1996 Major League Soccer season

1996 Major League Soccer season
Season	1996
MLS Cup	D.C. United (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	Tampa Bay Mutiny (1st shield)
Matches played	160
Goals scored	539 (3.37 per match)
Top goalscorer	Roy Lassiter; (27 goals)
Longest winning run	Los Angeles Galaxy; Games: 12; (04/13 – 06/30)
Longest losing run	Columbus Crew; Games: 6; (05/15 – 06/22)
Highest attendance	Los Angeles Galaxy; Season: 462,650; Game Avg.: 28,916
Lowest attendance	Colorado Rapids; Season: 163,413; Game Avg.: 10,213
Total attendance	2,785,001
Average attendance	17,406
	1997 →

The 1996 Major League Soccer season was the inaugural season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 84th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, and the 18th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada.

Overview[]

Preparation for first season[]

Major League Soccer had originally intended to begin competitive action in 1995. Various difficulties forced the league to postpone its first season until 1996. In preparation for its first season, the league began signing what it called marquee players, beginning with Tab Ramos on January 3, 1995.^[1] Beginning in October 1995, the league apportioned the marquee players in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Allocations.^[2] Each team received two national team and two foreign players in the allocation.^[3] The league then invited about 250 players to a tryout the second week of January 1996 on the campus of UC Irvine.^[4] On February 6 and 7, 1996, the league held its 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft in which the ten teams selected 160 players over sixteen rounds. The Columbus Crew selected Brian McBride with the first pick of the draft. On March 4, 1996, the league then held the 1996 MLS College Draft followed by the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft later that day. Despite the numerous drafts, the teams were not obligated to sign only players from the drafts.

Preseason[]

The preseason began the first week of March. The teams reduced their rosters to twenty-two players by March 25 and had to make a final roster reduction to eighteen by April 15.^[5] The teams had a $1,200,000 salary cap with no player allowed to receive more than $192,500. In order to promote American players, teams were limited to five foreigners on the roster.^[6]

Season[]

The teams played thirty-two games each. Each regulation win was worth three points, a loss counted for zero and a shootout win earned a team one point. Fear of alienating fans with tied games had led the league to adopting the shootout when games ended even. The league also adopted a countdown clock instead of running clock, unlike IFAB's standards, but did it away starting with MLS Cup 1999. The league also divided the teams equally into two conferences – Eastern and Western. The league began its first season on Saturday, April 6, 1996, when the San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United at Spartan Stadium. ESPN carried the game live which the Clash won on a goal by Eric Wynalda. That goal was selected as the 1996 MLS Goal of the Year. The regular season ended on September 22. The playoffs began two days later.

Teams[]

Locations[]

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Kansas City Wiz

Los Angeles Galaxy

San Jose Clash

Dallas Burn

NY/NJ MetroStars

New England Revolution

Tampa Bay Mutiny

Locations of teams in the 1996 Major League Soccer season

Stadiums[]

Colorado Rapids	Columbus Crew	D.C. United	Dallas Burn	Kansas City Wiz
Mile High Stadium	Ohio Stadium	RFK Memorial Stadium	Cotton Bowl	Arrowhead Stadium
Capacity: 76,273	Capacity: 102,329	Capacity: 46,000	Capacity: 92,100	Capacity: 81,425

Los Angeles Galaxy	New England Revolution	NY/NJ MetroStars	San Jose Clash	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Rose Bowl	Foxboro Stadium	Giants Stadium	Spartan Stadium	Houlihan's Stadium
Capacity: 92,542	Capacity: 60,292	Capacity: 80,200	Capacity: 30,456	Capacity: 74,301

Standings[]

Eastern Conference[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	19	12	1	66	51	+15	58	Playoffs
2	D.C. United	32	15	16	1	62	56	+6	46
3	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	17	3	45	47	−2	39
4	Columbus Crew	32	11	17	4	59	60	−1	37
5	New England Revolution	32	9	17	6	43	56	−13	33

Source: MLS

Western Conference[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	15	13	4	59	49	+10	49	Playoffs
2	Dallas Burn	32	12	15	5	50	48	+2	41^[a]
3	Kansas City Wiz	32	12	15	5	61	63	−2	41^[a]
4	San Jose Clash	32	12	17	3	50	50	0	39
5	Colorado Rapids	32	9	21	2	44	59	−15	29

Source: MLS
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Dallas wins head-to-head against Kansas City (3–1)

Overall standings[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny (X)	32	19	12	1	66	51	+15	58
2	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	15	13	4	59	49	+10	49	1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup^[a]
3	D.C. United (C)	32	15	16	1	62	56	+6	46	1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup^[a]
4	Dallas Burn	32	12	15	5	50	48	+2	41^[b]
5	Kansas City Wiz	32	12	15	5	61	63	−2	41^[b]
6	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	17	3	45	47	−2	39^[c]
7	San Jose Clash	32	12	17	3	50	50	0	39^[c]
8	Columbus Crew	32	11	17	4	59	60	−1	37
9	New England Revolution	32	9	17	6	43	56	−13	33
10	Colorado Rapids	32	9	21	2	44	59	−15	29

Source: MLS
(C) Champion; (X) Supporters' Shield winner
Notes:

^ Qualified as 1996 MLS Cup finalists
^ ^a ^b Dallas wins head-to-head against Kansas City (3–1)
^ ^a ^b NY/NJ wins head-to-head against San Jose (2–1)

MLS Cup Playoffs[]

Bracket[]

Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					MLS Cup '96

E1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2	1	4
E4	Columbus Crew	0	2	1
					E1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1	1	x
Eastern Conference
					E2	D.C. United	4	2	x
E2	D.C. United	2 (5)	1	2

E3	NY/NJ MetroStars *(pen.)	2 (6)*	0	1
										E2	D.C. United (aet)	3
										W1	Los Angeles Galaxy	2
W1	Los Angeles Galaxy	0	2	2
W4	San Jose Clash	1	0	0
					W1	Los Angeles Galaxy *(pen.)	2	1 (3)*	x
Western Conference
					W3	Kansas City Wiz	1	1 (1)	x
W2	Dallas Burn	2	2	2 (2)

W3	Kansas City Wiz *(pen.)	3	1	2 (3)*

Best of Three series winners will advance.

Conference semifinals[]

Eastern Conference

September 24, 1996

Game 1

New York/New Jersey MetroStars	2–2	D.C. United
de Ávila 38' Savarese 75'	Report	Díaz Arce 24' Moreno 56'
Penalties
de Ávila Donadoni Ramos Joseph Knowles Silvera Savarese Zaun Meola Johnson Vermes	6–5	Agoos Etcheverry Moreno Díaz Arce Sanneh Harkes Gori Williams Peay Pope Causey

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 14,416

Referee: Esse Baharmast

September 27, 1996

Game 2

D.C. United	1–0	New York/New Jersey MetroStars
Etcheverry 72'	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 21,442

Referee: Paul Tamberino

October 2, 1996

Game 3

D.C. United	2–1	New York/New Jersey MetroStars
Rammel 67' Díaz Arce 89' (pen.)	Report	de Ávila 86'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 20,423

Referee: Brian Hall

D.C. United wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

September 25, 1996

Game 1

Columbus Crew	0–2	Tampa Bay Mutiny
	Report	Lassiter 82', 87'

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 20,807

Referee: Brian Hall

September 28, 1996

Game 2

Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	Columbus Crew
Lassiter 26'	Report	Paz 1' McBride 58'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 13,009

Referee:

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Tampa Bay Mutiny	4–1	Columbus Crew
Vásquez 3' Lassiter 41', 58' Pittman 55'	Report	McBride 35'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 6,871

Referee:

Tampa Bay Mutiny wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Western Conference

September 26, 1996

Game 1

Kansas City Wiz	3–2	Dallas Burn
Johnston 16' McKeon 79' Preki 89'	Report	Elliott 21' Ashton 25'

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 4,466

Referee:

September 29, 1996

Game 2

Dallas Burn	2–1	Kansas City Wiz
Kreis 5' Washington 32'	Report	Preki 30'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 10,125

Referee: Esse Baharmast

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Dallas Burn	2–2	Kansas City Wiz
Sánchez 27' Elliott 66'	Report	Chung 41' Takawira 62'
Penalties
Haynes Lozzano Sánchez Farrer Ashton	2–3	Johnston Preki Klopas Wright Takawira

Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 9,802

Referee:

Kansas City Wiz wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

September 26, 1996

Game 1

San Jose Clash	1–0	Los Angeles Galaxy
Ianni 36'	Report

Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California

Attendance: 17,209

Referee: Kevin Stott

September 29, 1996

Game 2

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–0	San Jose Clash
Fraser 84' Hurtado 90'	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 27,833

Referee:

October 2, 1996

Game 3

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–0	San Jose Clash
Hurtado 31' Cienfuegos 36' (pen.)	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 30,231

Referee: Esse Baharmast

Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–1, advances to Conference finals.

Conference finals[]

Eastern Conference

October 10, 1996

Game 1

D.C. United	4–1	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Díaz Arce 36', 58', 60' Rammel 54'	Report	Lassiter 42'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 23,566

Referee: Kevin Stott

October 12, 1996

Game 2

Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	D.C. United
Ralston 14'	Report	Williams 49' Díaz Arce 82'

Houlihan's Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 9,339

Referee:

D.C. United wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup '96.

Western Conference

October 10, 1996

Game 1

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–1	Kansas City Wiz
Armas 48' Vanney 57'	Report	Preki 52'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Attendance: 25,212

Referee: Brian Hall

October 13, 1996

Game 2

Kansas City Wiz	1–1	Los Angeles Galaxy
Preki 69'	Report	Vanney 77'
Penalties
Chung Preki Wright Sorber	1–3	Noamouz Fraser Jones Cienfuegos Vanney

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 11,041

Referee:

Los Angeles Galaxy wins series 2–0, advances to MLS Cup '96.

MLS Cup[]

MLS Cup 1996

October 20, 1996

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–3 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United
Hurtado 5' Armas 56'	Report	Sanneh 72' Medved 81' Pope 94'

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 34,643

Referee: Esse Baharmast

D.C. United and Los Angeles Galaxy earn a berth to the 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Player awards[]

Weekly awards[]

Week	Player of the Week	Club
Week 1	Eric Wynalda	San Jose Clash
Week 2	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew
Week 3	Marcelo Balboa	Colorado Rapids
Week 4	Bo Oshoniyi	Columbus Crew
Week 5	Giovanni Savarese	MetroStars
Week 6	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew
Week 7	Jorge Campos	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 8	Preki	Kansas City Wiz
Week 9	John Doyle	San Jose Clash
Week 10	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 11	Mark Dodd	Dallas Burn
Week 12	Mark Chung	Kansas City Wiz
Week 13	Tony Meola	MetroStars
Week 14	Raúl Díaz Arce	D.C. United
Week 15	Paul Bravo	San Jose Clash
Week 16	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
Week 17	Joe-Max Moore	New England Revolution
Week 18	Tony Meola	MetroStars
Week 19	Adrián Paz	Columbus Crew
Week 20	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
Week 21	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew
Week 22	Brian Maisonneuve	Columbus Crew
Week 23	Frank Yallop	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Week 24	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew

Monthly awards[]

Month	Player of the Month	Club
April	Mauricio Cienfuegos	Los Angeles Galaxy
May	Carlos Valderrama	Tampa Bay Mutiny
June	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy
July	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn
August	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
September	Brad Friedel	Columbus Crew

End-of-season awards[]

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Carlos Valderrama	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Scoring Champion	Roy Lassiter (58 points)	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Defender of the Year	John Doyle	San Jose Clash
Goalkeeper of the Year	Mark Dodd	Dallas Burn
Rookie of the Year	Steve Ralston	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Coach of the Year	Thomas Rongen	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Goal of the Year	Eric Wynalda	San Jose Clash

Player statistics[]

Top goal scorers[]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Roy Lassiter	Tampa Bay Mutiny	27
2	Raúl Díaz Arce	D.C. United	23
3	Eduardo Hurtado	Los Angeles Galaxy	21
4	Preki	Kansas City Wiz	18
5	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew	17
6	Steve Rammel	D.C. United	14
7	Paul Bravo	San Jose Clash	13
	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn
	Giovanni Savarese	NY/NJ MetroStars
	Vitalis Takawira	Kansas City Wiz

Goalkeeping leaders[]

(Minimum 1,000 minutes)

No.	Player	Club	Games Played	Minutes	Goals Against	GA Average	Wins	Loses
1	Jorge Campos	Los Angeles Galaxy	24	2025	27	1.20	13	8
2	Dave Salzwedel	San Jose Clash	14	1168	17	1.31	9	4
3	Tony Meola	NY/NJ MetroStars	29	2610	38	1.31	14	15
4	Mark Dodd	Dallas Burn	31	2776	45	1.46	17	14
5	Mark Simpson	D.C. United	15	1260	21	1.50	7	6
6	Mark Dougherty	Tampa Bay Mutiny	28	2520	47	1.68	17	11
7	Aidan Heaney	New England Revolution	19	1534	29	1.70	8	9
8	Tom Liner	San Jose Clash	20	1712	33	1.73	7	12
9	Garth Lagerwey	Kansas City Wiz	23	1959	38	1.75	12	10
10	Jim St. Andre	New England Revolution	15	1346	27	1.81	6	9
11	Chris Woods	Colorado Rapids	23	2070	43	1.87	8	15
12	Jeff Causey	D.C. United	19	1620	35	1.94	9	10
13	Bo Oshoniyi	Columbus Crew	13	1170	33	2.54	3	10

Attendance[]

Club	Games	Season totals	Game average
Los Angeles Galaxy	16	462,650	28,916
NY/NJ MetroStars	16	382,360	23,898
New England Revolution	16	304,392	19,025
Columbus Crew	16	303,202	18,950
San Jose Clash	16	275,712	17,232
Dallas Burn	16	256,173	16,011
D.C. United	16	244,199	15,262
Kansas City Wiz	16	206,044	12,878
Tampa Bay Mutiny	16	186,856	11,679
Colorado Rapids	16	163,413	10,213
Total	160	2,785,001	17,406

Coaches[]

Eastern Conference[]

Columbus Crew: Timo Liekoski and Tom Fitzgerald
D.C. United: Bruce Arena
New England Revolution: Frank Stapleton
New York/New Jersey MetroStars: Eddie Firmani and Carlos Queiroz
Tampa Bay Mutiny: Thomas Rongen

Western Conference[]

Colorado Rapids: Bob Houghton and Roy Wegerle
Dallas Burn: Dave Dir
Kansas City Wiz: Ron Newman
Los Angeles Galaxy: Lothar Osiander
San Jose Clash: Laurie Calloway

References[]

^ Ramos Signs With Major League Soccer
^ Major League Soccer Gets Set for Unveilings
^ Giants Stadium Will Go Natural Again
^ Pro Soccer Combine Begins Today at UC Irvine
^ RAPIDS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS
^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1995". Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

External links[]

[table_hth_DAL0.99658731184741-7] Dallas wins head-to-head against Kansas City (3–1)

[table_note_res_CCC0.071069523725225-8] Qualified as 1996 MLS Cup finalists

[table_hth_DAL0.071069523725225-9] Dallas wins head-to-head against Kansas City (3–1)

[table_hth_NMS0.071069523725225-10] NY/NJ wins head-to-head against San Jose (2–1)

[1] Ramos Signs With Major League Soccer

[2] Major League Soccer Gets Set for Unveilings

[3] Giants Stadium Will Go Natural Again

[4] Pro Soccer Combine Begins Today at UC Irvine

[5] RAPIDS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS

[6] "The Year in American Soccer - 1995". Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.

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v t Major League Soccer
Seasons 2022 season Records and statistics 100 or more goals Hat tricks Player Association Rivalry cups History U.S. Soccer Canada Soccer
Eastern Conference	Atlanta United FC Charlotte FC Chicago Fire FC FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew D.C. United Inter Miami CF CF Montréal New England Revolution New York City FC New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union Toronto FC
Western Conference	Austin FC Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Houston Dynamo FC Sporting Kansas City LA Galaxy Los Angeles FC Minnesota United FC Nashville SC Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Future teams	St. Louis City SC (2023)
Former teams	Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–2001) Miami Fusion (1998–2001) Chivas USA (2005–2014)
Personnel	Foreign players National team players International slots Designated Players Homegrown Players Generation Adidas Cup Transfers Coaches Owners
Competition	MLS Cup Playoffs Champions Anschutz Trophy Supporters' Shield SuperDraft Stadiums Attendance Television Broadcasters All-Star Game MLS Cup
Associated competitions	All-Star Game Homegrown Game CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup Leagues Cup U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship Reserve League eMLS Cup MLS is Back Tournament MLS Next MLS Next Pro
Other	Generation Adidas MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions League Hall of Fame
Category Portal Multimedia

v t 1996 MLS season by team
College Draft Supplemental Draft All-Star Game Playoffs MLS Cup
Eastern	D.C. United New England Revolution New York/New Jersey MetroStars Tampa Bay Mutiny
Western	Colorado Rapids Dallas Burn Kansas City Wiz San Jose Clash