Wizards Even Series with Compelling 4-1 Win Over Galaxy
Published on September 29, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
The Kansas City Wizards upended the top seeded Los Angeles Galaxy with a 4-1 win in Game Two of the MLS Cup Playoff Quarterfinals on Saturday night. Facing elimination after Wednesday's overtime loss, the Wizards racked up their highest postseason goal output in team history to force a decisive Game Three on Wednesday, October 2nd. Igor Simutenkov, Eric Quill and Dario Fabbro each recorded their first career postseason goals while Preki's goal was his 9th career tally in the playoffs. With the series now tied at 3-3, the Wizards will face the Galaxy in Game Three and the winner will advance to the Semifinals to face the winner of the Colorado Rapids and Dallas Burn series.
7' The Kansas City Wizards immediately took control of the match from the opening kick, setting the tempo and spending a bulk of the opening minutes in the Galaxy end of the field. The Wizards first scoring opportunity came in the 7th minute when forward Chris Brown rifled a shot from 28-yards out on goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Hartman could not get a handle on the ball as it squirted out in front of him after deflecting off his chest. Wizards forward Igor Simutenkov tried to track down the loose ball in front of the goal, but Hartman snatched it up before Simutenkov could get a shot off.
11' Continuing to keep possession in the Los Angeles end, the Wizards easily move the ball around and kept the Galaxy defense unorganized, but were unable to put their shots past Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
19' Wizards forward Igor Simutenkov notches his first career postseason goal in giving the Wizards a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Kansas City defender Nick Garcia played a ball ahead to Simutenkov in the Galaxy end as the Russian international made a nice move to evade his defender. Simutenkov stepped around another defender and found space at the top of the 18-yard box to unload a wicked left-footed shot towards the near post on the left side. Kevin Hartman dove to his right, but the ball whistled below him and inside the post to give the Wizards the early lead.
37' Kansas City's constant pressure on Los Angeles paid off again as the Wizards built a two-goal lead on Eric Quill's first career postseason goal. Defender Peter Vermes set up the play nicely, faking a shot from just outside the upper left corner of the box and, in the same motion, slotted a ball through the Galaxy defense to Quill who was just inside the box. Quill made a quick move to his right to beat defender Danny Califf and unloaded a shot from 15-yards out, placing it inside the left post where a diving Kevin Hartman could not get to it. The goal gave the Wizards a two-goal advantage just before the end of the first half.
45' As the first half came to a close the Wizards, who were clearly the better team in the first half, headed into the locker room with the 2-0 lead.
57' Wizards midfielder Eric Quill had the first scoring chance for either side in the second half and nearly scored his second goal of the evening. Quill made a great move to throw defender Ezra Hendrickson off balance and create space inside the left side of the box. Quill took a shot from open space but Kevin Hartman trounced on it to stop the Wizards threat.
67' In the 67th minute, the Galaxy finally had their first scoring opportunity of the evening, only to be denied by iron. Carlos Ruiz found space inside the Wizards box, turned towards goal and took a shot, but the ball deflected off the upper right crossbar and back into play where the Kansas City defense was able to clear it away.
70' The Wizards added to their lead in the 70th minute with a set piece goal from Preki. Preki set up a freekick from outside the top right edge of the box, 20-yards from goal. His shot floated over the Galaxy wall and was bending away from Kevin Hartman as it skimmed inside the right post and settled into the back of the net to give the Wizards a three-goal cushion. Preki's goal was his second of the 2002 playoffs and his 9th career postseason goal, moving him into sole possession of 3rd place on MLS' all-time postseason goal scoring list.
71' Los Angeles desperately tried to get on the board facing a three-goal deficit and resorted to some trickery while Kansas City was setting up after Preki's goal. As the clock rolled over into the 71st minute, Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz touched the ball over the centerline to Chris Albright to start the play. Noticing that Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola was still trotting towards the goal with his back to the play, Albright launched a ball 55-yards down the field. The ball took one bounce inside the Wizards box and continued into the Wizards goal, catching the entire team off guard as the Galaxy scored their first goal of the evening. The goal ended the Wizards streak of 402 consecutive minutes in which they had not allowed a goal at home during the playoffs.
73' Not content with a 3-1 lead, the Wizards continued to press into the Galaxy end trying to add to their lead. Forward Dario Fabbro, who came on in the 59th minute, made a 40-yard breakaway run down the left flank. With no white uniforms within 10 yards, Fabbro continued his run into the Los Angeles box on the left side and faced only Kevin Hartman ahead of him. Fabbro slowed and transferred the ball to his right foot to set up a shot. Still all alone with five-yards of space, Fabbro planted his left foot and unleashed a powerful right-footer from 12-yards out. The ball headed towards the far post with so much pace that Kevin Hartman could not get to it in time and found the back netting and gave the Wizards a comfortable 4-1 lead with just 17 minutes to play.
86' The Wizards did not give up their attacking style of play in the closing minutes despite their lead. Midfielder Stephen Armstrong tried to get in the goal-scoring melee, but had his shot saved by Kevin Hartman. Dario Fabbro followed with a scoring chance just seconds later, but his bid for a second goal on the night sailed wide left.
90' The referee brought an end to the match as the Wizards walked off with a 4-1 victory in Game Two of the first-to-five point series against the Galaxy.
Kansas City will now travel back to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy in the decisive Game Three on Wednesday, October 2nd at the Rose Bowl. The match will kickoff at 9:30 p.m. CT with the winner advancing to the Semifinals of the 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by Budweiser. If Wednesday's match were to end in a tie, the two sides would play a 20-minute "golden goal" series tiebreaker (two 10-minute halves).
Notes for Kansas City Wizards vs. Los Angeles Galaxy - Saturday, September 28th, 7:00 p.m. CT Vs. Opponent (9/28 vs. LA)
* The Wizards now own a 2-4-1 all-time record against the Galaxy in the playoffs and are 10-15-3 in the regular season against Los Angeles.
* Prior to the 2002 playoffs, the last time the Wizards faced the Galaxy in the playoffs was in 2000. Kansas City won Game Three, then won the "golden goal" overtime to advance to 2000 MLS Cup Championship game.
* The Galaxy swept the Wizards in two games during the 1996 Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles went on to lose the inaugural MLS Cup to D.C. United 3-2 in overtime.
* Los Angeles is the top seed in the playoffs, capturing the Supporters Shield for the best overall record in MLS. Kansas City is the eighth seed.
Major League Soccer Stories from September 29, 2002
- Fire Defeats New England 2-1 to Tie Series at Three Points - Chicago Fire FC
- Fire Offense Holds off Revolution - MLS
- Wizards Even Series with Compelling 4-1 Win Over Galaxy - Sporting Kansas City
- Rapids Force Game 3 with 1-0 Win Over Dallas - Colorado Rapids
- Earthquakes Knocked Out of MLS Cup Playoffs with 2-1 Loss to Columbus Crew in Game 2 - San Jose Earthquakes
- Rapids Force Game 3 With 1-0 Victory Over Burn - Colorado Rapids
- Galaxy Fall to Wizards, 4-1 - LA Galaxy
- Rapids Announce 2002 Award Winners - Colorado Rapids
- Colorado Gets by Dallas to Even Series - MLS
- Wizards Whip Galaxy to Force Game Three - MLS
- McBride, Crew Oust Defending Champs - MLS
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