Galaxy Loses on Penalty Kicks to Necaxa
Well, the Galaxy will have to think of some new travel plans for January. That hoped-for trip to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo is not going to come about.
For more than an hour Wednesday night, the Galaxy ran Necaxa of Mexico ragged in front of 10,019 fans at the Rose Bowl. Playing excellent, one-touch soccer, with crisp and creative passing, it was well on its way to victory.
But two things went wrong.
First, it couldn’t score more than one goal and then it ran out of steam.
A goal by Necaxa’s David Oliva in the 74th minute tied the score, and 16 more minutes of regulation play and 30 minutes of overtime couldn’t separate the teams from the 1-1 score.
It came down to penalty kicks, and when Paul Caligiuri lofted his attempt high over the crossbar, following an earlier miss by Cobi Jones, it gave Necaxa the victory, 4-3 on penalty kicks, and a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in Las Vegas next month.
Since the winner of that eight-team tournament earns a trip to Brazil for the inaugural FIFA World Club Championship in January, it was more than simply a game that the Galaxy lost.
It was an opportunity to be part of history.
A goal by Ezra Hendrickson off a Greg Vanney cross gave the Galaxy the lead in the third minute, but it couldn’t score again. Its final chance, in the 120th minute, saw Carlos Hermosillo’s shot hit the crossbar.
It was only one of many missed opportunities.
* Zak Ibsen hoofed a ball over the crossbar when it was easier to score than to miss.
* Danny Pena had a header cleared off the goal line by Jose Maria Higareda Galvez.
* Mauricio Cienfuegos hit a volley straight at goalkeeper Hugo Pineda off a cross from Ibsen.
Necaxa, mindful of the Galaxy’s 3-0 victory over Chivas of Guadalajara two weeks ago, sent its strongest team. But it was lucky to win in a game that was poorly controlled by referee Mike Seifert.
Even Necaxa’s tying goal was fortunate. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made a fine stop on the initial shot, but the ball rebounded to Oliva, who hammered it into the roof of the net from about 10 yards.
Necaxa made all four of its penalties, but only Vanney, Cienfuegos and Hermosillo could do so for the Galaxy, which now has only the MLS championship to play for.
And Boston in November cannot compare to Brazil in January.
Around the MLS
Stern John took over the league goal-scoring lead with three goals as Columbus defeated New York/New Jersey, 4-2, before 7,246 at East Rutherford, N.J. John has 16 goals for the Crew, which handed the MetroStars their eighth straight loss. . . . Ritchie Kotschau’s first-half goal gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 victory over New England in front of 13,087 at Foxboro, Mass. . . . Dallas defeated Colorado, 3-0, before 5,942 in Denver, as newly acquired Ariel Graziani scored in the fourth minute.
