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 marque players, beginning with Tab Ramos on January 3, 1995.^[1] Beginning in October 1995, the league apportioned the marque 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.

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.^[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 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 count down 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

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

Source: MLS

Western Conference

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

Source: MLS

Overall standings

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

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Template:8TeamBracket-MLS Divisional Version 1

Best of Three series winners will advance.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference

September 24, 1996
Game 1

New York/New Jersey MetroStars	2–2 6–5 (SO)	D.C. United
de Ávila 38' Savarese 75'		Díaz Arce 24' Moreno 56'

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'

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial 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.)		de Ávila 86'

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial 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
		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'		Paz 1' McBride 58'

Houlihan's Stadium
Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 13,009

Referee: Rich Grady

October 2, 1996
Game 3

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

Houlihan's Stadium
Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 6,871

Referee: Tim Weyland

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'		Elliott 21' Ashton 25'

Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 4,466

Referee: Tim Weyland

September 29, 1996
Game 2

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

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 10,125

October 2, 1996
Game 3

Dallas Burn	2–2 2–3 (SO)	Kansas City Wiz
Sánchez 27' Elliott 66'		Chung 41' Takawira 62'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

Attendance: 9,802

Referee: Rich Grady

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'

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'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 27,833

Referee: Joshua Patlak

October 2, 1996
Game 3

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

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'		Lassiter 42'

Robert F. Kennedy 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'		Williams 49' Díaz Arce 82'

Houlihan's Stadium
Tampa, Florida

Attendance: 9,339

Referee: Rich Grady

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'		Preki 52'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

Attendance: 25,212

Referee: Brian Hall

October 13, 1996
Game 2

Kansas City Wiz	1–1 1–3 (SO)	Los Angeles Galaxy
Preki 69'		Vanney 76'

Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri

Attendance: 11,041

Referee: Zimmerman Boulos

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

MLS Cup

October 20, 1996

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

Foxboro Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 34,643
Weather: Rain, 44 °F

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

Western Conference

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

[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.

[1]

[2]

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[5]

[6]

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