2000 Major League Soccer season

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The 2000 Major League Soccer season was the fifth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 88th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 22nd with a national first-division league.

The 2000 season marked the first time in league history (and the first season of American first division soccer since 1974), that ties were allowed to stand. Following a ten-minute sudden death extra time, rather than going to a penalty shoot-out, a point was awarded to both teams. Additionally, the league was divided into three separate divisions, the East, Central and West divisions.

The San Jose Clash rebranded as the Earthquakes, a throwback to the NASL team of the same name.

The regular season began on March 18, and concluded on September 9. The 2000 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 14, and concluded with MLS Cup 2000 on October 15. The Kansas City Wizards won their first MLS Cup with a victory over the Chicago Fire.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 18 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 15. The 12 teams were split into three divisions. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their division four times, for a total of 12 games. The remaining schedule consisted of three games against four select opponents in one of the other divisions, and two games against the remaining four teams.

The eight teams with the most points qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals 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. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF 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	Columbus Crew Stadium	22,555
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
Miami Fusion	Lockhart Stadium	20,450
New England Revolution	Foxboro Stadium	60,292
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium	30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Raymond James Stadium	69,218

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Template:Flagicon Bob Bradley		—
Colorado Rapids	Template:Flagicon Glenn Myernick
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Tom Fitzgerald		Snickers
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Thomas Rongen		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Dave Dir
Kansas City Wizards	Template:Flagicon Bob Gansler		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Sigi Schmid		—
MetroStars	Template:Flagicon Octavio Zambrano	Template:Flagicon Tab Ramos
Miami Fusion	Template:Flagicon Ray Hudson		—
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Fernando Clavijo		—
San Jose Earthquakes	Template:Flagicon Lothar Osiander	Template:Flagicon John Doyle	Yahoo! Sports
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Template:Flagicon Tim Hankinson

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Miami Fusion	Template:Flagicon Ivo Wortmann	Fired	May 8, 2000	Template:Flagicon Ray Hudson	May 8, 2000

Standings

Fixtures and results

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MLS Cup Playoffs