Galaxy begin trek to U.S. Open Cup
Play-in game pits LA against West rival Colorado
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There are some intriguing subplots, most notably the fact that the clubs played over the weekend, with the Rapids winning 3-2 behind Conor Casey's hat trick. It also is a rematch of last year's play-in game won 1-0 by Colorado on a goal by -- you guessed it -- Casey in the 82nd minute.
The Galaxy's Alan Gordon went so far as to say there is a score to settle.
"I think it's getting old," Gordon said of the rivalry that will resume in three weeks in Commerce City, Colo., with a regular-season game. "If we don't do something about it soon, we've got problems. We owe them."
Some of his teammates, however, felt they owed it more to themselves to play well. Sure, the Rapids knocked them out of the competition a year ago and won on Saturday in a game that featured the second-fastest goal in MLS history, but the Galaxy simply could use some good news after such a disappointing weekend.
"We need to start winning games," midfiielder Eddie Lewis said, "and get a winning culture. There's no easier way than taking care of business tomorrow."
That's why they are taking the Open Cup game maybe a bit more seriously than usual.
"We have to take every game that way," midfielder Chris Klein said. "You're going to have a few new faces out there, but faces being different doesn't change the approach to the game. Over the course of the season we're going to need depth on our team, and guys are going to get a chance tomorrow that haven't played many minutes so far this season.
"The approach is to go out there with the right attitude and wanting to win. I'm sure it's the same thing with Colorado."
The Galaxy won the Open Cup in 2005 (a 1-0 victory against FC Dallas) and 2001 (2-1 over New England). They also were runners-up to the Chicago Fire in 2006 and Columbus Crew in 2002. The Rapids have been to the final once and were a 2-0 loser to the A-League's Rochester Raging Rhinos in 1999.
Los Angeles, which resumes its MLS schedule on Saturday at home against unbeaten Chivas USA, is expected to have a number of new players in the starting lineup. One who is unavailable is midfielder Dema Kovalenko, who was ejected in his last Open Cup game, a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew last May when Kovalenko was a member of Real Salt Lake.
Kovalenko also was red-carded in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Rapids after a studs-up tackle on Mehdi Ballouchy in the 59th minute.
Gordon said Tuesday's game provides a perfect opportunity for the club to get untracked, no matter who will be playing.
"So far this year we've let ourselves down the first two games," he said. "This is a chance to get in that win column. It's very important for our team. Once you start winning, winning becomes contagious, and that's what we're trying to do."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
