LOS ANGELES GALAXY v COLORADO RAPIDS
Wed., Aug. 23, THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, Carson, Calif. (7:30 p.m. PT)
The current U.S. Open Cup holders face another tricky tie, as the Los Angeles Galaxy play host to the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids have defeated the Galaxy all three times they've met in league play this season - all by 1-0 decisions.
THE MATCHUP: This is the first time the Western Conference clubs have ever faced each other in the U.S. Open Cup. ... The teams have met three times in league play this year - and the Rapids have won all three, each one by a 1-0 scoreline. ... The Rapids went to The Home Depot Center and came away with a 1-0 victory against the Galaxy on May 20 (Peterson 14), then 11 days later won 1-0 at Invesco Field (Ben Dayan 33). They then met on Aug. 12 in Denver, and the Rapids again claimed the victory by the minimum difference, the game's only goal coming from Nicolas Hernandez in the 41st minute.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
2006 OPEN CUP: The Galaxy put an end to the Cinderella run of amateur side Roma FC of Dallas with a 2-0 victory on Aug. 1 at The Home Depot Center's Track & Field Stadium. ... Quavas Kirk scored his first professional goal in the first half, then Alan Gordon finished off the game with an opportunistic goal in the second half. ... Here's Yallop's team: Kevin Hartman; Chris Albright (Michael Enfield 88), Troy Roberts, Cobi Jones, Kyle Veris; Josh Gardner, Peter Vagenas, Kyle Martino (Paulo Nagamura 64), Quavas Kirk; Herculez Gomez (John Wolyniec 72), Alan Gordon
IN THE OPEN CUP: The Galaxy have reached the U.S. Open Cup Final three times in the last five years, winning in 2001 but losing the following year, before winning the Dewar Trophy for the second time last year in a 1-0 victory against FC Dallas. ... The Galaxy began their run by dumping out stadium-mates Chivas USA in a 5-2 triumph, then bounced the San Jose Earthquakes out for the fourth time ever, surviving going a man down midway through the second half to hold on for a 2-1 victory. The Galaxy put an end to the Cinderella run of the USL First Division Minnesota Thunder with a 5-2 semifinal victory, then in the final, Herculez Gomez scored the game's only goal in the 25th minute - his sixth in four Open Cup matches - to give the Galaxy their second Open Cup championship. ... Just once have the Galaxy been dumped out of the Open Cup in their opening match - in 2005, when they 1-0 to the Minnesota Thunder (A-League) in the fourth round. It snapped a run of five consecutive appearances where they reached at least the semifinals. ... The Galaxy have lost just five times in 24 Open Cup matches - two of those coming against Columbus Crew, once in the quarterfinals in 1999, and once in the 2002 final. The other two losses both came to the Fire, in the semifinals in both 2000 and 2003. ... Before '04, the Galaxy's shortest run in the Open Cup came in 1999, when a quarterfinal loss to the Columbus Crew followed a win against the San Diego Flash (A-League).
COLORADO RAPIDS
2006 OPEN CUP: On Aug. 2, Colorado again met Rocky Mountain Cup rival Real Salt Lake, and the Rapids again claimed a 1-0 victory, this time in Salt Lake City. ... The Rapids broke the deadlock in the 61st minute on a strike from second half substitute Jacob Peterson, who fired a missile over Jay Nolly after Clint Mathis raced to the endline and backheeled the ball into Peterson's path. ... Here Clavijo's team: Matt Jordan, Hunter Freeman, Aitor Karanka, Mike Petke, Eric Denton, Terry Cooke (Jacob Peterson 46), Kyle Beckerman, Nicolas Hernandez, Clint Mathis (Dan Gargan 84), Daniel Wasson, Jovan Kirovski (Fabrice Noel 77). [Substitutes Not Used: Colin Clark, Bouna Coundoul, Luchi Gonzalez, Stephen Keel]
IN THE OPEN CUP: The 1999 U.S. Open Cup Finalists haven't had much success over the recent past, losing their first match in the competition in four of the last six years, including a 4-1 defeat by the USL First Division Minnesota Thunder last year. ... It was the third time in that stretch the losses came to second-tier competition. In 2000, Colorado lost to the Richmond Kickers 3-0, and in 2001 to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2-0. In 2004, they were thrashed 3-0 by the Dallas Burn in the fourth round. ... In 1999, the Rapids faced A-League competition in three of their four ties, but fell in the final 2-0 to the Rochester Raging Rhinos. They knocked off the Seattle Sounders in the third round and the Charleston Battery in the semifinals, defeating the Tampa Bay Mutiny in between. ... Each of the first five years the Rapids were in the competition they were defeated by lower-division competition, losing twice to Rochester (1996 semifinal, 1999 final), to Richmond and Pittsburgh, and in 1997, to the D3 Pro League Chicago Stingers in the third round.
