Sweeping Statement Made by the Galaxy

By PAUL GUTIERREZ

Sept. 22, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Midfielder Simon Elliott, who was named the Galaxy’s most valuable player before its series-clinching 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay Wednesday night, was not surprised by the fifth-seeded Galaxy’s sweep of the fourth-seeded Mutiny in the Major League Soccer playoff quarterfinals, despite the lackluster way the team ended the regular season with successive 1-0 losses.

“At the end of the regular season we were a little flat,” said Elliott, who scored 15 points (five goals and five assists) on the year. “Especially in our last two games we didn’t play as well as we would have liked. But once the playoffs started we really sort of dug in and really started performing well, which is great.

“I mean, this is the time of the year to perform.”

And while it was Elliott’s steady performance that earned him the MVP award, he said advancing in the playoffs was more important than personal glory.

“It’s nice to have those things, but the important thing is what you achieve as a team,” he said. “But there’s a lot of high-profile guys on the team and it’s nice to know there’s people out there who are recognizing what you do because it’s not exactly the most glamorous position either.”

Other Galaxy award winners included: defender of the year Danny Califf, a rookie who is in Australia with the U.S. Olympic team; scoring champion Cobi Jones, a forward whose modest totals of seven goals and six assists for 20 points led the team; humanitarian of the year Marvin Quijano, a forward, for his community involvement.

The 13,851 who came to the Rose Bowl for Game 2 represented the second-smallest Galaxy postseason home crowd since the league’s inception in 1996.

The lowest attendance for a Galaxy home playoff game was 10,047 for the team’s 6-1 first-round win over the Dallas Burn on Oct. 1, 1998.

Before Wednesday night’s game, the Galaxy had averaged 21,859 per home playoff match.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

MLS Playoffs

QUARTERFINALS

Galaxy vs. Tampa Bay

Galaxy 1, Tampa Bay 0

Galaxy 5, Tampa Bay 2

Colorado vs. Kansas City

Kansas City 1, Colorado 0

Kansas City 0, Colorado 0