Galaxy Loses Cup Final to Cruz Azul of Mexico

Mexico national team striker Carlos Hermosillo scored twice in the second half Sunday as Cruz Azul rallied from a two-goal deficit to a 5-3 victory over the Galaxy in the title game of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in front of 8,282 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The Galaxy--bidding to become the first U.S. team to win in the 36-year history of the tournament featuring the top club teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, led early on Eduardo Hurtado’s two goals in the opening 14 minutes.

But the game turned when playmaker Mauricio Cienfuegos collided with Cruz Azul forward Joahan Rodriguez in the 22nd minute and was carried off on a stretcher. X-rays at a nearby hospital showed he had sustained badly bruised ribs.

His replacement, Jose Botello, was called for a foul by referee Rodrigo Badilla nine minutes later, and Benjamin Galindo’s resulting penalty kick sparked a three-goal burst in six minutes from which the Galaxy never recovered.

Jorge Campos switched from keeper to forward in the second half--much to the delight of Hermosillo, who turned 33 Sunday. The Mexican goal-scoring legend beat Galaxy rookie keeper Kevin Hartman in the 62nd and 66th minutes to give Cruz Azul a comfortable three-goal lead.

“[Losing Cienfuegos] and the penalty kick both of them changed the tempo of the game,” said Galaxy interim Coach Octavio Zambrano. “Cienfuegos was controlling the tempo of the game. When he left, it changed everything.”

Campos scored the Galaxy’s final goal in the 78th minute.

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Kansas City 3, San Jose 2--The Western Conference-leading Wizards (18-7) won a team-record sixth game in a row in a shootout in front of 13,605 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. Kansas City had tied the score on Matt McKeon’s goal in the 90th minute after Jeff Baicher put the Clash (10-16) ahead, 2-1, in the 88th minute. San Jose’s Ronald Cerritos scored in the sixth minute, and Preki tied the score in the 51st.