Major League Soccer · United States · level 1

2002

Honors
champion LA Galaxy (MLS Cup)
supporters' shield LA Galaxy
mvp Carlos Ruíz
golden boot Carlos Ruíz

MLS contracted from twelve teams to ten before the 2002 season, folding Miami and Tampa Bay after losing an estimated $250 million in its first six years. It was the low point: the league has added teams in most seasons since.

140 games 3.01 goals / game 15,820 avg. attendance closest-club map

Postseason

MLS Cup Playoffs

Championship · Oct. 20, 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 0 New England Revolution

Standings

team GP W T L pts gf ga ppg gf/ga
Los Angeles Galaxy 28 16 3 9 51 44 33 1.82 1.33
San Jose Earthquakes 28 14 3 11 45 45 35 1.61 1.29
Colorado Rapids 28 13 4 11 43 43 48 1.54 0.90
Dallas Burn 28 12 7 9 43 44 43 1.54 1.02
New England Revolution 28 12 2 14 38 49 49 1.36 1.00
Columbus Crew 28 11 5 12 38 44 43 1.36 1.02
Chicago Fire 28 11 4 13 37 43 38 1.32 1.13
Kansas City Wizards 28 9 9 10 36 37 45 1.29 0.82
MetroStars 28 11 2 15 35 41 47 1.25 0.87
D.C. United 28 9 5 14 32 31 40 1.14 0.78

Season leaders

complete stats

Goals

  1. Carlos Ruíz 24
  2. Taylor Twellman 23
  3. Jeff Cunningham 16
  4. Ante Razov 14
  5. Ariel Graziani 14
  6. Jason Kreis 13
  7. Mamadou Diallo 12
  8. Rodrigo Faria 12
  9. Chris Carrieri 11
  10. Chris Henderson 11

Assists

  1. Steve Ralston 19
  2. Carlos Valderrama 16
  3. Andy Williams 15
  4. Cobi Jones 13
  5. Antonio Martínez 10
  6. Mark Chung 10
  7. Preki 10
  8. Simon Elliott 10
  9. Joselito Vaca 9
  10. Ramiro Corrales 9

Appearances

  1. Ariel Graziani 28
  2. Chris Brown 28
  3. Chris Henderson 28
  4. Daniel Hernandez 28
  5. Jesse Marsch 28
  6. Leo Cullen 28
  7. Nick Rimando 28
  8. Ramiro Corrales 28
  9. Robin Fraser 28
  10. Rodrigo Faria 28

Most recent games

all games

date season team score team venue referee attendance sources
Sept. 22, 2002 2002 Chicago Fire 2 - 1 Columbus Crew Cardinal Stadium 15487 2
Sept. 21, 2002 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes Spartan Stadium 26229 2
Sept. 21, 2002 2002 New England Revolution 3 - 0 MetroStars Gillette Stadium 20215 2
Sept. 20, 2002 2002 Colorado Rapids 1 - 1 Kansas City Wizards Mile High 25614 2
Sept. 19, 2002 2002 D.C. United 3 - 4 Dallas Burn RFK Stadium 13889 2
Sept. 14, 2002 2002 Colorado Rapids 2 - 1 Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 19270 2
Sept. 14, 2002 2002 Chicago Fire 0 - 2 Columbus Crew Crew Stadium 22459 2
Sept. 14, 2002 2002 Dallas Burn 1 - 2 New England Revolution Cotton Bowl 17652 2
Sept. 14, 2002 2002 D.C. United 2 - 1 MetroStars RFK Stadium 17677 2
Sept. 14, 2002 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes Rose Bowl 32874 2
Sept. 12, 2002 2002 D.C. United 1 - 0 MetroStars Giants Stadium 14585 2
Sept. 7, 2002 2002 D.C. United 0 - 3 New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 15748 2
Sept. 7, 2002 2002 Chicago Fire 1 - 2 Los Angeles Galaxy Cardinal Stadium 15731 2
Sept. 7, 2002 2002 Columbus Crew 3 - 4 San Jose Earthquakes Spartan Stadium 14792 2
Sept. 5, 2002 2002 Dallas Burn 1 - 3 MetroStars Cotton Bowl 7913 2
Sept. 1, 2002 2002 Colorado Rapids 3 - 2 Dallas Burn Mile High 12754 2
Aug. 31, 2002 2002 D.C. United 4 - 2 San Jose Earthquakes RFK Stadium 14158 2
Aug. 31, 2002 2002 Chicago Fire 1 - 2 Kansas City Wizards Arrowhead Stadium 20173 2
Aug. 31, 2002 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy 3 - 0 MetroStars Rose Bowl 19854 2
Aug. 31, 2002 2002 Columbus Crew 0 - 0 New England Revolution Crew Stadium 24422 2
Aug. 28, 2002 2002 Colorado Rapids 1 - 3 New England Revolution Gillette Stadium 13210 2
Aug. 25, 2002 2002 D.C. United 0 - 1 MetroStars Giants Stadium 20447 2
Aug. 24, 2002 2002 Colorado Rapids 3 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes Mile High 12196 2
Aug. 24, 2002 2002 Dallas Burn 1 - 0 Los Angeles Galaxy Cotton Bowl 15883 2
Aug. 24, 2002 2002 Chicago Fire 1 - 2 New England Revolution Cardinal Stadium 15887 2

Awards

award winner
Best XI Alexi Lalas
Best XI Carlos Bocanegra
Best XI Carlos Ruíz
Best XI Jeff Cunningham
Best XI Mark Chung
Best XI Ronnie Ekelund
Best XI Steve Ralston
Best XI Taylor Twellman
Best XI Tim Howard
Best XI Wade Barrett
Best XI Óscar Pareja
Coach of the Year Steve Nicol
Comeback Player of the Year Chris Klein
Defender of the Year Carlos Bocanegra
Fair Play Award Mark Chung
Goalkeeper of the Year Joe Cannon
Humanitarian of the Year Steve Jolley
MVP Carlos Ruíz
Referee of the Year Kevin Terry
Rookie of the Year Kyle Martino
Supporters' Shield LA Galaxy

Where the minutes came from

United States: 198,479 minutes, 70.2%United States: 198,479 minutes, 70.2%United States: 198,479 minutes, 70.2%Jamaica: 9,123 minutes, 3.2%Colombia: 8,048 minutes, 2.8%Venezuela: 561 minutes, 0.2%Turks and Caicos Islands: 790 minutes, 0.3%Scotland: 1,149 minutes, 0.4%Northern Ireland: 2,199 minutes, 0.8%England: 1,806 minutes, 0.6%Ukraine: 2,536 minutes, 0.9%Uganda: 2,370 minutes, 0.8%Trinidad and Tobago: 222 minutes, 0.1%Trinidad and Tobago: 222 minutes, 0.1%Switzerland: 839 minutes, 0.3%South Africa: 508 minutes, 0.2%South Africa: 508 minutes, 0.2%Sierra Leone: 286 minutes, 0.1%Serbia: 2,141 minutes, 0.8%Serbia: 2,141 minutes, 0.8%Senegal: 1,851 minutes, 0.7%Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 2,048 minutes, 0.7%Russia: 1,480 minutes, 0.5%Russia: 1,480 minutes, 0.5%Russia: 1,480 minutes, 0.5%Portugal: 631 minutes, 0.2%Portugal: 631 minutes, 0.2%Portugal: 631 minutes, 0.2%Poland: 1,872 minutes, 0.7%Peru: 1,151 minutes, 0.4%New Zealand: 5,551 minutes, 2.0%New Zealand: 5,551 minutes, 2.0%New Zealand: 5,551 minutes, 2.0%Mexico: 2,126 minutes, 0.8%Mali: 729 minutes, 0.3%Liberia: 386 minutes, 0.1%Ireland: 506 minutes, 0.2%Honduras: 3,218 minutes, 1.1%Guatemala: 2,591 minutes, 0.9%Ghana: 918 minutes, 0.3%El Salvador: 5,507 minutes, 1.9%Denmark: 2,347 minutes, 0.8%Denmark: 2,347 minutes, 0.8%Costa Rica: 2,085 minutes, 0.7%Chile: 836 minutes, 0.3%Chile: 836 minutes, 0.3%Chile: 836 minutes, 0.3%Canada: 3,839 minutes, 1.4%Bulgaria: 693 minutes, 0.2%Brazil: 2,285 minutes, 0.8%Botswana: 1 minute, 0.0%Bolivia: 5,308 minutes, 1.9%Argentina: 3,405 minutes, 1.2%Russia: 1,480 minutes, 0.5%
  • 25% and over
  • 10-25%
  • 5-10%
  • 2-5%
  • under 2%
Minutes by country of origin. Each country is shaded by its share of the minutes; the bands are fixed, so one season can be compared with another. Hover or focus a country for its figures, and read the table below for all of them. A country too small to draw at this crop is marked with a dot.
minutes by country of origin
countryminutesshare
United States 198,479 70.2%
Jamaica 9,123 3.2%
Colombia 8,048 2.8%
New Zealand 5,551 2.0%
El Salvador 5,507 1.9%
Bolivia 5,308 1.9%
Canada 3,839 1.4%
Argentina 3,405 1.2%
Honduras 3,218 1.1%
Guatemala 2,591 0.9%
Ukraine 2,536 0.9%
Uganda 2,370 0.8%
Denmark 2,347 0.8%
Brazil 2,285 0.8%
Northern Ireland 2,199 0.8%
Serbia 2,141 0.8%
Mexico 2,126 0.8%
Costa Rica 2,085 0.7%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2,048 0.7%
Poland 1,872 0.7%
Senegal 1,851 0.7%
England 1,806 0.6%
Russia 1,480 0.5%
Peru 1,151 0.4%
Scotland 1,149 0.4%
Ghana 918 0.3%
Switzerland 839 0.3%
Chile 836 0.3%
Turks and Caicos Islands 790 0.3%
Mali 729 0.3%
Bulgaria 693 0.2%
Portugal 631 0.2%
Venezuela 561 0.2%
South Africa 508 0.2%
Ireland 506 0.2%
Liberia 386 0.1%
Sierra Leone 286 0.1%
Trinidad and Tobago 222 0.1%
not recorded 119 0.0%
Botswana 1 0.0%

No birthplace is on record for 251,967 of these minutes, so they go by the player's recorded nationality instead.

Totals are summed from what the record holds — see the coverage note.