# 2001 Major League Soccer season

The 2001 Major League Soccer season was the sixth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 89th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 23rd with a national first-division league.
The season was shortened due to the September 11 attacks, with the final weeks' regular season matches being canceled. Due to the different number of games played, playoff ordering was determined by points per game, instead of total points.
The regular season began on April 7, and concluded prematurely on September 9. The 2001 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20, and concluded with MLS Cup 2001 on October 21. The Miami Fusion won their first Supporters' Shield and the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final to win their first MLS Cup.

## Overview
### Season format

The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 21. The 12 teams were split into three divisions. Each team was to play 28 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team would play every other team in their division four times, for a total of 12 games. The remaining schedule consisted of three games against four select opponents in one of the other divisions, and two games against the remaining four teams.
The eight teams with the most points per game qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.
The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Chicago Fire | Soldier Field | 66,944 |
| Colorado Rapids | Mile High Stadium | 76,273 |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 22,555 |
| D.C. United | RFK Stadium | 46,000 |
| Dallas Burn | Cotton Bowl | 92,100 |
| Kansas City Wizards | Arrowhead Stadium | 81,425 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Rose Bowl | 92,542 |
| Miami Fusion | Lockhart Stadium | 20,450 |
| New England Revolution | Foxboro Stadium | 60,292 |
| MetroStars | Giants Stadium | 80,200 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium | 30,456 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Raymond James Stadium | 69,218 |

### Personnel and sponsorships

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Chicago Fire | Bob Bradley | | — |
| Colorado Rapids | Tim Hankinson | | |
| Columbus Crew | Tom Fitzgerald | | — |
| D.C. United | Thomas Rongen | | MasterCard |
| Dallas Burn | Mike Jeffries | | |
| Kansas City Wizards | Bob Gansler | | — |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Sigi Schmid | | — |
| MetroStars | Octavio Zambrano | Tab Ramos | |
| Miami Fusion | Ray Hudson | | — |
| New England Revolution | Fernando Clavijo | | — |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Frank Yallop | Jeff Agoos | Yahoo! Sports |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Alfonso Mondelo | | |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Columbus Crew | Tom Fitzgerald | Fired | May 17, 2001 | Greg Andrulis | May 17, 2001 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Alfonso Mondelo | Resigned | July 5, 2001 | Perry Van der Beck | July 5, 2001 |

## Standings
### Eastern Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Miami Fusion | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 53 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | MetroStars | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 42 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 27 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 27 | |
| 4 | D.C. United | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 26 | |

### Central Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chicago Fire | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 53 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Columbus Crew | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 45 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Dallas Burn | 26 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 35 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 27 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 32 | 68 | −36 | 14 | |

### Western Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 47 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | San Jose Earthquakes | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 29 | +18 | 45 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Kansas City Wizards | 27 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 36 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 26 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 23 | |

### Overall standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Miami Fusion (S) | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 53 | 2.04 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 2 | Chicago Fire | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 53 | 1.96 | |
| 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 47 | 1.81 | |
| 4 | Columbus Crew | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 45 | 1.73 | |
| 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (C) | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 29 | +18 | 45 | 1.73 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 6 | MetroStars | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 42 | 1.62 | |
| 7 | Dallas Burn | 26 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 35 | 1.35 | |
| 8 | Kansas City Wizards | 27 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 36 | 1.33 | |
| 9 | New England Revolution | 27 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 27 | 1.00 | |
| 10 | D.C. United | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 26 | 1.00 | |
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | 26 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 23 | 0.88 | |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 27 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 32 | 68 | −36 | 14 | 0.52 | |

## MLS Cup Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | MLS Cup |
| 2 | Chicago Fire (7 Points) | 2 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dallas Burn (1 Points) | 0 | 1 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dallas Burn (1 Points) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Chicago Fire (1 Points) | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (7 Points) | 1 | 1* | 2* | | | |
| 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy (SDET)* (4 Points) | 1 | 1 | 3* | 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy (ASDET)* (7 Points) | 1 | 1* | 2* | | | |
| 6 | MetroStars (4 Points) | 1 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | MetroStars (4 Points) | 1 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (ASDET)* | 2 |
| 1 | Miami Fusion (6 Points) | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (ASDET)* | 2 |
| 8 | Kansas City Wizards (3 Points) | 0 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Kansas City Wizards (3 Points) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Miami Fusion (3 Points) | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (SDET)* (6 Points) | 0 | 4 | 1* | | | |
| 4 | Columbus Crew (0 Points) | 1 | 0 | x | 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (SDET)* (6 Points) | 0 | 4 | 1* | | | |
| 5 | San Jose Earthquakes (6 Points) | 3 | 3 | x | | | | | | | | |
* Points system Win = 3 Pts. Loss = 0 Pts. Draw = 1 Pt.
* ASDET*=Added Sudden Death Extra Time (Game tie breaker) SDET**=Sudden Death Extra Time (Series tie breaker) Teams will advance at 5 points.

### Quarterfinals

Chicago Fire advance 7–1 on points.
Miami Fusion advance 6–3 on points.
Los Angeles Galaxy advance 1-0 in series overtime (SDET) after 4-4 tie on points.
San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–0 on points.

### Semifinals

Los Angeles Galaxy advance 7–1 on points.
San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–3 on points.

### MLS Cup
## Player statistics
### Goals

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion | 19 |
| 2 | Diego Serna | Miami Fusion | 15 |
| 3 | John Spencer | Colorado Rapids | 14 |
| 3 | Abdul Thompson Conteh | D.C. United | 14 |
| 5 | Ronald Cerritos | San Jose Earthquakes | 11 |
| 5 | Ariel Graziani | Dallas Burn | 11 |
| 7 | Jeff Cunningham | Columbus Crew | 10 |
| 7 | Eric Wynalda | New England Revolution, Chicago Fire | 10 |
| 9 | Mamadou Diallo | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 9 |
| 9 | Jaime Moreno | D.C. United | 9 |

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Diego Serna | Miami Fusion | 11 |
| 1 | John Wilmar Pérez | Columbus Crew | 11 |
| 3 | Ross Paule | Colorado Rapids | 10 |
| 3 | Preki | Miami Fusion | 10 |
| 5 | Jeff Cunningham | Columbus Crew | 8 |
| 5 | Cobi Jones | Los Angeles Galaxy | 8 |
| 5 | Manny Lagos | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 |
| 5 | Piotr Nowak | Chicago Fire | 8 |
| 9 | Landon Donovan | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 |
| 9 | Marco Etcheverry | D.C. United | 7 |
| 9 | Ariel Graziani | Dallas Burn | 7 |
| 9 | Eric Quill | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 7 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Matt Jordan | Dallas Burn | 9 |
| 1 | Zach Thornton | Chicago Fire | 9 |
| 3 | Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 |
| 4 | Matt Reis | Los Angeles Galaxy | 6 |
| 5 | Tom Presthus | Columbus Crew | 5 |
| 5 | Nick Rimando | Miami Fusion | 5 |
| 7 | Kevin Hartman | Los Angeles Galaxy | 4 |
| 7 | Tim Howard | MetroStars | 4 |
| 7 | Tony Meola | Kansas City Wizards | 4 |
| 10 | Bo Oshoniyi | Kansas City Wizards | 3 |

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Award | Player | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion |
| Defender of the Year | Jeff Agoos | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Tim Howard | MetroStars |
| Coach of the Year | Frank Yallop | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Rookie of the Year | Rodrigo Faria | MetroStars |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Troy Dayak | San Jose Earthquakes |
| Scoring Champion | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion |
| Goal of the Year | Clint Mathis | MetroStars |
| Fair Play Award | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion |
| Humanitarian of the Year | Tim Howard | MetroStars |

### Best XI

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Tim Howard, MetroStars | Jeff Agoos, San Jose Carlos Llamosa, Miami Pablo Mastroeni, Miami Greg Vanney, LA Galaxy | Chris Armas, Chicago Piotr Nowak, Chicago Preki, Miami | Alex Pineda Chacón, Miami Diego Serna, Miami John Spencer, Colorado |

### Player of the Month

| Week | Player | Club |
| April | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion |
| May | Clint Mathis | MetroStars |
| June | Diego Serna | Miami Fusion |
| July | Hristo Stoitchkov | Chicago Fire |
| August | Brian Maisonneuve | Columbus Crew |

## Attendance

| Team | Games | Total | Average |
| D.C. United | 12 | 258,213 | 21,518 |
| MetroStars | 13 | 270,477 | 20,806 |
| Columbus Crew | 13 | 227,644 | 17,511 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 13 | 226,035 | 17,387 |
| Colorado Rapids | 13 | 214,249 | 16,481 |
| Chicago Fire | 14 | 229,438 | 16,388 |
| New England Revolution | 13 | 203,501 | 15,654 |
| Dallas Burn | 13 | 163,465 | 12,574 |
| Miami Fusion | 14 | 156,481 | 11,177 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 13 | 142,402 | 10,954 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | 14 | 146,704 | 10,479 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 13 | 125,250 | 9,635 |
| Totals | 158 | 2,363,859 | 14,961 |

## International Competition

CONCACAF Champions' Cup
* Kansas City Wizards 2001 edition canceled; Wizards advanced to CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2002.
* Chicago Fire 2001 edition canceled; Fire advance to CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2002.
Copa Merconorte
* MetroStars Went 3-3-0 in group stage and did not advance. Defeated Deportivo Italchacao, 2-0 at home. Awarded two forfeit wins against Club Deportivo Guadalajara, after the club refused to travel. Lost Deportivo Italchacao, 2-1 away. Lost Millonarios, 2-1 away and 1-0 at home.
* Kansas City Wizards Went 1-4-1 in group stage and did not advance. Defeated Barcelona, 3-2 away, Drew 1-1 at home. Lost Santos Laguna, 4-2 away and 1-0 at home. Lost Sporting Cristal, 2-1 at home and 2-1 away.
CONCACAF Giants Cup
* D.C. United Defeated Arnett Gardens, 5-1 on aggregate in quarterfinals. Defeated Comunicaciones, 2-1 in semifinals. Lost Club América, 2-0 in final.
* Columbus Crew Lost Deportivo Saprissa, 3-1 on aggregate in quarterfinals.