GALAXY HOLDS OFF CLASH TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED : GALAXY 2, SAN JOSE 1.

Byline: Tom Timmermann Daily News Deputy Sports Editor 

In a league that has been filled with firsts in its inaugural season, the Galaxy achieved a last on Sunday.

The Galaxy beat the San Jose Clash 2-1 before 40,347 fans at the Rose Bowl and became the last undefeated team in Major League Soccer.

And while it may be a little too early to make postseason plans - the Galaxy's magic number for clinching a postseason berth is 31 with 33 games to play - it still beats the alternative.

``It won't be until the 10th or 12th game that we'll be able to see what the real story is,'' said Galaxy coach Lothar Osiander. ``It's still too early to tell; some teams don't have all their players in. But I'm happy with what we have.''

``L.A.'s a very good team,'' said Clash striker Eric Wynalda, who had a potential game-tying free kick go off the post in the 90th minute. ``Despite the fact I think they're not playing the best they can, I think they're the best team in the league. . . . I don't think anybody in the second division of Germany could have beaten the Galaxy today.''

It was plainly evident where the Galaxy needed to improve. It squandered several chances to score and the goal it allowed came on a play on which everyone seemed to be asleep.

But when the Galaxy was on, as it was much of the first half, it was an impressive sight. L.A. got its first goal on a darting run by forward Jose Vasquez, who took a pass from Cobi Jones and beat San Jose goalkeeper Tom Liner in the 26th minute, and got the second in the 44th minute on a beautifully taken free kick by Mauricio Cienfuegos, who curved the shot from just outside the penalty box and into the upper corner of the goal. The second half is better off not discussed.

``We fell asleep in the second half,'' said Jones, who has been involved in four of the Galaxy's six goals this season (he was tripped just outside the box to set up Cienfuegos' free kick). ``We play according to circumstances and we let down a tad too much in the second half. We need to work on our corner kicks and our finishing and next time we can come out with a better score and keep it to zero (for the opponent).''

``A win is a win,'' said Osiander. ``We found a little bit of rhythm toward the end of the first half and our confidence continued into the second half. Then we had about six or seven decent counters and couldn't stick one. It's exciting to win three, even when things don't all go right.''

One thing that has gone very right for the Galaxy has been the play of Vasquez, who made his first start of the season. His goal came on an excellent effort, as he took Jones' pass, brought it into the box with a defender leaning against him the whole way and then right-footed it inside the near post.

``He'll be a starter from now on,'' Osiander said. ``He and (Eduardo) Hurtado are both powerful players who work well together. Vasquez and Hurtado will score a number of goals.''

``I don't remember much about the goal,'' said Vasquez, who played for the L.A. Salsa of the APSL and the Anaheim Splash of the CISL. ``I remember knocking it in. It was a great pass from Cobi and I was one-on-one against the keeper. That made it easy.''

After Cienfuegos scored for the second time this season on a free kick, the theme of the day was missed opportunities for the Galaxy. Both Cienfuegos and Hurtado seemed set on scoring a goal, which led to them trying to do too much and only getting into trouble. Both players had balls in the San Jose box, only to get too cute and lose them.

``Part of the nature of being a goalscorer is to be greedy,'' Osiander said. ``Hurtado had one ball in the box that had he played it square it could have been a sitter for someone else. But I was happy with his play. If he scored two goals, I'd be very happy with his play.''

San Jose drew within one when Paul Bravo headed in a corner from Wynalda in the 77th minute. Bravo and Wynalda seemed to be the only two players aware of what was going on, as Bravo stood alone in the box just a few yards from the line.

The Clash came within inches of tying the game in the 90th minute, when Wynalda's free kick caught the outside of the bar and bounced away.

``At the end of the day, we were unfortunate not to go to a shootout,'' said Clash coach Laurie Calloway, whose team has lost two games in shootouts already this season.

Dallas 2, Tampa Bay 1:Jason Kreis and Washington Rodriguez scored on two free kicks six minutes apart midway through the first half, giving the Burn a victory over the Mutiny in Tampa, Fla.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1-- color) The Galaxy's Jose Vasquez falls aftercontact with San Jose's Jorge Rodas, right.

(2) Mauricio Cienfuegos, center, celebrates with Jose Vasquez, left, and Manny Motajo after scoring the Galaxy's second goal of the night.

Myung J. Chun / Daily News