1996 Major League Soccer season

1996 Major League Soccer season

Season	1996
MLS Cup	D.C. United
Supporters' Shield	Tampa Bay Mutiny
Top goalscorer	Roy Lassiter Tampa Bay Mutiny Goals: 27
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
Average attendance	MLS Season: 2,785,001 Game Avg.: 17,406
1997 Season →

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

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 marque players, beginning with Tab Ramos on January 3, 1995. Beginning in October 1995, the league apportioned the marque players in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Allocations. Each team received two national team and two foreign players in the allocation. The league then invited about 250 players to a tryout the second week of January 1996 on the campus of UC Irvine. 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.

Pre-season

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. 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.

Season

The teams played thirty-two games each. Each 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 clock with counted down instead of up. 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.

Team locations

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Kansas City Wiz

Los Angeles Galaxy

San Jose Clash

Dallas Burn

MetroStars

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

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
Pos	Club	Pts	GP	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	58	32	19	12	1	66	51	+15
2	D.C. United	46	32	15	16	1	62	56	+6
3	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	39	32	12	17	3	45	47	−2
4	Columbus Crew	37	32	11	17	4	59	60	−1
5	New England Revolution	33	32	9	17	6	43	56	−13

	1996 MLS Cup Playoffs

Western Conference
Pos	Club	Pts	GP	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	49	32	15	13	4	59	49	+10
2	Dallas Burn	41	32	12	15	5	50	48	+2
3	Kansas City Wiz	41	32	12	15	5	61	63	−2
4	San Jose Clash	39	32	12	17	3	50	50	0
5	Colorado Rapids	29	32	9	21	2	44	59	−15

	1996 MLS Cup Playoffs

Overall standings

Major League Soccer
Pos	Club	Pts	GP	W	L	SOW	GF	GA	GD
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny (E1)	58	32	19	12	1	66	51	+15
2	Los Angeles Galaxy (W1)	49	32	15	13	4	59	49	+10
3	D.C. United (E2)	46	32	15	16	1	62	56	+6
4	Dallas Burn (W2)	41	32	12	15	5	50	48	+2
5	Kansas City Wiz	41	32	12	15	5	61	63	−2
6	San Jose Clash	39	32	12	17	3	50	50	0
7	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	39	32	12	17	3	45	47	−2
8	Columbus Crew	37	32	11	17	4	59	60	−1
9	New England Revolution	33	32	9	17	6	43	56	−13
10	Colorado Rapids	29	32	9	21	2	44	59	−15

	MLS Supporters' Shield, 1996 MLS Cup Playoffs
	1996 MLS Cup Playoffs

• ^Note 1 - CONCACAF Champions' Cup berths awarded to the participants of MLS Cup 1996 (D.C. and Los Angeles)

Playoff bracket

	Conference Semifinals							Conference Finals							MLS Cup '96
	1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2	1	4
	4	Columbus Crew	0	2	1
								1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1	1	x
	Eastern Conference
								2	D.C. United	4	2	x
	2	D.C. United	2	1	2
	3	NY/NJ MetroStars (AET), (6-5 S.O.)*	3*	0	1
															E	D.C. United			3
															W	Los Angeles Galaxy			2
	1	Los Angeles Galaxy	0	2	2
	4	San Jose Clash	1	0	0
								1	Los Angeles Galaxy (AET), (3-1 S.O.)*	2	2*	x
	Western Conference
								3	Kansas City Wiz	1	1	x
	2	Dallas Burn	2	2	2
	3	Kansas City Wiz (AET), (3-2 S.O.)*	3	1	3*

• Best of Three series winners will advance.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

September 24, 1996 Game 1	NY/NJ MetroStars	3 – 2 6 – 5 (SO)	D.C. United	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 14,416 Referee: Esse Baharmast
	De Ávila  38' Savarese  75'		Díaz Arce  24' Moreno  56'

September 27, 1996 Game 2	D.C. United	1 – 0	NY/NJ MetroStars	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Washington, D.C. Attendance: 21,442 Referee: Paul Tamberino
	Etcheverry  72'

October 2, 1996 Game 3	D.C. United	2 – 1	NY/NJ MetroStars	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,423 Referee: Brian Hall
	Rammel  67' Diaz Arce (pen.)  89'		De Ávila  86'

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

---

September 25, 1996 Game 1	Columbus Crew	0 – 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 20,807 Referee: Brian Hall
			Lassiter  82', 87'

September 28, 1996 Game 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1 – 2	Columbus Crew	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, Florida Attendance: 13,009 Referee: Rich Grady
	Lassiter  26'		Paz  1' McBride  58'

October 2, 1996 Game 3	Tampa Bay Mutiny	4 – 1	Columbus Crew	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, Florida Attendance: 6,871 Referee: Tim Weyland
	Vasquez  3' Lassiter  41',58' Pittman  55'		McBride  35'

• 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	Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 4,466 Referee: Tim Weyland
	Johnston  16' McKeon  79' Preki  89'		Elliott  21' Ashton  25'

September 29, 1996 Game 2	Dallas Burn	2 – 1	Kansas City Wiz	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 10,125
	Kreis  5' Washington  32'		Preki  30'

October 2, 1996 Game 3	Dallas Burn	2 – 3 2 – 3 (SO)	Kansas City Wiz	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Attendance: 9,802 Referee: Rich Grady
	Sánchez  27' Elliott  66'		Chung  41' Takawira  62'

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

---

September 26, 1996 Game 1	San Jose Clash	1 – 0	Los Angeles Galaxy	Spartan Stadium San Jose, California Attendance: 17,209 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Ianni  36'

September 29, 1996 Game 2	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 0	San Jose Clash	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 27,833 Referee: Joshua Patlak
	Fraser  84' Hurtado  90'

October 2, 1996 Game 3	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 0	San Jose Clash	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 30,231 Referee: Esse Baharmast
	Hurtado  31' Cienfuegos (pen.)  36'

• 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	Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Washington, D.C. Attendance: 23,566 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Díaz Arce  36', 58', 60' Rammel  54'		Lassiter  42'

October 12, 1996 Game 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1 – 2	D.C. United	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, Florida Attendance: 9,339 Referee: Rich Grady
	Ralston  14'		Williams  49' Díaz Arce  82'

• 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	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Attendance: 25,212 Referee: Brian Hall
	Armas  48' Vanney  57'		Preki  52'

October 13, 1996 Game 2	Kansas City Wiz	1 – 2 1 – 3 (SO)	Los Angeles Galaxy	Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 11,041 Referee: Zimmerman Boulos
	Preki  69'		Vanney  76'

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

MLS Cup '96

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  5' Armas  56'		Sanneh  72' Medved  81' Pope  94'

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

Team awards

• MLS Cup - D.C. United
• MLS Supporters' Shield - Tampa Bay Mutiny
• U.S. Open Cup - D.C. United

Player of the Week

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	Adrian 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

Player of the Month

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

Individual 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

Top goal scorers

Position	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 Wizards	18
5	Brian McBride	Columbus Crew	17
6	Steve Rammel	D.C. United	14
7	Giovanni Savarese	NY/NJ MetroStars	13
	Vitalis Takawira	Kansas City Wiz	13
	Paul Bravo	San Jose Earthquakes	13
	Jason Kreis	Dallas Burn	13

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

Team attendance totals

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
OVERALL	160	2,785,001	17,406

Winningest coaches (by wins)

Coach	Club	Wins	Loss	PCT.	PTS.	SOW
Thomas Rongen	Tampa Bay Mutiny	20	12	0.625	58	1
Lothar Osiander	Los Angeles Galaxy	19	13	0.594	49	4
Dave Dir	Dallas Burn	17	15	0.531	41	5
Ron Newman	Kansas City Wiz	17	15	0.531	41	5
Bruce Arena	D.C. United	16	16	0.500	46	1
Laurie Calloway	San Jose Clash	15	17	0.469	39	3
Frank Stapleton	New England Revolution	15	17	0.469	33	6
Carlos Queiroz	NY/NJ Metrostars	12	12	0.500	34	1
Bobby Houghton	Colorado Rapids	11	20	0.355	29	2
Tom Fitzgerald	Columbus Crew	9	1	0.900	23	2
Timo Liekoski	Columbus Crew	6	15	0.286	14	2
Eddie Firmani	NY/NJ Metrostars	3	5	0.375	5	2
Roy Wegerle	Colorado Rapids	0	1	0.000	0	0

External links

• 1996 MLS Regular Season stats
• Soccer Hall of Fame