Galaxy Makes It to U.S. Open Cup Final
The Galaxy is 90 minutes and a goal or two away from winning its first trophy under Coach Frank Yallop.
The team, which last season won the U.S. Open Cup and the championship of Major League Soccer under former coach Steve Sampson, Wednesday night once again advanced to the final of the 93-year-old Open Cup by defeating the Houston Dynamo, 3-1, at the Home Depot Center.
It was a convincing and deserved victory against a solid opponent.
“The first half, from a spectator’s point of view, was great,” Yallop said. “It had everything, really -- good goals, a penalty save. Both teams struggled in the second half. In the end, it’s obviously great to get a good win, but we can play a lot better than we did tonight.”
In the Sept. 27 final, at Bridgeview, Ill., the Galaxy will play the Chicago Fire, which shut out D.C. United, 3-0, in Wednesday’s other semifinal. Justin Mapp put the Fire ahead in the 58th minute, and Calen Carr scored two goals.
For the Galaxy, the opening goal came 5 minutes 28 seconds into the match when Alan Gordon scored for the fourth time in three games, climbing above the defense to head in a well-placed corner kick by Landon Donovan.
The Galaxy earned the corner when Santino Quaranta’s shot was tipped around the left post by Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
The Dynamo tied it in unlikely fashion with 11:14 gone. Galaxy defender Tyrone Marshall made a good sliding tackle to strip Dwyane DeRosario of the ball, but instead of going out of play as Marshall intended, the ball struck the corner flagstick and stayed in.
DeRosario retrieved it, came back about five yards to get a better angle and unleashed a shot toward the net. Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, guarding the near post, appeared to have the shot covered but fumbled the spinning ball over the line.
“That was a fantastic shot, let’s be honest,” Yallop said. “He shapes up to cross it and disguises it very well and hits it very well.”
Late in the first half, Donovan scored directly off a free kick when he curled the ball around the Houston defensive wall after Brian Mullan had -- more or less accidentally -- tripped Galaxy defender Ante Jazic.
Onstad was frozen by Donovan’s shot and made no attempt to save it.
That goal came at 43:25, and it seemed the Galaxy would go into the locker room with the lead. That belief almost came undone.
Referee Jair Marrufo ruled that Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu had fouled Houston forward Alejandro Moreno and awarded a penalty kick. DeRosario stepped up to take it, but Hartman, making up for his earlier miscue, dived low to his right to save the shot.
After sustained pressure from Houston, the Galaxy put the game away with a 90th-minute goal by Quaranta.
