2002 Major League Soccer season

2002 Major League Soccer season
Season	2002
MLS Cup	Los Angeles Galaxy
Supporters' Shield	Los Angeles Galaxy
Top goalscorer	Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy Goals: 24
Highest attendance	Colorado Rapids Season: 289,663 Game Avg.: 20,690
Lowest attendance	San Jose Earthquakes Season: 156,104 Game Avg.: 11,150
Average attendance	MLS Season: 2,215,019 Game Avg.: 15,822
← 2001 season 2003 season →

The 2002 Major League Soccer season was the league's 7th of competition. On January 8, 2002, after only four years in existence, the Miami Fusion F.C. ceased operations due to low attendance and a unfavorable stadium deal, and the Tampa Bay Mutiny also ceased operations due to the lack of local ownership. MLS eliminated the Central Division and in favor of its original two-conference alignment.

1 Final standings
- 1.1 Conference
- 1.2 Overall
2 MLS Cup Playoffs
3 Conference Semi-finals
4 Conference Finals
5 MLS Cup 2002
6 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
7 Club Awards
8 Individual Awards
9 Top Goal Scorers
10 Goal-Scoring Totals
11 Winningest Coaches (By Wins)
12 Team Attendance Totals
13 Reference

Final standings

Conference

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
y - New England Revolution	28	12	14	2	49	49	0	38
x - Columbus Crew	28	11	12	5	44	43	1	38
x - Chicago Fire	28	11	13	4	43	38	5	37
MetroStars	28	11	15	2	41	47	-6	35
D.C. United	28	9	14	5	31	40	-9	32

Western Conference	GP*	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
s - Los Angeles Galaxy	28	16	9	3	44	33	11	51
x - San Jose Earthquakes	28	14	11	3	45	35	10	45
x - Dallas Burn	28	12	9	7	44	43	1	43
x - Colorado Rapids	28	13	11	4	43	48	-5	43
x - Kansas City Wizards	28	9	10	9	37	45	-8	36

Top eight teams with the highest points clinch play-off berth, regardless of conference.
x = Playoff berth
y = Conference Winner (Season)
s = Supporters Shield/Conference winner (Season)

New England Revolution wins first tiebreaker vs. Columbus Crew (head-to-head: 2-1-1)
Dallas Burn wins first tiebreaker vs. Colorado Rapids (head-to-head: 2-1-1)

Overall

Pos	Club	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	Head-to-head
1	Los Angeles Galaxy (SS) (W1)	28	16	9	3	44	33	+11	51	2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup, 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup
2	San Jose Earthquakes	28	14	11	3	45	35	+10	45	2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup¹, 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup
3	Dallas Burn	28	12	9	7	44	43	+1	43	2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2003 U.S. Open Cup	DAL: 7 pts COL: 4 pts
4	Colorado Rapids	28	13	11	4	43	48	-5	43		DAL: 7 pts COL: 4 pts
5	New England Revolution (E1)	28	12	14	2	49	49	0	38		NE: 7 pts CLB: 4 pts
6	Columbus Crew	28	11	12	5	44	43	+1	38		NE: 7 pts CLB: 4 pts
7	Chicago Fire	28	11	13	4	43	38	+5	37
8	Kansas City Wizards²	28	9	10	9	37	45	-8	36	2002 MLS Cup Playoffs
9	MetroStars²	28	11	15	2	41	47	-6	35
10	D.C. United²	28	9	14	5	31	40	-9	32

Source: MLSSoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head record; 3rd goal difference; 4th number of goals scored.
(SS) = MLS Supporters' Shield; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, but not yet to the particular round indicated; (E) = Eliminated from playoff-contention.

^Note 1 - Since Los Angeles Galaxy won MLS Cup 2002 and the Supporters' Shield, San Jose Earthquakes qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup by finishing as Supporters' Shield runners-up.
^Note 2 - Since Kansas City Wizards, MetroStars, and D.C. United finished outside of the top seven in the league standings, they enter the U.S. Open Cup in the third round proper rather than fourth.

MLS Cup Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Conference Semi-finals				Conference Finals				MLS Cup 2002

Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (6 Points)	3*	1	5
Kansas City Wizards (3 Points)	2	4	2
				Los Angeles Galaxy (6 Points)	4	1	x

				Colorado Rapids (0 Points)	0	0	x
Dallas Burn (4 Points)	4	0	1

Colorado Rapids (SDET) (4 Points)**	2	1	1**
								Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)*	1*
								New England Revolution	0
New England Revolution (6 Points)	2	1	2
Chicago Fire (3 Points)	0	2	0
				New England Revolution (5 Points)	0	1	2

				Columbus Crew (2 Points)	0	0	2
San Jose Earthquakes (0 Points)	1	1	x

Columbus Crew (6 Points)	2	2	x

Points system
Win = 3 Pts.
Loss = 0 Pts.
Draw = 1 Pts.

ASDET*=Added Sudden Death Extra Time (Game tie breaker)
SDET**=Sudden Death Extra Time (Series tie breaker)
Teams will advance at 5 points.

Conference Semi-finals

September 25, 2002	Kansas City Wizards	2 – 3 (AET)	Los Angeles Galaxy	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 14,585
	Preki 25' Brown 70'		Ruiz (Pen) 62' 99' Jones 85'	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 14,585

September 28, 2002	Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 4	Kansas City Wizards	Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 9,484
	Albright 71'		Simutenkov 19' Quill 37' Preki 70' Fabbro 73'	Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 9,484

October 2, 2002	Kansas City Wizards	2 – 5	Los Angeles Galaxy	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 14,713
	Klein 47' Preki 72'		Ruiz 34' 66' Jones 45'+, 62' Tennyson 93'	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 14,713

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6-3 on points.

September 26, 2002	Chicago Fire	0 – 2	New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 6,306
			Twellman 13' Hernandez 60'

September 29, 2002	New England Revolution	1 – 2	Chicago Fire	Cardinal Stadium Naperville, Illinois Attendance: 9,434
	Kamler 28'		Razov (Pen) 43', 76'	Cardinal Stadium Naperville, Illinois Attendance: 9,434

October 2, 2002	Chicago Fire	0 – 2	New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 6,954
			Kamler 12' Twellman 65'

New England Revolution advance 6-3 on points.

September 26, 2002	Columbus Crew	2 – 1	San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium San Jose, California Attendance: 8,069
	Buddle 38' García 81'		Donovan 54'	Spartan Stadium San Jose, California Attendance: 8,069

September 28, 2002	San Jose Earthquakes	1 – 2	Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 13,004
	Graziani 58'		García 50' McBride 81'	Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 13,004

Columbus Crew advance 6-0 on points.

September 25, 2002	Colorado Rapids	2 – 4	Dallas Burn	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 6,360
	Valderrama 2' Spencer (Pen) 75'		Morrow 26' Kreis 49' Deering 68' Martínez 70'	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 6,360

September 28, 2002	Dallas Burn	0 – 1	Colorado Rapids	INVESCO Field Denver, Colorado Attendance: 9,637
			Carrieri 78'	INVESCO Field Denver, Colorado Attendance: 9,637

October 2, 2002	Colorado Rapids	1 – 1	Dallas Burn	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 8,008
	Spencer 22'		Rhine 6'	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 8,008

		1 – 0 series OT (ASDET)
	Chung 1'

Colorado Rapids advance in series (sudden death) overtime, after 4-4 tie on points.

Conference Finals

October 5, 2002	Colorado Rapids	0 – 4	Los Angeles Galaxy	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 24,742
			Califf 21' Ruiz 24' 84' Hendrickson 71'	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 24,742

October 9, 2002	Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 0	Colorado Rapids	INVESCO Field Denver, Colorado Attendance: 12,367
	Ruiz 64'			INVESCO Field Denver, Colorado Attendance: 12,367

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 6-0 on points.

October 6, 2002	Columbus Crew	0 – 0	New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 11,387

October 9, 2002	New England Revolution	1 – 0	Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 10,245
	Heaps 3'			Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 10,245

October 12, 2002	Columbus Crew	2 – 2	New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 9,216
	McBride 80' Washington 85'		Ralston 17' Harris 47'

New England Revolution advance 5-2 on points.

MLS Cup 2002

October 20, 2002	Los Angeles Galaxy	1 – 0 (2OT)	New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 61,316 Referee: Kevin Terry
	Ruiz 113'

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

MLS regular-season berths to 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Los Angeles Galaxy qualify as MLS Cup winner
New England Revolution qualify as MLS Cup runner up
San Jose Earthquakes qualify as 2002 MLS Supporters Shield runner-up
Columbus Crew qualify as Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions.

Club Awards

MLS Cup
Los Angeles Galaxy
U.S. Open Cup
Columbus Crew
MLS Supporters' Shield
Los Angeles Galaxy

Individual Awards

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy
Scoring Champion	Taylor Twellman (52 Points)	New England Revolution
Defender of the Year	Carlos Bocanegra	Chicago Fire
Goalkeeper of the Year	Joe Cannon	San Jose Earthquakes
Rookie of the Year	Kyle Martino	Columbus Crew
Coach of the Year	Steve Nicol	New England Revolution
Comeback Player of the Year	Chris Klein	Kansas City Wizards
Goal of the Year	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy
Fair Play Award	Mark Chung	Colorado Rapids
Humanitarian of the Year	Steve Jolley	MetroStars

Top Goal Scorers

Position	Player	Club	Goals
1	Carlos Ruiz	Los Angeles Galaxy	24
2	Taylor Twellman	New England Revolution	23
3	Jeff Cunningham	Columbus Crew	16
4	Ante Razov	Chicago Fire	14
	Ariel Graziani	San Jose Earthquakes	14
6	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn	13
7	Mamadou Diallo*	MetroStars	12
	Rodrigo Faria	MetroStars	12
9	Chris Carrieri	Colorado Rapids	11
	Mark Chung	Colorado Rapids	11
	Chris Henderson	Colorado Rapids	11

Played for more than one team - Most Recent Team Listed*

Goal-Scoring Totals

Club	Overall Record	Goals For	Goals For Avg.	Goals Against	Goals Against Avg.
New England Revolution	12-14-2	49	1.75 (1st)	49	1.75 (10th)
San Jose Earthquakes	14-11-3	45	1.61 (2nd)	35	1.25 (2nd)
Columbus Crew	11-12-5	44	1.57 (3rd)	43	1.54 (5th)
Dallas Burn	12-9-7	44	1.57 (4th)	43	1.54 (5th)
Los Angeles Galaxy	16-9-3	44	1.57 (5th)	33	1.18 (1st)
Colorado Rapids	13-11-4	43	1.54 (6th)	48	1.71 (9th)
Chicago Fire	11-13-4	43	1.54 (7th)	38	1.36 (3rd)
MetroStars	11-15-2	41	1.46 (8th)	47	1.68 (8th)
Kansas City Wizards	9-10-9	37	1.32 (9th)	45	1.61 (7th)
D.C. United	9-14-5	31	1.11 (10th)	40	1.43 (4th)
Overall Totals		421	3.01

Winningest Coaches (By Wins)

Coach	Club	Win	Loss	Draw	Pct.	Pts.	OT Rec.
Sigi Schmid	Los Angeles Galaxy	16	9	3	0.625	51	3-3-3
Frank Yallop	San Jose Earthquakes	14	11	3	0.554	45	1-0-3
Tim Hankinson	Colorado Rapids	13	11	4	0.536	43	1-1-4
Mike Jeffries	Dallas Burn	12	9	7	0.554	43	3-0-7
Greg Andrulis	Columbus Crew	11	12	5	0.482	38	1-3-5
Bob Bradley	Chicago Fire	11	13	4	0.464	37	2-1-4
Octavio Zambrano	MetroStars	11	15	2	0.429	35	1-1-2
Steve Nicol	New England Revolution	10	10	1	0.500	31	0-1-1
Bob Gansler	Kansas City Wizards	9	10	9	0.482	36	0-2-9
Ray Hudson	D.C. United	9	14	5	0.411	32	2-2-5
Fernando Clavijo	New England Revolution	2	4	1	0.357	7	0-0-1

Team Attendance Totals

Club	Games	Season	Game Avg.
Colorado Rapids	14	289,663	20,690
Los Angeles Galaxy	14	266,664	19,047
MetroStars	14	254,174	18,155
Columbus Crew	14	243,999	17,429
New England Revolution	14	236,973	16,927
D.C. United	14	231,264	16,519
Dallas Burn	14	183,702	13,122
Chicago Fire	14	180,908	12,922
Kansas City Wizards	14	171,568	12,255
San Jose Earthquakes	14	156,104	11,150
OVERALL	140	2,215,019	15,822