The match took place on Sunday, October 25, 1998, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, between Chicago Fire Soccer Club and D.C. United. It was the third consecutive appearance in the MLS Cup final by D.C. United and the first appearance by an expansion club (Chicago) in the final. Chicago Fire won the match 2-0, with goals from Jerzy Podbrożny and Diego Gutiérrez. In doing so, Chicago became the first expansion club to win MLS Cup, astonishingly in the team's inaugural season. The win also completed a domestic double for the Fire, the first American club to win both a league championship and the U.S. Open Cup in a single season. DC in turn became the first team to reach three consecutive finals (still standing as of date) and the first club to fail to score.
As the top two finishers in the MLS Cup Playoffs, both D.C. United and Chicago Fire earned the right to represent the United States in the 1999 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The clubs faced off once again in the third-place match of the continental tournament, almost a year after meeting in MLS Cup '98. That game ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Rose Bowl was the venue chosen by Major League Soccer to host the 1998 MLS Cup final. The home ground of Los Angeles Galaxy from 1996 to 2003, the venerable stadium opened in 1922 and previously hosted events for the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. The Rose Bowl was also the site of the final matches for both FIFA World Cup 1994 and FIFA Women's World Cup 1999.
Local side Los Angeles Galaxy barely missed the opportunity to play for MLS Cup at home after falling to eventual champions Chicago Fire in the Western Conference finals.
Match
The match began with great enthusiasm as D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno threatened early with a shot over Chicago's crossbar within the first minute. Chicago's first goal arrived after 29 minutes, following a quick exchange between Polish international Piotr Nowak and Ante Razov just inside the corner of D.C.'s 18-yard box. The move lured United goalkeeper Tom Presthus off his line, at which point Nowak passed across the box to oncoming Fire midfielder Jerzy Podbrożny who scored an easy tap-in at the back post. Nowak almost scored a second goal when his 45th minute shot deflected off the body of his teammate, Diego Gutiérrez. Nowak was credited with his second assist of the match, and Chicago headed into the second half with all the momentum and maintained the clean sheet on the way to the club's first league championship. Chris Armas played a significant role in his team's victory by neutralizing the playmaking ability of roaming midfielder Marco Etcheverry, a key ball distributor in United's attack and the league leader in assists that season. MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton was prolific with 8 saves on the day, including 3 from previous MLS Golden Boot winner and United's leading scorer, Roy Lassiter.
Penalty shoot-out if scores still level after regular time. Outfield player takes the ball 35 yards from goal and is given five seconds to attempt to score on the goalkeeper.
