CARSON, Calif. - The big mystery out of the LA Galaxy's 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Western Conference final Sunday afternoon against Seattle was how the Sounders' Zach Scott stayed on the field.
The veteran center back picked up a yellow card in the 37th minute for a foul on Robbie Keane, then escaped a second caution - and the red card that would have accompanied it - four times in the second half.
The Galaxy were perplexed that referee Kevin Stott didn't pull another yellow, and they weren't the only ones.
“I thought we benefited a little bit [from Stott's decisions],” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid acknowledged after the clash at StubHub Center. “In most games, I think that referee would have pulled that [second] yellow, so I'm not going to pretend I didn’t see that. …
“Yeah, we were fortunate that Zach stayed on the field.”
Scott might have picked up a second caution after fouling Keane again in the 60th minute, just outside the Sounders' box, or when he shoved a foe in the wall ahead of Stefan Ishizaki's ensuing free kick, which hit the crossbar.
Or on a two-handed shove while going over Alan Gordon's back on an aerial challenge in the 82nd. He escaped another in stoppage time.
“I was surprised after Scott got the yellow card, that he had, like, five more fouls. I mean, it's an absolute joke,” left back Robbie Rogers said. “[They let him stay] because they didn't want guys to get a red."
The Galaxy were convinced that Stott was going out of his way not to send anyone off, so that both teams would be at full strength, injuries aside, for next Sunday's second leg at CenturyLink Field (9:20 pm ET, ESPN, ESPN Deportes in US; TSN.ca, TSN GO, RDS2, MLSsoccer.com in Canada).
“The officials made it clear that no one's getting sent off,” Landon Donovan said. “So we have to make sure we're aware of that next weekend, and we'll play with that in mind, and I'm sure they will, too.
“It's going to be even more physical [next week], and that's OK. We can play that way.”
Scott, for his part, said he doesn't know any other way to play.
“A lot of times I toe that line, and today it was especially frustrating [that I was too reckless], considering how the ref called the game,” he said. “That's just something I've got to deal with as a player and move on.”
