2004 Major League Soccer season

The 2004 Major League Soccer season culminated with D.C. United winning its fourth MLS Cup championship.

2004 Major League Soccer season
Season2004
MLS CupD.C. United (4th title)
Supporters' ShieldColumbus Crew (1st shield)
Matches played150
Goals scored392 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorerBrian Ching
San Jose Earthquakes Goals: 12
Eddie Johnson
Dallas Burn
Goals: 12
Biggest home winNE 6–1 COL
Biggest away winLA 0–3 NY
DAL 0–3 NE
CHI 0–3 COL
Highest scoringSJ 5–5 NY
Longest winning runColumbus Crew
Games: 4
(05/15 – 06/06)
Columbus Crew
Games: 4
(09/04 – 09/25)
Longest unbeaten runColumbus Crew
Games: 18
(07/03/2004)
Longest losing runDallas Burn
Games: 4
(05/08 – 05/29)
Highest attendanceLos Angeles Galaxy
Season: 357,137
Game Avg.: 23,809
Lowest attendanceDallas Burn
Season: 136,319
Game Avg.: 9,088
Average attendanceMLS
Season: 2,333,797
Game Avg.: 15,559
← 2003
2005 →

The biggest news in the beginning of the season was the signing of 14-year-old prodigy Freddy Adu, who made his debut as a substitute in United's season opener and scored his first goal several games later against the rival MetroStars. Adu contributed as a substitute on D.C.'s championship team, scoring five goals as the youngest player in North American sports history.

The season saw the emergence of forwards Brian Ching (San Jose) and Eddie Johnson (Dallas Burn) as formidable forwards, not only for their MLS teams, but for the United States national team as well. The two shared Golden Boot honors.

The Columbus Crew emerged as a dominant team in the second half of the regular season, running off an MLS-record 18-game unbeaten streak en route to the Supporters' Shield title, won after finishing level on points with Kansas City.

Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Crew were taken down by the New England Revolution, who ended the Crew's streak in the opening leg, and goalkeeper Matt Reis, who saved two penalty kicks in the second leg. United cruised past the rival MetroStars (and league MVP Amado Guevara) 4–0 on aggregate in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

In the Western Conference, Kansas City rallied from a 2–0 first-leg deficit for a dramatic 3–0 win in stoppage time over the defending MLS Cup champion San Jose Earthquakes in their conference semifinal. The Los Angeles Galaxy used a 2–0 home victory in the second leg to overcome the Colorado Rapids and goalie Joe Cannon, who had led the Rapids to a 1–0 victory in the opener.

In the conference finals, Kansas City used two goals from unsung forward Davy Arnaud, who enjoyed a breakout season, to beat the Galaxy and return to the final for the first time since 2000. D.C. United and New England hooked up in the Eastern Conference final in one of the best games in MLS playoff history. Playing at home, D.C. United took three different leads, only to see New England recover each time to tie the match 3–3 in a game full of highlight-reel goals. The match was finally decided by the first conventional shootout in MLS history, with Nick Rimando saving the first 'sudden death' penalty from Rookie of the Year Clint Dempsey to send D.C. to the championship.

In the second consecutive final held at the Home Depot Center, D.C. rebounded from an early Jose Burciaga goal by scoring three goals in eight minutes, including two from Alecko Eskandarian to take a 3–1 lead. In the second half, Dema Kovalenko became the first player to be sent off in an MLS Cup final after knocking a shot off the goal line with his hand. Although Josh Wolff converted the penalty kick, D.C. United held on with only 10 men to win its fourth championship in the nine-year history of MLS.

Play-off Bracket
  Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup 2004
                             
E1 Columbus 0 1  
E4 New England (wins 2–1 agg.) 1 1  
  E4 New England 3  
Eastern Conference
  E2 D.C. United (wins 4–3 on PK's) 3*  
E2 D.C. United (wins 4–0 agg.) 2 2
E3 MetroStars 0 0  
  E2 D.C. United 3
  W1 Kansas City 2
W1 Kansas City (wins 3–2 agg.) 0 3  
W4 San Jose 2 0  
  W1 Kansas City 2
Western Conference
  W2 Los Angeles 0  
W2 Los Angeles (wins 2–1 agg.) 0 2
W3 Colorado 1 0  

Final standings

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Columbus Crew 30 12 5 13 40 32 +8 49 Playoffs
2 D.C. United 30 11 10 9 43 42 +1 42
3 MetroStars 30 11 12 7 47 49 −2 40
4 New England Revolution 30 8 13 9 42 43 −1 33[lower-alpha 1]
5 Chicago Fire 30 8 13 9 36 44 −8 33[lower-alpha 1]
Source: MLSNET at the Wayback Machine (archived December 5, 2004)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Goal differential; 4) Number of goals scored; 5) Away head-to-head record; 6) Away goal differential; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Fewest disciplinary points; 9) Coin toss[1]
Notes:
  1. New England wins head-to-head tiebreaker with a 2-1-1 record vs. Chicago

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Kansas City Wizards 30 14 9 7 38 30 +8 49 Playoffs
2 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 11 9 10 42 40 +2 43
3 Colorado Rapids 30 10 9 11 29 32 −3 41
4 San Jose Earthquakes 30 9 10 11 41 35 +6 38
5 Dallas Burn 30 10 14 6 34 45 −11 36
Source: MLSNET at the Wayback Machine (archived December 5, 2004)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Goal differential; 4) Number of goals scored; 5) Away head-to-head record; 6) Away goal differential; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Fewest disciplinary points; 9) Coin toss[1]

Overall
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Columbus Crew 30 12 5 13 40 32 +8 49[lower-alpha 1] Supporters' Shield champion
2 Kansas City Wizards 30 14 9 7 38 30 +8 49[lower-alpha 1] Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion
3 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 11 9 10 42 40 +2 43
4 D.C. United 30 11 10 9 43 42 +1 42 MLS Cup champion
5 Colorado Rapids 30 10 9 11 29 32 −3 41
6 MetroStars 30 11 12 7 47 49 −2 40
7 San Jose Earthquakes 30 9 10 11 41 35 +6 38
8 Dallas Burn 30 10 14 6 34 45 −11 36
9 New England Revolution 30 8 13 9 42 43 −1 33[lower-alpha 2]
10 Chicago Fire 30 8 13 9 36 44 −8 33[lower-alpha 2]
Source: MLSNET at the Wayback Machine (archived December 5, 2004)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Goal differential; 4) Number of goals scored; 5) Away head-to-head record; 6) Away goal differential; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Fewest disciplinary points; 9) Coin toss[1]
Notes:
  1. Columbus wins total goals tiebreaker 40-38 vs. Kansas City
  2. New England wins head-to-head tiebreaker with a 2-1-1 record vs. Chicago

MLS Cup Playoffs

Conference Semifinals
Columbus Crew0–1New England Revolution
Buddle  26'
Fraser  35'		 Report Joseph  4'
John  25'
John  58'
Heaps  82'
Attendance: 5,679
Referee: N/A
New England Revolution1–1Columbus Crew
Twellman  81' Report Martino  26'
Hejduk  68'
Buddle  90+2'
Attendance: 15,224
Referee: Alex Prus

New England Revolution advance 2–1 on aggregate.

D.C. United2–0MetroStars
Kovalenko  50'
Nelsen  62'
Stewart  67'
Gros  75'
Eskandarian  88'		 Report Walker  68'
Attendance: 11,161
Referee: Kevin Stott
MetroStars0–2D.C. United
Flores  6'
Guevara  18'
Clark  45+1'
Pope  88'		 Report Olsen  27'
Namoff  35'
Kovalenko  41'
Nelsen  61'
Moreno  85'
Adu  86'
Namoff  89'
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 15,763
Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela

D.C. United advance 4–0 on aggregate.

Kansas City Wizards0–2San Jose Earthquakes
Simutenkov  41'
Zotinca  59'		 Report Agoos  24'
Mullan  38'
De Rosario  40'
Waibel  52'
Attendance: 8,659
Referee: Kevin Terry
San Jose Earthquakes0–3Kansas City Wizards
Donovan  43' Report Stephenson  26'
Jewsbury  45+1'
Ching  48' (o.g.)
Arnaud  56'
Gutierrez  78'
Jewsbury  90+2'
Attendance: 10,022
Referee: Terry Vaughn

Kansas City Wizards advance 3–2 on aggregate.

Los Angeles Galaxy0–1Colorado Rapids
Broome  66' Report Peguero  30'
Kotschau  40'
Mastroeni  76'
Attendance: 8,028
Referee: Terry Vaughn
Colorado Rapids0–2Los Angeles Galaxy
Beckerman  42'
Kotschau  52'		 Report Ruiz  30'
Ruiz  42'
Marshall  45+3'
Kirovski  74'
Hartman  76'
Attendance: 20,026
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 2–1 on aggregate.

Conference finals
Los Angeles Galaxy0–2Kansas City Wizards
Vagenas  26'
Broome  72'
Herzog  83'		 Report Arnaud  24'  68'
Burciaga Jr.  41'
Zotinca  72'
Attendance: 11,931
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
New England Revolution3–3 (AET)D.C. United
Joseph  1'
Twellman  17'
Ralston  44' (pen.)
John  55'
Pierce  62'
Noonan  85'		 Report Eskandarian  11'
Moreno  21'
Eskandarian  49'
Namoff  58'
Gomez  67'
Olsen  87'
Penalties
Ralston
Reis
Twellman
Heaps
Joseph
Dempsey 		3–4 Olsen
Quaranta
Adu
Eskandarian
Moreno
Carroll
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 21,201
Referee: Terry Vaughn

D.C. United advance 4–3 on penalties (3–3 after full time).

MLS Cup 2004
Kansas City Wizards2–3D.C. United
Burciaga Jr.  6'
Gutierrez  33'
Wolff  58' (pen.)		 Report Eskandarian  19'  23'
Zotinca  26' (o.g.)
Stewart  55'
Kovalenko  57'
Namoff  72'
Olsen  89'
Attendance: 25,797
Referee: Michael Kennedy

D.C. United wins the MLS Cup
Kansas City Wizards and D.C. United earn MLS berths to
CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2005.

Team Awards

Individual awards
AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable PlayerAmado GuevaraMetroStars
Scoring ChampionAmado Guevara (30) pointsMetroStars
Pat Noonan (30) pointsNew England Revolution
Defender of the Year Robin FraserColumbus Crew
Goalkeeper of the Year Joe CannonColorado Rapids
Rookie of the Year Clint DempseyNew England Revolution
Coach of the Year Greg AndrulisColumbus Crew
Comeback Player of the Year Brian ChingSan Jose Earthquakes
Goal of the Year Dwayne De RosarioSan Jose Earthquakes
Fair Play Award Eddie PopeMetroStars
Humanitarian of the Year Chris HendersonColorado Rapids

Top goal scorers
Position Player Club Goals
1 Brian Ching San Jose Earthquakes 12
Eddie Johnson Dallas Burn 12
2 Edson Buddle Columbus Crew 11
Pat Noonan New England Revolution 11
Damani Ralph Chicago Fire 11
Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy 11
3 Alecko Eskandarian D.C. United 10
Amado Guevara MetroStars 10
Josh Wolff Kansas City Wizards 10
John Wolyniec MetroStars 10

Goal-Scoring Totals
ClubOverall
Record		Goals
For		Goals
For Avg.		Goals
Against		Goals
Against Avg.
MetroStars11–12–7471.57 (1st)491.63 (10th)
D.C. United11–10–9431.43 (2nd)421.40 (6th)
Los Angeles Galaxy11–9–10421.40 (3rd)401.33 (5th)
New England Revolution8–13–9421.40 (4th)431.43 (7th)
San Jose Earthquakes9–10–11411.37 (5th)351.17 (4th)
Columbus Crew12–5–13401.33 (6th)321.07 (2nd)
Kansas City Wizards14–9–7381.27 (7th)301.00 (1st)
Chicago Fire8–13–9361.20 (8th)441.47 (8th)
Dallas Burn10–14–6341.13 (9th)451.50 (9th)
Colorado Rapids10–9–11290.97 (10th)321.07 (2nd)
Overall Totals3922.61

Team Attendance Totals
Club Stadium Games Season Game Avg.
Chicago Fire Soldier Field 15 257,295 17,153
Colorado Rapids INVESCO Field 15 212,925 14,195
Columbus Crew Columbus Crew Stadium 15 253,079 16,872
MetroStars Giants Stadium 15 257,923 17,195
Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 15 222,235 14,816
D.C. United Robert F. Kennedy Stadium 15 258,484 17,232
New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 15 183,385 12,226
Los Angeles Galaxy Home Depot Center 15 357,137 23,809
San Jose Earthquakes Spartan Stadium 15 195,015 13,001
Dallas Burn Cotton Bowl 15 136,319 9,088
MLS Totals 150 2,333,797 15,559

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

References
  1. "Rules & Regulations". MLSNET. Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
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