regular season from April to October, facing teams within their conference four times, outside of their conference two times, and playing an additional set of games against a non-conference team. The playoffs ran entirely within November and was contested by the top four teams in each conference, a change from the 2002 playoffs. It was organized into three rounds: a home-and-away series in the Conference Semifinals with a winner determined by aggregate score, followed by an overtime period and a penalty shootout if necessary; a single-match Conference Final; and the MLS Cup final. MLS Cup 2003 was contested by the Chicago Fire, who also won the regular season's Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup, and the San Jose Earthquakes. Both teams had previously won the MLS Cup and finished at the top of their respective conferences in regular season play, separated by a single point. The two teams had not previously met in the playoffs. Chicago and San Jose played three matches in the regular season, which ended in two scoreless draws and a 4–1 victory in May for the Fire at San Jose's Spartan Stadium. Chicago Fire The Chicago Fire entered as one of the league's first two expansion teams in 1998, winning the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup in their inaugural season. The team returned to the MLS Cup in 2000, losing to the Kansas City Wizards, and won the 2000 U.S. Open Cup. The team finished the 2002 season as the third-placed seed in the Eastern Conference, its worst-ever performance, and were eliminated by the New England Revolution in the Conference Semifinals. Dave Sarachan was hired to replace Bob Bradley as head coach and drafted several rookie players, including forwards Nate Jaqua and Damani Ralph, and new acquisitions to bolster the team's existing lineup while offloading expensive veteran players. The Fire struggled with injuries to several starting players that led to several draws and losses early in the season, but scored key victories and won a Supporters' Shield title and the 2003 U.S. Open Cup. Sarachan was named MLS Coach of the Year prior to the MLS Cup final, where a win would clinch a treble for the first time in American soccer history. Chicago entered the playoffs as top seed and faced D.C. United in the Conference Semifinals. The team won 4–0 on aggregate with back-to-back 2–0 wins and advanced to face New England