1996 in American soccer

Soccer in the United States
Season	1996
Men's soccer
Supporters' Shield	Tampa Bay Mutiny
A-League	Seattle Sounders
USISL Select	California Jaguars
USISL Pro	Charleston Battery
USISL Premier	Central Coast Roadrunners
NCAA-I	St. John's Red Storm
U.S. Open Cup	D.C. United
MLS Cup	D.C. United
Women's soccer
NCAA-I	North Carolina Tar Heels
NCAA-II	Franklin Pierce Ravens
NCAA-III	UC San Diego Tritons

Last updated September 15, 2025

The 1996 season was the 84th year of competitive season in the United States. It was the first season of the present top division of American soccer, Major League Soccer.

National teams

Men's

Senior

Wins	Losses	Draws
10	4	2

Friendlies

May 26	United States	2–1	Scotland	New Britain, Connecticut
	Wynalda 13' (pen.) Jones 72'		Durie 9'	Stadium: Veterans Stadium Attendance: 8,526 Referee: Arturo Brizo Carter (Mexico)

August 30	United States	3–1	El Salvador	Los Angeles, California
	Moore 3', 88' (pen.) Wynalda 61'		Lazo 61'	Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Attendance: 18,861 Referee: Joshua Patlak (United States)

October 16	Peru	4–1	United States	Lima, Peru
	Palacios 33' Olivares 68' Maldonado 73' Solano 83'		Brose 43'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Lima Attendance: 8,019 Referee: Juan Luna (Bolivia)

1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	2	2	0	5	2	+3	6	Advance to Knockout stage
2	El Salvador	2	1	1	3	4	−1	3
3	Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	2	4	6	−2	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

January 13	United States	3–2	Trinidad and Tobago	Anaheim, California
	Wynalda 15', 34' Moore 53'	Report	Dwarika 6', 43'	Stadium: Anaheim Stadium Attendance: 12,425 Referee: Argelio Sabillon (Honduras)

January 16	United States	2–0	El Salvador	Anaheim, California
	Wynalda 63' Balboa 75'	Report		Stadium: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim Attendance: 52,345 Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago)

Knockout stage

January 18 SF	United States	0–1	Brazil	Los Angeles, California
		https://archive.today/20120808074112/http://concacaf.globalsportsmedia.com/page.php?sport=soccer&language_id=us&page=tournament&view=match&match_id=251104 Report	Balboa 79' (o.g.)	Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Attendance: 20,708 Referee: Armando Archundia (Mexico)

January 21 CON	United States	3–0	Guatemala	Los Angeles, California
	Wynalda 34' Agoos 37' Kirovski 87'	Report		Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Attendance: 88,155 Referee: René Parra (Canada)

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

CONCACAF third round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	United States	6	4	1	1	10	5	5	13
2	Costa Rica	6	4	0	2	9	5	4	12
3	Guatemala	6	2	2	2	6	9	-3	8
4	Trinidad and Tobago	6	0	1	5	3	9	-6	1

November 3	United States	2–0	Guatemala	Washington, D.C.
	Wynalda 54' McBride 87'	Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 30,082 Referee: Charles Barrett (Jamaica)

November 10	United States	2–0	Trinidad and Tobago	Richmond, Virginia
	Dooley 53' Wynalda 84'	Report		Stadium: University of Richmond Stadium Attendance: 19,312 Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

November 24	Trinidad and Tobago	0–1	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report	Moore 36'	Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Mark Forde (Barbados)

December 1	Costa Rica	2–1	United States	San José, Costa Rica
	Wanchope 39' Lopez 84'	Report	Cobi Jones 89'	Stadium: Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Peter Prendergast (Jamaica)

December 14	United States	2–1	Costa Rica	Palo Alto, California
	McBride 16' Lassiter 60'	Report	Gomez 74'	Stadium: Stanford Stadium Attendance: 40,527 Referee: León Padro Borja (Mexico)

December 21	Guatemala	2–2	United States	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
	Funes 9' Plata 44'	Report	Preki 7' Hejduk 48'	Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Mike Seifert (Canada)

1996 U.S. Cup

June 8	United States	2–1	Republic of Ireland	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Ramos 58' Reyna 76'		Connolly 57'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 25,332 Referee: Peter Prendergast (Jamaica)

June 12	United States	0–2	Bolivia	Washington, D.C.
			Moreno 2' Coimbra 88'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 19,350 Referee: Dino Bucci (Canada)

June 16	United States	2–2	Mexico	Pasadena, California
	Wynalda 34' Dooley 90'		R. García 45' Blanco 89'	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 92,216

Goalscorers

Player	Goals
Eric Wynalda	8
Joe-Max Moore	4
Thomas Dooley	2
Cobi Jones	2
Brian McBride	2
Jeff Agoos	1
Marcelo Balboa	1
Dario Brose	1
Frankie Hejduk	1
Jovan Kirovski	1
Roy Lassiter	1
Preki	1
Tab Ramos	1
Claudio Reyna	1

U–23

Summer Olympics

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Argentina	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2	5
Portugal	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	5
United States	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Tunisia	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

July 20	United States	1–3	Argentina	Birmingham, Alabama
7:30 p.m.	Reyna 1'	Report	G. López 26' Crespo 55' Simeone 90'	Stadium: Legion Field Attendance: 83,183 Referee: Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger)

July 22	United States	2–0	Tunisia	Birmingham, Alabama
7:30 p.m.	Kirovski 38' Maisonneuve 90'	Report		Stadium: Legion Field Attendance: 45,687 Referee: Hugh Dallas (England)

July 24	United States	1–1	Portugal	Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m.	Maisonneuve 75'	Report	Paulo Alves 33'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 58,012 Referee: Eddie Lennie (Australia)

U–20

1996 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	7	1997 FIFA U-20 World Cup and Championship group
2	Jamaica	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6	Qualifying group
3	Honduras	3	1	1	1	3	1	+2	4
4	Martinique	3	0	0	3	0	8	−8	0

Source: RSSSF

April 15	Jamaica	1–4	United States	Monterrey, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Estadio Tecnológico

April 17	Martinique	0–2	United States	Monterrey, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Estadio Tecnológico

April 19	Honduras	0–0	United States	Monterrey, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Estadio Tecnológico

Championship group

April 23	Canada	2–0	United States	Saltillo, Mexico
	De Rosario 81' Jordan 83'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Madero

April 25	Mexico	2–1	United States	Saltillo, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Estadio Madero

U–17

1996 CONCACAF U-17 Championship

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Costa Rica	3	3	0	13	4	+9	9	Qualified to the Final round
2	United States	3	2	1	10	3	+7	6	Qualified to the Final round
3	Dominican Republic	2	0	2	1	5	−4	0	Eliminated
4	Bermuda	2	0	2	1	13	−12	0	Eliminated

Source: RSSSF

August 18	Bermuda	0–5	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

August 20	Dominican Republic	0–3	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

August 22	Costa Rica	3–2	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

Final Round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	3	3	0	0	8	1	+7	9	Qualified to 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship
2	United States	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
3	Costa Rica	3	1	1	1	4	6	−2	4
4	Canada	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0	Eliminated

Source: RSSSF

August 26	Mexico	3–1	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

August 28	Canada	0–2	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

August 30	Costa Rica	1–1	United States	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
		Report		Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium

League Tables

Major League Soccer

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny (S)	32	19	1	12	66	51	+15	58
2	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	15	4	13	59	49	+10	49	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
3	D.C. United (C)	32	15	1	16	62	56	+6	46	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
4	Dallas Burn	32	12	5	15	50	48	+2	41
5	Kansas City Wiz	32	12	5	15	61	63	−2	41
6	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
7	San Jose Clash	32	12	3	17	50	50	0	39
8	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
9	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33
10	Colorado Rapids	32	9	2	21	44	59	−15	29

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

A-League

Win = 3 points
Shootout win (SW) = 1 point
Loss = 0 points

Place	Team	GP	W	SW	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Montreal Impact	27	17	4	6	40	18	+22	55
2	Colorado Foxes	27	14	2	11	55	33	+22	44
3	Seattle Sounders	27	12	4	11	35	25	+10	40
4	Rochester Rhinos	27	11	3	13	44	42	+2	36
5	Vancouver 86ers	27	10	3	14	38	38	+0	33
6	New York Fever	27	6	3	8	30	40	–10	21
7	Atlanta Ruckus	22	3	0	19	14	60	–46	9

U.S. Open Cup

Bracket

Second round

Quarterfinals

Semifinal

Final

MLS

Dallas Burn

3

A-L

Seattle Sounders

2

USASA

San Jose Oaks

0

A-L

Seattle Sounders

1

MLS

Dallas Burn

0

MLS

D.C. United

2

MLS

D.C. United

2

USISL

Carolina Dynamo

0

A-L

New York Fever

0

USISL

Carolina Dynamo

1

MLS

D.C. United

3

A-L

Rochester Rhinos

0

A-L

Rochester Rhinos

2

USISL

Fort Myers Manatees

0

A-L

Rochester Rhinos (AET)

4

MLS

Tampa Bay Mutiny

3

A-L

Rochester Rhinos

3

MLS

Colorado Rapids

0

MLS

Kansas City Wiz

2

MLS

Colorado Rapids

3

A-L

Colorado Foxes

5

USISL

El Paso Patriots

1

Final

October 30, 1996

Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-L)	0–3	D.C. United (MLS)
		Raúl Díaz Arce 45' Eddie Pope 63' Jaime Moreno 89'

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium; Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 7,234

Referee: Esse Baharmast (USA)

American clubs in international competitions

Seattle Sounders

June 17 Qualifying Round	Seattle Sounders	10–0	Transvaal	Federal Way, Washington
	Adair Gailey Barton Megson Galvezon Crothers			Stadium: Federal Way Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,153

July 15 Group Stage	C.S.D. Comunicaciones	2–0	Seattle Sounders	Guatemala City, Guatemala
	Suazo 44' Fernández 83'

July 18 Group Stage	Seattle Sounders	1–4	Necaxa	Guatemala City, Guatemala
	Hattrup 91' (pen.)		Almaguer 32' Blanco 47', 89' Vásquez 75'

July 20 Group Stage	Seattle Sounders	0–11	Cruz Azul	Guatemala City, Guatemala
			Palencia 3' Hermosillo 13', 32', 49' Yegros 15', 53', 62' Adomaitis 34' Galindo 35' Barton 72' (o.g.) Ramirez 74' (pen.)

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

v t e Seasons in American soccer
Pre-1880s	1860s 1870s
1880s	1880–83 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890s	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900s	1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–41 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

1996 in American soccer

Contents

National teams

Men's

Senior

Friendlies

1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Group C

Knockout stage

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

CONCACAF third round

1996 U.S. Cup

Goalscorers

U–23

Summer Olympics

Group A

U–20

1996 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament

Group 2

Championship group

U–17

1996 CONCACAF U-17 Championship

Group A

Final Round

League Tables

Major League Soccer

A-League

U.S. Open Cup

Bracket

Final

American clubs in international competitions

Seattle Sounders

References