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All tied up Hernandez helps Galaxy force 1-1 tie with Fire
Updated: Friday October 12, 2001 3:35 PM
CHICAGO (AP) -- Luis Hernandez scored in the 44th minute Wednesday night to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy into a 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire in the opening game of the MLS Cup semifinals. The tie gave each team a point in the first-to-five format and guaranteed the series would return to Chicago. Game 2 is Saturday at Los Angeles and Game 3 will be Wednesday night. A victory is worth three points and if neither team has five points after three games, a sudden-death overtime is played. Eric Wynalda scored in the 32ns minute for the Fire, who played with only 10 players after the 60th minute when Evan Whitfield was given a red card for colliding with Cobi Jones during a goal-scoring opportunity. "A little bit of mixed emotions from the standpoint that when they got the red card, we obviously had an opportunity playing 11 men against 10, so we are disappointed that we didn't take advantage of that opportunity," said Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid. "On the other hand, I don't think tonight was our best game. Not playing well and still coming out with a point is a plus."
Wynalda opened the scoring by firing a shot into an unguarded Los Angeles goal. As Fire striker DaMarcus Beasley controlled the ball just outside the 18-yard box, Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman raced out to challenge despite the presence of two Los Angeles defenders. Beasley slid a pass across the field to a wide-open Wynalda, whose uncontested shot rolled in for his first goal of the postseason. "At first it looked like DaMarcus was going to go in alone," said Wynalda. "Once he saw me, it was pretty clear I was wide open. In those type of positions you see a lot of young players panic but he didn't panic at all. As soon as he saw me, I knew I was going to score." Hernandez tied the game when Chicago midfielder Chris Armas tackled Sasha Victorine inside the penalty area, and Hernandez scored off his own rebound on the ensuing penalty kick for his first postseason goal. Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton made several key saves in both 5-minute overtimes. "We came out and were on top of them from the beginning," said Fire head coach Bob Bradley. "We played a very good first half. It was unlucky that it was only 1-0, and then one play turns into a penalty kick. "We obviously had to deal with the two biggest plays of the game going against us, and at that point we keep going and try to win a game with 10 guys. I was quite pleased with that part of it." Chicago forward Hristo Stoitchkov returned from injuring, substituting for Peter Nowak after halftime. "Playing 45 minutes was good for me, and I hope to contribute a lot more in Game 2," said the Bulgarian. "We will get to the final because we will play Game 3 at home, in front of the best fans in the league." SummaryScoring: CHI--Wynalda (D. Beasley, Nowak) 32
LOS ANGELES GALAXY--Kevin Hartman, Paul Caligiuri, Greg Vanney, Ezra Hendrickson (Adam Frye 34), Alexi Lalas (Craig Waibel 86), Peter Vagenas, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Simon Elliott, Sasha Victorine, Cobi Jones, Luis Hernandez (Brian Mullan 91)
CHICAGO FIRE--Zach Thornton, C.J. Brown, Carlos Bocanegra, Evan Whitfield, Chris Armas, David Vaudreuil, DaMarcus Beasley, Peter Nowak (Hristo Stoitchkov 46), Jesse Marsch, Dema Kovalenko, Eric Wynalda (Jamar Beasley 78)
Referee: Kevin Stott; Assistant Referees: Greg Barkey, Nathan Clement
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