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MLS LA Galaxy

Galaxy Weekly

June 11, 2002 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


The Los Angeles Galaxy (5-4-2, 17 pts. - T-3rd in Western Conference), visits the MetroStars (3-5-2, 11 pts. - T-3rd in Eastern Conference) on Saturday, June 15 at Giants Stadium. The match will mark the first regular season meeting between these two coastal rivals. Game time is 1:00 pm (PT), but will be shown tape delayed at 2:30 pm on ESPN2. Galaxy fans can also listen in tape delayed at 2:30 p.m. over the airwaves on ESPN Radio 1110 AM (English) and on KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish).

The Galaxy returns to the road for its six match in seven games with a cross-country trek to New Jersey. Feeling refreshed after snapping a three-game losing streak at home, the Galaxy squad most now look to extend its luck against the MetroStars. On the season, L.A. is 4-1-0 (.800 pct) against the East.

SCHMID EARNS 50TH CAREER VICTORY: Head Coach Sigi Schmid reached an historic Milestone by becoming the 10th MLS coach to break the 50-win threshold in MLS history on Saturday against the Fire. Over four seasons, Schmid has compiled 50 wins, 30 loses and 15 ties during regular season action. Currently, the former U.S. National Team assistant coach also sits in third place among MLS' all-time playoff winningest coaches with an impressive 10-5-3 record (0.639 pct.).

LALAS SCORES GAME-WINNER: Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas, who joined that Galaxy last season after a one year sabbatical, has quietly stepped up to become the club's most vocal leader in the back. Lalas has proven that he is back for good and better than ever scoring his first goal of the season on Saturday vs. Chicago. The Galaxy broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with an Alexi Lalas header coming off of a Simon Elliott corner kick.

In 2001, Lalas helped lead the Galaxy two championships including the F.C. Champions' Cup and a U.S. Open Cup titles. However, Lalas has taken over the leadership of the Galaxy defense in 2002 and placed the club second among MLS defenses with a 1.27 goals-against-average (GAA). In 10 starts, Lalas has played every minute of every game including recording a goal and two assists to rank tied for second on the club in scoring with four points.

HARTMAN RECORDS 33RD CAREER SHUTOUT: Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded a stellar performance between the pipes over the weekend, earning the 33rd shutout of his career. Organizing the defense to perfection, Hartman needed only one save on the day but it was a game-saving play. In the 79th minute with the Galaxy holding on to a 1-0 lead, Hartman came up with a spectacular save on a Mike Nugent shot. Currently, Hartman ranks second on MLS' all-time shutout list behind Kansas City's Tony Meola (42) and ahead of Chicago's Zach Thornton (32).

RUIZ SET TO REJOIN GALAXY: The Galaxy's Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz, "El Pescadito", will return to action after serving a one-game suspension. The 22-year-old striker still tops MLS in goal scoring (10), is the sixth player in Galaxy history to score 10 or more goals in a season.

VAGENAS SUSPENDED FOR SATURDAY: Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas, who was making his third appearance of 2002, received his first red card booking of his career and will miss Saturday's game vs the MetroStars while serving a mandatory one-game suspension. Tempers flared in the 68th minute of play when the Fire's Ante Razov retaliated to Vagenas' aggressive defensive attentions with a swat in the face at midfield. Razov received a yellow card for the retaliation, while Vagenas was issued his second yellow of the night for his shirt pulling and holding in the battle leading up to the incident.

METROSTARS CONNECTIONS: In addition to U.S. World Cup forward Clint Mathis, the MetroStars' Mark Semioli and Steve Jolley also played for the Galaxy, while head coach Octavio Zambrano guided the team over parts of three seasons (1997-99) to a 39-18 mark...Los Angeles has one former MetroStar in Ezra Hendrickson, who played for them in 1997 before being picked up by Los Angeles. Tab Ramos was teammates with Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones at the 1994 World Cup...Lalas, Jones and Ramos later played together for the U.S. in France '98...Galaxy midfielder Winston Griffiths and MetroStars midfielder Andy Williams both attended the University of Rhode Island, and are both teammates with Tyrone Marshall on the Jamaican National Team...Brian Mullan and MetroStars Midfielder Ross Paule are both Creighton University products... Galaxy assistant coach Ralph Perez was an assistant for the MetroStars from 1996-97 and is a native of Long Island...Galaxy assistant coach Ralph Perez was an assistant for the MetroStars from 1996-97 and is a native of Long Island...Two of the MetroStars latest acquisitions have Southern California ties, as Marcelo Balboa and Ted Chronopoulos went the San Diego State and are from Cerritos, CA and Loma Linda, CA, respectively.

LAST MEETING vs. METROSTARS: Los Angeles' Mauricio Cienfuegos scored the game-winning goal eight minutes into the series tiebreaker against the MetroStars to clinch a berth in the 2001 MLS Cup semifinals for the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. The Galaxy had forced the tiebreaker after capturing all three points in Game Three with a 3-2 regulation win, tying the series at four points apiece. Game One had concluded in a 1-1 tie while the MetroStars emerged victorious in Game Two at Giants Stadium by the score of 4-1.The series-clinching goal came off a free kick at the right corner of the MetroStars' penalty box after Metros captain Daniel Hernandez fouled an accelerating Cobi Jones. Cienfuegos, a member of the Galaxy since the 1996 inaugural season, attempted to curl the ball over the MetroStars wall and the ball deflected off the chest of Metros midfielder Mark Chung and swerved into the left side of the goal, past an immobile MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard.

U.S. WORLD CUP TEAM TIES KOREA REPUBLIC, 1-1: The U.S. Men's National Team battled valiantly to a 1-1 draw with co-host Korea Republic on monday in Daegu, Korea. Playing in stifling heat and humidity and in front of a noisy crowd of over 60,000, the U.S. was under attack from the outset, but the stellar play of goalkeeper and Chevy Man of the Match Brad Friedel and an early strike from forward Clint Mathis helped the Americans a valuable point in an extremely difficult atmosphere. With the draw, the U.S. now sits in second place with four points. Korea, who also holds a 1-0-1 record, leads the group based on a superior goal differential (+2, compared the +1 for the USA). The U.S. now only needs a draw against Poland on Friday (live on ESPN at 4:25 a.m. PT) to assure itself a spot in the second round with a total of five points.

L.A. GALAXY NOTES:

* Los Angeles leads the all-time regular season series with the MetroStars 10-5-0. The Galaxy holds the edge in scoring (28-16) and shots on goal (103-83). The Galaxy boasts a 5-2 record at home and is 5-3 at Giants Stadium. In 2001, the MetroStars captured the first leg of the series with a 2-0 victory at Giants Stadium on May 12, but the Galaxy responded with a 2-0 victory of its own on June 23 at the Rose Bowl.

* Despite going 2-3 on its recent club record Five-game road trip, the Galaxy remains 48-44-8 all-time road record.

* The Galaxy leads the league in total shot with 191, and has also allowed a league low 124 shots against.

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Major League Soccer Stories from June 11, 2002


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