2001 Major League Soccer season

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The 2001 Major League Soccer season was the sixth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 89th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 23rd with a national first-division league.

The season was shortened due to the September 11 attacks, with the final weeks' regular season matches being canceled. Due to the different number of games played, playoff ordering was determined by points per game, instead of total points.^[1]

The regular season began on April 7, and concluded prematurely on September 9. The 2001 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20, and concluded with MLS Cup 2001 on October 21. The Miami Fusion won their first Supporters' Shield and the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final to win their first MLS Cup.

Overview

Season format

The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 21. The 12 teams were split into three divisions. Each team was to play 28 games^[2] that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team would play 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 per game 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 Tim Hankinson
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Greg Andrulis		—
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Thomas Rongen		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Mike Jeffries
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 Frank Yallop	Template:Flagicon Jeff Agoos	Yahoo! Sports
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Template:Flagicon Perry Van der Beck

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Tom Fitzgerald	Fired	May 17, 2001	Template:Flagicon Greg Andrulis	May 17, 2001
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Template:Flagicon Alfonso Mondelo	Resigned	July 5, 2001	Template:Flagicon Perry Van der Beck	July 5, 2001

Standings

MLS Cup Playoffs