MLS Cup 1997 was the second edition of the
MLS Cup
MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...
, the post-season championship match of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS) in the United States. It was played on October 26, 1997, between
D.C. United and the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...
to determine the champion of the
1997 season. The
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
match was played in front of 57,431 spectators at
RFK Memorial Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
D.C. United were defending champions and finished atop the
Eastern Conference and the
overall league standings despite being strained by runs in multiple competitions. Colorado had overhauled their roster after finishing last overall in the 1996 season and qualified for the playoffs with a
losing record, finishing fourth in the
Western Conference, but earned two
upset victories in the playoffs. As finalists, D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids both earned berths to play in the
1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 34th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's clu ...
.
During a rainstorm that mirrored the
previous final, D.C. repeated as MLS Cup champions by winning 2–1. The hosts took a lead through
Jaime Moreno in the 37th minute and extended it with a header by
Tony Sanneh
Anthony Sanneh (born June 1, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder.
Club career
Youth and college
Tony Sanneh was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota to an African father from Gambia and an Am ...
in the 68th minute. Substitute
Adrián Paz scored a consolation goal for Colorado in the 75th minute, but the team were unable to draw level despite several chances. The announced crowd of 57,431 was the second-largest attendance for a sporting event at RFK Memorial Stadium.
Venue
RFK Memorial Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, the home of defending champions
D.C. United, was selected as the host of the second MLS Cup on December 17, 1996. The stadium was opened in 1961 and was primarily used for American football and baseball, but previously hosted the 1980
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...
and the
1996 U.S. Open Cup Final. It also hosted several matches during the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
and
1996 Olympics men's soccer tournament.
The league sold 32,000 tickets for the final in mid-October after D.C. United advanced to the
conference finals. After the team clinched an appearance in the final, the remainder of the stadium's 56,000 seats were sold out and 1,000
bleacher
Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...
seats were added.
Road to the final
The
MLS Cup
MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...
is the post-season championship of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS), a professional club
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
league based in the United States that began play in 1996. The league's
second season was contested by ten teams organized into two conferences, each playing 32 matches during the regular season from April to September. Teams faced opponents from the same conference four times during the regular season and from outside their conference three or four times. MLS continued to use the modified version of the sport's rules that it adopted for the 1996 season, including a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
from to decide tied matches (for which the winners earned one point) and a
countdown clock that stopped during
dead plays.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs, which were organized into three rounds and played in October. The first two rounds, named the conference semifinals and conference finals, were
home-and-away series organized into a best-of-three format with a hosting advantage for the higher seed. The winners of the conference finals advanced to the single-match MLS Cup final, which would be held at a predetermined neutral venue.
MLS Cup 1997 was contested by defending champions and hosts D.C. United, who finished first in the regular season standings, and the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...
, who finished fourth in the Western Conference. The two finalists swept through the playoffs by winning the conference semifinals and conference finals in two legs. During three regular season meetings between the two teams, D.C. won 5–2 in April and 5–0 in June, while Colorado won in a shootout following a 2–2 draw in August. The Rapids reached the final through a "
Cinderella run" in the playoffs and were considered
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...
s to defending champions D.C. United.
D.C. United
Inaugural season champions D.C. United retained most of their players and made few changes during the offseason, trading midfielder
Shawn Medved
Shawn Medved is a retired American soccer forward and midfielder. Currently, he coaches youth soccer.
Youth
Medved was born and grew up in Issaquah, Washington. His father, Ron Medved, was a noted American football player for the University of ...
to the
San Jose Clash and acquiring defender
Carlos Llamosa in the
supplemental draft. Nine of their starting players were called up at various times to their national teams for
World Cup qualifying, giving reserve players an opportunity to earn a starting spot.
D.C. went on a preseason tour that included matches in Japan and Hong Kong, earning a 6–2
win–loss record, and returned to open the season against MLS Cup opponents
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...
with a shootout win.
D.C. earned one shootout win and three wins in regulation time to put them atop the Eastern Conference standings early in the season, highlighted by the performance of rookie goalkeeper
Scott Garlick, who replaced starter
Mark Simpson during his stint with an indoor team. The team then drew four times and lost three of the shootouts, briefly losing first place in the East in May before retaking it by the end of the month. Despite losing Bolivian players
Marco Etcheverry
Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas (born 26 September 1970) is a Bolivian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward or midfielder. A creative playmaker, he is considered one of the ...
and
Jaime Moreno to the national team for six weeks, D.C. won their next five matches but lost 6–1 to the
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...
on June 21, ending a 22-match unbeaten streak in regulation time. D.C. United also had six players in the starting lineup for the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
, which was won 5–4 by the East.
After the All-Star Game in early July, D.C. United went through a series of underwhelming performances, including three regulation losses and one shootout loss in six matches, blamed in part on injuries to Etcheverry and captain
John Harkes
John Andrew Harkes (born March 8, 1967) is an American Association football, soccer coach and former professional player who last coached Greenville Triumph SC.
A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Harkes was the first American to pla ...
. The team then entered a stretch of 13 matches in 36 days, forced by their participation in the
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...
(finishing third) and
U.S. Open Cup (advancing to the semifinals). D.C. United went 8–4–1 in all competitions through the end of August, including three wins out of four matches in regular season play during a stretch of five matches in twelve days.
The team made further changes to their goalkeepers, as Simpson had undergone two knee surgeries and backup
Jeff Causey was signed by the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...
; in their place, Scott Garlick and rookie
Tom Presthus were rotated between matches as starters. On August 17,
Mario Gori and
Raúl Díaz Arce
Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970) is a Salvadoran former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is El Salvador's most prolific goal scorer, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances.
Playing career
From 1985 to 1986, Arce play ...
were arrested for an alleged rape at a Columbus hotel, but released the following day on bail and allowed to continue playing for the team; the case was later dropped without charges in January 1998 after the alleged victim declined to continue.
D.C. earned their playoff berth with their first win against the Kansas City Wizards in franchise history after five earlier losses, and subsequently clinched first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3–2 shootout win against New England. The team continued to heavily rotate lineups and rested eight starting players in the second of a home-and-away series against the
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...
, winning 5–1 despite losing the first match with most of their regular starters. D.C. finished the regular season atop the league-wide standings with 55 points and a 21–11 record, but fell short of matching the Mutiny's record 58 points from the 1996 season after losing to the MetroStars in their last match.
The team showed its roster depth by using a different lineup for all 39 league and cup matches, including 24 different starting players.
Bruce Arena was named
MLS Coach of the Year
The Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award is given by Major League Soccer to the best coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 1996 and is determined by a vote from players, club personnel, and members of ...
,
Eddie Pope
George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is an American former soccer player who last played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent eleven years as a defender for the United States national team. He spent most of his career pla ...
was named
Defender of the Year, and four United players were included in the
MLS Best XI
The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs.
Winners
Appearances by player
The following players ...
.
D.C. faced New England in the conference semifinals and earned a 4–1 victory in the first leg of the series at home.
Roy Wegerle, a midseason signing from Colorado, scored to give United a half-time lead and added a second before Jaime Moreno scored two more; New England defender
Mike Burns scored a consolation goal with a minute left in the match. In the away leg at
Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...
, D.C. were held to a 1–1 draw in regulation time, with a goal for
Richie Williams canceled out by
Joe-Max Moore's penalty kick in the 72nd minute. The two teams played in a seven-round shootout that ended 4–3 in United's favor after a series of saves from goalkeepers
Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa.
He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...
and Tom Presthus that was broken up by defender Carlos Llamosa's conversion.
In the conference finals, D.C. played the third-seeded
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...
after they had eliminated the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In the first leg, played without Etcheverry who was on national team duty, United took a three-goal half-time lead that was reduced by two for a 3–2 victory after a second half surge in pressure and chances from the Crew. D.C. clinched their second MLS Cup appearance with a 1–0 win at
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencemen ...
in Columbus, with Díaz Arce scoring the lone goal in the 47th minute from within the box.
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids finished last overall in MLS during the league's inaugural season, with a 11–21 record under head coach
Bob Houghton, who was replaced in the offseason by
Glenn Myernick. Myernick and new general manager
Dan Counce implemented a possession-oriented style and overhauled the Rapids roster by signing eleven new players, including trades to acquire defender
Peter Vermes and midfielders
Paul Bravo and
Adrián Paz. The team also signed goalkeeper
Marcus Hahnemann
Marcus Stephen Hahnemann (born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
Graduating out of Seattle Pacific University, he played for the Seattle Sounders between 1994 and 1996. Between 1997 an ...
and forward
Wolde Harris from the second-division
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
and were allocated Mexican midfielder
David Patiño
David Patiño Calvo (born 6 September 1967) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager. He obtained a total number of 28 caps for the Selección de fútbol de México (Mexico national team) between 1993 and 1996, and was a squad me ...
by the league.
After a short preseason tour in Mexico and Florida, the Rapids opened the season without forward
Jean Harbor and several defenders who were either injured or called up to national team duty, winning only twice in their first seven matches.
The team were able to consistently earn wins through the summer, with a 9–10 record by mid-July that allowed them to reach second in the Western Conference. Their record improved to 14–12 in mid-August while remaining in second place, trailing the conference-leading Kansas City Wizards by eight points.
The final seven matches of the Rapids season would be played against fellow teams in the Western Conference with higher stakes in playoffs positioning. The team entered a six-match losing streak, which included three losses to the Wizards, but qualified for the playoffs despite dropping to fourth place. Colorado won their final regular season match against San Jose and finished with a losing record of 14 wins and 18 losses.
Leading goalscorers Bravo and
Chris Henderson, along with defender
Marcelo Balboa
Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
After r ...
, were credited with the team's improved regular season performance.
In the conference semifinals, Colorado faced the Wizards, who had defeated the Rapids in all of their regular season meetings. The first leg at Kansas City's
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).
It was built at the same time as neighboring Kauff ...
finished in a 3–0
upset victory for the Rapids, despite missing Paz and Balboa. The victory was credited to a disciplined performance by the Rapids defense, several saves from goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, and attackers who took advantage of mistakes from the Wizards. The Rapids began the second leg at home by conceding a goal to Wizards forward
Vitalis Takawira, but equalized within minutes and took a lead after half-time with goals from Paul Bravo. The match ended in a 3–2 win for Colorado, who swept the playoffs series.
The Rapids advanced to play in the conference final against the
Dallas Burn
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, who had defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in another upset from the semifinals. Colorado won 1–0 in the first leg, played in Dallas, with a
header in the 42nd minute from defender
Sean Henderson
Sean Henderson (born July 25, 1972, in Everett, Washington) is a retired American soccer midfielder who spent two seasons in Germany, three in Major League Soccer and five in the USL A-League. He is now the scouting director for Seattle Sounders ...
; the Burn had several chances to equalize, including a
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...
in the final five seconds that hit the
post
Post, POST, or posting may refer to:
Postal services
* Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries
**An Post, the Irish national postal service
**Canada Post, Canadian postal service
**Deutsche Post, German postal s ...
, but were unable to capitalize. In the second leg, played at
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 to 2002.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of th ...
in Denver, Dallas took an early lead in the fifth minute but were set back by an equalizer from David Patiño in the 23rd minute. The match remained tied until a scissored
volley from Chris Henderson in the 87th minute clinched a 2–1 victory to win the conference championship for Colorado. The team became the first to take a pair of brothers, Chris and Sean Henderson, to the MLS Cup.
Summary of results
:''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Playoffs were in
best-of-three format with
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
if scores were tied.''
Broadcasting
The match was broadcast on
ABC in the United States, where it was watched by an estimated television audience of 2.2 million viewers, setting a record that would stand until the
2016 final.
Phil Schoen and
Ty Keough reprised their roles from the previous final as play-by-play and
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
, respectively. The match was also televised in more than 100 foreign markets by
ESPN International
ESPN International is a family of Broadcasting of sports events, sportscasting and production networks around the world. It was begun in 1983, is operated by ESPN Inc. and owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Current operations
Canada
ESPN Int ...
;
it was the first MLS Cup to be broadcast in the United Kingdom, where it aired on
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
.
Match
Summary

The MLS Cup final kicked off at 3:30 p.m. with an announced
sellout crowd of 57,431 spectators at RFK Memorial Stadium, setting a new attendance record for a single playoff match.
The match was played during a rainstorm in cold conditions, which mirrored the weather during the
inaugural final and deterred some ticket-holding fans from attending.
D.C. controlled the opening minutes, taking their first shot within 25 seconds, but Colorado used counterattacks to find chances and force goalkeeper Scott Garlick to make three saves and a foul that earned him a
yellow card
Yellow card may refer to:
* Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas
* Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band
* Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...
.
The hosts responded with their own counterattacking plays that were channeled by
Tony Sanneh
Anthony Sanneh (born June 1, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder.
Club career
Youth and college
Tony Sanneh was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota to an African father from Gambia and an Am ...
towards Jaime Moreno, who could not finish his first few chances.
D.C. took a 1–0 lead in the 37th minute after a cross from Sanneh to Raúl Díaz Arce, who
dummied the ball at the top of the
penalty area
The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...
. The cross fell to Moreno, who took a shot from that rolled past Marcus Hahnemann and two Colorado defenders.
The Rapids were outshot 8–5 in the first half, with only one shot in the final 24 minutes.
They attempted to find an equalizer early in the second half and had two chances through David Patiño that were not finished after missing a through ball and later hitting teammate
Steve Rammel.
Sanneh extended the lead for D.C. in the 68th minute, scoring with a header at the far post on a high cross from John Harkes after cleaning up a cleared corner kick. The team continued its attacking pressure, but shifted to a defensive style to prepare for counterattacks from the Rapids.
Marcelo Balboa moved up into the midfield and attempted a
bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...
in the 70th minute that was saved by Garlick. Colorado scored a consolation goal in the 75th minute from substitute Adrián Paz, who struck the ball from a tight angle in the penalty area on an assist from Patiño.
A chance to equalize came less than a minute later as Rapids forward Wolde Harris took an unimpeded shot from that flew over the crossbar.
D.C. responded with their own attacks that were shut down by the Rapids, including two fouls that were described as potential
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
s that went uncalled by referee
Brian Hall.
The hosts won 2–1 to claim their second MLS Cup title;
Moreno was named the MLS Cup
most valuable player
In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
for his performance, which included setting up plays throughout the match.
Details
Post-match
MLS Cup 1997 was the first sports championship for the Washington, D.C., area to be won at a stadium in the city. The announced attendance of 57,431 came within 600 spectators of breaking the overall record for largest sporting event at RFK Memorial Stadium, held by the United States–Portugal match during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
It was the first day in which there were large sporting events at both of the major outdoor stadiums in the D.C. area, as
Jack Kent Cooke Stadium also hosted a
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
game.
A railing in the upper stands at RFK Memorial Stadium collapsed during the celebrations after the match, causing minor injuries to 50 fans.
Three days after the MLS Cup final, D.C. United played the Dallas Burn in the
U.S. Open Cup Final with a chance to earn the league's first "
treble". The Burn and United played to a scoreless draw and D.C. lost 5–3 in the ensuing penalty shootout. The team, with the exception of Etcheverry and Moreno on national team duty, was honored with a reception at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. D.C. returned to the MLS Cup in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, where they lost to the
Chicago Fire, and in
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, where they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy.
D.C. and Colorado qualified as the U.S. representatives for the
1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 34th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's clu ...
, which was hosted at RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Rapids were eliminated in the qualifying playoff round, played in a home-and-away series against
Club León
Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...
of Mexico, by a 4–3 aggregate score. D.C. entered the competition in the quarterfinals and eliminated Trinidadian club
Joe Public, León, and Mexican champion
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...
on their way to winning the Champions' Cup, becoming the first American team to be crowned as continental champions. United then advanced to the
1998 Copa Interamericana, where they defeated South American champions CR Vasco da Gama, Vasco da Gama of Brazil over two legs played in the United States.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Cup
MLS Cup
1997 Major League Soccer season, *Cup
D.C. United matches, MLS Cup 97
Colorado Rapids matches, MLS Cup 97
Soccer competitions in Washington, D.C.
October 1997 sports events in the United States
1997 in sports in Washington, D.C.