Fresh Look for Porous Defense
Having given up four goals in Wednesday night’s tie at Tampa Bay and 12 overall in six games this season, the Galaxy today will shake up its defense for a game against the New York/New Jersey Metro-Stars at Giants Stadium.
Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman will return, taking over from Matt Reis, who has started the last four games.
Ezra Hendrickson, who missed the 4-4 tie with the Mutiny because of a minor groin strain, will replace Adam Frye at right back.
But it is doubtful whether those changes will be enough to stem the flow of goals Los Angeles is giving up, especially against an attacking team like the MetroStars.
Under Coach Octavio Zambrano, New York/New Jersey has scored a league-leading 14 goals in its first six games, or an average of 2.33 a game.
Tied for first place in the Eastern Division with the Miami Fusion, the MetroStars are off to the best start in their six-year history.
They are led by former Galaxy forward Clint Mathis, who had a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over the defending MLS champion Kansas City Wizards May 2 and scored the first goal in the team’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over D.C. United last Saturday.
Since joining New York/New Jersey last year in the trade that brought Mexican striker Luis Hernandez to Los Angeles, Mathis has 19 goals and 16 assists in 26 regular-season games. He also has three goals and two assists in five playoff games.
After the Galaxy had let a 2-0 lead evaporate in Tampa and was lucky to salvage a 4-4 tie Wednesday, Coach Sigi Schmid said the defense had been “exposed by [the Mutiny’s] counterattack and let the game slip away.”
Tied with Kansas City for first place in the Western Division, Los Angeles will need to stiffen its defense considerably if it wants to contain the MetroStars.
TONIGHT
at New York/New Jersey
4:30 p.m. PDT, ESPN2
Site--Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Radio--KXMX 1190; KTNQ 1020 (Spanish).
Records--Galaxy 3-2-1; Metro-Stars 4-1-1.
Record vs MetroStars--(2000) 1-1.
Update--Absent for the Galaxy are defender Alexi Lalas (left knee sprain) and forward Marvin Quijano (not chosen for the trip). The MetroStars will be without defender Daniel Hernandez (broken right kneecap), midfielder Billy Walsh (right foot stress fracture) and forward Martin Klinger (left hamstring strain). The game’s quality is likely to be adversely impacted by the poor state of the Giants Stadium field. MLS has repeatedly voiced its concern, but little has been done about it by stadium authorities. The Galaxy leads the all-time regular-season series against the MetroStars, 9-4.
