SOCCER: GOALIE'S BLUNDER IS COSTLY SOUTH KOREA 1, MEXICO 0.

Byline: Scott French Staff Writer

It's a moment Oswaldo Sanchez will never forget - nor repeat.

The man who will man Mexico's nets at the World Cup in Germany come June made a colossal blunder early in Wednesday night's friendly against South Korea, and it cost the Tricolores in their second Cupprep of the year.

Sanchez, Mexico's backup goalkeeper at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and its No. 1 netminder the past four years, handed the Koreans a 15th-minute goal and a 1-0 victory in front of 64,128 fans at the Coliseum.

It occurred after a Lee Chun-Soo free kick from the left side. Sanchez caught the cross, then, as his defenders and South Korea's attackers retreated, flipped the ball a few yards, the better to boot it down the field. Sanchez must've missed Lee Dong-Gook, hovering a few yards away, and the Korean striker sprinted in and knocked the ball into an empty net.

It stunned the crowd, with huge numbers from Los Angeles' two largest ethnic communities, into silence.

The Koreans had far more to cheer about; their team, wrapping up a two-week California tour, was dominant almost from start to finish, using its quickness and inventiveness to repeatedly poke holes in Mexico's defense and open space to attack. They outshot the Mexicans 18-9, including 11-3 in the first half.

Sanchez kept the Tri in the match, making amends for his error with several fine saves. The best: smothering Lee Dong-Gook's blast in the 34th minute and an acrobatic stop after Lee Chun-Soo raced past Mexico's backline 10 minutes into the second half.

South Korea nearly doubled its advantage two other times, but Kim Do-Heon fired just wide of the left post midway through the first half, and Lee Chun-Soo blasted past a virtually open goal with 15 minutes to go.

Mexico brought a solid side - not its first team, but with four first-line starters and several regulars - but gave a disappointing performance.

Scott French, [phone]

scott.french(at)dailynews.com