MLS LA Galaxy

Lalas Header Lifts Galaxy

Published on June 8, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


PASADENA, Calif. (Saturday, June 08, 2002) - Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since April 27th, the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Chicago Fire, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl. Defender Alexi Lalas provided the second half goal, nodding a Simon Elliott corner kick into the back of the net in the 57th minute. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made his return to the Galaxy net count, registering the 33rd shutout of his career. The win snapped L.A.'s three-game losing streak and also extended the club's current five-game winning streak against the Fire dating back to the playoffs last year.

"We were back at home and we talked about ending it [the losing streak] today and we weren't going to lose," said Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid, who improved to 10-3-2 all-time against Chicago. "We were more patient, sometimes too patient, but overall we did a very good job. We haven't been getting shutouts, so that was nice, and Kevin Hartman came up with a big save with the game on the line."

The Galaxy had the advantage in possession in the first half, employing a calm and disciplined build up to the attack. However, Los Angeles' chances on goal were severely limited by a well-organized Chicago defense. With C.J. Brown and Carlos Bocanegra sliding to support gaps in the Fire defense, Los Angeles repeatedly carried the ball downfield only to find all passing and shooting lanes sealed tight.

Los Angeles began to get more frequent and more dangerous looks at goal in the latter stages of the half as the offense began to loosen up. Beginning in the 26th minute with a spinning strike by Mauricio Cienfuegos through traffic, the Galaxy move forward in numbers, looking to create a scoring opportunity. With the help of Ezra Hendrickson and Craig Waibel on the flanks, L.A.'s three-forward set of Gavin Glinton, Brian Mullan, and Sasha Victorine applied more pressure on the Fire defense and goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

The Galaxy broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with an Alexi Lalas header coming off of a Simon Elliott corner kick. Defender Danny Califf created space for Lalas by making a diagonal run to the near post, drawing a pair of red shirts with him to cover. With no Fire player covering the back post, Lalas drifted into space inside the box, nodding the ball down and past Thornton for the 1-0 lead.

"Carlos (Ruiz) is a very important player for our team and has scored a lot of goals for us, but at the same time it is important for our team to know that we can win games without him," said Lalas. "He (Carlos) is under a tremendous amount of pressure to score goals, so I think the anything we can do to relieve some of that pressure and show him he doesn't have to be a hundred percent on everyday is good. Teams are now starting to key on him, so we need to start spreading the wealth around."

Tempers flared in the 68th minute of play when Ante Razov retaliated to Peter Vagenas' aggressive defensive attentions with a swat in the face at midfield. Lalas immediately rushed into the scrum, exchanging words with the Chicago forward. 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.

Second half substitute Chris Albright had a golden opportunity to add to L.A.'s lead in the 80th minute when he was sprung by a long ball out of the back from Lalas. Albright was completely uncontested on his well-timed run into space, but was stopped cold by Thornton, who moved out to drastically reduce Albright's shooting angle.

Despite playing the last 22 minutes of the game down a man after Vagenas' ejection, the Galaxy (5-4-2, 17 points) held on to the 1-0 lead until the final whistle. The win brings the Galaxy's three-game losing streak to a halt, and signals the first time in five games that Los Angeles has played in front of a Rose Bowl crowd. L.A. is back on ESPN2's Soccer Saturday showcase on Saturday, June 15th when the Galaxy takes on Mamadou Diallo and the MetroStars.

For more information regarding Los Angeles Galaxy tickets for the club's next home game (June 22 vs. Dallas Burn), please call the Galaxy toll free at (877) 3GALAXY.

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