MLS Cup Playoffs · United States · level 1

1996

The first MLS Cup was played at Foxboro Stadium in the middle of a nor'easter. LA Galaxy led 2–0 with less than twenty minutes left, but D.C. United tied it late and won 3–2 on Eddie Pope's golden-goal header in the fourth minute of extra time.

Honors
champion D.C. United
mvp —
golden boot Raúl Díaz Arce

17 games 3.12 goals / game 17,672 avg. attendance closest-club map

Season leaders

complete stats

Goals

  1. Raúl Díaz Arce 6
  2. Roy Lassiter 6
  3. Predrag Radosavljević 4
  4. Eduardo Hurtado 3
  5. Antony de Ávila 2
  6. Brian McBride 2
  7. Chris Armas 2
  8. Gerell Elliott 2
  9. Greg Vanney 2
  10. Steve Rammel 2

Assists

  1. Marco Etcheverry 3
  2. Steve Ralston 3
  3. Carlos Valderrama 2
  4. Giuseppe Galderisi 2
  5. Hugo Sánchez 2
  6. John Harkes 2
  7. Martin Vasquez 2
  8. Mauricio Cienfuegos 2
  9. Mike Sorber 2
  10. Roberto Donadoni 2

Appearances

  1. Chris Armas 6
  2. Cobi Jones 6
  3. Eddie Pope 6
  4. Eduardo Hurtado 6
  5. Greg Vanney 6
  6. Harut Karapetyan 6
  7. Jeff Agoos 6
  8. John Harkes 6
  9. John Maessner 6
  10. Jorge Campos 6

Most recent games

all games

date season group team score team venue referee attendance sources
Oct. 20, 1996 1996 D.C. United 3 - 2 Los Angeles Galaxy Foxboro Stadium Esfandiar Baharmast 34643 1
Oct. 13, 1996 1996 Western Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 1 Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium Zimmerman Boulos 11041 1
Oct. 12, 1996 1996 Eastern D.C. United 2 - 1 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium Rich Grady 9339 1
Oct. 10, 1996 1996 Western Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 Kansas City Wiz Rose Bowl Brian Hall 25212 1
Oct. 10, 1996 1996 Eastern D.C. United 4 - 1 Tampa Bay Mutiny RFK Stadium Kevin Stott 23566 1
Oct. 2, 1996 1996 Eastern D.C. United 2 - 1 New York/New Jersey MetroStars RFK Stadium Brian Hall 20423 1
Oct. 2, 1996 1996 Eastern Columbus Crew 1 - 4 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium Tim Weyland 6871 1
Oct. 2, 1996 1996 Western Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 0 San Jose Clash Rose Bowl Esfandiar Baharmast 30231 1
Oct. 2, 1996 1996 Western Dallas Burn 2 - 2 Kansas City Wiz Cotton Bowl Rich Grady 9802 1
Sept. 29, 1996 1996 Western Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 0 San Jose Clash Rose Bowl Joshua Patlak 27833 1
Sept. 29, 1996 1996 Western Dallas Burn 2 - 1 Kansas City Wiz Cotton Bowl Esfandiar Baharmast 10125 1
Sept. 28, 1996 1996 Eastern Columbus Crew 2 - 1 Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Stadium Rich Grady 13009 1
Sept. 27, 1996 1996 Eastern D.C. United 1 - 0 New York/New Jersey MetroStars RFK Stadium Paul Tamberino 21442 1
Sept. 26, 1996 1996 Western Dallas Burn 2 - 3 Kansas City Wiz Arrowhead Stadium Tim Weyland 4466 1
Sept. 26, 1996 1996 Western Los Angeles Galaxy 0 - 1 San Jose Clash Spartan Stadium Kevin Stott 17209 1
Sept. 25, 1996 1996 Eastern Columbus Crew 0 - 2 Tampa Bay Mutiny Ohio Stadium Brian Hall 20807 1
Sept. 24, 1996 1996 Eastern D.C. United 2 - 2 New York/New Jersey MetroStars Giants Stadium Esfandiar Baharmast 14416 1

Awards

award winner
MLS Cup D.C. United

Where the minutes came from

United States: 2,777 minutes, 8.2%United States: 2,777 minutes, 8.2%England: 689 minutes, 2.0%Switzerland: 544 minutes, 1.6%Mexico: 622 minutes, 1.8%Greece: 40 minutes, 0.1%Croatia: 120 minutes, 0.4%Brazil: 150 minutes, 0.4%Argentina: 166 minutes, 0.5%
  • 25% and over
  • 10-25%
  • 5-10%
  • 2-5%
  • under 2%
Minutes by country of birth. 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 birth
countryminutesshare
not recorded 28,636 84.9%
United States 2,777 8.2%
England 689 2.0%
Mexico 622 1.8%
Switzerland 544 1.6%
Argentina 166 0.5%
Brazil 150 0.4%
Croatia 120 0.4%
Greece 40 0.1%

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