BIG FIRE MAY HIT GALAXY; JONES SEEKS TO OUTWORK DEFENSE.

Byline: Scott French

There's no mistaking what the Los Angeles Galaxy is up against.

``It's. . . a one-game season, the only game that matters,'' said Robin Fraser, L.A.'s defensive anchor. ``I can go on with the cliches, but they're all true.''

The Galaxy, Major League Soccer's best team the past six months, attempts to keep alive its dream of the MLS Cup title tonight in Game 2 of the best-of-three Western Conference finals series against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field.

It is a dream that will die if it doesn't figure out the Fire's defense. The Galaxy couldn't unlock the secret in Saturday's 1-0 loss at the Rose Bowl, despite dominating the game from start to finish. And since Chicago figures to employ the same tactics, the onus is on the Galaxy to devise something, anything, that will open a path to the Fire's goal.

``We need to vary our attack,'' Fraser said. ``We need to do something to get them a little off balance, because they know what to expect.''

The Galaxy moved the ball at will, but all its possessions counted for nothing because the Fire converted its only good chance when Jesse Marsch scored on a rebound of a Lubos Kubik free kick in the 86th minute.

``L.A.'s a good team, you know?'' Marsch said afterward. ``We play them tough and they don't like it. . . . We're the only team in the league . . . that makes them have to play rather than leave the game wide open and let them do what they want to do.''

Chicago's defense, especially sweeper Kubik and marking back C.J. Brown, is capable of clamping down on opposing attacks, even one as dynamic as the Galaxy's, which scored an MLS-record 85 goals during the regular season.

In Cobi Jones, Carlos Hermosillo, Welton and Mauricio Cienfuegos, L.A. has players capable of scoring at any time, and what it needs most is an early goal, something to draw out the Fire defense and open up space the Galaxy so desperately craves.

``Against Chicago,'' midfielder Martin Machon said, ``if you score a goal, you're going to win the game. It's like that.''

``We've spent a lot of hours on how we want to attack Chicago and maybe (we'll come out with) a different wrinkle,'' assistant coach Ralph Perez said. ``I think they'll be a little surprised in some of the things we're going to do this go-round.''

GALAXY vs. CHICAGO

What: MLS Western Conference Finals

Time: 5:30 p.m. at Soldier Field

TV/radio: Fox Sports West 2, KTNQ/1020 (Spanish)

Series: Chicago leads, 1-0. Game 3: Wednesday at the Rose Bowl, 7 p.m., if necessary

Galaxy update:Coach Octavio Zambrano promises the Galaxy will ``show a different look, move the pieces around a little bit,'' in an attempt to solve Chicago's defense. He wouldn't discuss specifics, but the most likely switches are Wellington Sanchez for Martin Machon in midfield, Greg Vanney for Joe Franchino at left back and Ezra Hendrickson for Paul Caligiuri at right back. . . . All but one of the five meetings between the teams this season was decided in the final four minutes or in a shootout. . . . MVP finalist Cobi Jones, the MLS's No. 2 scorer, hasn't had a point in the playoffs.

Fire update: The Fire hasn't scored from the run of play during the playoffs, scoring both its goals in a first-round sweep of Colorado on Lubos Kubik's penalty kicks and Saturday's goal against L.A. on a rebound of a Kubik free kick from 22 yards. The Fire managed just five shots in the opener, four of them after the 83rd minute. Only two - Kubik's free kick and Jesse Marsch's rebound - were on target. . . . Midfielder Roman Kosecki (pulled hamstring) is doubtful for today's game, and playmaker Peter Nowak is questionable after aggravating a sprained medial collateral ligament.

- Scott French

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Box: GALAXY vs. CHICAGO (See Text)