Galaxy Is Cut Down by Crew
One play, or one series of plays, doesn’t always define a game. Still, in this case, a flurry in the 26th minute painted a larger picture for the Galaxy on Thursday night.
In a matter of seconds, Galaxy forward Chris Albright was shut down twice in the penalty area, first by Columbus goalkeeper Jon Busch and then by defender Eric Denton. In between those chances, Simon Elliott’s shot was deflected.
History was blocked, literally and figuratively. The Galaxy’s effort to take the triple this season ended on a windy night at Crew Stadium, as Columbus won the U.S. Open Cup, 1-0, before a chilled crowd of 6,054. For the victory, the Crew takes away $100,000. The Galaxy gets $50,000.
They were attempting to win two major titles in a span of five days. On Sunday, the Galaxy won the MLS Cup for the first time, and getting up for another significant contest was never going to be easy.
During the MLS regular season, they captured the Supporters’ Shield.
“If difficult things were easy, then everybody could do it,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said.
The Crew won its first championship of any kind. As in the teams’ two previous meetings this season, the margin of victory was one goal. The lone goal came four minutes after the Galaxy’s futile flurry in front. A Guatemalan striker scored, but it wasn’t league MVP Carlos Ruiz of the Galaxy. Instead, it was his national teammate, striker Freddy Garcia of the Crew.
In the 30th minute, Garcia volleyed a shot past Galaxy keeper Matt Reis from about seven yards out. A low cross by Brian West came from the right wing and Reis got his hands on it, but the ball popped out front, right to Garcia.
“I came out to get it and just couldn’t hold it,” Reis said. “It could have went anywhere and it just goes right to the guy’s feet.”
Said Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas: “I stepped up to take Brian West, and I pulled out of a tackle. I would have had to foul him and thought better of it. It was the wrong decision. I probably should have taken the foul and possibly the card and stopped the play.”
The Galaxy had plenty of chances but, as Schmid noted jokingly, blocked as many of its own shots as the Crew did.
“I thought we had chances, we created chances, we just didn’t finish them,” Schmid said. “Were we as sharp as I would have liked to have been? Probably not. A few guys were off a little bit.
“Thankfully, it happened today rather than happening Sunday. From that standpoint, the MLS Cup is probably a bigger championship than the Open Cup. I know U.S. Soccer doesn’t want me to say that.”
The Galaxy had plenty to say after the final whistle. Midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos and Elliott gave the officials an earful on the field, and Elliott was seething in the dressing room. So, what did he have to say to referee Brian Hall?
“I don’t think you can write it down,” he said. “ ... When the outcomes of the games are affected by things other than 22 players on the field, that’s when it gets extremely disappointing and frustrating.”
It might be argued that the Open Cup will continue to receive short shrift because of the rapid turnaround.
“At the risk of sounding unprofessional -- I don’t think it does -- last year we lost the MLS Cup final and won the U.S. Open Cup,” Lalas said. “If I had to choose one way to do it, this is a lot better.
“It’s a difficult situation, coming from the MLS Cup, an incredible environment, into this. After all the bidding and stuff like that, this was the best they could come up with for an Open Cup final?
“I like to think had we gone back to Los Angeles, and played even in Fullerton, it would have been a much better environment for soccer and certainly a better way to showcase the Open Cup, which a lot of people look at as an ugly stepchild.”
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MLS’ Domain
Since Major League Soccer began play in 1996, the professional league has dominated U.S. Open Cup play, winning in all but one year. The U.S. Open Cup winners the last 10 seasons:
*--* 2002 Columbus Crew (MLS) 2001 Galaxy (MLS) 2000 Chicago Fire (MLS) 1999 Rochester Rhinos (A-League) 1998 Chicago Fire (MLS) 1997 Dallas Burn (MLS) 1996 D.C. United (MLS) 1995 Richmond Kickers (USISL) 1994 Greek-American A.C. (San Francisco) 1993 C.D. Mexico (San Francisco)
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