San Jose were appearing in their first MLS Cup, while Los Angeles had lost two previous finals; the two teams finished at the top of the Western Division in regular season play, which was cut short by the September 11 attacks.

[7] The shortened schedule, with four fewer matches, and a smaller roster limited to 18 players under a $1.7 million salary cap reflected the league's financial troubles at the time.

[15][16] The Earthquakes and Galaxy also met each other in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup in July, which Los Angeles won 10–9 in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw after extra time.

[25][26] By the end of their preseason preparations in April, the team had also traded with the MetroStars for defender Ramiro Corrales and signed Danish midfielder Ronnie Ekelund.

[29][30] The team then went on twelve-match unbeaten streak from late April to early July, winning seven matches and drawing in five, taking a lead in the Western Division standings ahead of Los Angeles.

[31][32] Yallop relied on a strong central core, consisting of Agoos and Troy Dayak in defense alongside Ekelund and Richard Mulrooney in the midfield to support the team's rotating attackers.

[35] San Jose clinched a playoff spot and second place in the Western Division with 45 points after losing to the Kansas City Wizards prior to the cancellation of the two remaining matches against the Galaxy.

[42] The Earthquakes fell 1–0 to the Supporters' Shield-winning Miami Fusion in the first leg of the semifinals, but responded with a 4–0 win at Spartan Stadium to tie the series at three points apiece and force a third match.

[43][44] The third match, played in Fort Lauderdale, remained scoreless into extra time, where Troy Dayak scored a golden goal in the 94th minute to clinch a series victory and San Jose's first appearance at an MLS Cup.

[45] The Los Angeles Galaxy were one of the most successful teams during the early years of MLS, winning the Western Conference three times and appearing in five consecutive playoffs prior to 2001.

[51][52] The Galaxy traded captain and veteran defender Robin Fraser to the Colorado Rapids before the 2001 season to meet the league's salary cap requirements.

[55] Los Angeles lost its opening two matches to San Jose and Kansas City, but a change in several starting positions lead to three consecutive wins and a 4–4 draw with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

[58] The cancellation of the 2001 FIFA Club World Championship left a gap in the team's schedule in late July and early August, which was partially replaced with previously-rescheduled league matches.

[59] By early September, the Galaxy had begun challenging the Earthquakes for first place in the Western Division, winning seven of nine matches before a scheduled two-match series against San Jose to close out the regular season.

[62] The second leg, played at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, was one of the first sporting events in the New York City area following the September 11 attacks;[63] the MetroStars defeated the Galaxy by a 4–1 scoreline, coming from behind after conceding an early goal to Los Angeles, and took a three-point lead in the quarterfinals series.

[67] The first leg at Chicago's Soldier Field ended in a 1–1 draw between the two teams after an overtime goal by Cobi Jones was ruled invalid due to a tackle by Brian Mullan.

[72] The English commentary crew consisted of Jack Edwards for play-by-play, Ty Keough with color analysis, and other programming hosted by Rob Stone and Dave Dir.

[72] The Spanish broadcast was transmitted over secondary audio programming on ABC and was headlined by play-by-play commentator Hammer Londoño and color analyst Hernan Pereyra of Radio Unica.

[74] The match was played only four days after the MLS Cup semifinals, in front of a predominantly neutral crowd of 21,626 at Columbus Crew Stadium with several thousand no-show ticketholders.

Los Angeles, however, had a chance of its own in the 14th minute on a cross by Cobi Jones towards Sasha Victorine that was passed on to Mauricio Cienfuegos, whose shot was cleared away by San Jose.

[75][80] San Jose went on to outshoot Los Angeles 12–3 in the second half and created several chances to score, including a free kick taken by Jeff Agoos that hit the left goalpost.

[80] De Rosario scored the winning golden goal in the sixth minute of overtime with a dribble around Califf and a shot from 17 yards (16 m) that Hartman managed to touch, but was unable to save.

[90] San Jose won their second MLS Cup in the 2003 final at the Galaxy's newly-constructed soccer-specific stadium, the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, after eliminating the hosts in the playoffs.