1997 in American soccer

Last updated September 15, 2025

The 1997 season was the 85th year of competitive soccer in the United States.

National team

Record

Competition	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification	10	4	5	1	17	9
1997 U.S. Cup	3	0	0	3	1	7
International Friendly	5	1	2	2	4	5
Total	18	5	7	6	22	21

Results

The home team or the team that is designated as the home team is listed in the left column; the away team is

in the right column.

Win Draw Loss

January 17 U.S. Cup	United States	0 – 1	Peru	San Diego, California
			Carty 8'	Stadium: Jack Murphy Stadium Attendance: 35,232 Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

January 19 U.S. Cup	United States	0 – 2	Mexico	Pasadena, California
			Alves 3' Aspe 71'	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 31,725 Referee: Kevin Skinner (Canada)

January 22 U.S. Cup	United States	1 – 4	Denmark	Pasadena, California
	Moore 45'		Pedersen 16', 26', 45', 55'	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 17,342

January 29 International Friendly	China	2 – 1	United States	Kunming, China
	Haidong 11' Tie 31'		Wynalda 72'	Stadium: Tuodong Stadiuml Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Jun Lu (China)

February 2 International Friendly	China	1 – 1	United States	Guangzhou, China
	Maozhen 32'		Lalas 25'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 45,000

March 2 World Cup qualifying	Jamaica	0 – 0	United States	Kingston, Jamaica
				Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 35,246 Referee: José Ramírez Suazo (Honduras)

March 16 World Cup qualifying	United States	3 – 0	Canada	Stanford, California
	Wynalda 7' (pen.) Pope 14' Stewart 89'			Stadium: Stanford Stadium Attendance: 28,896 Referee: Luis Oliveto (Argentina)

March 23 World Cup qualifying	Costa Rica	3 – 2	United States	San José, Costa Rica
	Medford 10' Solís 32' Gómez 76'		Wynalda 25' Lassiter 67'	Stadium: Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

April 20 World Cup qualifying	United States	2 – 2	Mexico	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Pope 34' Ramírez 76' (o.g.)		Hermosillo 1' Hernández 53'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 57,877 Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay)

June 4 International Friendly	United States	0 – 0	Paraguay	Fenton, Missouri
				Stadium: Anheuser-Busch Center Attendance: 7,016 Referee: Esfandiar Baharmast (United States)

June 17 International Friendly	United States	2 – 1	Israel	Jacksonville, Florida
	Lalas 26' Kirovski 68'		Glam 83'	Stadium: Alltel Stadium Attendance: 8,436 Referee: Zimmermann Boulos (United States)

June 29 World Cup qualifying	El Salvador	1 – 1	United States	San Salvador, El Salvador
	Arce 60'		Lassiter 57'	Stadium: Estadio Cuscatlán Attendance: 29,000 Referee: René Ortube Betancourt (Bolivia)

August 7 International Friendly	United States	0 – 1	Ecuador	Baltimore, Maryland
			Sánchez 83'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 13,629

September 7 World Cup qualifying	United States	1 – 0	Costa Rica	Portland, Oregon
	Ramos 79'			Stadium: Civic Stadium Attendance: 27,396 Referee: Oscar Juan Ruiz Acosta (Colombia)

October 5 World Cup qualifying	United States	1 – 1	Jamaica	Washington, D.C.
	Wynalda 50' (pen.)		Burton 51'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 51,528 Referee: Mario Sánchez (Chile)

November 2 World Cup qualifying	Mexico	0 – 0	United States	Mexico City, Mexico
				Stadium: Estadio Azteca Attendance: 115,000 Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)

November 11 World Cup qualifying	Canada	0 – 3	United States	Burnaby, Canada
			Reyna 5' Wegerle 81', 90+4'	Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 8,420 Referee: John Jairo Toro (Colombia)

November 16 World Cup qualifying	United States	4 – 2	El Salvador	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	McBride 22', 28' Henderson 49' Preki 82'		Nildeson 60' Arce 62' (pen.)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 53,193 Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

Goalscorers

Player	Goals
Eric Wynalda	4
Alexi Lalas	2
Brian McBride	2
Eddie Pope	2
Roy Lassiter	2
Roy Wegerle	2
Preki	1
Joe-Max Moore	1
Jovan Kirovski	1
Chris Henderson	1
Claudio Reyna	1
Ernie Stewart	1
Tab Ramos	1

Unofficial Results

The home team or the team that is designated as the home team is listed in the left column; the away team is in the right column.

Win Draw Loss

July 10Friendly Game	United States	1 – 4	Galatasaray	New Jersey
		report		Attendance: 0

League tables

Men

Major League Soccer

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D.C. United	32	17	4	11	70	53	+17	55	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	14	3	15	55	60	−5	45
3	Columbus Crew	32	12	3	17	42	41	+1	39
4	New England Revolution	32	11	4	17	40	53	−13	37
5	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	11	2	19	43	53	−10	35

Source: MLS

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kansas City Wizards	32	14	7	11	57	51	+6	49	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	14	2	16	55	44	+11	44
3	Dallas Burn	32	13	3	16	55	49	+6	42
4	Colorado Rapids	32	12	2	18	50	59	−9	38
5	San Jose Clash	32	9	3	20	55	59	−4	30

Source: MLS

Playoffs

Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					MLS Cup '97

1	D.C. United (AET), (4-3, S.O.)*	4	2*	x

4	New England Revolution	1	1	x
					1	D.C. United	3	1	x
Eastern Conference
					3	Columbus Crew	2	0	x
2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1	0	x

3	Columbus Crew	2	2	x
										E	D.C. United	2

										W	Colorado Rapids	1
1	Kansas City Wizards	0	2	x

4	Colorado Rapids	3	3	x
					4	Colorado Rapids	1	2	x
Western Conference
					2	Dallas Burn	0	1	x
3	Los Angeles Galaxy	0	0	x

2	Dallas Burn (AET), (2-0, S.O.)*	1*	3	x

Best of Three series winners will advance.

MLS Cup

October 26

D.C. United	2 – 1	Colorado Rapids
Moreno 37' Sanneh 68'		Paz 75'

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 57,431

Referee: Brian Hall

A-League

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Montreal Impact	28	20	1	1	6	58	19	+39	61
2	Rochester Raging Rhinos	28	14	0	5	9	56	47	+9	42
3	Long Island Rough Riders	28	13	3	2	10	44	36	+8	42
4	Toronto Lynx	28	12	2	0	14	44	43	+1	38
5	Connecticut Wolves	28	8	4	1	15	31	45	−14	28
6	Worcester Wildfire	28	6	1	2	19	26	61	−35	19

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Hershey Wildcats	28	18	1	1	8	56	33	+23	55
2	Carolina Dynamo	28	16	2	2	8	63	33	+30	50
3	Richmond Kickers	28	15	0	2	11	41	35	+6	45
4	Charleston Battery	28	10	2	3	13	39	50	−11	32
5	Raleigh Flyers	28	8	4	3	13	34	52	−18	28
6	Jacksonville Cyclones	29	4	1	1	23	28	73	−45	13

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers	28	13	3	2	10	45	42	+3	42
2	Nashville Metros	28	10	7	2	9	42	34	+8	37
3	Orlando Sundogs	28	12	0	4	12	39	40	−1	36
4	Milwaukee Rampage	28	11	3	2	12	33	36	−3	36
5	Minnesota Thunder	28	11	2	5	10	22	30	−8	35
6	Atlanta Ruckus	28	9	3	1	15	39	48	−9	30

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Pacific Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	California Jaguars	28	17	1	0	10	48	34	+14	52
2	Seattle Sounders	28	16	2	3	7	42	19	+23	50
3	Vancouver 86ers	28	15	1	1	11	50	29	+21	46
4	Colorado Foxes	28	15	1	2	10	55	49	+6	46
5	Orange County Zodiac	28	10	1	0	17	35	62	−27	31
6	El Paso Patriots	28	5	3	3	17	30	50	−20	18

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Bracket

Home teams listed on top of bracket

Second round

Third round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

MLS

New England Revolution

3

A-L

Long Island Roughriders (ASDET)

4

A-L

Long Island Roughriders

1

USASA

Bridgeport Italians

0

A-L

Long Island Roughriders

0

MLS

MetroStars (ASDET)

1

A-L

Richmond Kickers

6

D3P

Philadelphia Freedom

1

A-L

Richmond Kickers

0

MLS

MetroStars

3

MLS

MetroStars

1

MLS

Dallas Burn (ASDET)

2

D3P

Chicago Stingers

3

A-L

Orlando Sundogs

0

D3P

Chicago Stingers

2

MLS

Colorado Rapids

1

D3P

Chicago Stingers

1

MLS

Dallas Burn

4

D3P

Austin Lone Stars

0

A-L

New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (ASDET)

1

A-L

New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers

0

MLS

Dallas Burn

3

MLS

Dallas Burn (ASDET, PSO)

0 (5)

MLS

D.C. United

0 (3)

D3P

S.F. Bay Seals

1

A-L

Seattle Sounders

0

D3P

S.F. Bay Seals

2

MLS

Kansas City Wizards

1

D3P

S.F. Bay Seals

2

MLS

San Jose Clash

1

PDL

Central Coast Roadrunners (ASDET)

3

A-L

California Jaguars

2

PDL

Central Coast Roadrunners

2

MLS

San Jose Clash

5

D3P

S.F. Bay Seals

1

MLS

D.C. United

2

A-L

Hershey Wildcats

4

D3P

Central Jersey Riptide

1

A-L

Hershey Wildcats

0 (2)

MLS

D.C. United (ASDET, PSO)

0 (3)

MLS

D.C. United

2

MLS

Tampa Bay Mutiny

0

A-L

Rochester Rhinos (ASDET)

3

PDL

Mid-Michigan Bucks

2

A-L

Rochester Rhinos

0

MLS

Tampa Bay Mutiny

1

Final

October 30

Dallas Burn	0 – 0 (ASDET)	D.C. United

Penalties
Arcos Kreis Sutter Peinado Rodríguez	5 – 3	Etcheverry Arce Moreno Iroha

Carroll Stadium, Indianapolis

Attendance: 9,766

Referee: Rich Grady

American clubs in international competitions

Club	Competition	Final round
Los Angeles Galaxy	CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Final
D.C. United	CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Third Place
Seattle Sounders	1996 CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Final Group Stage

Los Angeles Galaxy

July 30 Preliminary round	Los Angeles Galaxy	4 – 1	Santos Laguna	Pasadena, California
	Hurtado 65' Cienfuegos 66' Machón 80' Wélton 85'		Ramírez 71'	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 10,271

August 12 Champions' Cup Quarterfinal	Los Angeles Galaxy	2 – 0	Firpo	Washington, D.C.
	Wélton 45' Hurtado 78'			Stadium: RFK Stadium

August 22 Champions' Cup Semifinal	D.C. United	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	Washington, D.C.
			Jones 10'	Stadium: RFK Stadium

August 24 Champions' Cup Final	Los Angeles Galaxy	3 – 5	Cruz Azul	Washington, D.C.
	Hurtado 8', 14' Campos 78'		Galindo 30' (pen.) Rodríguez 31' Adomaitis 36' Hermosillo 62', 66'	Stadium: RFK Stadium

D.C. United

August 12 Champions' Cup Quarterfinal	D.C. United	1 – 0	United Petrotrin	Washington, D.C.
	Etcheverry 78'			Stadium: RFK Stadium

August 22 Champions' Cup Semifinal	D.C. United	0 – 1	Los Angeles Galaxy	Washington, D.C.
			Jones 10'	Stadium: RFK Stadium

August 24 Champions' Cup Third Place	D.C. United	2 – 2	Guadalajara	Washington, D.C.
	Arce 40' Iroha 89'		Acosta 55' Sánchez 86' (pen.)	Stadium: RFK Stadium

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	Club 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.) Ramírez 74' (pen.)

References

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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

1997 in American soccer

Contents

National team

Record

Results

Goalscorers

Unofficial Results

League tables

Men

Major League Soccer

A-League

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Bracket

Final

American clubs in international competitions

Los Angeles Galaxy

D.C. United

Seattle Sounders

References