Hartman Will See Doctor

A CT scan taken of Kevin Hartman’s head late Thursday evening in Tampa Bay was negative after the Galaxy goalkeeper endured a kick to his head in the Galaxy’s 1-0 victory over the Mutiny in Game 1 of the best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Hartman, Major League Soccer’s goalkeeper of the year last season, was cleared to travel with a concussion and he returned with his teammates on the cross-country flight Friday afternoon.

But Galaxy head athletic trainer Ivan Pierra said the goalkeeper would undergo further tests before being cleared to return.

“My plan is to make sure Kevin Hartman sees our doctor [Dr. Ronald Kvitne] before making a determination on when he comes back,” Pierra said. “Concussions are not something we like to take too lightly.”

Pierra hopes to get Hartman a visit with the doctor while the Galaxy is practicing this morning.

A scrum in front of the net in the 20th minute left Hartman prone on the grass after Mutiny midfielder Steve Ralston, trying to leap over a sliding Hartman, accidentally caught the goalkeeper in the back of his head with a foot.

Hartman remained in the game but 19 minutes later, after a diving block to his left, Hartman slightly banged his head on the post. He writhed on the field for a bit before getting up and mouthing to the Galaxy bench while pointing to his eyes, “I can’t see.”

Hartman was having trouble focusing downfield, and the football field’s yard lines and hash marks painted on the field for the stadium’s main tenants, the NFL’s Buccaneers, were blurring his already scrambled vision.

It was Hartman’s second concussion in eight months. He suffered one while training in Holland in late January.

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While only 5,583 bothered to show up at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium for the opening game on Thursday night, it was not the lowest postseason attendance figure in the five-year-old league’s history.

That dubious honor belongs to the Kansas City Wizards. A league record playoff-low 4,486 attended the team’s 3-2 win over the Dallas Burn at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 26, 1996, in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.

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The Mutiny will not arrive for Wednesday evening’s Game 2 at the Rose Bowl until Tuesday afternoon.

Tampa Bay Coach Tim Hankinson believes a quick trip and turnaround will keep his team focused for the match in which the Mutiny must either win or tie to force a Game 3 Sept. 23 in Tampa.

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MLS PLAYOFFS

Galaxy vs.

Tampa Bay

Game 1

Galaxy, 1-0

Game 2

Wednesday at Rose Bowl, 7:30

Game 3*

Sept. 23 at Tampa Bay, TBA

* if necessary