2001 Major League Soccer season

The 2001 Major League Soccer season was the sixth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 89th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 23rd with a national first-division league.

2001 Major League Soccer season

Season	2001
MLS Cup	San Jose Earthquakes (1st title)
Supporters' Shield	Miami Fusion (1st shield)
2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup	San Jose Earthquakes
Matches played	158
Goals scored	519 (3.28 per match)
Top goalscorer	Alex Pineda Chacon Miami Fusion F.C. Goals: 19
Highest attendance	D.C. United Season: 258,213 Game Avg.: 21,518
Lowest attendance	San Jose Earthquakes Season: 125,250 Game Avg.: 9,635
Total attendance	2,363,859
Average attendance	14,961
← 2000 2002 →

D.C. United

MetroStars

Miami

New England

Chicago

Columbus

Dallas

Tampa Bay

Colorado

Los Angeles

Kansas City

San Jose

Locations of teams for the 2001 Major League Soccer season
Western Division   Central Division   Eastern Division

The season was shortened due to the September 11 attacks, with the final weeks' regular season matches being canceled. Due to the different number of games played, playoff ordering was determined by points per game, instead of total points.^[1]

The regular season began on April 7, and concluded prematurely on September 9. The 2001 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20, and concluded with MLS Cup 2001 on October 21. The Miami Fusion won their first Supporters' Shield and the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final to win their first MLS Cup.

Overview

Season format

The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 21. The 12 teams were split into three divisions. Each team was to play 28 games^[2] that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team would play every other team in their division four times, for a total of 12 games. The remaining schedule consisted of three games against four select opponents in one of the other divisions, and two games against the remaining four teams.

The eight teams with the most points per game qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.

The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Stadiums and locations

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Chicago Fire	Soldier Field	66,944
Colorado Rapids	Mile High Stadium	76,273
Columbus Crew	Columbus Crew Stadium	22,555
D.C. United	RFK Stadium	46,000
Dallas Burn	Cotton Bowl	92,100
Kansas City Wizards	Arrowhead Stadium	81,425
Los Angeles Galaxy	Rose Bowl	92,542
Miami Fusion	Lockhart Stadium	20,450
New England Revolution	Foxboro Stadium	60,292
MetroStars	Giants Stadium	80,200
San Jose Earthquakes	Spartan Stadium	30,456
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Raymond James Stadium	69,218

Personnel and sponsorships

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Fire	Bob Bradley		—
Colorado Rapids	Tim Hankinson
Columbus Crew	Greg Andrulis		—
D.C. United	Thomas Rongen		MasterCard
Dallas Burn	Mike Jeffries
Kansas City Wizards	Bob Gansler		—
Los Angeles Galaxy	Sigi Schmid		—
MetroStars	Octavio Zambrano	Tab Ramos
Miami Fusion	Ray Hudson		—
New England Revolution	Fernando Clavijo		—
San Jose Earthquakes	Frank Yallop	Jeff Agoos	Yahoo! Sports
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Perry Van der Beck

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Columbus Crew	Tom Fitzgerald	Fired	May 17, 2001	Greg Andrulis	May 17, 2001
Tampa Bay Mutiny	Alfonso Mondelo	Resigned	July 5, 2001	Perry Van der Beck	July 5, 2001

Standings

Eastern Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Miami Fusion	26	16	5	5	57	36	+21	53	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	MetroStars	26	13	10	3	38	35	+3	42
3	New England Revolution	27	7	14	6	35	52	−17	27
4	D.C. United	26	8	16	2	42	50	−8	26

Source: MLS

Central Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chicago Fire	27	16	6	5	50	30	+20	53	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Columbus Crew	26	13	7	6	49	36	+13	45
3	Dallas Burn	26	10	11	5	48	47	+1	35
4	Tampa Bay Mutiny	27	4	21	2	32	68	−36	14

Source: MLS

Western Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Los Angeles Galaxy	26	14	7	5	52	36	+16	47	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	San Jose Earthquakes	26	13	7	6	47	29	+18	45
3	Kansas City Wizards	27	11	13	3	33	53	−20	36
4	Colorado Rapids	26	5	13	8	36	47	−11	23

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Miami Fusion (S)	26	16	5	5	57	36	+21	53	2.04	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2	Chicago Fire	27	16	6	5	50	30	+20	53	1.96
3	Los Angeles Galaxy	26	14	7	5	52	36	+16	47	1.81
4	Columbus Crew	26	13	7	6	49	36	+13	45	1.73
5	San Jose Earthquakes (C)	26	13	7	6	47	29	+18	45	1.73	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
6	MetroStars	26	13	10	3	38	35	+3	42	1.62
7	Dallas Burn	26	10	11	5	48	47	+1	35	1.35
8	Kansas City Wizards	27	11	13	3	33	53	−20	36	1.33
9	New England Revolution	27	7	14	6	35	52	−17	27	1.00
10	D.C. United	26	8	16	2	42	50	−8	26	1.00
11	Colorado Rapids	26	5	13	8	36	47	−11	23	0.88
12	Tampa Bay Mutiny	27	4	21	2	32	68	−36	14	0.52

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) total goal differential per match played; 3) total goals scored per match played; 4) away record; 5) away goal differential; 6) total goals scored in away matches; 7) home record; 8) home goal differential; 9) total goals scored in home matches; 10) fewest disciplinary points per match played; 6) away goal differential per away match played; 11) coin toss or drawing of lots.
(C) Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield

MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals							Semifinals							MLS Cup
	2	Chicago Fire (7 Points)	2	1	2
	7	Dallas Burn (1 Points)	0	1	0
								2	Chicago Fire (1 Points)	1	0	1
								3	Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (7 Points)	1	1*	2*
	3	Los Angeles Galaxy (SDET)* (4 Points)	1	1	3*
	6	MetroStars (4 Points)	1	4	2
															3	Los Angeles Galaxy	1
															5	San Jose Earthquakes (ASDET)*	2
	1	Miami Fusion (6 Points)	2	0	2
	8	Kansas City Wizards (3 Points)	0	3	1
								1	Miami Fusion (3 Points)	1	0	0
								5	San Jose Earthquakes (SDET)* (6 Points)	0	4	1*
	4	Columbus Crew (0 Points)	1	0	x
	5	San Jose Earthquakes (6 Points)	3	3	x

• Points system
  Win = 3 Pts.
  Loss = 0 Pts.
  Draw = 1 Pt.
• ASDET*=Added sudden death extra time (game tie breaker)
  SDET**=Sudden death extra time (series tie breaker)
  Teams will advance at 5 points.

Quarterfinals

September 20, 2001

Dallas Burn	0–2	Chicago Fire
		Bocanegra 40' Whitfield 90'+

Soldier Field
Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,314

September 23, 2001

Chicago Fire	1–1	Dallas Burn
J. Beasley 84'		Deering 27'

Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas
Attendance:: 17,149

September 29, 2001

Dallas Burn	0–2	Chicago Fire
		Kovalenko 17' Armas 55'

Soldier Field
Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 12,811

Chicago Fire advance 7–1 on points.

---

September 22, 2001

Kansas City Wizards	0–2	Miami Fusion
		Serna 28' Pineda Chacón 53'

Lockhart Stadium
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 6,281

September 26, 2001

Miami Fusion	0–3	Kansas City Wizards
		Lowe 24' McKeon 31' (pen.) Gomez 45'+

Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 5,803

September 29, 2001

Kansas City Wizards	1–2	Miami Fusion
Lowe 13'		Preki 14' Henderson 71'

Lockhart Stadium
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 8,119

Miami Fusion advance 6–3 on points.

---

September 23, 2001

MetroStars	1–1	Los Angeles Galaxy
Faria 29'		Caligiuri 63'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Attendance: 11,580

September 26, 2001

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–4	MetroStars
Victorine 4'		Faria 72', 80' Chung 75' Valencia 83'

Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 12,817

September 29, 2001

MetroStars	2–3	Los Angeles Galaxy
Villegas 49', 60'		Victorine 21', 33' Frye 56'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Attendance: 6,154

	0–1 series (SDET)
		Cienfuegos 8'

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 1-0 in series overtime (SDET) after 4-4 tie on points.

---

September 22, 2001

San Jose Earthquakes	3–1	Columbus Crew
Donovan 5' 45'+ Lagos 31'		Warzycha 54' (pen.)

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 20,883

September 26, 2001

Columbus Crew	0–3	San Jose Earthquakes
		Lagos 9' Cerritos 68' Donovan 76'

Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California
Attendance: 10,419

San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–0 on points.

Semifinals

---

October 10, 2001

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–1	Chicago Fire
Hernández 44'		Wynalda 32'

Soldier Field
Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 10,388

October 13, 2001

Chicago Fire	0–1 (AET)	Los Angeles Galaxy
		Vagenas 94'

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Attendance: 10,100

October 17, 2001

Los Angeles Galaxy	2–1 (AET)	Chicago Fire
Califf 44' Cienfuegos 98'		D. Beasley 30'

Soldier Field
Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 13,444

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 7–1 on points.

---

October 10, 2001

San Jose Earthquakes	0–1	Miami Fusion
		Preki 53'

Lockhart Stadium
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 9,236

October 14, 2001

Miami Fusion	0–4	San Jose Earthquakes
		Donovan 16' Russell 57' Lagos 69' De Rosario 89'

Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California
Attendance: 16,119

October 17, 2001

San Jose Earthquakes	1–0 (AET)	Miami Fusion
Dayak 94'

Lockhart Stadium
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 11,242

San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–3 on points.

MLS Cup

Main article: MLS Cup 2001

October 21, 2001

Los Angeles Galaxy	1–2 (AET)	San Jose Earthquakes
Hernández 21'		Donovan 43' De Rosario 96'

Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 21,626

Player statistics

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion	19
2	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion	15
3	John Spencer	Colorado Rapids	14
	Abdul Thompson Conteh	D.C. United
5	Ronald Cerritos	San Jose Earthquakes	11
	Ariel Graziani	Dallas Burn
7	Jeff Cunningham	Columbus Crew	10
	Eric Wynalda	New England Revolution, Chicago Fire
9	Mamadou Diallo	Tampa Bay Mutiny	9
	Jaime Moreno	D.C. United

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Clint Mathis	MetroStars	Kansas City Wizards	4–1	May 2
Abdul Thompson Conteh	D.C. United	New England Revolution	5–0	May 9
Mamadou Diallo4	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Los Angeles Galaxy	4–1
Diego Serna	Miami Fusion	Dallas Burn	6–2	June 2
Dante Washington	Columbus Crew	Tampa Bay Mutiny	6–1	June 16
John Spencer	Colorado Rapids	D.C. United	3–1	July 4
Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion	D.C. United	3–1	September 8

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion	11
	John Wilmar Pérez	Columbus Crew
3	Ross Paule	Colorado Rapids	10
	Preki	Miami Fusion
5	Jeff Cunningham	Columbus Crew	8
	Cobi Jones	Los Angeles Galaxy
	Manny Lagos	San Jose Earthquakes
	Piotr Nowak	Chicago Fire
9	Landon Donovan	San Jose Earthquakes	7
	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United
	Ariel Graziani	Dallas Burn
	Eric Quill	Tampa Bay Mutiny

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Matt Jordan	Dallas Burn	9
	Zach Thornton	Chicago Fire
3	Joe Cannon	San Jose Earthquakes	7
4	Matt Reis	Los Angeles Galaxy	6
5	Tom Presthus	Columbus Crew	5
	Nick Rimando	Miami Fusion
7	Kevin Hartman	Los Angeles Galaxy	4
	Tim Howard	MetroStars
	Tony Meola	Kansas City Wizards
10	Bo Oshoniyi	Kansas City Wizards	3

Awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion
Defender of the Year	Jeff Agoos	San Jose Earthquakes
Goalkeeper of the Year	Tim Howard	MetroStars
Coach of the Year	Frank Yallop	San Jose Earthquakes
Rookie of the Year	Rodrigo Faria	MetroStars
Comeback Player of the Year	Troy Dayak	San Jose Earthquakes
Scoring Champion	Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion
Goal of the Year	Clint Mathis	MetroStars
Fair Play Award	Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion
Humanitarian of the Year	Tim Howard	MetroStars

Best XI

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Tim Howard, MetroStars	Jeff Agoos, San Jose Carlos Llamosa, Miami Pablo Mastroeni, Miami Greg Vanney, LA Galaxy	Chris Armas, Chicago Piotr Nowak, Chicago Preki, Miami	Alex Pineda Chacón, Miami Diego Serna, Miami John Spencer, Colorado

Player of the Month

Week	Player	Club
April	Alex Pineda Chacón	Miami Fusion
May	Clint Mathis	MetroStars
June	Diego Serna	Miami Fusion
July	Hristo Stoitchkov	Chicago Fire
August	Brian Maisonneuve	Columbus Crew

Attendance

Team	Games	Total	Average
D.C. United	12	258,213	21,518
MetroStars	13	270,477	20,806
Columbus Crew	13	227,644	17,511
Los Angeles Galaxy	13	226,035	17,387
Colorado Rapids	13	214,249	16,481
Chicago Fire	14	229,438	16,388
New England Revolution	13	203,501	15,654
Dallas Burn	13	163,465	12,574
Miami Fusion	14	156,481	11,177
Kansas City Wizards	13	142,402	10,954
Tampa Bay Mutiny	14	146,704	10,479
San Jose Earthquakes	13	125,250	9,635
Totals	158	2,363,859	14,961

International Competition

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

• Kansas City Wizards
  2001 edition canceled; Wizards advanced to CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2002.
• Chicago Fire
  2001 edition canceled; Fire advance to CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2002.

Copa Merconorte

• MetroStars
  Went 3-3-0 in group stage and did not advance.
  Defeated Deportivo Italchacao, 2-0 at home.
  Awarded two forfeit wins against
  Club Deportivo Guadalajara, after the club refused to travel.
  Lost Deportivo Italchacao, 2-1 away.
  Lost Millonarios, 2-1 away and 1-0 at home.
• Kansas City Wizards
  Went 1-4-1 in group stage and did not advance.
  Defeated Barcelona, 3-2 away, Drew 1-1 at home.
  Lost Santos Laguna, 4-2 away and 1-0 at home.
  Lost Sporting Cristal, 2-1 at home and 2-1 away.

CONCACAF Giants Cup

• D.C. United
  Defeated Arnett Gardens, 5-1 on aggregate in quarterfinals.
  Defeated Comunicaciones, 2-1 in semifinals.
  Lost Club América, 2-0 in final.
• Columbus Crew
  Lost Deportivo Saprissa, 3-1 on aggregate in quarterfinals.