Fraser Bitter, Dejected Over Roughness

Entering Sunday’s MLS Cup ‘99, the Galaxy had more than an inkling that their title match against Washington D.C. United would be a physical affair.

After all, United revels in its tough-guy persona.

It only took seven minutes for the Galaxy to realize it firsthand.

That’s when Galaxy captain and MLS defender of the year Robin Fraser went down hard and was lost for the game after a collision with United forward Roy Lassiter.

Fraser, chasing a ball down the right side ahead of Lassiter, flew through the air and crashed onto the Foxboro Stadium turf in a heap, suffering a broken left collarbone in the mishap. The loss of Fraser turned the tide of the game, with the Galaxy committing an uncharacteristic number of defensive errors in the 2-0 loss.

Depending upon your point of view, and your allegiance, Fraser was either pushed or got tangled with Lassiter on the play, which added a crucial four minutes of injury time to the first half.

“Are you kidding me? The ball slid through, I beat him to the ball, I won the ball and I was pushed from behind,” Fraser, his left arm in a sling, said in the Galaxy locker room after the loss. “And when you’re going as fast as that, a lot of things can happen. And of course, there was no call. I’ve already been warned for making comments about the officiating so I guess I won’t elaborate any further than that.”

Paul Caligiuri, however, would elaborate.

“He got shoved, I mean, that’s how D.C. United plays,” said Caligiuri, a Galaxy defender. “You see it all year long and you see it from the first minute to the last minute. They push a lot off the ball and that kind of stuff needs to be really taken seriously. It injured one of our top players and it really shocked us . . . it was a non-call, even.”

Lassiter, obviously, saw things in a much different light, the same light, apparently, as referee Tim Weyland.

“I felt we both went to the ball, we had some contact there, I think he slipped a little bit and I really didn’t think anything came from it,” Lassiter said. “But he stayed on the ground.”

When asked if he felt he had committed a flagrant foul, Lassiter was indignant.

“That’s not how Roy Lassiter plays,” he said. “I don’t think that’s how D.C. plays.”

But he did admit that the Galaxy was a different team without Fraser.

“I feel it was a huge loss for L.A., of course,” Lassiter said. “Sometimes that how it goes. And there was no bad intention on my part, we were both going for the ball.”

United Coach Thomas Rongen backed his player.

“There was definitely some contact from Roy, and it definitely changed the game for them to lose their defender of the year,” Rongen said. “But that’s the nature of the beast with injuries and you have to roll with the punches. Our game plan was not to have Robin going down.”

Said Lassiter: “We knew Robin was a huge part of their puzzle,” he said. “Him going out of the game was devastating for them, devastating indeed. We were just able to capitalize on that.”

Meanwhile, Fraser was bemused at Lassiter’s take.

“Roy said we got tangled up? Hmm,” Fraser said. “When he pushed me from behind he didn’t think that I was going to fall? That’s kind of interesting.”

Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid agreed.

“It’s an amazing feat to me that such a gifted athlete like Robin would fall down on his own, without anybody near him and no foul, no nothing,” said Schmid, tongue firmly in cheek. “But certainly losing Fraser caused us to change things ‘round.”

Steve Jolley replaced Fraser on the Galaxy backline and was involved in United’s second goal.

It was Jolley who passed back to goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who, during the injury time at the close of the first half, whiffed on a clear-out attempt when Lassiter pressured him. The free ball was punched in by United’s Ben Olsen for the 2-0 lead.

United was called for 22 fouls while the Galaxy had 18.

Temporarily limited to the use of one arm, Fraser muttered something as he dressed himself.

“This is not the way I envisioned it,” he said. “That’s for sure.”