2003 D.C. United season

D.C. United
2003 season
Owner	D.C. United Holdings
Head coach	Ray Hudson
MLS	7th
MLS Cup	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	Semifinals
Atlantic Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: ; All: Kovalenko; Etcheverry (06)

The 2003 D.C. United season was the clubs' ninth year of existence, as well as their seventh season in Major League Soccer.

Led by Ray Hudson, D.C. United's 2003 campaign was highlighted by the club's return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1999. In the playoffs, United who didn't qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the regular season, took on the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The Fire defeated United 4–0 on aggregates in the conference semifinals, winning each leg by a 2–0 margin of victory.

Review

November

On November 1, 2003, D.C. United played their first playoff match in nearly four years, entering the 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Conference semifinals, United faced the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The two-match, aggregate series was first contested at United's RFK Stadium. The match ended in a 2–0 defeat thanks to goals from the Fire's Andy Williams and Ante Razov in the 4th and 94th minutes, respectively.[1]

A week later, on November 9, 2003, the second leg was played at Chicago Fire's Soldier Field, where the Fire defeated United by the same 2–0 scoreline, thus ultimately winning the series 4–0 on aggregate, and advancing to the Eastern Conference championship. The defeat ended United's playoff campaign and their season altogether.

Non-competitive

Preseason exhibitions

February 14, 2003	D.C. United	2–1	Canada U20	Boca Raton, Florida
	Stoitchkov 18' (pen.), 35' (pen.) Kovalenko 21' 50'	Report	Hume 47'	Stadium: Bobby Campbell Stadium

February 16, 2003	Lynn Fighting Knights	0–3	D.C. United	Boca Raton, Florida
2:30 p.m.		Report	Gomez 35' Mediros 61', 83'	Stadium: Bobby Campbell Stadium

February 18, 2003	FIU Panthers	0–3	D.C. United	Miami, Florida
		Report	Petke 14' Kovalenko 26' Stoitchkov 49'	Stadium: FIU Soccer Stadium Attendance: 817

February 20, 2003	Florida Atlantic Owls	3–5	D.C. United	Boca Raton, Florida
	Totland 26' Garbee 75' Baum 86'	Report	Ivanov 32' Etcheverry 44' Eskandarian 54' Olsen 57' Quintanilla 90+1'	Stadium: FAU Soccer Stadium

Midseason exhibitions

May 14, 2003	D.C. United	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m.	Carr 30' (o.g.) Stoitchkov 67'	Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 14,028 Referee: Kevin Terry

July 23, 2003	D.C. United	1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)	Blackburn Rovers	Washington, D.C.
7:00 p.m.	Carroll 85'	Report	Taylor 16' Cole 30' Neill 90+2'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 9,452 Referee: Ali Saheli
	Penalties
	Carroll Etcheverry Curtis Quintanilla Olsen Prideaux Kovalenko		Saunders Ostenstad Danns Taylor Gallagher Todd Johansson

August 31, 2003	D.C. United	3–1	El Salvador	Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m.	Stewart 24', 50' Etcheverry 39' Olsen 62' Geddes 85'	Report	Pacheco 6' Velásquez 20' Meraz 73'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 23,269 Referee: Michael Kennedy

Competitive

Major League Soccer

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos	Club	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chicago Fire (E1) (SS)	30	15	7	8	53	43	10	53	Supporters' Shield, 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
2	New England Revolution	30	12	9	9	55	47	8	45	2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
3	MetroStars	30	11	10	9	40	40	0	42
4	D.C. United	30	10	11	9	38	36	2	39
5	Columbus Crew	30	10	12	8	44	44	0	38

Overall table

Pos	Club	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chicago Fire (E1) (SS)	30	15	7	8	53	43	10	53	2003 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2	San Jose Earthquakes (W1)	30	14	7	9	45	35	10	51	2003 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
3	New England Revolution	30	12	9	9	55	47	8	45	2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	48	44	4	42
5	MetroStars	30	11	10	9	40	40	0	42
6	Colorado Rapids	30	11	12	7	40	45	-5	40
7	D.C. United	30	10	11	9	38	36	2	39
8	Columbus Crew	30	10	12	8	44	44	0	38
9	Los Angeles Galaxy	30	9	12	9	35	35	0	36	2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
10	Dallas Burn	30	6	19	5	35	64	-29	23

Match results

April 12, 2003 1	Kansas City Wizards	3–2 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United	Kansas City, Missouri
16:00 ET	Preki 3' Klein 61' Brown 92'	Report	Petke 36' Quaranta 46'	Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium

April 19, 2003 2	D.C. United	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Chicago Fire	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET		Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium

April 26, 2003 3	Colorado Rapids	1–1 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United	Denver, Colorado
17:00 ET	Spencer 24' (pen.)	Report	Etcheverry 7'	Stadium: Invesco Field

May 3, 2003 4	D.C. United	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Dallas Burn	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET		Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium

May 10, 2003 5	MetroStars	1–0	D.C. United	East Rutherford, New Jersey
15:30 ET	Mathis	Report		Stadium: Giants Stadium

May 17, 2003 6	D.C. United	1–1	Kansas City Wizards	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET		Report		Stadium: RFK Stadium

May 31, 2003 7	Dallas Burn	3–2	D.C. United	Southlake, Texas
15:30 ET		Report		Stadium: Dragon Stadium

June 7, 2003 8	D.C. United	2–0	Chicago Fire	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET				Stadium: RFK Stadium

June 11, 2003 9	Colorado Rapids	0–0 (a.e.t.)	D.C. United	Denver, Colorado
17:30 ET				Stadium: Invesco Field

June 14, 2003 10	D.C. United	3–0	Columbus Crew	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET				Stadium: RFK Stadium

June 21, 2003 11	D.C. United	1–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET				Stadium: RFK Stadium

June 28, 2003 12	Columbus Crew	3–0	D.C. United	Columbus, Ohio
15:30 ET				Stadium: Crew Stadium

July 2, 2003 13	Dallas Burn	1–3	D.C. United	Southlake, Texas
17:00 ET				Stadium: Dragon Stadium

July 5, 2003 14	D.C. United	2–3	MetroStars	Washington, D.C.
12:00 ET				Stadium: RFK Stadium

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MLS Cup Playoffs

November 1, 2003 Conf. SF	D.C. United	0–2	Chicago Fire	Washington, D.C. United States
		Report	Williams 4' Razov 94'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 15,202 Referee: George Gansner

November 9, 2003 Conf. SF	Chicago Fire	2–0 (4–0 agg.)	D.C. United	Chicago United States
		Report		Stadium: Soldier Field Attendance: 15,312

U.S. Open Cup

July 16, 2003 Third round	D.C. United	2–1	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Germantown, Maryland
	Petke 33' Kovalenko 44'	Report	Wright 37' Tripoli 41' Villar 59' Martins 74' Chulis 83'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 3,073 Referee: Hector Tobon

August 6, 2003 Fourth round	D.C. United	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Virginia Beach Mariners	Germantown, Maryland
	Petke 13' Quintanilla 23' Eskandarian 57' Stokes 90' Stoitchkov 97'	Report	Lassiter 12' Washington 15' Bilyk 21'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 2,870 Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

August 27, 2003 Quarterfinals	Wilmington Hammerheads	0–1	D.C. United	Wilmington, North Carolina
	Zarate 55'	Report	Cerritos 30'	Stadium: Legion Field Attendance: 5,016 Referee: Gus St. Silva

October 1, 2003 Semifinals	MetroStars	3–2	D.C. United	Piscataway, New Jersey
	Guevara 20', 43' Wolyniec 88'	Report	Ivanov 18' Warren 59' Cerritos 76'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 3,791 Referee: Terry Vaughn

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		MLS		MLS Cup		US Open Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	Doug Warren	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	USA	David Stokes	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	BUL	Galin Ivanov	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF	USA	Brandon Prideaux	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	HON	Milton Reyes	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
7	DF	NZL	Ryan Nelsen	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
8	FW	BUL	Hristo Stoitchkov	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	USA	Earnie Stewart	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
10	MF	BOL	Marco Etcheverry	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	USA	Alecko Eskandarian	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
12	DF	USA	Mike Petke	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF	PER	Jose Alegria	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
14	MF	USA	Ben Olsen	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
15	MF	USA	Bobby Convey	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF	USA	Brian Carroll	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
18	GK	USA	Nick Rimando	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	USA	Devin Barclay	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
20	FW	SLV	Eliseo Quintanilla	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF	UKR	Dema Kovalenko	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF	[[\|Texas]]	Trevor Perea	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
25	FW	USA	Santino Quaranta	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	USA	Bryan Namoff	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
27	FW	SLV	Ronald Cerritos	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
28	GK	USA	Clint Baumstark	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0
29	FW	BRA	Thiago Martins	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: November 1, 2003
Source: Soccerway

Transfers

MLS SuperDraft picks

D.C. United made a total of seven selections in the 2003 MLS Draft. Five of the draft picks were ultimately signed for the 2003 season.

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Status
2003 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks
1	1	Alecko Eskandarian	FW	Virginia	Signed to first team
1	5	David Stokes	DF	North Carolina	Signed to first team
2	11	Brian Carroll	MF	Wake Forest	Signed with first team
2	14	Doug Warren	GK	Clemson	Signed with first team
4	31	Hayden Woodworth	MF	Messiah	Did not sign
5	41	John Swann	DF	Indiana	Did not sign
6	51	Michael Behonick	GK	American	Signed with first team

References

"Recap: Chicago Fire 2, D.C. United 0". MLSnet.com. DCUnited.com. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on March 26, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2012.

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[1] "Recap: Chicago Fire 2, D.C. United 0". MLSnet.com. DCUnited.com. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on March 26, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2012.