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Ruiz Sends Galaxy To Final
DENVER, Colorado -- In search of their first MLS Cup title, Carlos Ruiz and the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Colorado Rapids 1-0 and eliminated the fifth seed from the 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs presented by Budweiser Wednesday evening at INVESCO Field. Ruiz continued his mastery in the playoffs by scoring his single-season postseason record seventh goal in the 64th minute to lead the Galaxy to victory in the semifinal round winning six points to zero.
Coupled with the 4-0 Galaxy victory on Saturday in Game One at the Rose Bowl, the Western Conference Champion advances to the 2002 MLS Cup at Gillette Stadium on October 20 (1:30 p.m. ET broadcast live on ABC Sports) against the winner of the other semifinal matchup between the Eastern Conference Champion New England Revolution and the Columbus Crew (New England leads four points to one). The title game tilt will be the Galaxy's second consecutive appearance, third in four seasons and record fourth trip to MLS Cup in the seven-year history of the League.
After a stellar regular season, Ruiz continues to gather accolades in the postseason. The Honda MVP Award finalist's goal helped him pass Chicago Fire forward Ante Razov as the single-season record holder for points in the playoffs. The Guatemalan international now has seven goals and two assists accounting for 16 points in the five Galaxy playoff matches this postseason. Razov paced the Fire in the 2000 MLS Cup Playoffs with 14 points on four goals and six assists. Ruiz, with seven goals, also passed Roy Lassiter (six goals with the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 1996) and Raul Diaz Arce (six goals for D.C. United in 1996) as the all-time single season playoff goal scorer.
Colorado would not go down without a fight, though. By replacing defender Ritchie Kotschau with defender Rick Titus, Rapids Head Coach Tim Hankinson utilized Titus' physical presence to help slow the Galaxy attack for a large portion of the match. The move also seemed to help the Rapids, as they came out of the locker room showcasing their speed up front against the larger, stronger Galaxy back line.
A quick counterattack by Colorado nearly gave put the Rapids ahead in the 31st minute. Midfielder Carlos Valderrama began the play in the center of the field, finding midfielder Chris Henderson at the top of the penalty area. Henderson attempted a give-and-go with midfielder Mark Chung, but the Honda MLS MVP finalist missed Henderson with the return pass. The failed attempt however, squirted through to forward Chris Carrieri at the far post, where his shot went just wide of the right post.
The scoring opportunity seemed to energize Colorado, as the Rapids dominated possession resulting in the best chance of the first half in the 41st minute. Chung switched fields from the right corner to Carrieri on the left wing. Carrieri dropped a volley back to Henderson at the left corner of the penalty area. Henderson one-timed a right-footed blast that squarely hit the right post. Standing near the far post, Chung sent the rebound wide left of the net.
After waiting two-thirds of the game to mount a serious scoring threat, the Galaxy broke through in the 64th minute. Mere seconds after substitute midfielder Peter Vagenas came on for midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos, Vagenas sprung midfielder Cobi Jones down the left wing. Jones then lifted a cross to Ruiz at the penalty spot in front of Rapids goalkeeper David Kramer. As the ball floated over Chung, Ruiz flicked the ball into the left corner of the goal past Kramer for the series-clinching goal.
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9, 2002 |
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Los Angeles
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Colorado
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Scoring Summary:
LA --Ruiz (Jones, Vagenas) 64
LOS ANGELES GALAXY--Kevin Hartman, Ezra Hendrickson, Craig Waibel, Danny
Califf, Tyrone Marshall, Sasha Victorine, Mauricio Cienfuegos (Peter Vagenas
63), Cobi Jones, Simon Elliott, Carlos Ruiz, Alejandro Moreno (Brian Mullan 66)
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (five players with 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Mullan 2, Ruiz 2);
FOULS: 16 (Califf 3, Hendrickson 3, Jones 3); OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER KICKS: 7;
SAVES: Hartman 1; CAUTIONS: Waibel 83, Jones 90; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION
PERCENTAGE: 45%
COLORADO RAPIDS--David Kramer, Rick Titus, Robin Fraser, Steven Herdsman, Pablo
Mastroeni, Carlos Valderrama, Mark Chung, Wes Hart (Zach Kingsley 73), Chris
Henderson, John Spencer, Chris Carrieri (Musa Shannon 73)
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Spencer 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Carrieri 1); FOULS: 22 (Fraser
5); OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: Kramer 3; CAUTIONS: Mastroeni 86;
EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 55%
Referee: Alex Prus; Assistant Referees: George Gansner, Steven Davidson
Attendance: 12,367; Weather: Clear, Cold
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