Chivas USA Gets Even After Its Near Misses

Isaac Romo hit the right post. Hector Cuadros hit the crossbar.

But before Coach Hans Westerhof could hit the roof Sunday evening at the Home Depot Center, Ezra Hendrickson hit nothing but net.

Hendrickson’s goal, his second of the season, earned Chivas USA a 1-1 tie with the San Jose Earthquakes in front of an announced 8,654 and gave the expansion club its sixth point of the Major League Soccer season.

Westerhof’s club might have the worst record in MLS, but it is at least the equal of two-time champion San Jose. Sunday’s result was the second time in as many games that the expansion team has tied the former champion, following a 3-3 tie at San Jose in April.

Chivas USA (1-9-3) remains in last place in the Western Conference, but the tie did prevent third-place San Jose (3-3-6) from keeping pace with the second-place Galaxy. Not that that was Chivas USA’s intent, of course.

More important, it meant that Chivas USA is only two points behind the fourth-place Colorado Rapids.

If luck goes its way, Chivas USA could be out of last place by this time next week.

Luck was a matter of opinion Sunday evening.

Romo thought it was bad luck when his header off a pass from Francisco Mendoza clanged off the top of the left post in the 53rd minute.

Cuadros thought it was bad luck when his free kick slammed into the crossbar in the 64th minute.

Hendrickson, playing on the right side of midfield in Westerhof’s 3-4-3 formation, made up for those misses, however, with a clinical finish in the 66th minute.

Ramon Ramirez created the goal. The Mexican veteran powered his way past San Jose midfielder Ricardo Clark and into the penalty area before crossing the ball to the far post. Hendrickson beat defender Wade Barrett to the ball and fired a side-foot volley into the net off goalkeeper Pat Onstad’s left hand.

“I saw Ramon going with the ball and the entire defense was switching over [to cover Ramirez], so I just kind of delayed my run a little bit,” Hendrickson said.

“He saw me at the far post and played it far post. I was three or four yards away from the goal. I just had to guide it in the goal, basically.”

The Earthquakes had taken the lead in the final minute of the first half, when Alejandro Moreno, a former Galaxy player just like Hendrickson, got in behind the Chivas USA defense to latch on to a thoughtful pass from Dwayne DeRosario.

Moreno calmly slotted the ball past Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who was making his first start since May 18, and then went off on a fist-pumping run to the corner flag.

It was the Earthquakes’ first goal in 239 minutes, so the celebration was justified.

There might have been more celebrating two minutes into injury time when DeRosario, a Canadian international striker, appeared to score what could have been the winning goal off a pass from Moreno.

The linesman had his flag raised for offside, however, and the goal was disallowed. Television replays suggested that DeRosario was level with the last defender and that the goal should have counted.

Guzan, who made seven saves and appeared confident and comfortable in the nets, was vastly relieved.

“I didn’t see the flag,” Guzan said, “but all of a sudden the guys were like, ‘all right, all right.’ I saw the ref, and that was a sigh of relief.”

And from Hendrickson: “Normally, we lose games like this, because our luck’s just been that bad. But we were able to fight back and get one back in the second half, and that’s good.

“Maybe things are going to start swinging our way now.”