| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| MLS Cup | San Jose Earthquakes (2nd title) |
| Supporters' Shield | Chicago Fire (1st shield) |
| 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup | San Jose Earthquakes Chicago Fire |
| Matches | 150 |
| Goals | 433 (2.89 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy Goals: 15 Taylor Twellman N.E. Revolution Goals: 15 |
| Biggest home win | CHI 4–0COL CLB 6–2CHI |
| Biggest away win | SJ 1–4CHI DAL 0–3SJ |
| Highest scoring | NY 4–4SJ CLB 6–2CHI |
| Longest winning run | Colorado Rapids Games: 5 (07/04 – 08/09) MetroStars Games: 5 (04/26 – 05/24) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Chicago Fire Games: 7 (07/19 – 08/24) Colorado Rapids Games: 7 (08/16 – 10/01) |
| Longest losing run | Colorado Rapids Games: 4 (05/03 – 05/25) Dallas Burn Games: 4 (07/19 -08/13) |
| Highest attendance | Los Angeles Galaxy Season: 329,752 Game Avg.: 21,983 |
| Lowest attendance | Dallas Burn Season: 118,585 Game Avg.: 7,906 |
| Total attendance | 2,234,747 |
| Average attendance | 14,898 |
←2002 2004 → | |
The2003 Major League Soccer season was the eighth season ofMajor League Soccer. It was also the 91st season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in theUnited States, and the 25th with a national first-division league.
TheLos Angeles Galaxy moved into the league's secondsoccer-specific stadium when theHome Depot Center opened on June 1, 2003. TheChicago Fire continued to play atCardinal Stadium inNaperville but returned to the newly renovatedSoldier Field for their final regular season game.
The number of games was increased to 30 after a reduction to 28 for the 2002 season. Instead of a best-of-three series, the playoffs were tweaked so that the conference semifinals would be determined by a home-and-awayaggregate score over two matches, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. Additionally, the two conference finals became single-leg hosted by the higher seed.
The regular season began on April 5, and concluded on October 26. The 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs began on November 1, and concluded withMLS Cup 2003 on November 23. TheSan Jose Earthquakes won their second MLS Cup in three years with a victory over Chicago.
The season began on April 5 and concluded withMLS Cup on November 23. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 30 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference, and two designated opponents from the opposite conference, four times, and the remaining teams in the opposite conference twice.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for theMLS Cup Playoffs. In the first round, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners. The conference finals were played as a single match, and the winners advanced toMLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken with two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. Theaway goals rule was not used in any round.
The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded theMLS Supporters' Shield. Additionally, the winner ofMLS Cup and the runner-up qualified for theCONCACAF Champions' Cup.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | Cardinal Stadium Soldier Field | 15,000 61,500 |
| Colorado Rapids | Invesco Field at Mile High | 76,125 |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 22,555 |
| D.C. United | RFK Stadium | 46,000 |
| Dallas Burn | Dragon Stadium | 11,000 |
| Kansas City Wizards | Arrowhead Stadium | 81,425 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Home Depot Center | 27,000 |
| MetroStars | Giants Stadium | 80,200 |
| New England Revolution | Gillette Stadium | 68,756 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium | 30,456 |
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Burn |  Mike Jeffries | Fired | September 15, 2003 |  Colin Clarke | September 15, 2003 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | |
| 3 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | |
| 4 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 42 | |
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 40 | |
| 4 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 5 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 23 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire(S) | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 2 | San Jose Earthquakes(C) | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 42 | |
| 5 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | |
| 6 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 40 | |
| 7 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 | |
| 9 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 10 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 23 |
| Conference semifinals | Conference finals | MLS Cup | |||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago (wins 4–0 agg.) | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||
| E3 | New England | 0 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | New England (wins 3–1 agg.) | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | MetroStars | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose (wins 5–4 agg.) | 0 | 5* | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Los Angeles | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | San Jose | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City | 2 | |||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City (wins 3–1 agg.) | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Colorado | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Chicago Fire | 2–0 | D.C. United |
|---|---|---|
Williams 4'Razov 94' |
| D.C. United | 0–2 | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph 17' Razov 55' |
Chicago Fire won 4–0 on aggregate.
| New England Revolution | 2–0 | MetroStars |
|---|---|---|
| Fabbro 17' Noonan 65' |
| MetroStars | 1–1 | New England Revolution |
|---|---|---|
| Guevara 45' (pen.) | Noonan 21' |
New England Revolution won 3–1 on aggregate.
| San Jose Earthquakes | 0–2 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
|---|---|---|
| Victorine 59' Ruiz 62' |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–5 (a.e.t.) | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Ruiz 7' Vagenas 13' | Agoos 21' Donovan 35'Walker 50'Roner 90'Faria  96' |
San Jose Earthquakes won 5–4 on aggregate after golden goal extra time.
| Kansas City Wizards | 1–1 | Colorado Rapids |
|---|---|---|
| Harris 3' | Borchers 53' |
| Colorado Rapids | 0–2 | Kansas City Wizards |
|---|---|---|
| Simutenkov 45' Klein 63' |
Kansas City Wizards won 3–1 on aggregate.
Eastern Conference
| New England Revolution | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Armas 101' |
Western Conference
| Kansas City Wizards | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Simutenkov 57' Klein 72' | Lagos 61' Mullan 83'Donovan 117' |
| Chicago Fire | 2–4 | San Jose Earthquakes |
|---|---|---|
| Beasley 49' Roner 54' (o.g.) | Ekelund 5' Donovan 38',71'Mulrooney 50' |
| Club | Games | Season | Game Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 15 | 329,752 | 21,983 |
| Colorado Rapids | 15 | 251,578 | 16,772 |
| Columbus Crew | 15 | 243,756 | 16,250 |
| MetroStars | 15 | 237,326 | 15,822 |
| Kansas City Wizards | 15 | 233,594 | 15,573 |
| D.C. United | 15 | 233,476 | 15,565 |
| New England Revolution | 15 | 219,611 | 14,641 |
| Chicago Fire | 15 | 210,080 | 14,005 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 15 | 156,989 | 10,466 |
| Dallas Burn | 15 | 118,585 | 7,906 |
| Totals | 150 | 2,234,747 | 14,898 |
| Eastern Conference | |
|---|---|
| Western Conference | |
| Former teams |
|
| Personnel | |
| Competition | |
| Associated competitions | |
| Other | |
