# 1997 in American soccer

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

### 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

## League tables
### Men
#### Major League Soccer

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Columbus Crew | 32 | 12 | 3 | 17 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 39 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 32 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 37 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | NY/NJ MetroStars | 32 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 35 | |
| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Dallas Burn | 32 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 42 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 50 | 59 | −9 | 38 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | San Jose Clash | 32 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 30 | |

##### Playoffs

| Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | MLS Cup '97 | MLS Cup '97 | MLS Cup '97 |
| 1 | D.C. United (AET), (4-3, S.O.)* | 4 | 2* | x | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 1 | 1 | x | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 1 | 1 | x | 1 | D.C. United | 3 | 1 | x | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 1 | D.C. United | 3 | 1 | x | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 3 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 0 | x | | | |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 1 | 0 | x | 3 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 0 | x | | | |
| 3 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 2 | x | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Columbus Crew | 2 | 2 | x | | | | | | E | D.C. United | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | W | Colorado Rapids | 1 |
| 1 | Kansas City Wizards | 0 | 2 | x | | | | | | | | | W | Colorado Rapids | 1 |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 3 | 3 | x | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 3 | 3 | x | 4 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 2 | x | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | 4 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 2 | x | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | 2 | Dallas Burn | 0 | 1 | x | | | |
| 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 0 | 0 | x | 2 | Dallas Burn | 0 | 1 | x | | | |
| 2 | Dallas Burn (AET), (2-0, S.O.)* | 1* | 3 | x | | | | | | | | |
* Best of Three series winners will advance.

##### MLS Cup
#### 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 |

##### 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 |

##### 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 |

##### 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 |

## Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
### Bracket

Home teams listed on top of bracket
| Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | MLS | New England Revolution | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A-L | Long Island Roughriders (ASDET) | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Long Island Roughriders | 1 | A-L | Long Island Roughriders (ASDET) | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| USASA | Bridgeport Italians | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| USASA | Bridgeport Italians | 0 | | | | A-L | Long Island Roughriders | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | MLS | MetroStars (ASDET) | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | Richmond Kickers | 6 | | | | | | | MLS | MetroStars (ASDET) | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| D3P | Philadelphia Freedom | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| D3P | Philadelphia Freedom | 1 | A-L | Richmond Kickers | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | MetroStars | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | MetroStars | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Dallas Burn (ASDET) | 2 | | | | |
| D3P | Chicago Stingers | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | MLS | Dallas Burn (ASDET) | 2 | | | | |
| A-L | Orlando Sundogs | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | | | MLS | Dallas Burn | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (ASDET) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MLS | D.C. United | 0 (3) |
| A-L | Seattle Sounders | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | | | MLS | San Jose Clash | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| A-L | California Jaguars | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | | | | | | | MLS | D.C. United | 2 | | | | |
| D3P | Central Jersey Riptide | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | | | | MLS | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| PDL | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 2 | A-L | Rochester Rhinos | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | MLS | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Final
## 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 |