1997 Major League Soccer season


The 1997 Major League Soccer season was the second season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 85th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 19th with a national first-division league.
Following the 1996 season, the Wiz changed names, becoming the Wizards, following legal action from electronics retailer The Wiz.
The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on September 28. The 1997 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 4, and concluded with MLS Cup 1997 on October 26. D.C. United won their first Supporters' Shield and defended their MLS Cup championship becoming the first team to win back-to-back cups.

Overview

Season format

The season began on March 22 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 26. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 16 games. The rest of the schedule consisted of three games against each team from the opposite conference, with four games against one designated team.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The conference semifinals and finals 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

TeamStadiumCapacity
Colorado RapidsMile High Stadium76,273
Columbus CrewOhio Stadium102,329
D.C. UnitedRFK Stadium46,000
Dallas BurnCotton Bowl92,100
Kansas City WizardsArrowhead Stadium81,425
Los Angeles GalaxyRose Bowl92,542
New England RevolutionFoxboro Stadium60,292
NY/NJ MetroStarsGiants Stadium80,200
San Jose ClashSpartan Stadium30,456
Tampa Bay MutinyHoulihan's Stadium74,301

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

  • The ties were a best-of-three series.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
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  • Columbus Crew advance to the Conference Finals.
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Western Conference
  • Dallas Burn advance to the Conference Finals.
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  • Colorado Rapids advance to the Conference Finals.

Conference finals

Western Conference
  • Colorado Rapids advance to MLS Cup.
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Eastern Conference
  • D.C. United advance to MLS Cup.

Player statistics

Hat-tricks

PlayerClubAgainstResultDate

Awards

Individual awards

AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable Player