The
championship game of
Major League Soccer (
MLS). The game is played at
previously determined sites, so it usually ends up occurring at a
neutral site (unless the
host team that year ends up advancing to the
final (as
DC United did in 1997).
MLS Cup has been televised on ABC. It is not to be confused with the US Open Cup, which is also open to teams outside the MLS (and is decades older than MLS). For those familiar with English football, winning the MLS Cup is the equivalent of winning the Premiership, while winning the US Open Cup is similar to winning the FA Cup.
Below's a listing of MLS Cup results, since the beginning of the league in 1996. Both the 1996 and 2001 games were decided on golden goals in overtime.
Year Score MLS Cup MVP (team) Host team
2001 San Jose Earthquakes 2, Los Angeles Galaxy 1 Dwayne DeRosario (SJ) Columbus Crew
2000 Kansas City Wizards 1, Chicago Fire 0 Tony Meola (KC) DC United
1999 DC United 2, Los Angeles Galaxy 0 Ben Olsen (DC) New England Revolution
1998 Chicago Fire 2, DC United 0 Peter Nowak (Chi.) Los Angeles Galaxy
1997 DC United 2, Colorado Rapids 1 Jaime Moreno (DC) DC United
1996 DC United 3, Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Marco Etcheverry (DC) New England Revolution