Every 2003 MLS playoff matchup, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
San Jose Earthquakes won the 2003 title from a regular season record of 14-7-9. 8 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 3 rounds. Every matchup below is taken from the MLS stats API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Semifinals | Chicago Fire FC | 4-0 on aggregate | D.C. United | November 1 to November 9, 2003 |
| Conference Semifinals | San Jose Earthquakes | 5-4 on aggregate | LA Galaxy | November 1 to November 9, 2003 |
| Conference Semifinals | New England Revolution | 3-1 on aggregate | New York/New Jersey MetroStars | November 1 to November 9, 2003 |
| Conference Semifinals | Kansas City Wizards | 3-1 on aggregate | Colorado Rapids | November 4 to November 8, 2003 |
| Conference Finals | Chicago Fire FC | 1-0 | New England Revolution | November 14, 2003 |
| Conference Finals | San Jose Earthquakes | 3-2 | Kansas City Wizards | November 15, 2003 |
| MLS Cup | San Jose Earthquakes | 4-2 | Chicago Fire FC | November 23, 2003 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.