The match was decided in a shootout that was won 3–2 by the Fire after a conversion by Jesse Marsch in the sixth round. Chicago finished a two-game sweep of the series with a 1–0 victory at Mile High Stadium in Denver during the second leg, taking the lead with another Kubík penalty kick and several saves by Thornton to keep the shutout. The Fire then played against the Galaxy in the Western Conference Final, which began with a 1–0 Chicago victory at the Rose Bowl that was decided by a late header scored by Jesse Marsch off a free kick. The second leg was played in front of 32,744 fans at Chicago's Soldier Field, setting a new league playoff record, and resulted in another series sweep as the Fire advanced to the MLS Cup final. The team took the lead in the 31st minute through a goal by Nowak, who finished a rebound off goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, but Danny Pena equalized six minutes later for the Galaxy. The match remained tied 1–1 and went to a shootout, where Zach Thornton made three saves to allow Jerzy Podbrożny to win it 2–1 for Chicago in the fifth round. D.C. United D.C. lost six members of their cup-winning roster in the 1997–98 offseason, including striker Raúl Díaz Arce and midfielder Ben Iroha to comply with salary cap limitations and three players picked by Miami in the expansion draft. The team responded by signing college players Carey Talley and Ben Olsen, as well as veteran defender Geoff Aunger and forward A. J. Wood. Defender Eddie Pope was also absent for the first weeks of the season after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst in his foot. United later acquired forward Roy Lassiter, a former Golden Boot winner, in a trade with Tampa Bay for Roy Wegerle. United opened their third season on the road to Miami, winning 2–0 but losing Jaime Moreno to a red card suspension. The team won their next two matches to extend a winning streak that began in the 1997 playoffs, but lost in their fourth match against the Columbus Crew. D.C. would then lose only two of their next nine matches as they took first place in the Eastern Conference, despite losing several starting players to injuries and suspensions for yellow card accumulation. Starting defender Eddie Pope, who had recovered from his injury, and midfielder Jeff Agoos