MLS Cup 1998

The 1998 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 1998 Major League Soccer season. The game was played on October 25, 1998, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. The Chicago Fire beat D.C. United 2-0. This win ended United's reign as MLS champions, as they had been for the two years prior. The Fire great Peter Nowak was named MVP, assisting on both goals. The first Chicago goal was in the 29th minute, after a give-and-go between Nowak and Ante Razov. The move lured United goalkeeper Tom Presthus out of the goal, at which point Nowak slipped the ball to Jerzy Podbrozny for an easy tap-in at the opposite post. The second goal was scored by Diego Gutierrez when he deflected the ball off a Nowak shot. Chris Armas is often given much credit for this championship, because of his constant dogging of noted D.C. player Marco Etcheverry. Zach Thornton made 8 saves against 8 D.C. shots on goal, including 3 from Roy Lassiter. This win also gave Chicago the historic honor of winning both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in the same year, also the team's inaugural season.

References

* [http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/mls_cup/2004/history/archive.jsp?year=1998&content=cup]