Galaxy Comes Up Empty, 1-0
Chris Albright and Carlos Ruiz were merely window shopping as they strolled through a local mall early Saturday afternoon, their immediate thoughts on that night’s match against their most bitter rival.
Too bad the Galaxy forwards didn’t buy any goals on their game-day excursion.
The Galaxy was shut out by the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0, before 9,187 at Spartan Stadium in a game between the last two MLS Cup champions. The Galaxy’s three-game unbeaten streak to open Major League Soccer play also came to a close on a cold and blustery evening.
San Jose forward Landon Donovan provided the game’s lone goal when he converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute after Galaxy defender Danny Califf was called for knocking down Brian Ching in the box by referee Jair Marrufo.
“He tried to spin me and he got kind of even with me,” Califf said of Ching. “I had my arm on his shoulder and he pretty much just fell back and the ref called the penalty. I thought he was outside the box
Television replays, though, showed that the Earthquake forward, who played with the Galaxy two seasons ago, was inside the 18-yard box.
Donovan’s penalty kick went to the right corner of the net for the Earthquakes (2-0-1), while Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman dived the other way.
The defending champion Galaxy (0-1-3) is still searching for its first win of the season midway through its league-record eight-game road trip. At least the weary Galaxy gets a bye next weekend.
“Yeah, but I think today was a little bit of a step back, in terms of our play,” said Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid. “We’re just playing too slow and we have to play quicker. That’s something I hope we’ll be able to correct with a couple weeks of practice.
“[The Earthquakes] were quicker and sharper.”
The Galaxy, which was without flu-ridden midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos, who did not make the trip, had its best chance in the 47th minute.
But while Ruiz’s wide-open, left-footed shot from about 10 yards out beat San Jose goalkeeper Pat Onstad, the ball was wide right.
“We’re conceding soft goals right now but as soon as we clean up individual mistakes, our goals will come,” Califf said. “We’re not in a bad spot. [San Jose] is not going to come back and beat us like that again.”
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In other MLS games:
Chicago 3, Kansas City 2 -- Damani Ralph scored in the 70th minute and capped a three-goal second-half comeback as the Fire (1-0-2) defeated the Wizards (1-1-1) in front of 14,586 at Kansas City, Mo. Andy Williams and Orlando Perez each had a goal and assist for Chicago.
New York/New Jersey 1, Columbus 0 -- Rookie Mike Magee scored his first career goal and Tim Howard made seven saves for his 13th shutout to lead the MetroStars (1-1-1) over the Crew (2-1-1) in front of 12,165 at Columbus, Ohio.
Colorado 1, Washington 1 -- John Spencer scored on a penalty kick in the 24th minute for the Rapids (0-1-1) and it held up for a tie against D.C. United (0-1-2) in front of 21,518 at Denver. Marco Etcheverry scored for Washington.
New England 2, Dallas 1 -- Taylor Twellman scored in the 83rd minute to give the Revolution (1-1-1) a victory over the Burn (0-1-1) in front of 8,543 at Southlake, Texas.
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In Women’s United Soccer Assn. games:
New York 3, Carolina 1 -- Tiffeny Milbrett scored her first two goals of the season and the Power (1-3-0) ended a seven-game losing streak in a victory over the Courage (0-3-0) in front of 5,614 at Cary, N.C.
Washington 1, Atlanta 1 -- Kelly Goleboiwski scored in the 68th minute to help the host Freedom (3-0-1) tie the Beat (2-0-1) in front of 6,222 at Washington. Goleboiwski scored only seconds after rookie Maribel Dominguez had given Atlanta a 1-0 lead.
Boston 3, Philadelphia 1 -- Maren Meinert scored two goals and Devvyn Hawkins scored her first career goal to lead the Breakers (3-1-0) over the Charge (0-2-0) in front of 3,823 and push their home unbeaten streak to 12 games.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
