1998 Major League Soccer season
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The 1998 Major League Soccer season was the third season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 86th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 20th with a national first-division league.
The Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion played their inaugural seasons as the league's first two expansion teams.
The NY/NJ MetroStars dropped the New York/New Jersey from their name and rebranded as just MetroStars, with no city, state or regional name attached to it.
The regular season began on March 15, and concluded on September 27. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 30, and concluded with MLS Cup on October 25. Chicago became the first expansion team to win MLS Cup and the first to win it in its inaugural season.
Overview
Season format
The season began on March 15 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 25. The 12 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 20 games. The remaining schedule consisted of two games against each team from the opposite conference.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The conference semifinals and finals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout 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 and qualified automatically for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Additionally, the winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, also qualified for the Champions' Cup.
Stadiums and locations
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| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | Soldier Field | 66,944 |
| Colorado Rapids | Mile High Stadium | 76,273 |
| Columbus Crew | Ohio Stadium | 102,329 |
| D.C. United | RFK Stadium | 46,000 |
| Dallas Burn | Cotton Bowl | 92,100 |
| Kansas City Wizards | Arrowhead Stadium | 81,425 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Rose Bowl | 92,542 |
| MetroStars | Giants Stadium | 80,200 |
| Miami Fusion | Lockhart Stadium | 20,450 |
| New England Revolution | Foxboro Stadium | 60,292 |
| San Jose Clash | Spartan Stadium | 30,456 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Houlihan's Stadium | 74,301 |
Personnel and sponsorships
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Template:Flagicon John Kowalski | Resigned | June 6, 1998 | Template:Flagicon Tim Hankinson | June 8, 1998 |
| Miami Fusion | Template:Flagicon Carlos Cordoba | Fired | July 24, 1998 | Template:Flagicon Ivo Wortmann | July 25, 1998 |
| New England Revolution | Template:Flagicon Thomas Rongen | Fired | August 24, 1998 | Template:Flagicon Walter Zenga | August 24, 1998 |
| MetroStars | Template:Flagicon Alfonso Mondelo | Fired | September 21, 1998 | Template:Flagicon Bora Milutinović | September 21, 1998 |
Standings
Eastern Conference
Template:1998 Major League Soccer Eastern Conference table
Western Conference
Template:1998 Major League Soccer Western Conference table
Overall standings
Template:1998 Major League Soccer season table
MLS Cup Playoffs
Bracket
- The ties were a best of three series.
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Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference
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- D.C. United advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
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- Columbus Crew advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Western Conference
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- Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
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- Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to the Conference Finals.
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
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- D.C. United advance 2–1, to MLS Cup
Western Conference
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- Chicago Fire advance 2–0, to MLS Cup
MLS Cup
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Player statistics
Goals
Hat-tricks
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Assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Eduardo Hurtado | MetroStars | 14 |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Marco Etcheverry | D.C. United | 13 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Jerzy Podbrożny | Chicago Fire | 12 |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Joe-Max Moore | New England Revolution | 11 |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Adrián Paz | Colorado Rapids | 10 |
| 6 | Template:Flagicon Ronald Cerritos | San Jose Clash | 9 |
| Template:Flagicon Paul Dougherty | MetroStars | ||
| Template:Flagicon Cobi Jones | Los Angeles Galaxy | ||
| 9 | 10 players | 8 | |
Clean sheets
Awards
Individual awards
Best XI
Player of the Month
| Week | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| March | Template:Flagicon Cobi Jones | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| April | Template:Flagicon Juergen Sommer | Columbus Crew |
| May | Template:Flagicon Piotr Nowak | Chicago Fire |
| June | Template:Flagicon Ross Paule | Colorado Rapids |
| July | Template:Flagicon Roy Lassiter | D.C. United |
| August | Template:Flagicon Stern John | Columbus Crew |
| September | Template:Flagicon Diego Serna | Miami Fusion |
Weekly awards
Attendance
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 16 | 348,549 | 53,655 | 9,113 | 21,784 |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 16 | 307,004 | 35,462 | 13,074 | 19,188 |
| 3 | Chicago Fire | 16 | 286,190 | 37,122 | 7,598 | 17,887 |
| 4 | MetroStars | 16 | 264,316 | 56,404 | 8,826 | 16,520 |
| 5 | D.C. United | 16 | 256,127 | 23,631 | 9,755 | 16,008 |
| 6 | Colorado Rapids | 16 | 236,995 | 46,722 | 5,485 | 14,812 |
| 7 | San Jose Clash | 16 | 218,450 | 22,694 | 9,102 | 13,653 |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | 16 | 196,394 | 15,628 | 9,166 | 12,275 |
| 9 | Dallas Burn | 16 | 175,162 | 15,280 | 9,197 | 11,769 |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 16 | 164,999 | 22,704 | 4,473 | 10,312 |
| 11 | Miami Fusion | 16 | 164,548 | 20,450 | 6,127 | 10,284 |
| 12 | Kansas City Wizards | 16 | 129,163 | 13,146 | 4,130 | 8,073 |
| Total | 192 | 2,747,897 | 56,404 | 4,130 | 14,312 | |
References
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