1996 D.C. United season

External videos
External videos
	San Jose Clash vs D.C. United First-Ever MLS Match on YouTube

D.C. United
1996 season
General manager	Dave Kasper
Head coach	Bruce Arena
Stadium	RFK Stadium
MLS	3rd
MLS Cup	Champions
U.S. Open Cup	Champions
Top goalscorer	League: ; Raúl Díaz Arce (23); All: ; Raúl Díaz Arce (24)
Highest home attendance	32,864 vs New England ; (April 27, 1996)
Average home league attendance	15,585
Home colors	Away colors
	1997 →

Last updated April 18, 2024

The 1996 D.C. United season was the teams debutant season in Major League Soccer (MLS), and 1996 was the inaugural year of play in MLS competition. United would become the first club to win the MLS Cup this year.

Background

Prior to Major League Soccer's inaugural season, it had been six years since the Washington Metropolitan Area had a professional soccer club play within the region. The last team, was the late 1980s/early 1990s version of the Washington Diplomats. The Diplomats, played in the American Soccer League, which at the time was, by de facto, the top division of soccer in the United States although it was not sanctioned by U.S. Soccer or FIFA as a top tier soccer league. With the installation of the D.C. United franchise, it was the first time since the 1981 that a top division pro soccer club played in the region.

The foundation of the team came on June 15, 1994, when Major League Soccer selected Washington, D.C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the first seven teams, with three more added before the league's launch.^[1]

Club name

Once an MLS franchise was awarded to Washington, the new club management sought a name for the club. Attempting to allude to the American sporting culture, original suppositions included the area's name followed by a mascot for the club. Some ideas included the "Spies", "Americans" and "Eagles". Eventually, the idea of simply naming the team "D.C. United" was decided upon as the club name. The moniker "United" alluded to European club names such as Leeds and Manchester United, as well as reflecting on being based in capital of the United States.^[2]

MLS regular season

The team got off to a slow start, losing its first three games in April, but improved during the season, including a four-match winning streak in August, and qualified for the playoffs.

MLS Playoffs

The final month of D.C. United's inaugural season saw the club compete in the first ever MLS Cup Playoffs, eventually being crowned the MLS Cup champions. Ten days later, United earned the double by winning the 1996 U.S. Open Cup, the United States' domestic knockout cup competition. Such a feat would not be accomplished again until the Chicago Fire did so in 1998. To date, only four other MLS sides have ever achieved any sort of "double", being regular season, playoffs, or cup competition.

Playoff play continued into October with game three of the conference semifinal series, with kickoff on October 2. United, tied with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars were level 1–1 in the series. Played in front of a crowd of 20,423, United would emerge victorious in the match and in the series winning the match and series by a 2–1 scoreline. In game three, Steve Rammel opened the scoring in the 67th minute, giving United a crucial 1–0 victory. Inside 20 minutes later, the MetroStars leveled things up off an 86th-minute strike from NY/NJ's Antony de Ávila. The match, looking destined for sudden death extra time was abruptly halted when a penalty was called against NY/NJ in the box. The call resulted with United's Raúl Díaz Arce notching the eventual match winner in the 89th minute of play. The win booked United into the 1996 MLS Eastern Conference Finals.

D.C. United took on the Supporters' Shield winners, Tampa Bay Mutiny on October 10 to open up the Eastern Conference Finals. The first match of the three-game series was held at RFK Stadium, where United posted a 4–1 victory. The score was United's largest margin of victory throughout the playoffs. The match saw Díaz Arce notch a hat trick, making him the first player in MLS Cup Playoffs history to score a hat trick in a playoff match. Díaz Arce scored in the 38th minute to give United the go-ahead lead, only for Tampa Bay's Roy Lassiter to equalize in the 42nd minute. United's Steve Rammel score what would eventually be the match-winning goal in the 52nd minute to give United a 2–1 lead over the Mutiny. Díaz Arce would score insurance goals for United in a three-minute span, scoring in the 58th and 60th minutes of play.

Held two days later, game two of the conference finals took place at Houlihan's Stadium near Tampa, Florida. With a crowd of 9,339 on hand, Tampa Bay took a 1–0 lead against D.C. inside 15 minutes, thanks to a strike from Steve Ralston. Ralston's goal proved to be the difference between the two sides for the remainder of the first half. However, four minutes into the second half of play, United's Richie Williams netted the equalizer. Díaz Arce would, once again, provide last minute heroics scoring in the 82nd minute to give United the 2–1 lead, and to book themselves in the inaugural MLS Cup championship.

Match results

Major League Soccer

Regular season

April 6, 1996 Matchday 1	San Jose Clash	1–0	D.C. United	San Jose, California
	Emenalo 44' Wynalda 88'	Report	Diaz Arce 5' Gori 44' Harkes 72' Fazlagic 87'	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 31,683 Referee: Esse Baharmast

April 13, 1996Matchday 2	Columbus Crew	4–0	D.C. United	Columbus, Ohio
	Lee 18' (o.g.) McBride 29', 86' Clark 39' Marino 48' Oshoniyi 79'	Report	Williams 19' Lee 33' Etcheverry 66'	Stadium: Crew Stadium Attendance: 25,266 Referee: Raul Dominguez

April 20, 1996Matchday 3	D.C. United	1–2	Los Angeles Galaxy	Washington, D.C.
	Diaz Arce 7'	Report	Cienfuegos 21' (pen.), 89' Calichman 37' Salcedo 72' Vasquez 77'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 35,032 Referee: Paul Tamberino

April 27, 1996Matchday 4	New England Revolution	1–1 (3–2 SO)	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	DeBrito 26' Aunger 78' (pen.)	Report	Harkes 24' Diaz Arce 69'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 32,864 Referee: Esse Baharmast
	Shootout
	Welton Paul Keegan Ukrop Woodring Aunger Sawatzky		Crawley Harkes Diaz Arce Kelderman Peay Pope

May 1, 1996Matchday 5	D.C. United	3–1	Dallas Burn	Washington, D.C.
	Diaz Arce 15' (pen.) Rammel 39', 64' Agoos 52' Etcheverry 53'	Report	Puskarich 15' Lozzano 24' Rodriguez 31', 43' (pen.) Santel 53' Alvarez 62'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 11,253 Referee: Byungil Noh

May 5, 1996Matchday 6	Los Angeles Galaxy	3–1	D.C. United	Pasadena, California
	Vasquez 42' Hurtado 53' Cienfuegos 54' Salcedo 71' Campos 88'	Report	Peay 13' Diaz Arce 16' Rammel 28' Crawley 90' Etcheverry 90'	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 20,471 Referee: Arturo Angeles

May 12, 1996Matchday 7	D.C. United	1–1 (1–2 SO)	NY/NJ MetroStars	Washington, D.C.
	Harkes 11' Huwiler 24' Peay 36'	Report	Restrepo 21' Ramos 36' 77' Knowles 52' Savarese 64'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 14,722 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Shootout
	Agoos Medved Crawley Diaz Arce Harkes		Savarese Vermes Caricola Hernandez Donadoni

May 15, 1996Matchday 8	D.C. United	5–2	Columbus Crew	Washington, D.C.
	Rammel 28', 49', 53' Diaz Arce 67', 70', 88'	Report	Khumalo 51' McBride 76' Paz 85' (pen.)	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 7,422 Referee: Esse Baharmast

May 18, 1996Matchday 9	Dallas Burn	3–2	D.C. United	Dallas, Texas
	Kreis 40', 82' Eck 63' Alvarez 75' Sanchez 88', 90'	Report	Harkes 37' Sanneh 65' Agoos 90'	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 23,351 Referee: Arturo Angeles

May 30, 1996Matchday 10	NY/NJ MetroStars	1–2	D.C. United	East Rutherford, New Jersey
	Kydes 26' Wood 27' Knowles 45'	Report	Rammel 19' Gori 23' Sanneh 32' Williams 38'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 25,322 Referee: Zimmerman Boulos

June 2, 1996Matchday 11	Colorado Rapids	2–2 (1–3 SO)	D.C. United	Denver, Colorado
	Kinnear 34' Balboa 44' Trittschuh 67' Harbor 77' Kmosko 84'	Report	Diaz Arce 34' Etcheverry 84' Maessner 88'	Stadium: Mile High Stadium Attendance: 8,517 Referee: Kevin Stott
	Shootout
	Henderson Benedetti Wegerle Kinnear		Etcheverry Medved Agoos Rammel Imler

June 5, 1996Matchday 12	D.C. United	3–1	San Jose Clash	Washington, D.C.
	Diaz Arce 23' Etcheverry 32' Rammel 36', 49' Williams 69'	Report	Iroha 33' Emenalo 35' Rodas 43' Butler 68'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 15,845 Referee: Paul Tamberino

June 20, 1996Matchday 13	Kansas City Wiz	5–1	D.C. United	Kansas City, Missouri
	Preki 6' (pen.) Takawira 28', 54' Chung 30' Sorber 35' Johnston 35'	Report	Williams 5' Sanneh 42'	Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium Attendance: 9,458 Referee: Rich Grady

June 23, 1996Matchday 14	San Jose Clash	2–1	D.C. United	San Jose, California
	Espinoza 41' Draguicevich 58' Baicher 66' Espinoza 86'	Report	Diaz Arce 50' Rammel 51' Sanneh 67'	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 14,088 Referee: Frank Gorog

June 30, 1996Matchday 15	D.C. United	3–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Rammel 1' Harkes 30' Diaz Arce 46' Harkes 89'	Report	Aunger 30' Naveda 38'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 19,355 Referee: Esse Baharmast

July 4, 1996Matchday 16	Dallas Burn	1–1 (3–1 SO)	D.C. United	Dallas, Texas
	Kreis 33' Santel 39' Sanchez 71'	Report	Sanneh 21' Diaz Arce 61', 77'	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 16,177 Referee: Tim Weyland
	Shootout
	Ashton Santel Sanchez Farrer		Imler Kelderman Agoos Sanneh

July 7, 1996Matchday 17	D.C. United	6–1	Dallas Burn	Washington, D.C.
	Diaz Arce 3', 48', 61', 63' Rammel 18', 77' Williams 68'	Report	Ashton 69'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 11,244 Referee: Paul Tamberino

July 12, 1996Matchday 18	D.C. United	1–0	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Washington, D.C.
	Etcheverry 72'	Report	Yallop 13' Kooiman 26'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 20,014 Referee: Robert Sheker

July 20, 1996Matchday 19	New England Revolution	2–0	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Aunger 44' Lips 44' Woodring 53' Sawatzky 54', 77', 70' Paul Keegan 72' Naveda 81'	Report	Diaz Arce 22' 36'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 18,347 Referee: Kevin Stott

July 28, 1996Matchday 20	D.C. United	2–0	Columbus Crew	Washington, D.C.
	Rammel 1' Marsch 83'	Report	Warzycha 61'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 11,373 Referee: Ruben Rodhas

July 31, 1996Matchday 21	D.C. United	2–3	Kansas City Wiz	Washington, D.C.
	Medved 9' Etcheverry 69'	Report	Vaudreuil 19' (o.g.) Preki 32' Chung 64'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 9,457 Referee: Kevin Terry

August 4, 1996Matchday 22	D.C. United	2–4	Kansas City Wiz	Washington, D.C.
	Etcheverry 20' Diaz Arce 32' (pen.) Gori 47'	Report	Chung 16', 59' Preki 29' Johnston 30' Bowers 36' Sorber 53' Takawira 66', 78'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 12,356 Referee: Joshua Patlak

August 7, 1996Matchday 23	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–3	D.C. United	Tampa, Florida
	McKinley 8' Pittman 31' Lassiter 90' (pen.)	Report	Moreno 4' Agoos 19' Sanneh 39' Diaz Arce 45' (p), 87' Etcheverry 53' Causey 78'	Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 6,476 Referee: Rich Grady

August 10, 1996Matchday 24	Columbus Crew	3–2	D.C. United	Columbus, Ohio
	Smith 18' Iribarren 55' McBride 57' Paz 60'	Report	Moreno 27' Diaz Arce 31' Pope 75'	Stadium: Ohio Stadium Attendance: 18,587 Referee: Steve Olson

August 18, 1996Matchday 25	D.C. United	2–1	Los Angeles Galaxy	Washington, D.C.
	Harkes 3' Pope 56'	Report	Semioli 64' Hurtado 77'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 24,536 Referee: Esse Baharmast

August 21, 1996Matchday 26	NY/NJ MetroStars	2–3	D.C. United	East Rutherford, New Jersey
	de Avila 26', 65' Ramos 36' Harty 48' Zaun 56'	Report	Agoos 27' Williams 34' Etcheverry 45', 79' Diaz Arce 56', 77' Pope 59'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 20,416 Referee: Arturo Angeles

August 25, 1996Matchday 27	D.C. United	3–0	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Washington, D.C.
	Rammel 25' Moreno 29' Kelderman 81'	Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 15,804 Referee: Roberto Van de Wyngard

August 29, 1996Matchday 28	Colorado Rapids	1–2	D.C. United	Denver, Colorado
	Harbor 40' Sharpe 56'	Report	Medved 3' Rammel 38', 49' Williams 82' Causey 85'	Stadium: Mile High Stadium Attendance: 6,368 Referee: Ali Saheli

September 6, 1996Matchday 29	D.C. United	1–2	NY/NJ MetroStars	Washington, D.C.
	Sanneh 17', 50' Agoos 31' Rammel 88'	Report	Vermes 13' de Avila 18', 76' Joseph 30' Caricola 37' da Silva 45'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 8,053 Referee: Zimmerman Boulos

September 14, 1996Matchday 30	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2–0	D.C. United	Tampa, Florida
	Ralston 4' Lassiter 51'	Report		Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 8,135 Referee: Paul Tamberino

September 17, 1996Matchday 31	D.C. United	3–2	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Pope 58' Diaz Arce 62', 89'	Report	Moore 39' (p), 78' Okaroh 57'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 7,360 Referee: Marcel Yonan

September 21, 1996Matchday 32	D.C. United	3–1	Colorado Rapids	Washington, D.C.
	Diaz Arce 27', 53' (p) Gori 60' Medved 32'	Report	McKay 50' Hamlett 53' Henderson 90'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 20,573 Referee: Arturo Angeles

Playoffs

Conference semifinals

September 24, 1996 Game 1	NY/NJ MetroStars	2–2 (6–5 SO)	D.C. United	East Rutherford, New Jersey
	de Ávila 38' Savarese 75'	Report	Díaz Arce 24' Williams 44' Moreno 56'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 14,416 Referee: Esse Baharmast
	Shootout
	de Ávila Donadoni Ramos Joseph Knowles Silvera Savarese Zaun Meola Johnson Vermes		Agoos Etcheverry Moreno Díaz Arce Sanneh Harkes Gori Williams Peay Pope Causey
Note: MetroStars lead the series 1–0

September 27, 1996 Game 2	D.C. United	1–0	NY/NJ MetroStars	Washington, D.C.
	Etcheverry 5', 72' Moreno 89'	Report	Zaun 47' Caricola 62'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 21,442 Referee: Paul Tamberino
Note: Series tied 1–1

October 2, 1996 Game 3	D.C. United	2–1	NY/NJ MetroStars	Washington, D.C.
	Peay 61' Rammel 67' Díaz Arce 89' (pen.)	Report	Caricola 38' Joseph 57' de Ávila 86' Meola 89'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 20,423 Referee: Brian Hall
Note: D.C. United win series 2–1

Conference finals

October 10, 1996 Game 1	D.C. United	4–1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Washington, D.C.
	Díaz Arce 36', 58', 60' Rammel 54' Gori 61'	Report	Galderisi 34' Lassiter 42' Hunjak 65'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 23,566 Referee: Kevin Stott
Note: D.C. United lead the series 1–0

October 12, 1996 Game 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	1–2	D.C. United	Tampa, Florida
	Ralston 14' Vásquez 27' Valderrama 28' 83' Pittman 54' McKinley 62'	Report	Agoos 41' Williams 49' Moreno 54' Vaudreuil 63' Díaz Arce 82' Simpson 90'	Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 9,339 Referee: Rich Grady
Note: D.C. United wins series 2–0

MLS Cup

October 20 Final	LA Galaxy	2–3 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Hurtado 5', 41' Armas 56' Noamouz 74'	Report	Etcheverry 39' Peay 53' Sanneh 72' Medved 81' Pope 94'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 34,643 Referee: Esfandiar Baharmast

U.S. Open Cup

September 4 Quarterfinals	D.C. United (MLS)	2–0	Carolina Dynamo (USISL)	Charlottesville, Virginia
	Rammel 50', 83' Agoos 87'	Report	Allnutt 87'	Stadium: Klöckner Stadium Attendance: 1,829 Referee: Ruben Rodhas

October 27 Semifinals	Dallas Burn (MLS)	0–2	D.C. United (MLS)	Dallas, Texas
	Haynes 26' Soehn 58' Farrer 63'	Report	Moreno 12', 82'	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 1,958 Referee: Kevin Terry

October 30 Final	D.C. United (MLS)	3–0	Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-L)	Washington, D.C.
	Díaz Arce 45' Pope 63' Williams 72' Pope 72' Moreno 89'	Report	Dauda 77'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 7,234 Referee: Esse Baharast

League standings

Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	19	1	12	66	51	+15	58	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	D.C. United	32	15	1	16	62	56	+6	46
3	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
4	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
5	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33

Source: MLS

Overall

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

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref
January 24, 1996	Jeff Agoos	Wehen	Allocated
January 24, 1996	Marco Etcheverry	América de Cali	Allocated
January 24, 1996	John Harkes	West Ham United	Allocated
January 24, 1996	Berthy Suárez	Guabirá	Allocated
February 6, 1996	Raúl Díaz Arce	Luis Ángel Firpo	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Shawn Medved	Seattle Sounders	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Erik Imler	Raleigh Flyers	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Richie Williams	Richmond Kickers	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Thor Lee	Wichita Wings	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Brian Kamler	Richmond Kickers	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Mile Milovac	Indianapolis Twisters	Drafted
February 6, 1996	Kris Kelderman	St. Louis Ambush	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Clint Peay	Virginia Cavaliers	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Ben Crawley	TuS Celle	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Said Fazlagić	Sarajevo	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Daniel de Oliveira	Luis Ángel Firpo	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Matthew Olson	Everett BigFoot	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Sterling Wescott	Hawaii Tsunami	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Garth Lagerwey	Hampton Roads Mariners	Drafted
February 7, 1996	Carlos Garcia	Myrtle Beach Boyz	Drafted
April 19, 1996	Steve Rammel	Washington Mustangs	Loan	^[3]
July 18, 1996	Jaime Moreno	Middlesbrough	Lottery

Recognition

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References

↑ "General Overview". Major League Soccer . 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
↑ Dure, Beau (2010). Long Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-1-59797-509-4.
↑ "Intermark - Home Page".

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[overview-1] "General Overview". Major League Soccer . 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2009.

[dc_united_name-2] Dure, Beau (2010). Long Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-1-59797-509-4.

[3] "Intermark - Home Page".

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