2002 Major League Soccer season

The 2002 Major League Soccer season was the seventh season of competition for Major League Soccer.

2002 Major League Soccer season

Season	2002
MLS Cup	Los Angeles Galaxy (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	Los Angeles Galaxy (2nd shield)
Matches played	140
Goals scored	421 (3.01 per match)
Top goalscorer	Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy Goals: 24
Highest attendance	Colorado Rapids Season: 289,663 Game Avg.: 20,690
Lowest attendance	San Jose Earthquakes Season: 156,104 Game Avg.: 11,150
Average attendance	MLS Season: 2,215,019 Game Avg.: 15,822
← 2001 2003 →

D.C.
United

MetroStars

Columbus Crew

New England Revolution

Chicago
Fire

Colorado Rapids

Dallas
Burn

Los Angeles Galaxy

Kansas City Wizards

San Jose Earthquakes

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Locations of teams for the 2002 Major League Soccer season
Western Conference   Eastern Conference

On January 8, 2002, MLS folded two of its teams. The Miami Fusion F.C. ceased operations after only four years in existence due to low attendance and an unfavorable stadium deal. The Tampa Bay Mutiny also ceased operations due to the lack of local ownership. MLS eliminated the Central Division and returned to its original two-conference alignment.

According to FC Dallas president Dan Hunt, the entire league nearly folded during the 2001 offseason.^[1] The owners agreed to shut down the league on a conference call in November 2001, but within two days Lamar Hunt convinced the other owners to give the league another year.

Standings

Conference

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
y – New England Revolution	28	12	14	2	49	49	0	38
x – Columbus Crew	28	11	12	5	44	43	+1	38
x – Chicago Fire	28	11	13	4	43	38	+5	37
MetroStars	28	11	15	2	41	47	–6	35
D.C. United	28	9	14	5	31	40	–9	32

Western Conference	GP*	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
s – Los Angeles Galaxy	28	16	9	3	44	33	+11	51
x – San Jose Earthquakes	28	14	11	3	45	35	+10	45
x – Dallas Burn	28	12	9	7	44	43	+1	43
x – Colorado Rapids	28	13	11	4	43	48	–5	43
x – Kansas City Wizards	28	9	10	9	37	45	–8	36

• Top eight teams with the highest points clinch play-off berth, regardless of conference.
  x = Playoff berth
  y = Conference Winner (Season)
  s = Supporters Shield/Conference winner (Season)
• New England Revolution wins first tiebreaker vs. Columbus Crew (head-to-head: 2-1-1)
  Dallas Burn wins first tiebreaker vs. Colorado Rapids (head-to-head: 2-1-1)

Overall

Pos	Club	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	Head-to-head
1	Los Angeles Galaxy (SS) (W1)	28	16	9	3	44	33	+11	51	2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup, 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup
2	San Jose Earthquakes	28	14	11	3	45	35	+10	45	2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup^1, 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup
3	Dallas Burn	28	12	9	7	44	43	+1	43	2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup	DAL: 7 pts COL: 4 pts
4	Colorado Rapids	28	13	11	4	43	48	–5	43
5	New England Revolution (E1)	28	12	14	2	49	49	0	38		NE: 7 pts CLB: 4 pts
6	Columbus Crew	28	11	12	5	44	43	+1	38
7	Chicago Fire	28	11	13	4	43	38	+5	37
8	Kansas City Wizards	28	9	10	9	37	45	-8	36
9	MetroStars^2	28	11	15	2	41	47	–6	35
10	D.C. United^2	28	9	14	5	31	40	–9	32

Source: MLSSoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head record; 3rd goal difference; 4th number of goals scored.
(SS) = MLS Supporters' Shield; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not yet to the particular round indicated; (E) = Eliminated from playoff-contention.

• ^Note 1 – Since Los Angeles Galaxy won MLS Cup 2002 and the Supporters' Shield, San Jose Earthquakes qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup by finishing as Supporters' Shield runners-up.
• ^Note 2 – Since MetroStars and D.C. United finished outside of the top eight in the league standings, they enter the U.S. Open Cup in the third round proper rather than fourth.

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals							Semifinals							MLS Cup 2002
	1	Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (6 Points)	3*	1	5
	8	Kansas City Wizards (3 Points)	2	4	2
								1	Los Angeles Galaxy (6 Points)	4	1	x
								5	Colorado Rapids (0 Points)	0	0	x
	4	Dallas Burn (4 Points)	4	0	1
	5	Colorado Rapids (SDET)** (4 Points)	2	1	1**
															1	Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)*	1
															2	New England Revolution	0
	2	New England Revolution (6 Points)	2	1	2
	7	Chicago Fire (3 Points)	0	2	0
								2	New England Revolution (5 Points)	0	1	2
								6	Columbus Crew (2 Points)	0	0	2
	3	San Jose Earthquakes (0 Points)	1	1	x
	6	Columbus Crew (6 Points)	2	2	x

• Points system
  Win = 3 Pts.
  Loss = 0 Pts.
  Draw = 1 Pt.
• ASDET*=Added Sudden Death Extra Time (Game tie breaker)
  SDET**=Sudden Death Extra Time (Series tie breaker)
  Teams will advance at 5 points.

Quarterfinals

September 25, 2002

Kansas City Wizards	2–3 (AET)	Los Angeles Galaxy
Preki   25' Brown   70'		Ruiz   62' (pen.)   99' Jones   85'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 14,585

September 28, 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–4	Kansas City Wizards
Albright   71'		Simutenkov   19' Quill   37' Preki   70' Fabbro   73'

Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 9,484

October 2, 2002

Kansas City Wizards	2–5	Los Angeles Galaxy
Klein   47' Preki   72'		Ruiz   34'   66' Jones   45'+,   62' Tennyson   90+3'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 14,713

• Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6-3 on points.

---

September 26, 2002

Chicago Fire	0–2	New England Revolution
		Twellman   13' Hernández   60'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 6,306

September 29, 2002

New England Revolution	1–2	Chicago Fire
Kamler   28'		Razov   43' (pen.),   76'

Cardinal Stadium
Naperville, Illinois

Attendance: 9,434

October 2, 2002

Chicago Fire	0–2	New England Revolution
		Kamler   12' Twellman   65'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 6,954

• New England Revolution advance 6–3 on points.

---

September 26, 2002

Columbus Crew	2–1	San Jose Earthquakes
Buddle   38' García   81'		Donovan   54'

Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California

Attendance: 8,069

September 28, 2002

San Jose Earthquakes	1–2	Columbus Crew
Graziani   58'		García   50' McBride   81'

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 13,004

• Columbus Crew advance 6–0 on points.

---

September 25, 2002

Colorado Rapids	2–4	Dallas Burn
Valderrama   2' Spencer (Pen)   75'		Morrow   26' Kreis   49' Deering   68' Martínez   70'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 6,360

September 28, 2002

Dallas Burn	0–1	Colorado Rapids
		Carrieri   78'

INVESCO Field
Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 9,637

October 2, 2002

Colorado Rapids	1–1	Dallas Burn
Spencer   22'		Rhine   6'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 8,008

	1–0 series OT (ASDET)
Chung   1'

• Colorado Rapids advance in series (sudden death) overtime, after 4–4 tie on points.

Semifinals

October 5, 2002

Colorado Rapids	0–4	Los Angeles Galaxy
		Califf   21' Ruiz   24'   84' Hendrickson   71'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 24,742

October 9, 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–0	Colorado Rapids
Ruiz   64'

INVESCO Field
Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 12,367

• Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6–0 on points.

---

October 6, 2002

Columbus Crew	0–0	New England Revolution

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 11,387

October 9, 2002

New England Revolution	1–0	Columbus Crew
Heaps   3'

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 10,245

October 12, 2002

Columbus Crew	2–2	New England Revolution
McBride   80' Washington   85'		Ralston   17' Harris   47'

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 9,216

• New England Revolution advance 5–2 on points.

MLS Cup

Main article: MLS Cup 2002

October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20)

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–0 (2OT)	New England Revolution
Ruiz   113'	Report

Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 61,316

Referee: Kevin Terry

Attendance

"text-align: center;"	Club	Games	Season	Game Avg.
Colorado Rapids	14	289,663	20,690
Los Angeles Galaxy	14	266,664	19,047
MetroStars	14	254,174	18,155
Columbus Crew	14	243,999	17,429
New England Revolution	14	236,973	16,927
D.C. United	14	231,264	16,519
Dallas Burn	14	183,702	13,122
Chicago Fire	14	180,908	12,922
Kansas City Wizards	14	171,568	12,255
San Jose Earthquakes	14	156,104	11,150
OVERALL	140	2,215,019	15,822

Player statistics

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy	24
2	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution	23
3	Jeff Cunningham	Columbus Crew	16
4	Ante Razov	Chicago Fire	14
	Ariel Graziani	San Jose Earthquakes	14
6	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn	13
7	Mamadou Diallo*	MetroStars	12
	Rodrigo Faria	MetroStars	12
9	Chris Carrieri	Colorado Rapids	11
	Mark Chung	Colorado Rapids	11
	Chris Henderson	Colorado Rapids	11

Played for more than one team – Most Recent Team Listed*

Awards

"text-align: center;"	Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy
Scoring Champion	Taylor Twellman (52 points)	New England Revolution
Defender of the Year	Carlos Bocanegra	Chicago Fire
Goalkeeper of the Year	Joe Cannon	San Jose Earthquakes
Rookie of the Year	Kyle Martino	Columbus Crew
Coach of the Year	Steve Nicol	New England Revolution
Comeback Player of the Year	Chris Klein	Kansas City Wizards
Goal of the Year	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy
Fair Play Award	Mark Chung	Colorado Rapids
Humanitarian of the Year	Steve Jolley	MetroStars

References

1. Yousuf, Saad (April 16, 2016). "MLS nearly folded in 2001 - FC Dallas president Dan Hunt". ESPN.com.

External links

• MLS Site