Galaxy Wins in Hermosillo’s Debut
Somewhere amid the clamor of the season’s biggest crowd, somewhere amid the photographers and television crews on hand for Carlos Hermosillo’s debut in Major League Soccer, the Galaxy still had a game to play.
Maybe it took the team a while to remember that on Sunday evening. Maybe it took about 38 minutes.
At that point, down by a goal, Los Angeles launched the kind of offensive onslaught that has become increasingly common this season, beating the New England Revolution, 5-1, before 38,383 at the Rose Bowl.
“When you get a rambunctious crowd, I think everyone was a little bit edgy,” Coach Octavio Zambrano said. “Trying to show that here is Carlos and we have to make him look good.”
The newest Galaxy star did not get the goal the fans were hoping for, but he got three assists and, in the process, added yet another facet to the league’s leading offense.
Los Angeles (12-2) usually relies on speed and crisp passing. Now, with a 6-foot-2, 180-pound striker in the box, the team has a man who can play with his back to the goal, who can outmuscle defenders long enough to set up either a shot or a pass.
In the 59th minute, Hermosillo outjumped Revolution defender Brian Dunseth, heading the ball to teammate Mauricio Cienfuegos who rocketed a shot into the net.
In the 72nd minute, he controlled the ball in middle, angling it ahead to Ezra Hendrickson who scored from point-blank range.
“When the team plays the way it did, that makes me feel very happy,” Hermosillo said. “I felt very comfortable.”
But before the former Cruz Azul star could show his stuff, the Galaxy had to fight its way back against a surprisingly tough opponent.
The Revolution (4-8) had lost four straight games but was able to catch Los Angeles flat-footed in the opening minute when midfielder Richard Goulooze served a short pass to teammate Johnny Torres in the box. Hendrickson fell in a heap and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman looked completely fooled as Torres scored inside the near post.
Los Angeles continued to play in a daze and Hermosillo looked rusty, having signed with MLS after two months away from Mexico’s first division. Not once, but twice he whiffed on balls sent across the middle.
The wake-up call came in the 23rd minute when Hendrickson--emerging as a most goal-minded defender--charged downfield and unleashed a shot that missed just right. Suddenly, the Galaxy returned to its old, quick-attacking ways.
Lest anyone forget that he leads the league in scoring, Welton tied the game in the 38th minute, collecting a rebound off Greg Vanney’s booming shot and tucking it under a diving goalkeeper Ian Feuer. The score was 1-1 at halftime.
Just as important, Revolution defender Manny Motajo--a former Galaxy player--was ejected in the 27th minute after drawing yellow cards for tackling from behind and tripping.
“You’re running into a hot machine as it is,” New England Coach Thomas Rongen said. “The Galaxy is too good of a team to play with 10 men for that long.”
The second half resembled a scrimmage, the Galaxy attacking relentlessly. It was the kind of scene that might make coaches around the league wonder why a player of Hermosillo’s caliber was allocated to Los Angeles.
Rongen, for his part, can see that Hermosillo will draw fans in a city with a large Latino population. He said: “I can see the bigger picture.”
He could also see his defense being shredded.
Cienfuegos scored to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead, then sent a high ball into the box that Hendrickson controlled and quickly shot for a 3-1 lead in the 65th minute. Cienfuegos and Hermosillo combined to set up Vanney for a fourth goal in the 68th minute.
Hendrickson’s second goal finished off the scoring.
“We love to have big crowds,” defender Robin Fraser said. “And it’s fun winning big in front of them.”
But Hermosillo knows ardent fans won’t long be satisfied by only assists from a veteran international player who ranks third in the world among active goal scorers with 275 goals in 457 games.
“This is going to be a big challenge,” he said. “There are a lot of expectations for me on this team.”
OTHER MLS GAMES
Ted Eck atoned for an own goal by scoring the shootout clincher and the Dallas Burn (8-5) beat D.C. United (12-4), 5-4, their first loss at home this season before 13,454 at Washington. The victory came only three days after Dallas suffered the worst defeat in MLS history, 8-1, to the Galaxy. United (12-4) came into the game with an 8-0 record at RFK Stadium, but the Burn outscored D.C., 3-1, in the shootout. . . . Miles Joseph’s goal in the 88th minute off an assist from Eduardo Hurtado gave the New York-New Jersey MetroStars (7-6) a 2-1 victory before 9,073 at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., sending the Miami Fusion (5-9) to its fifth consecutive loss.
