page_title: History of D.C. United
section_title: Fourth MLS Cup
hierarchical_section_title: History of D.C. United / Second golden age, Nowak years (2004–07) / Fourth MLS Cup
caption_attribution_description: Photo of Piotr Nowak taken by me at D.C. United meet-the-team day.
context_page_description: The History of D.C. United spans 21 years, beginning in 1995 when Major League Soccer awarded a franchise to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Since the team's inception, D.C. United has played in RFK Stadium located in the city's seventh ward near the Eastland Gardens neighborhood and D.C. Armory.
  D.C. United was the first franchise awarded by MLS, and was the dominant team in MLS during the league's first few years of existence. For those reasons, United is often regarded as MLS's "flagship franchise". As of 2013, the club has won four regular season and league championships, more than any other sports franchise in the Washington area. The team has also won three U.S. Open Cup titles and a CONCACAF title.
context_section_description: The years under Piotr Nowak and the early years under Tom Sohen's coaching were seen as the strongest for United since their late 1990s dominance in the league. Highlighted with an MLS Cup title, two Supporters' Shields, and an Open Cup title, United nearly doubled their trophy case in the span of four years.
  February 18, 2004; Nowak took the helm of head coach for United following the firing of Ray Hudson. The year was also marked by the arrival of up and coming teen prodigy Freddy Adu who, at the time, was only 14 years old. His professional contract with United made Adu the youngest pro athlete signed to an American sports league since 1887. The arrival of the prospect received major national headlines, and record crowds to United matches both at home and on the road. One match, resulted in a sellout of crowd upwards of 46,000 spectators; the fourth largest in United history.
  The club's first season under Nowak was marred by injuries in the early going, and some players complained about Nowak's methods. Nevertheless, a strong finish, assisted in large measure by the late-season acquisition of Argentine midfielder Christian Gómez, propelled United into the 2004 playoffs as the second seed. There the team advanced past the New England Revolution on penalty kicks in what has been called one of the best games in MLS history. United then defeated the Kansas City Wizards to take their fourth MLS Cup.
  While United struggled at first with consistency, the club defied expectations of a poor season and finished third place overall and second in the Eastern Conference. The record was good enough for a second seed in the 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs. In the Eastern Conference championship, the second seed United hosted fourth seed New England in a match that has been deemed as the greatest match in MLS history. In front of 21,000 spectators; United and the Revolution battled to a 3–3 draw during regulation time, thanks to a last gasp equalizer from New England's Pat Noonan. Still leveled at three-apiece, the match had to go into penalty kicks. The first takers, New England's Steve Ralston and D.C.'s Ben Olsen both missed their penalties, while the next two; Matt Reis and Santino Quaranta successfully converted their penalties. The third kick-takers, Taylor Twellman and Freddy Adu both nailed their shots. Things got interesting in the fourth and fifth rounds, where New England had their shot saved, while D.C.'s hit the crossbar. The series had to go to sudden death penalty kicks, where New England's Clint Dempsey missed his, whereas United's Brian Carroll successfully converted his. Followed by huge uproar and the club storming the field, it was the first time in five years United returned to the MLS Cup championship.
  In MLS Cup 2004, United took on the Western Conference regular season and postseason champions, Kansas City Wizards. The Wizards, were coming off a 2–0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference finals, to advance to the championship match. The 2004 final received additional hype around United making their first MLS Cup finals appearance in five years, as well as the prospect of Adu playing in his first major cup final. For Kansas City, it was their first trip to the final in four years, having won MLS Cup 2000 previously. For the Wizards, the team started on better ground as Wizards midfielder, Jose Burciaga Jr. drilled a 25-yard shot into the back of the net, giving the Wizards a 1–0 advantage only six minutes into the match. United quickly responded as the Black-and-Red scored thrice within seven minutes, starting with a 19th and 23rd minute pair of goals from Alecko Eskandarian preluding to Wizards defender, Alexandru Zotincă conceding an own goal in the 26th minute. The quick turn of events, according to analysis, shell shocked Kansas City. With a 3–1 lead going into the half, United looked poised to earn their fourth MLS championship, only to have that hope speculated in the 58th minute. During that moment, United defensive midfielder Dema Kovalenko drew a penalty kick for Kansas City and consequ
caption: Under the helm of Piotr Nowak, D.C. United earned an MLS Cup and MLS Supporters Shield honors in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
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