RUIZ STEALS SHOW WITH BICYCLE KICK NEW STRIKER SERNA ALSO SCORES GALAXY 3, COLUMBUS 1.

Byline: Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer

CARSON - You had to see it to appreciate it.

Carlos Ruiz scored one of the most spectacular goals in MLS history - a Pele-style bicycle kick that had 22,063 spectators at Home Depot Center cheering as loudly on the replay as the real thing.

Ruiz's second goal of the evening briefly stole the spotlight from newly acquired Colombian striker Diego Serna, who had just as much influence in the Galaxy's 3-1 victory over Columbus on Saturday.

The Galaxy (5-6-7, 22 points) is now 5-2-3 in its last 10 games, and has won two in a row - but none as exciting as this.

``That goal may have ended the competition for goal of the year,'' Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said. ``And obviously, Diego's going to be a good addition to this team.''

In his first MLS game in 13 months, Serna set up a Ruiz penalty kick seven minutes after entering in the 61st minute to give L.A. a 1-0 lead. And later, he scored in the 89th minute on an assist from Ruiz that put Columbus away for good.

``He's an unpredictable player,'' Schmid said of Serna. ``On the penalty kick, he attacked the ball and draws a penalty because he doesn't get knocked off so easily. But, also, with Diego in the game, how much more space does Carlos get? That's one of the main benefits he gives us.''

All in all, it was the best game of the season for the Galaxy, which had a season-high 12 shots on goal, far above its miserable 5.5 average.

``We talked about whether or not we wanted to win championships again,'' Schmid said. ``When I came to the Galaxy (in 1998), we were a team that played good soccer but didn't win an awful lot of titles. That's what we want to do again. We said that we have to decide whether we want to be a champion, and if you do, you have to play like it.''

Talking about the bicycle kick, even Ruiz had trouble putting it into words.

First, Cobi Jones did a wonderful job of freeing himself on the right side, then sent a curling cross to Ruiz, who sent his 7-yard bicycle kick soaring into the upper left corner of the goal to give the Galaxy a 2-1 lead in the 86th minute.

``You don't have time to figure out what you're going to do,'' Ruiz said. ``What first comes to mind is if you're confident you can do it, then it's a matter of doing it.''

The addition of Serna certainly caused marking problems for the Crew, which left Serna and Ruiz in a number of one-on-one situations and many other opportunities to find space in front of the net.

``He (Serna) knows how to play this game,'' Ruiz said. ``We're going to make each other's job much easier.''

Delighted to be back in MLS, Serna played in his first league game since June 29 of last year, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury with the New England Revolution.

Serna had been playing professionally in Colombia this season, but the Galaxy traded draft picks to acquire his rights from the Revolution on Friday. After finalizing a new contract, Serna arrived that evening.

``I find myself on a team that knows how to touch the ball well,'' Serna said. ``The most important thing in soccer is touching the ball, and this team has proven that they know how to touch the ball well.

``And playing with two teammates like Carlos Ruiz and Cobi Jones that push us forward makes my job much easier, because my job is to attack. With these two players, that job is much easier.''

Fred Robledo, [phone]

fred.robledo(at)sgvn.com