 2 United States C. J. Brown
DF 6 United States Kelly Gray upward-facing green arrow 45'
DF 12 United States Logan Pause
MF 21 United States Justin Mapp upward-facing green arrow 70'
MF 22 Costa Rica Jonathan Bolaños
MF 24 United States Ryan Futagaki
FW 11 United States Nate Jaqua upward-facing green arrow 81'
FW 17 Botswana Dipsy Selolwane
Manager:
United States Dave Sarachan
GK 18 Canada Pat Onstad
DF 16 United States Craig Waibel Yellow card 15' downward-facing red arrow 51'
DF 19 United States Troy Dayak
DF 2 United States Eddie Robinson Yellow card 54'
DF 12 United States Jeff Agoos (c)
MF 9 United States Brian Mullan
MF 8 United States Richard Mulrooney
MF 6 Denmark Ronnie Ekelund
MF 11 United States Manny Lagos downward-facing red arrow 70'
FW 10 United States Landon Donovan
FW 13 United States Jamil Walker downward-facing red arrow 60'
Substitutes:
GK 1 United States Jon Conway
GK 30 United States Josh Saunders
DF 5 United States Ramiro Corrales
DF 17 United States Todd Dunivant
MF 7 United States Ian Russell upward-facing green arrow 70'
MF 4 United States Chris Roner upward-facing green arrow 51'
FW 14 Canada Dwayne De Rosario upward-facing green arrow 60'
FW 15 United States Roger Levesque
FW 22 Brazil Rodrigo Faria
Manager:
Canada Frank Yallop

MLS Cup Most Valuable Player:
United States Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes)

Assistant referees:
United States Craig Lowry
United States Darren Engers
Fourth official:
United States Noel Kenny

Match rules

Statistics

Statistics[49]
Chicago Fire San Jose
Earthquakes
Goals scored 2 4
Total shots 22 11
Shots on target 10 7
Saves 4 8
Corner kicks 13 3
Fouls committed 17 14
Offsides 4 3
Yellow cards 0 2
Red cards 0 0

Post-match

The San Jose Earthquakes became the second team in league history to win multiple MLS Cups, following

penalty kick.[49][51] The own goal and penalty kick were both caused by Earthquakes defender Chris Roner, who would undergo ankle surgery at the end of the season that ultimately led to the end of his playing career.[53] Landon Donovan became the first player to score multiple goals in an MLS Cup final and was named the match's most valuable player.[54] San Jose captain Jeff Agoos won his fifth MLS Cup, having played in six previous finals for the Earthquakes and D.C. United.[51]

San Jose qualified for the

Houston Dynamo, who would win back-to-back MLS Cups in their first two seasons before San Jose was reinstated in 2008.[58][59] The first domestic treble in MLS history was ultimately won in 2017 by Toronto FC.[60]

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