MLS Cup 2004
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| Date | November 14, 2004 | ||||||
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| Venue | The Home Depot Center, Carson, California | ||||||
| Man of the Match |
Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United) |
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| Attendance | 25,797 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C) | ||||||
MLS Cup 2004, the ninth edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was played between D.C. United and the Kansas City Wizards to decide the champion of the 2004 season. The match that took place at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California on November 14, 2004. D.C. United defeated Kansas City 3-2 on an own goal by Wizards defender, Alex Zotinca. It was D.C. United's fourth MLS Cup victory and their first since MLS Cup '99.
Peter Nowak's first season with United gave him the distinction of being the first person to win the MLS Cup as a player and head coach. As a player for the Chicago Fire, Nowak was named MLS Cup '98 MVP for his two assists during the Fire's 2-0 victory over United. He also started in the 2000 MLS Cup against the Kansas City Wizards, which resulted in 0-1 loss. His teammate at the time, Josh Wolff, who played as a substitute in that match, would score Kansas City Wizards's first goal in the 2004 MLS Cup.
While United barely surpassed a .500 record, the Wizards entered the playoffs as the most victorious team of the regular season.
United won 10 of their final 12 regular season games. Winning the MLS Cup completed a seven-game winning streak. Their last loss was on September 25, 2004 against the Columbus Crew.
After dominating the league in the first four years of Major League Soccer's existence, D.C. United's entered a rough patch in the early 2000s, failing to make the playoffs in the next three seasons following their 1999 championship. The previous season, D.C. United made a return into the playoffs, but were immediately eliminated by Chicago Fire, losing both matches by 2–0 margins.
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