Galaxy Takes Out Mutiny
In the previous five days the Tampa Bay Mutiny had faced its share of distractions, including a hurricane and sharing the flight west with a gaggle of female adult film stars who had been in Tampa for an industry awards show.
But nothing could have prepared the Mutiny for what awaited it at the Rose Bowl Wednesday night.
An offensive explosion resulted in a 5-2 Galaxy victory in front of 13,851 that added to Tampa Bay’s recent miseries. It also ended the Mutiny’s season and propelled the Galaxy into Major League Soccer’s semifinals.
The Galaxy, which swept the Mutiny two games to none, will face the winner of the quarterfinal series between the top-seeded Kansas City Wizards and No. 8-seeded Colorado Rapids, who played to a scoreless tie in Denver Wednesday night and play a deciding Game 3 in Kansas City Sunday.
Tentatively, the Galaxy would open the semifinals at Kansas City on Sept. 29 or play host to the Rapids on Sept. 27 in a series opener.
Wednesday night’s onslaught of five goals equaled a season high the Galaxy reached twice, most recently in a 5-1 win over the Wizards on Aug. 5 at Kansas City.
The Galaxy had 22 shots, compared to Tampa Bay’s 15, and Galaxy forward Luis Hernandez had arguably his finest game since leaving Mexico for MLS in mid-May, with a goal and three assists in the series-clinching win.
“I’m tired but I’m happy,” Hernandez said. “I’m happy because we won the game and it was a great job by the team.”
Though the Galaxy led the entire match, Coach Sigi Schmid was never entirely comfortable, especially with Mutiny forward Mamadou “Big Mama” Diallo, the league’s leading scorer this season, roaming the field. Diallo would score both of the Mutiny’s goals.
“They’re such a dangerous offensive club,” Schmid said. “The key for us, I think, was getting that goal early. It forced them to open up more [on the offensive end] and we were able to take advantage.”
Schmid expected a more aggressive opponent after last Thursday’s 1-0 Galaxy win in Tampa.
It was the Galaxy, however, that set the tone in the game’s first 20 minutes with a pair of goals.
After colliding with Mutiny defender Steve Trittschuh in the box, Galaxy defender Ezra Hendrickson righted himself and got a left-footed shot past Mutiny goalkeeper Scott Garlick at the 14th minute. The score was preceded by passes from Cobi Jones to Mauricio Cienfuegos and from Cienfuegos to the streaking Hendrickson in the middle of the field.
In the 19th minute, midfielder Brian Kelly, acquired in a May trade with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, scored his first goal with the Galaxy. Hernandez began the sequence with a chip pass to Simon Elliot, who found Kelly in virtually the same spot Hendrickson had scored from.
But two minutes later, in the 21st minute, Diallo ended the Mutiny’s futility by freeing himself on the right wing just enough to receive a quick pass from Josh Keller, a UCLA product. Diallo’s shot blew past diving Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman into the left side of the net, ending the Mutiny’s playoff scoreless streak at 434 minutes.
The Galaxy answered with a vengeance with two scores in the first six minutes of the second half.
In the 48th minute, Cienfuegos passed to the middle of the box from the right side of the field. Kelly, attempting to head it out, missed but Hernandez was following the play and buried the loose ball for his first MLS playoff goal.
Three minutes later, Hernandez repaid the favor with an assist to Cienfuegos, whose goal made it 4-1.
Diallo’s second goal came in the 67th minute, when he broke free in the middle of the box and sneaked a quick shot past Hartman.
But Jones buried Tampa Bay with a score in the 85th minute, extending the Mutiny’s postseason losing streak to eight games.
