CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP: GALAXY EARNS STYLE POINTS GALAXY 3, CD OLIMPIA 2.Byline: Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer The Galaxy is going to Spain in style after fulfilling coach Sigi Schmid's promise to win a trophy in 2001. The Galaxy defeated reigning Honduran League champion CD Olimpia 3-2 to win Sunday's CONCACAF CONCACAF Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Soccer) CONCACAF Confederacion Norte, Centroamericana y del Caribe de Futbol Asociacion (Spanish) Champions Cup final in front of 8,147 at the Coliseum. The title capped a big weekend for the Galaxy, which got its biggest win in club history on Friday, defeating MLS See multilevel security. rival D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club located in Washington, D.C. that participates in Major League Soccer. The club's official nickname is the "Black-and-Red" and home uniforms are black and white with accents of red. The team's name refers to Washington, D.C. on penalty kicks in the semifinals to earn a trip to the FIFA FIFA International Association Football Federation [French Fédération Internationale de Football Association] FIFA n abbr (= Fédération Internationale de Football Association) → FIFA f World Club Championships in Spain July 29 to August 12. Galaxy defender Ezra Hendrickson Ezra Hendrickson (born January 16, 1972 in Layou, St. Vincent) is a Vincentian Football (soccer) player who currently plays defender for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. scored two goals Sunday, including the game-winner in the 78th minute. He finished a perfectly timed give-and-go from Mauricio Cienfuegos Mauricio Cienfuegos (born February 12, 1968 in San Salvador, El Salvador) is a retired Salvadoran football (soccer) player. Cienfuegos turned professional in 1985, and played his first season for Racing Junior of his native El Salvador. , then sneaked a shot inside the near post past Olimpia goalkeeper Donaldo Gonzales to break a 2-2 tie. ``The history of the Galaxy is that we can't win the big game, but today we proved we can win the big game,'' said Schmid, referring to L.A.'s 1996 and '99 MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the final game of the Major League Soccer postseason, officially recognized as the championship of the league. The trophy is called the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy, after the founding chairman of MLS. losses to D.C. United. ``I can't say enough about the spirit of this team. They overcame being out of season, overcame injuries, missing players, contract disputes, but they never lost their focus.'' Defender Paul Caligiuri Paul David Caligiuri (born May 9, 1964 in Westminster, California) is a former American soccer player and current head coach of the Cal Poly Pomona men's college soccer team. said that winning the Champions Cup and the opportunity in Spain are bigger than winning an MLS Cup title. ``If we had won the MLS Cup, and I'm not taking anything away from the teams that have won those championships, but this definitely outweighs it,''said Caligiuri. ``There's a lot more prestige and a lot more riding on it than winning a league championship. We're going to represent the entire North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. continent, Central America and Caribbean Nations in the biggest club tournament in the world.'' But Sunday's match didn't start well for Los Angeles. Alexi Lalas appeared to head a cross out of danger, but replays showed the ball rolled off his sleeve, which led to a penalty kick. Olimpia's Danilo Tosello easily beat goalkeeper Kevin Hartman for a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute. Lalas, signed by the Galaxy before the tournament after a one-year retirement, quickly made amends, getting two assists in a 3-minute span. Peter Vagenas sent a corner kick to the back post for Lalas, who headed the ball back in the middle for Hendrickson, who quickly snapped another header inside the right post, tying the match, 1-1 in the 36th minute. --Third place: Omar Arellano scored in the 38th minute to give Mexico's Pachuca a 2-1 victory over Washington D.C. United in Sunday's third place match at the Coliseum. Pedro Pineda gave Pachuca a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, but United's Carey Talley tied the match with a curling 35-yard shot in the 33rd minute. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) The Galaxy's Cobi Jones tries to control the ball during L.A.'s 3-2 victory over Honduran club champion CD Olimpia. Chris Urso/Associated Press |
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