MLS Cup '96

MLS Cup '96

Los Angeles Galaxy D.C. United 2 3
Date	October 20, 1996
Venue	Foxboro Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts
Man of the Match	Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United)
Attendance	34,643
Weather	Rain, 44°F
MLS Cup '97 →

The 1996 MLS Cup was the first championship match in Major League Soccer history. The game was played in very heavy rain on October 20, 1996, at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. D.C. United beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 in extra-time, after trailing 2-0, with 17 minutes remaining.

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

Route to the championship

Main article: 1996 MLS Cup Playoffs

D.C. United			Round	Los Angeles Galaxy
Pos Club GP W (sw) (sl) L GF GA GD Pts 1 Tampa Bay Mutiny 32 20 1 3 12 66 51 15 58 2 D.C. United 32 16 1 3 16 62 56 6 46 3 NY/NJ MetroStars 32 15 3 2 17 45 47 -2 39 4 Columbus Crew 32 15 4 5 17 59 60 -1 37 5 New England Revolution 32 15 6 2 17 43 56 -13 33			Regular season	Pos Club GP W (sw) (sl) L GF GA GD Pts 1 L.A. Galaxy 32 19 4 4 13 59 49 10 49 2 Dallas Burn 32 17 5 3 15 50 48 2 41 3 Kansas City Wiz 32 17 5 2 15 61 63 -2 41 4 San Jose Clash 32 15 3 6 15 50 50 0 39 5 Colorado Rapids 32 11 <2 4> 16 44 59 -15 29
Opponent	Result1	Series	Playoffs	Opponent	Result1	Series
NY/NJ MetroStars	2–1	Game 1: L 2–3 Game 2: W 1–0 Game 3: W 2–1	Conference semifinals	San Jose Clash	2–0	Game 1: L 0–1 Game 2: W 2–0 Game 3: W 2–0
Tampa Bay Mutiny	2–0	Game 1: W 4–1 Game 2: W 2–1	Conference finals	Kansas City Wiz	2–0	Game 1: W 2–1 Game 2: W 2–1

Notes

• Note 1: Results listed in amount of games won.

Match details

October 20, 1996	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 3 (AET)	D.C. United	Foxboro Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts Attendance: 34,643 Weather: Rain, 44°F Referee: Esse Baharmast
	Hurtado  4' Armas  56'		Sanneh  72' Medved  81' Pope  94'

Los Angeles Galaxy

D.C. United

LOS ANGELES GALAXY: GK 9 Jorge Campos DF 19 Arash Noamouz DF 3 Mark Semioli DF 4 Robin Fraser (c) DF 18 Greg Vanney MF 14 Chris Armas MF 5 Jorge Salcedo 77' MF 10 Mauricio Cienfuegos MF 13 Cobi Jones FW 11 Harut Karapetyan 75' FW 29 Eduardo Hurtado Substitutes: DF 20 Curt Onalfo 77' FW 7 Ante Razov 75' Head Coach: Lothar Osiander

D.C. UNITED: GK 2 Mark Simpson DF 4 Clint Peay 53' DF 23 Eddie Pope DF 12 Jeff Agoos DF 11 Mario Gori 70' MF 16 Richie Williams MF 19 John Maessner 59' MF 6 John Harkes (c) MF 10 Marco Etcheverry 39' FW 9 Jaime Moreno FW 21 Raúl Díaz Arce Substitutes: MF 7 Tony Sanneh 59' MF 12 Shawn Medved 70' Head Coach: Bruce Arena

Assistant referees: C.J. Morgante Rob Fereday Fourth official: Baldomero Toledo

Most Valuable Player:
Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United)

References

Additional sources

• Alex Yannis (20 October 1996). "The Title Will Be Decided In the Battles of Midfield". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/20/sports/the-title-will-be-decided-in-the-battles-of-midfield.html. 
• Steven Goff (21 October 1996). "Pope Puts United at Head of the Class". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/dcunited/mlscup/launch/united21.htm. 
• Alex Yannis (21 October 1996). "United Rallies, Slides and Heads Its Way to First Title". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/21/sports/united-rallies-slides-and-heads-its-way-to-first-title.html. 
• "1996 Season in Review". Los Angeles Galaxy. http://www.lagalaxy.com/club/history/1996. 
• Simon Borg (6 October 2011). "Top 50 MLS Cup Moments: #45 Splash Time". Major League Soccer. http://www.mlssoccer.com/mls-cup-moments/news/article/2011/10/06/top-50-mls-cup-moments-45-splash-time.