Dramatic Burn Earns Right to Play Galaxy
The Galaxy knows the final obstacle in its path to Major League Soccer’s championship game.
It’s the Dallas Burn, which staged a dramatic comeback Wednesday night to eliminate the defending champion Chicago Fire.
After giving up two goals in the first five minutes of the match at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the Burn scored twice in the final seven minutes to win, 3-2, and clinch the best-of-three series.
The Galaxy plays Dallas at the Rose Bowl on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Game 1 of the best-of-three Western Conference finals.
Chicago was leading, 2-0, early in the second half on goals by former UCLA and Galaxy striker Ante Razov in the third minute and Jesse Marsch in the fifth, when the Burn began its recovery.
U.S. national team midfielder Chad Deering cut the deficit to 2-1 with a headed goal in the 55th minute, igniting the crowd of 9,795. A period of sustained Dallas pressure finally earned the tying goal in the 84th minute when Jorge Rodriguez scored on a penalty kick awarded after Chicago defender C.J. Brown handled the ball.
Capping the improbable comeback, Argentine striker Ariel Graziani scored the game-winner with four minutes to play, side-footing a shot that bounced downward off the crossbar and over the goal line after Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton had deflected an earlier shot into Graziani’s path.
In the Eastern Conference finals, two-time MLS champion Washington D.C. United will play the Columbus Crew, also in a best-of-three series leading to the Nov. 21 championship game at Foxboro (Mass.) Stadium.
Around the league
The San Jose Clash is no more. The MLS team Wednesday got rid of its logo, its uniform, its name, its four-year-old identity. From now on, it will be known as the San Jose Earthquakes. If that rings a bell, it’s no coincidence. The Clash, coached by former Galaxy mentor Lothar Osiander, purposely elected to revive the name of the long-defunct North American Soccer League team. The Earthquakes also introduced a new blue-and-black uniform and a new logo.
