MLS Cup 1996

MLS Cup '96

LA Galaxy D.C. United 2 3
Date	October 20, 1996
Venue	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, US
Man of the Match	Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United)
Attendance	34,643
Weather	Rain, 44 °F (7 °C)

MLS Cup '96, the first championship match in Major League Soccer history, was played between D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the league's inaugural season. The match was played in very heavy rain from the proximity of Hurricane Lili, at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on October 20, 1996. D.C. United defeated the Galaxy 3-2 in overtime, after trailing 2-0, with 17 minutes remaining. Eddie Pope scored his golden goal to win it.

D.C. United and the 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 Los Angeles 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 17 50 50 0 39 5 Colorado Rapids 32 11 2 4 21 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	2–1	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 (OT)	D.C. United
Hurtado 4' Armas 56'	Report	Sanneh 72' Medved 81' Pope  94'

Foxboro Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 34,643

Referee: Esse Baharmast

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)

MLS Cup 1996 Winners
D.C. United First Title

References

Additional sources

• Alex Yannis (October 20, 1996). "The Title Will Be Decided In the Battles of Midfield". The New York Times.
• Steven Goff (October 21, 1996). "Pope Puts United at Head of the Class". The Washington Post.
• Alex Yannis (October 21, 1996). "United Rallies, Slides and Heads Its Way to First Title". The New York Times.
• "1996 Season in Review". Los Angeles Galaxy.
• Simon Borg (October 6, 2011). "Top 50 MLS Cup Moments: #45 Splash Time". Major League Soccer.