2004 D.C. United season
| 2004 season | |||
| Owner |
 D.C. United Holdings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head Coach |
 Piotr Nowak | ||
| MLS | 4th | ||
| MLS Cup | Champions | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Fourth round | ||
| Atlantic Cup | Winners | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: All: Eskandarian (14) | ||
| |||
| |||
The 2004 D.C. United season was the eighth season of the club's existence. It was highlighted by winning their first MLS Cup championship since 1999.
The season was hallmarked by United winning their fourth Major League Soccer championship, winning MLS Cup 2004 3–2 over Kansas City Wizards. To date, this was the last time in franchise history that the team has won an MLS Cup title. Additionally, by winning the championship, some cite that it marked a "second golden age" in United, as the United matched their late 90s dynasty by doubling their trophy case. Following the 2004 title, United would go on to win two MLS Supporters' Shields, to claim the most in the league, as well as their second U.S. Open Cup title.
In terms of player and manager transactions, the offseason saw English head coach Ray Hudson end his two-season stint with the club, as United management fired him out of dissatisfaction with his results as a manager. Early in January, United signed retired MLS star Piotr Nowak to the helm of head coaching duties. The hiring of Nowak was unprecedented at the time, as no other head coach was a former MLS player in league history. However, the signing of Nowak marked a new trend of first generation MLS players assuming coaching duties for second generation MLS players.
United made national, and international, headlines this year by drafting then 14-year-old prospect Freddy Adu as the first pick of the MLS SuperDraft. Although United did not have worst record in 2003, and in fact, made the playoffs, MLS orchestrated a series of negotiations between United and Dallas Burn, who originally had the first overall selection. Since Adu signed with the league, per Adu's request, the league led a series of agreements between the two sides to give Dallas additional allocation from United so that Adu could play for his local club, as he grew up near Potomac, Maryland.[1]
Review and events
Preseason
- January
- Freddy Adu signs with D.C. United[1]
- February
- March
Regular season
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- Early October
Playoffs
- Late October
- November
- United deft. NE Revs in the 2004 Eastern Conf. championship to go to MLS Cup 2004. Considered best match in MLS history[2][3][4][5][6]
- United win their first MLS Cup title since 1999 with a 3–2 win over the Kansas City Wizards at the Home Depot Center[7]
Match results
Lists of matches, featuring result, attendance (where available) and scorers, grouped by competition (league, cup, other competition). Do not include friendly matches.
Legend
| Win | Tie | Loss |
Major League Soccer
Home team's score listed first.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3, 2004 | San Jose Earthquakes | H | 2–1 | Moreno, Eskandarian | |
| April 10, 2004 | Los Angeles Galaxy | A | 1–1 | Cerritos | |
| April 17, 2004 | MetroStars | A | 3–2 | Olsen, Adu | |
| April 24, 2004 | Chicago Fire | H | 0–1 | ||
| May 1, 2004 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 1–1 | Kovalenko | |
| May 7, 2004 | Columbus Crew | H | 1–1 | Kovalenko | |
| May 15, 2004 | Kansas City Wizards | H | 1–0 | Moreno | |
| May 19, 2004 | Los Angeles Galaxy | H | 2–4 | Cerritos, Adu | |
| May 22, 2004 | Colorado Rapids | A | 2–1 | Gros | |
| May 29, 2004 | New England Revolution | A | 0–1 | Kamler (o.g.) | |
| June 5, 2004 | Chicago Fire | A | 3–0 | ||
| June 12, 2004 | Colorado Rapids | H | 0–0 | ||
| June 19, 2004 | Columbus Crew | H | 3–1 | Moreno, Eskandarian (2) | |
| June 26, 2004 | Dallas Burn | A | 1–1 | Eskandarian | |
| July 3, 2004 | MetroStars | H | 6–2 | Nelsen, Moreno, Eskandarian (2) Stewart, Olsen | |
| July 10, 2004 | Kansas City Wizards | A | 1–0 | ||
| July 17, 2004 | Los Angeles Galaxy | H | 1–1 | Nelsen | |
| July 24, 2004 | Dallas Burn | A | 5–1 | Gibbs (o.g.) | |
| August 7, 2004 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 2–0 | ||
| August 11, 2004 | Colorado Rapids | H | 3–1 | Adu, Stewart, Kotschau (o.g.) | |
| August 14, 2004 | New England Revolution | H | 2–2 | Moreno (2) | |
| August 21, 2004 | Columbus Crew | A | 2–2 | Eskandarian, Moreno | |
| August 28, 2004 | New England Revolution | A | 0–0 | ||
| September 4, 2004 | Chicago Fire | A | 3–1 | Stewart | |
| September 8, 2004 | Dallas Burn | H | 3–0 | Eskandarian (2), Adu | |
| September 18, 2004 | Chicago Fire | H | 3–1 | Gomez, Eskandarian, Olsen | |
| September 25, 2004 | Columbus Crew | A | 1–0 | ||
| October 2, 2004 | MetroStars | A | 0–1 | Adu | |
| October 9, 2004 | New England Revolution | H | 1–0 | Gomez | |
| October 17, 2004 | MetroStars | H | 3–2 | Gomez (2), Petke |
Source: RSSSF
MLS Cup
Home team score listed first
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 22, 2004 | C-SF, First Leg | MetroStars | A | 0–2 | 11,161 | Stewart, Eskandarian |
| October 30, 2004 | C-SF, Second Leg | MetroStars | H | 2–0 | 15,763 | Moreno, Namoff |
| November 6, 2004 | C-F | New England Revolution | H | 3–3 (4–3 p.k.) | 21,201 | Eskandarian, Moreno, Gomez |
| November 14, 2004 | F | Kansas City Wizards | N | 3–2 | 25,797 | Eskandarian (2), Zotinca (o.g.) |
- C-SF = Conference Semifinals
- C-F = Conference Finals
- F = Finals
U.S. Open Cup
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2004 | R3 | Richmond Kickers | A | 1–2 | 8,776 | Kuffour |
- QR1 = First round Qualification
- QR2 = Second round Qualification
- R1 = First round proper
- R2 = Second round proper
- R3 = Third round proper
- QF = Quarterfinals
- SF = Semifinals
- F = Final
MLS
- Eastern Conference Standings
Eastern Conference regular season champion1
Qualify for 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 49 |
| 2 | D.C. United | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 42 |
| 3 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 40 |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 33 |
| 5 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 33 |
- 1Earns top-seed in MLS Cup Playoffs
- Overall Table
MLS Supporters' Shield, Eastern Conference regular season champion1
Western Conference regular season champion2
Qualify for 2004 MLS Cup Playoffs
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 49 |
| 2 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 49 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 43 |
| 4 | D.C. United | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 42 |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 41 |
| 6 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 40 |
| 7 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 38 |
| 8 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 36 |
| 9 | New England Revolution | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 33 |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 33 |
- 1Earns top-seed in the Eastern Conference bracket of MLS Cup Playoffs
- 2Earns top-seed in the Western Conference bracket of MLS Cup Playoffs
- MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | MLS Cup 2004 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Columbus Crew | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
| E4 | New England Revolution (wins 2–1 agg.) | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| E3 | New England Revolution | E3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | D.C. United (wins 4–3 on PK's) | 3* | ||||||||||||
| E2 | D.C. United (wins 4–0 agg.) | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| E3 | MetroStars | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| E2 | D.C. United | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Kansas City Wizards | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Kansas City Wizards (wins 3–2 agg.) | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||
| W4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Kansas City Wizards | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles Galaxy (wins 2–1 agg.) | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
Club
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Statistics
List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition[8][9]
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Major League Soccer | MLS Cup | U.S. Open Cup | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 1 | GK | |
Doug Warren | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | |
David Stokes | 11 | 0 | 3+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | FW | |
Jason Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | |
Brandon Prideaux | 23 | 0 | 16+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF |  |
Ezra Hendrickson | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | |
Kevin Ara | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | |
Ryan Nelson | 17 | 2 | 17+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | |
Earnie Stewart | 26 | 3 | 23+3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | |
Freddy Adu | 34 | 5 | 14+16 | 5 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | |
Alecko Eskandarian | 28 | 14 | 19+5 | 10 | 4+0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | |
Mike Petke | 26 | 1 | 23+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF |  |
Christian Gómez | 13 | 5 | 8+1 | 4 | 4+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | |
Ben Olsen | 25 | 3 | 25+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | |
Brian Carroll | 30 | 4 | 26+4 | 4+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | |
Joshua Gros | 33 | 1 | 21+8 | 1 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | |
Nick Rimando | 13 | 0 | 13+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF |  |
Dema Kovalenko | 28 | 3 | 25+0 | 3 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | |
Troy Perkins | 16 | 0 | 16+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW |  |
Eliseo Quintanilla | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF |  |
Nana Kuffour | 6 | 1 | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | |
Santino Quaranta | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | |
Tim Lawson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | FW |  |
Jaime Moreno | 31 | 9 | 27+0 | 7 | 4+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Transfers
In
| Date | Player | Position | Previous Club | Fee/Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 16, 2004 | Freddy Adu | FW | Project-40 | MLS SuperDraft First round | |
| January 16, 2004 | Kevin Ara | MF | Harvard University | MLS SuperDraft Third round | |
| January 16, 2004 | Joshua Gros | MF | Rutgers University | MLS SuperDraft Fourth round | |
| January 16, 2004 | Kevin Hudson | MF | Southern Methodist University | MLS SuperDraft Fifth Round | |
| July 14, 2004 | Nana Kuffour | DM | Super Rainbows | Free transfer, developmental contract | [10] |
Out
Sourced list of players sold or loaned out during the season
Awards
Only official awards regarding individuals associated with the club
- FA Premier League Player of the Month (January): Patrick Scorer
- FA Premier League Manager of the Month (January): Lucas Boss
See also
References
- 1 2 "14-year-old signs with MLS". Deseret News. November 23, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ↑ Dure, Beau (November 11, 2004). "Harkes keeps both feet in the soccer world". USA Today. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- ↑ Dell'Apa, Frank (July 26, 2005). "10 of the best... MLS games". ESPN. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- ↑ Goff, Steven (November 3, 2006). "Revolution Ready to Take Another Shot". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- ↑ "D.C. United & Comcast SportsNet to launch 'Brunch with D.C. United'". Major League Soccer. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- ↑ Lifton, David (May 11, 2005). "Looking back: Unforgettable in every way". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
- ↑ Goff, Steven (November 15, 2004). "United Captures 4th Title". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Statistics: 2004 Regular Season". D.C. United. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Statistics: 2004 Postseason". D.C. United. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Kuffuor put on D.C. United developmental roster". Ghanaweb.net. July 14, 2004. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.