Major League Soccer 2005 Season
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This is a summary of the 2005 Major League Soccer season.
At the previous MLS Cup, two new expansion franchises were announced to start play in 2005, Real Salt Lake and C.D. Chivas USA (based at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California).
The New England Revolution and FC Dallas began the year as the league's dominant teams, especially when Dallas acquired Carlos Ruiz in a trade after Landon Donovan returned from a disappointing stint with Bayer Leverkusen and wanted to play with his hometown Los Angeles Galaxy. Injuries and inconsistent play slowed FC Dallas down as the season wore on, and the San Jose Earthquakes won the regular-season Supporters' Shield (they faced a much weaker schedule than New England). FC Dallas opened its new stadium, Pizza Hut Park, in August, although it did not operate at full capacity until November. As he did at the Home Depot Center, Ruiz scored the first goal in the new stadium in a 2-2 tie against the MetroStars.
Expansion franchises Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA struggled in their first season, making playoff qualification a routine matter for the other four Western Conference teams. Chivas USA proved a disappointment in terms of consistent attendance, but its derbies against Los Angeles added excitement and intensity to the calendar, even though the Galaxy won all five (four regular season and one U.S. Open Cup) meetings. Real Salt Lake finished second in the league in attendance.
The MetroStars fired head coach Bob Bradley late in the season and qualified for the playoffs with a 2-0 win over Chivas USA on the final day of the season. Their campaign was boosted by former French international Youri Djorkaeff, who proved one of the league's most successful international signings and took over as MetroStars captain.
In the playoffs, Western Conference No. 4 seed Los Angeles knocked off rival San Jose behind inspired play from former Earthquake Donovan. Colorado edged Dallas on penalty kicks after a classic overtime that saw each team score in overtime and Ruiz hit the post with a penalty kick. In the Eastern Conference, New England rallied from a 2-0 aggregate deficit with three goals in the game's final 25 minutes to beat the MetroStars in snowy Gillette Stadium. Defending champion D.C. United crashed out after a 4-0 home loss to the Chicago Fire.
In the conference finals, Donovan scored twice to lead the Galaxy past Colorado, and an early Clint Dempsey goal carried New England into the final. Fire players thought they had tied the game in stoppage time, but a linesman's controversial offside call (proven correct by video replay) denied them the equalizer.
For the second time in four years, Los Angeles beat New England 1-0 in overtime to win MLS Cup. Maligned Guatemalan forward Pando Ramirez, whose only goal on the season came on a penalty kick that hit the post and went in off Joe Cannon's back, scored the game's only goal before a sellout crowd at Pizza Hut Park.
Final standings
| Position | Eastern Conference | Points | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals | Against | Difference | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Revolution | 59 | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 12,525 |
| 2 | D.C. United | 54 | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 16,664 |
| 3 | Chicago Fire | 49 | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 49 | 50 | -1 | 17,238 |
| 4 | MetroStars | 47 | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 15,077 |
| 5 | Kansas City Wizards | 45 | 32 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 9,691 |
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 38 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 34 | 45 | -11 | 12,916 |
| Position | Western Conference | Points | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals | Against | Difference | Average attendance |
| 1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 64 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 53 | 31 | +22 | 13,037 |
| 2 | FC Dallas | 48 | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 11,189 |
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 45 | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 13,638 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 45 | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 45 | -1 | 24,204 |
| 5 | Real Salt Lake | 20 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 30 | 65 | -35 | 18,037 |
| 6 | Chivas USA | 18 | 32 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 31 | 67 | -36 | 17,080 |
MLS Cup Playoffs
Conference Semifinals
''New England advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Chicago advance 4-0 on aggregate.
Los Angeles advance 4-2 on aggregate.
| Penalties | |||
| Ruiz scored Nunez scored Pareja scored Vanney scored Mina saved | 4–5 | Mastroeni scored Kirovski scored Cunningham scored Cooke scored Peguero scored |
Conference Finals
''Conference champions New England and Los Angeles earn MLS berths to CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2006.
Top Scorers
| Position | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Twellman | New England Revolution | 17 |
| 2 | Jaime Moreno | D.C. United | 16 |
| 3 | Jeff Cunningham | Colorado Rapids | 12 |
| - | Landon Donovan | Los Angeles Galaxy | 12 |
| 5 | Christian Gomez | D.C. United | 11 |
| - | Herculez Gomez | Los Angeles Galaxy | 11 |
| - | Amado Guevara | MetroStars | 11 |
| - | Carlos Ruiz | FC Dallas | 11 |
| 9 | Clint Dempsey | New England Revolution | 10 |
| - | Youri Djorkaeff | MetroStars | 10 |
| - | Josh Wolff | Kansas City Wizards | 10 |
Team Awards
- MLS Cup: Los Angeles Galaxy
- U.S. Open Cup: Los Angeles Galaxy
- MLS Supporters' Shield: San Jose Earthquakes
International Competition
- D.C. United - CONCACAF Champions' Cup - defeat Harbour View F.C. of Jamaica in quarterfinals. Lose to UNAM Pumas of Mexico in semfinals.
- Kansas City Wizards - CONCACAF Champions' Cup - lose to Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica in quarterfinals.
- D.C. United - Copa Sudamericana - lose to Universidad Católica of Chile in Round of 16.
Individual Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution
- Golden Boot: Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution (17)
- Defender of the Year: Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Pat Onstad, San Jose Earthquakes
- Rookie of the Year: Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution
- Coach of the Year: Dominic Kinnear, San Jose Earthquakes
- Comeback Player of the Year: Chris Klein, Kansas City Wizards
- Goal of the Year: Dwayne De Rosario, San Jose Earthquakes
- Fair Play Award: Ronald Cerritos, San Jose Earthquakes
- Humanitarian of the Year: Brian Kamler, Real Salt Lake
|
Eastern Conference Chicago Fire | Columbus Crew D.C. United | Kansas City Wizards New England Revolution | Red Bull New York |
Western Conference C.D. Chivas USA | Colorado Rapids FC Dallas | Houston Dynamo Los Angeles Galaxy | Real Salt Lake |
| Previous seasons | |
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Historical teams | Future teams |
| Miami Fusion | San Jose Earthquakes | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Toronto FC |
| Miscellaneous | |
|
MLS Cup | All-Star Game | USSF | CSA | Central Division | U.S. Open Cup Supporter's Shield | MLS two-team Cups | Current Players | Foreign Players | MLS Drafts | |
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