The
2003 Pepsi Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 8th
MLS All-Star Game, played on August 2, 2003 at
The Home Depot Center in
Carson, CA. The All-Star Game celebrated both the opening of the league's second
soccer-specific stadium that season, as well as the announcement of the league's expansion with an eleventh team purchased by the owners of Mexico's
Club Deportivo Guadalajara. Then-
MetroStars head coach
Bob Bradley was tapped to lead the MLS All-Stars against Guadalajara, commonly known as Chivas, and led by their head coach,
Eduardo de la Torre.
A scoreless first half was marked by a defensive effort for the All-Stars. The
Los Angeles Galaxy's
Kevin Hartman made several key saves, while a backline led by
Carlos Bocanegra of the
Chicago Fire weathered a persistent Chivas attack. The Fire's
Ante Razov scored the first goal in the second half thanks in part to a feed by the
San Jose Earthquakes'
Landon Donovan past a beaten
Oswaldo Sánchez.
Jair Garcia broke away from the defense and beat Hartman to tie the game, but the All-Stars responded shortly thereafter with the eventual-game winner by the Galaxy's
Carlos Ruiz. The Fire's
DaMarcus Beasley tipped in the All-Stars' third goal, which Chivas contested because of an assistant referee's offside call, which was waved off by
Kevin Terry. A sellout crowd at The Home Depot Center celebrated the win, as well as the awarding of MVP to local favorite Carlos Ruiz.
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