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Galaxy Exorcises Their Demons

FOXBORO, Mass. � MLS Honda MVP Carlos Ruiz netted a golden goal in sudden death overtime as the Los Angeles Galaxy captured their first MLS Cup championship with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The championship for the Galaxy came in their fourth appearance in the title game. Los Angeles, the No. 1 seed of the 2002 postseason and Western Conference champions, had been on the losing end of the 1996, 1999 and 2001 championship games, which included an overtime loss to the San Jose Earthquakes last year.

The game-winner came in the 113th minute as Tyrone Marshall fed Ruiz in the center of the penalty box. �El Pescadito,� who was voted MLS Cup MVP, had drifted away from his defender and on the edge of the offside trap he applied a soft, left-footed touch which beat a sprawling Adin Brown inside the right post. The goal was Ruiz�s eighth of the postseason, extending the record he set during the 2002 playoffs. The goal came just one minute after the Revolution�s Winston Griffiths struck the crossbar on a shot from outside the box.

An MLS Cup-record crowd of 61,316 attended the event at Gillette Stadium in the hopes of seeing the hometown team capture its first crown. The attendance mark, which was the highest of the 2002 season (including playoffs) eclipsed the former all-time high of 57,431 set at MLS Cup 1997 and it is also the all-time best in New England soccer history (57,407 on April 20, 1997).

Both sides generated chances that kept goalkeepers Kevin Hartman and Adin Brown on their toes.

The game also set a new record for the longest MLS Cup championship game in history, surpassing the previous high of 96 minutes set last year when Dwayne DeRosario scored a golden goal in overtime. The match on Sunday was also the third to end on a golden goal. Before Ruiz and DeRosario (2001), D.C. United defender Eddie Pope ended the 1996 finale in dramatic fashion with a 94th minute header.

The match was off to a tight and cautious start as both teams held solid defensively throughout the first half. The League�s top two scorers, the Galaxy�s Carlos Ruiz and the Revolution�s Taylor Twellman, were held in check and were rarely able to receive any service in dangerous positions. U.S. World Cup defender Carlos Llamosa kept tabs on Ruiz while the Galaxy�s Danny Califf was never far behind his former teammate on the U.S. Under-20 National Team.

The Revolution defended in numbers and central defender Daouda Kante was especially active, turning away every ball the Galaxy delivered into the penalty area. The first shot on goal of the game came in the 12th minute when Brown saved a Marshall drive from 20 yards out. The game also proved physical at times with ex-Galaxy teammates Joey Franchino and Cobi Jones, the two captains, engaging in a tough, head-to-head battle down the flank.

The teams entered the break tied at 0-0, the first time the MLS Cup championship game ended scoreless at halftime. The Revolution did not register a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes with their most dangerous scoring opportunity coming in the 26th minute. Franchino crossed a ball from the left flank and it was flicked on by Twellman in the box for Steve Ralston, who could not make contact near the right post.

The physical confrontations continued in the second half and several players needed several seconds to get up off the ground after hard challenges. However, as the minutes passed, the action intensified on both ends as the teams pushed forward with urgency to grab the winner in order to avoid overtime.

Coming off a near Revolution miss, Ruiz's counter left Adin Brown little chance to stop the breakaway.

In the 81st minute Revolution second-half substitute Alex Pineda Chacon was dispossessed by Jones. The Galaxy�s leader in assists fed a wide-open Ruiz, who was running unopposed down the heart of the New England defense. However, Kante caught up with �El Pescadito� and poked the ball away just as he was about to strike at goal from 18 yards out.

Just one minute later Revolution midfielder Daniel Hernandez blasted one of his trademark long distance efforts which was deflected, barely missing the top left corner. Chris Albright (L.A.) and Pineda Chacon (N.E.) then exchanged scoring opportunities to close out regulation. The shot by the Revolution�s Honduran midfielder represented the first shot on goal by his team in the match.

The overtime was played with much more fluidity from both sides. The Galaxy were the more enterprising in the extra period with a dangerous shot by Jones (3rd minute of OT) that finished wide and a spectacular bicycle kick from Ruiz which Brown blocked with his body. The Guatemalan had another chance to end the match in the 111th minute. Served by Peter Vagenas alone in front of goal, Ruiz took a shot which Brown was again up to the task to save.

After that foiled opportunity, when it looked like the ghosts of past finals were returning once more to haunt the Galaxy, Ruiz did not miss two minutes later when he struck the winning shot.

Scoring Summary: LA --Ruiz (Marshall, Albright) 113

N.E. REVOLUTION--Adin Brown, Carlos Llamosa (Rusty Pierce 92+), Joe Franchino, Daouda Kante, Jay Heaps, Leo Cullen, Daniel Hernandez, Steve Ralston, Brian Kamler (Winston Griffiths 90), Taylor Twellman, Wolde Harris (Alex Pineda Chacon 76)
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Harris 2, Hernandez 2, Twellman 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Pineda Chacon 1); FOULS: 24 (Hernandez 4, Twellman 4); OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: Brown 6; CAUTIONS: Franchino 25, Llamosa 60; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 48%

LOS ANGELES GALAXY--Kevin Hartman, Alexi Lalas, Danny Califf, Tyrone Marshall, Ezra Hendrickson, Sasha Victorine, Mauricio Cienfuegos (Peter Vagenas 61), Simon Elliott, Cobi Jones, Alejandro Moreno (Chris Albright 67), Carlos Ruiz
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Ruiz 9); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Ruiz 5); FOULS: 18 (Califf 3, Elliott 3, Jones 3); OFFSIDE: 5; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: Hartman 1; CAUTIONS: Elliott 95; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 52%

Referee: Kevin Terry; Assistant Referees: Greg Barkey, Richard Eddy
Attendance: 61,316; Weather: Sunny, 56 degrees, wind 12 mph-NW