2002 U.S OPEN CUP FINAL (Thursday, Oct. 24)
Columbus (MLS) vs. Los Angeles (MLS)
at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio at 7 pm ET
TV: Fox Sports World (live) 7 pm ET; Fox Sports en Espanol (tape) midnight tonight.
DOUBLE: The Los Angeles Galaxy, which lifted the 2002 MLS Cup title on Sunday, will attempt to become the third team since MLS's inception to win the MLS-Open Cup double. D.C. United lifted both titles in 1996 and Chicago did it in 1998.
Other winners since 1996: Dallas (MLS) 1997, Rochester (A-League) 1999, Chicago (MLS) 2000, Los Angeles (2001).
BACK-TO-BACK: Los Angeles hopes to become the first team to win back-to-back Open Cup titles since the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League won in 1982 and 1983. Since the inception of the tournament in 1914, only seven clubs have captured two consecutive titles, and only one did it on two separate occasions: Bethlehem Steel (Pa) in 1915-1916 and 1918-1919.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Los Angeles and Columbus have met once in the Open Cup: a 3-1 Crew 1999 quarterfinal win in Fullerton, Calif.
In 2002 MLS action, the teams split their two encounters:
July 27 in Los Angeles:
Los Angeles 2 Columbus 1. Goals: Ruiz 9, Ruiz 75; Clark 41.
Aug. 14 in Columbus:
Columbus 3 Los Angeles 2. Goals: Martino (pen.) 24, Buddle 28, Cunningham 78; Jones 6, Elliott 66.