MLS CUP '05: Pando Power propels L.A. to MLS title

A man whose nickname means "bowlegged" rode to the rescue in the first MLS Cup to be staged in cowboy country.

One of the players imported by Galaxy coach Steve Sampson for the 2005 season was Guatemalan midfielder Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez, and a stunning overtime volley by Ramirez downed New England, 1-0, at Pizza Hut Park.

Ramirez scored just once during the regular season, on a penalty kick that rebounded into the net off Colorado goalkeeper Joe Cannon, and had lost his starting spot to Ned Grabavoy. He hadn't appeared in the playoffs and started the championship game on the bench. In the last four regular-season games he'd played a total of 30 minutes.

Yet before the match, and again at halftime, Sampson consulted a few veteran Galaxy players to get their input of whether Ramirez could aid the cause.

"They all said he had the ability," said Sampson of consulting Cobi Jones, Pete Vagenas, and Landon Donovan. "That's just one example of the many, many times I've sought their advice this season.

"It's been a hard year for Pando. He's been frustrated and angry about not playing but he showed tonight why he's a part of this team."

Ramirez pounced on a punched clearance by Rev keeper Matt Reis, a former member of the Galaxy, and rifled a right-footed shot into the net from the edge of the penalty area to decide a tough contest that lay barren of sparkle for most of the 120 minutes

By blunting New England's three-pronged attack of Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan and Clint Dempsey, the Galaxy blanked a team that had scored 55 goals in the regular season but only four in the playoffs and had squeaked past the Fire, 1-0, in its Eastern Conference final. Central defenders Tyrone Marshall and Ugo Ihemelu throttled Noonan and Twellman, outside backs Todd Dunivant and Chris Albright kept the flanks secure, and central midfielders Paulo Nagamura and Vagenas bottled up the middle.

The Galaxy took 25 shots to the Revs' 11. Combined, Twellman, Noonan and Dempsey took one shot.

"We knew they hadn't been scoring goals, but we also knew their forwards are tricky," said rookie defender Ugo Ihemelu, whose glancing header diverted a goal-bound Jose Cancela shot in the final minutes. "I thought we did a good job on them and our wide players also kept them from getting good balls to the forwards."

Cancela, who replaced Noonan in the 64th minute, livened up the Revs attack and had their best shot in regulation, a fierce drive that was parried by Kevin Hartman. Hartman had just one other difficult save, a sharp-angle shot by Jay Heaps that he turned aside.

"We really weren't able to get behind them," said Revs midfielder Steve Ralston, who admitted he and a few teammates didn't have the snap and sharpness that had carried them to a 17-7-8 regular-season record. "We didn't play our best game and they were the better team. It's a disappointment."

DEJA VU. New England lost to Los Angeles, 1-0, in the 2002 MLS Cup. That match was decided by league MVP Carlos Ruiz, another Guatemalan, in overtime; since then, the golden-goal has been dropped, and penalties loomed as a dire possibility after an arid first half and a second 45 minutes only slightly juicier.

Landon Donovan nearly scored with a trademark slash through the left side but Matt Reis turned his rising blast over the crossbar. On the goal two minutes into stoppage time of the first overtime, Reis reached Donovan's corner kick but didn't get much power on his punch. He also stumbled and couldn't recover his balance as Ramirez's shot went whistling past him.

"It was incredible," Ramirez said.  "I can't really explain what I was feeling.  To score a goal in a final is unbelievable.  When it happens to you, you don't really even know what you are feeling."

MLS CUP '05: SA REPORT CARD and game summary

Nov. 13 in Frisco, Texas

Los Angeles 1 New England 0

Goal: Ramirez 107.

REPORT CARD (1=low; 5=average; 10=high)

Los Angeles — 7 Hartman, 6 Albright, 7 Marshall, 7 Ihemelu, 5 Dunivant, 5 Vagenas, 6 Nagamura, 3 Grabavoy (7 Ramirez, 66), 6 Jones (4, Naldo, 109), 3 Gomez (nr Gordon, 119), 6 Donovan. Subs: 7 Ramirez, 4 Naldo, NR Gordon.

New England — 6 Reis, 5 Heaps, 7 Parkhurst, 4 Franchino, 4 Riley (4 Latham, 107+), 4 Dempsey, 5 Joseph, 4 Hernandez (5 Dorman, 91+), 3 Ralston, 3 Noonan (7 Cancela, 64), 4 Twellman. Subs: 7 Cancela, 5 Dorman, 4 Latham.

STATS
Shots: LA – 25; NE – 11.
Shots on goals: LA – 8; NE – 2.
Fouls: LA – 27; NE – 24
Offside: LA– 1; NE – 5.
Corner kicks: LA – 7; NE – 7.
Keeper saves: LA – 2; NE – 7.

Yellow cards:
LA: Dunivant (Reckless Foul) 33, Nagamura (Reckless Foul) 56, Tyrone Marshall (Reckless Foul) 69; Gomez (Deliberate Handball) 78, Albright (Reckless Foul) 81.
NE: Hernandez (Reckless Foul) 15, Franchino (Reckless Foul) 22, Joseph (Reckless Foul) 37, Riley (Reckless Foul) 54, Heaps (caution; Reckless Foul) 76.

Red cards: none.