FC Dallas and the Los Angeles Galaxy put on one of the most remarkable games ever matching two Major League Soccer teams, the Galaxy scoring four goals in the opening 18 minutes before withstanding a furious FC Dallas comeback with five goals before L.A. secured their place in the semifinals of SuperLiga after a 6-5 victory Tuesday evening at Pizza Hut Park.
Both teams came into the match with a chance to advance out of Group A with a victory. But a pair of goals by Alan Gordon and strikes from Kevin Harmse and Chris Klein put the Galaxy four goals to the good after just 18 minutes.
But it took goals from Landon Donovan and Carlos Pavon over the final 10 minutes of the game to put the victory on ice, as Arturo Alvarez (two), Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson hit the back of the net for FCD.
Donovan started things off for the Galaxy by setting up the first goal, which came in just the third minute. From a second corner in less than a minute, Donovan found Gordon unmarked at the near post and Gordon headed back inside the far corner.
Then in the 12th, Donovan again set the table nicely to double the Galaxy's advantage. He found Klein in the middle of the FCD box and the Galaxy midfielder put it away, his first goal since coming to L.A. from Real Salt Lake on June 21.
It took the Galaxy just three minutes to hit for goal again as in the 15th minute, Gordon headed home his second goal of the night after a great cross from Harmse. Then Harmse added to the Hoops' misery three minutes when he broke in alone on FCD 'keeper Dario Sala and finished off for a 4-0 lead.
By the 21st minute, FCD head coach Steve Morrow had seen enough as the first-year field boss brought on speedy striker Dominic Oduro for Brazilian forward Ricardinho. Morrow made another change in the 26th when he subbed out Rhine, who had been victimized by Donovan the entire evening, for Aaron Pitchkolan.
FCD was outshooting the Galaxy by a 9-4 margin before scoring their first goal in the 43rd minute as Alvarez scored his second goal in three SuperLiga games. Center back Drew Moor sent a nice ball into the middle of the L.A. box and Alvarez headed it into the far side of the net from about 14 yards out to give his side some life.
Each side made one change at the half. FCD brought on midfielder Dax McCarty for Marcelo Saragosa while the Galaxy subbed Carlos Pavon in for Gordon. L.A. head coach Frank Yallop made another change in the 55th when Quavas Kirk came on for Harmse.
FCD nearly closed the gap further just after the start of the second frame. Toja dribbled in to the right of the opposing goal and then sent a cross toward the far post. Oduro was waiting there but Cannon got a glove on his shot.
In the 47th, the Hoops had another golden opportunity that went awry. Alvarez sent a great ball to Ruiz, who was in the middle of the L.A. box. The talented Guatemalan executed one of his trademark bicycle kicks and sent it past Cannon, but Ruiz was ruled offside, much to the chagrin of a partisan crowd.
The Hoops continued to press, but couldn't find the target as the Galaxy defended deeper and deeper. Ruiz rose above the crowd to get a head on a freekick in the 60th minute, A 63rd-minute shot by McCarty went high and an effort by Alvarez in the 64th was deflected.
After Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas gave the ball away in his half of the field in the 78th, FCD capitalized. Oduro was on the receiving end of the miscue and found Toja in the middle of the box and the Colombian midfielder slid in to knock it past Cannon just before the two collided, and the lead was just two.
And four minutes later, Alvarez scored for the second time. He was dribbling up the right side before cutting it back inside. Alvarez then shot toward the far post through three Galaxy players, hitting the right post before it went in to make it 4-3.
But any momentum that goal created for the Hoops was fleeting as Donovan broke free on a breakaway in the 84th. The speedy L.A. midfielder wove his way toward the FCD goal, skipping past Aaron Pitchkolan before rounding Sala in the penalty area and rolling the ball past him.
However, the Hoops still refused to quit. Thompson had a chance to make it 5-4 in the 91st after he hit a rocket at point-blank range, but it hit the crossbar. Seconds later, FCD again cut the lead to a goal when Ruiz pounded home a bouncing ball in the area after a Moor headed was deflected.
Yet once again the Galaxy answered when Donovan found Pavon inside the FCD box in the fifth minute of added time and the Galaxy forward netted his first goal in seven games for L.A. as Donovan set his third goal on the night.
FCD cut it to the final margin when Thompson headed home a McCarty corner kick now six minutes into stoppage time, but that was as close as the Hoops would ever come. FC Dallas ended the night with 25 shots, while the Galaxy scored their six goals on only eight shots.
The MLS league record for goals in a game is 11, also set by the Galaxy, in a 7-4 win against the Colorado Rapids in 1998 -- though of course the SuperLiga games will not count in the league annals. With the victory, the Galaxy will advance to the Aug. 14-15 semifinals, with their placing and opponent still to be decided.
