Editorial: Looking Back At MLS Cup 2002 (VIDEO)
No game defined the start of the history of success on the football pitch for the Los Angeles Galaxy like MLS Cup 2002, held on Oct. 20, 2002 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Back then, Gillette Stadium was a brand-new venure, having opened 41 days ago on Sept. 9. The game would be the last-ever game that would be decided on a golden goal, which is still awarded at the collegiate level to this day.
The Galaxy were managed by Sigi Schmid, who is currently the boss of the Seattle Sounders. Many notable players were on the Galaxy team,. who won their second MLS Supporters’ Shield with a record of 16-9-3 (51 points). The Galaxy defeated Sporting Kansas City (then known as the Kansas City WIzards) in a three-game series in the Western Conference Semifinals before eliminating the Colorado Rapids in another three-game series in the Conference Finals.
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Among the faces on the ’02 LA Galaxy lineup, Alexi Lalas is a current television personality with ESPN and is in discussions of taking his trade to Fox Sports. Cobi Jones is a color commentator for Time Warner Cable Sportsnet’s Galaxy matches, Alejandro Moreno covers matches for the Philadelphia Union, while Matt Reis would jump ship to the Revolution for more than a decade before returning to LA to serve as the current goalkeepers coach. And Mauricio Cienfuegos is currently a technical coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy Academy.
The New England Revolution, then managed by Steve Nicol, ended the regular season 12-14-2 (38 points), good for first in the Eastern Conference. The Revolution defeated the Chicago Fire in a three-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals before defeating the Columbus Crew in a three-game series in the Eastern Conference Final. Like the Galaxy, there are a number of notable faces from this New England Revolution team.
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Taylor Twellman is a color commentator for ESPN alongside Adrian Healey for MLS games. Steve Ralston would have the career assists record for over a decade until Landon Donovan broke it this year. And Jay Heaps is the current manager for the Revolution.
Major League Soccer, at this time, was going through a massive year of transition. The dark days were highlighted by the folding of the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny. But with the rise of the USA Men’s National Team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, there was reason to belive that MLS would be on the rise.
The winning goal for Los Angeles came in the 113th minute by Carlos Ruiz, a Guatemalan international who now plays for C.S.D. Municipal in Guatemala and has 109 national appearances and 55 national team goals under his belt. 2002 was the high point of his playing career with the Galaxy, in which he won the MLS Most Valuable Player that season after scoring 24 goals in the regular season. He would be a mainstay for that club until 2005, when he was traded to FC Dallas.