2003 Major League Soccer season

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The 2003 Major League Soccer season was the eighth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 91st season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 25th with a national first-division league.

The Los Angeles Galaxy moved into the league's second soccer-specific stadium when the Home Depot Center opened on June 1, 2003. The Chicago Fire continued to play at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville but returned to the newly renovated Soldier Field for their final regular season game.

The number of games was increased to 30 after a reduction to 28 for the 2002 season. Instead of a best-of-three series, the playoffs were tweaked so that the conference semifinals would be determined by a home-and-away aggregate score over two matches. Additionally, the two conference finals became one match fixtures instead of two legs.

The regular season began on April 5, and concluded on October 26. The 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs began on November 1, and concluded with MLS Cup 2003 on November 23. The San Jose Earthquakes won their second MLS Cup in three years with a victory over Chicago.

Overview

Season format

The season began on April 5 and concluded with MLS Cup on November 23. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and two designated opponents from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice.

The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks 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. Additionally, 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	Cardinal Stadium Soldier Field	15,000 61,500
Colorado Rapids	Invesco Field at Mile High	76,125
Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium	22,555
D.C. United	RFK Stadium	46,000
Dallas Burn	Dragon Stadium	11,000
Kansas City Wizards	Arrowhead Stadium	81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy	Home Depot Center	27,000
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium	68,756
San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium	30,456

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Template:Flagicon Dave Sarachan		—
Colorado Rapids	Template:Flagicon Tim Hankinson
Columbus Crew	Template:Flagicon Greg Andrulis		Pepsi
D.C. United	Template:Flagicon Ray Hudson		—
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Colin Clarke
Kansas City Wizards	Template:Flagicon Bob Gansler		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Template:Flagicon Sigi Schmid		Budweiser
MetroStars	Template:Flagicon Bob Bradley	Template:Flagicon Eddie Pope
New England Revolution	Template:Flagicon Steve Nicol		—
San Jose Earthquakes	Template:Flagicon Frank Yallop	Template:Flagicon Jeff Agoos	Yahoo! en Español

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Dallas Burn	Template:Flagicon Mike Jeffries	Fired	September 15, 2003	Template:Flagicon Colin Clarke	September 15, 2003

Standings