GALAXY'S SHOW ISN'T ENOUGH; LATE GOAL LIFTS FIRE IN SERIES OPENER : CHICAGO 1, GALAXY 0.

Byline: Scott French

Octavio Zambrano made his point. If there were any doubts about the best team in Major League Soccer's West, they were washed away Friday night by a brilliant Galaxy performance in the opener of the Western Conference finals.

It counted for nothing, as it turned out.

The Chicago Fire, taking advantage of the best opportunity it was given all night, took control of the best-of-three series by using a late free kick to earn a 1-0 triumph before 25,107 at the Rose Bowl.

Jesse Marsch's rebound of Lubos Kubik's curling shot in the 86th minute tacked a dramatic finish to a tense battle defined by the Galaxy's almost complete control of the match and their inability to penetrate a flawless Fire defense.

And so the series heads to Chicago, with the Galaxy needing a victory Friday to keep alive its hopes of playing in MLS Cup '98.

The match turned on Kubik's free kick from 22 yards, created when L.A. defender Steve Jolley, tangling with Chris Armas for a loose ball outside the L.A. box, tripped his former teammate. Kubik sent the free kick around the Galaxy wall, and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman's diving save sent the ball to Marsch, racing in from the left. Marsch shot past Hartman to the far side of the net.

The Galaxy nearly forced a shootout in the final minute, when Martin Machon's bicycle kick in the goalmouth - after a Carlos Hermosilli shot from a corner kick - flew just wide to the left.

It was a strategic battle par excellence, a tense and thrilling war of wills in which little, on the surface, actually happened.

That masked a surprisingly entertaining match, contested almost entirely in midfield and in front of Chicago's goal. The Galaxy owned the ball most of the match, and neither team offered many surprises. L.A., patiently trying to find seams in Chicago box, paths to the Fire goal, played beautiful possession soccer, weaving geometric patterns across the field.

They were able to do so by winning most of the midfield battles and playing superb team defense. Credit, again, Danny Pena and Martin Machon, who allowed the Fire few options when they possessed the ball, and Mauricio Cienfuegos, who adapted to Chris Armas' shadowing with quick play.

All the brilliant ball movement meant little near the Fire's goal. There was no space to exploit, and the Galaxy's attempts to draw the Fire out of their shell were fruitless. Chicago, as always, maintained perfect shape, perfect organization.

The Galaxy managed just three first-half shots and 11 over 90 minutes.

The Fire, which took only five, didn't get a shot off until the 50th minute, but they were unfortunate not to score when they finally got one. It came from an error by rookie defender Joe Franchino, who tried to head a Francis Okaroh cross out of the L.A. box and instead gave it to Marsch, standing just a few yards away.

Marsch tried to step around Franchino, and in doing so put the ball on Armas' path, maybe eight yards from the net. Armas' blast cleared the crossbar.

The Galaxy's best chances arrived about five minutes later, both Carlos Hermosillo feeds for Welton. The first, in the 56th, was a throughball into the Chicago box. Welton streaked past goalkeeper Zach Thornton, but Josh Wolff stepped between the Galaxy forward and the ball, which he knocked over the end line.

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PHOTO Galaxy's Cobi Jones goes after the ball against Chicago's Diego Gutierrez.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press