| Season: | 2001 |
| Mlscup: | San Jose Earthquakes (1st title) |
| Shield: | Miami Fusion (1st shield) |
| Continentalcup1: | 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| League Topscorer: | Alex Pineda Chacon Miami Fusion F.C. Goals: 19 |
| Matches: | 158 |
| Total Goals: | 519 |
| Highest Attendance: | D.C. United Season: 258,213 Game Avg.: 21,518 |
| Lowest Attendance: | San Jose Earthquakes Season: 125,250 Game Avg.: 9,635 |
| Attendance: | 2,363,859 |
| Average Attendance: | 14,961 |
| Nextseason: | 2002 |
The 2001 Major League Soccer season was the sixth season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 89th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 23rd with a national first-division league.
The season was shortened due to the September 11 attacks, with the final weeks' regular season matches being canceled. Due to the different number of games played, playoff ordering was determined by points per game, instead of total points.[1]
The regular season began on April 7, and concluded prematurely on September 9. The 2001 MLS Cup Playoffs began on September 20, and concluded with MLS Cup 2001 on October 21. The Miami Fusion won their first Supporters' Shield and the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final to win their first MLS Cup.
The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 21. The 12 teams were split into three divisions. Each team was to play 28 games[2] that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team would play every other team in their division four times, for a total of 12 games. The remaining schedule consisted of three games against four select opponents in one of the other divisions, and two games against the remaining four teams.
The eight teams with the most points per game qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.
The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
See main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | Soldier Field | 66,944 | |
| Colorado Rapids | Mile High Stadium | 76,273 | |
| Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 22,555 | |
| D.C. United | RFK Stadium | 46,000 | |
| Dallas Burn | Cotton Bowl | 92,100 | |
| Kansas City Wizards | Arrowhead Stadium | 81,425 | |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Rose Bowl | 92,542 | |
| Miami Fusion | Lockhart Stadium | 20,450 | |
| New England Revolution | Foxboro Stadium | 60,292 | |
| MetroStars | Giants Stadium | 80,200 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Spartan Stadium | 30,456 | |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Raymond James Stadium | 69,218 |
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire |  Bob Bradley | — | ||
| Colorado Rapids | Tim Hankinson | |||
| Columbus Crew | Greg Andrulis | — | ||
| D.C. United | Thomas Rongen | MasterCard | ||
| Dallas Burn | Mike Jeffries | |||
| Kansas City Wizards | Bob Gansler | — | ||
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Sigi Schmid | — | ||
| MetroStars |  Octavio Zambrano | Tab Ramos | ||
| Miami Fusion | Ray Hudson | — | ||
| New England Revolution | Fernando Clavijo | — | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes |  Frank Yallop | Jeff Agoos | Yahoo! Sports | |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Perry Van der Beck |
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Crew | Tom Fitzgerald | Fired | May 17, 2001 | Greg Andrulis | May 17, 2001 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Alfonso Mondelo | Resigned | July 5, 2001 | Perry Van der Beck | Jul 5, 2001 |
Chicago Fire advance 7–1 on points.
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Miami Fusion advance 6–3 on points.
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Los Angeles Galaxy advance 1-0 in series overtime (SDET) after 4-4 tie on points.
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San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–0 on points.
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Los Angeles Galaxy advance 7–1 on points.
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San Jose Earthquakes advance 6–3 on points.
See main article: MLS Cup 2001.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Fusion | 19 | |
| 2 | Miami Fusion | 15 | |
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 14 | |
| D.C. United | |||
| 5 | San Jose Earthquakes | 11 | |
| Dallas Burn | |||
| 7 | Columbus Crew | 10 | |
| New England Revolution, Chicago Fire | |||
| 9 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | 9 | |
See main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks.
| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–1 | |||||
 Abdul Thompson Conteh4 | 5–0 | ||||
 Mamadou Diallo4 | 4–1 | ||||
| 6–2 | |||||
| 6–1 | |||||
| 3–1 | |||||
| 3–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Fusion | 11 | |
| Columbus Crew | |||
| 3 | Colorado Rapids | 10 | |
| Miami Fusion | |||
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 8 | |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | |||
| San Jose Earthquakes | |||
| Chicago Fire | |||
| 9 | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Jordan | Dallas Burn | 9 |
| Zach Thornton | Chicago Fire | ||
| 3 | Joe Cannon | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 |
| 4 | Matt Reis | Los Angeles Galaxy | 6 |
| 5 | Tom Presthus | Columbus Crew | 5 |
| Nick Rimando | Miami Fusion | ||
| 7 | Kevin Hartman | Los Angeles Galaxy | 4 |
| Tim Howard | MetroStars | ||
| Tony Meola | Kansas City Wizards | ||
| 10 | Bo Oshoniyi | Kansas City Wizards | 3 |
| Award | Player | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion | |
| Defender of the Year | Jeff Agoos | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Tim Howard | MetroStars | |
| Coach of the Year | Frank Yallop | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| Rookie of the Year |  Rodrigo Faria | MetroStars | |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Troy Dayak | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| Scoring Champion | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion | |
| Fair Play Award | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion | |
| Humanitarian of the Year | Tim Howard | MetroStars | |
| Goal of the Year | Clint Mathis | MetroStars |
| Week | Player | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | Alex Pineda Chacón | Miami Fusion | |
| May | Clint Mathis | MetroStars | |
| June |  Diego Serna | Miami Fusion | |
| July | Hristo Stoitchkov | Chicago Fire | |
| August | Brian Maisonneuve | Columbus Crew |
| Team | Games | Total | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.C. United | 12 | 258,213 | 21,518 | |
| MetroStars | 13 | 270,477 | 20,806 | |
| Columbus Crew | 13 | 227,644 | 17,511 | |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | 13 | 226,035 | 17,387 | |
| Colorado Rapids | 13 | 214,249 | 16,481 | |
| Chicago Fire | 14 | 229,438 | 16,388 | |
| New England Revolution | 13 | 203,501 | 15,654 | |
| Dallas Burn | 13 | 163,465 | 12,574 | |
| Miami Fusion | 14 | 156,481 | 11,177 | |
| Kansas City Wizards | 13 | 142,402 | 10,954 | |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | 14 | 146,704 | 10,479 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 13 | 125,250 | 9,635 | |
| Totals | 158 | 2,363,859 | 14,961 |