Soccer America Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney looks at the MLS quarterfinal series that have left four teams vying for the 2004 MLS Cup.
Kansas City defeats San Jose 3-2 on aggregate (0-2, 3-0)
The comeback kings of 2003 were overturned this time around as rookies Khari
Stephenson and Jack Jewsbury scored in the second game to stun the defending
champs.
Goals by Dwayne DeRosario (on a deflected cross) and Craig Waibel at Spartan
Oct. 24 built a 2-0 advantage but in the second leg Landon Donovan and Brian
Ching were a bit off their game and the Wizards played their own version of
pressure tactics to eventually crack open the San Jose defense.
Jewsbury passed a deflected ball into the goalmouth that the Quakes couldn't
clear and Stephenson, playing in support of forwards Davy Arnaud and Josh
Wolff, drilled it high for the first goal. KC tied the series when Ching,
bumped by former Quake Jimmy Conrad going for a chip, scuffed the ball into
his own net.
Bo Oshonyi, returned to the starting lineup by the late scratch of Tony
Meola, again played solidly in goal and kept his team in the hunt by denying
Donovan midway through the first half. Jewsbury got the winner by cutting
laterally across the Quakes back line and first-timing a feed from
substitute Igor Simutenkov.
A season marred by injuries to Preki, Simutenkov, Meola and Chris Klein
opened up opportunities for others, and Jewsbury and Oshonyi transformed
their strong showings from the regular season into playoff heroics.
New England defeats Columbus 2-1 on aggregate (1-0, 1-1).
Revs keeper Matt Reis stunned the Crew by saving penalty kicks by Ross Paule
and Tony Sanneh in the second leg, yet a swarming team defense seldom let
Columbus kick into its attacking rhythm over the two games. The Crew's cause
wasn't helped by Coach Greg Andrulis' decision to start late-season
acquisition Dante Washington in the second leg and keep Edson Buddle and
Jeff Cunningham on the bench until the second half.
In both games Reis atoned for costly mistakes. He saved a dipping shot from
Paule in the first game after giving the Crew an indirect free kick in the
box when he put the ball on the ground and then picked it back up. He
stopped Paule's penalty in the second game after uprooting Kyle Martino,
who'd pounced on a catastrophic back pass from Avery John.
John repaid Reis in the second half, blocking a shot from Paule set up by a
Washington steal of the ball from Reis. The keeper's second penalty save
came after John had tripped Cunningham.
The scoring of only three goals in two games might indicate this was a
tightly played series, but there were a lot of chances. The Revs missed two
great opportunities late in Game 1 that would have increased their
advantage. They made mistakes but in the end those of the Crew proved to be
much more costly.
D.C United defeats MetroStars 4-0 on aggregate (2-0, 2-0)
The Metros' painful season crashed to a fitting conclusion. Without Jamaican
Fabian Taylor, their finishing lacked that incisive edge necessary to beat a
keeper in top form. Their revolving door of forwards never hit the net and
midfielder Amado Guevara, who played reasonably well in patches, couldn't
uncork a champagne moment to pop D.C.'s defense. He led the team in shots
with six over the two games but his forte is setting up chances for others.
United won with its sharper firepower up front, a nastier midfield, and some
inspired play by keeper Nick Rimando. He rescued his team a half-dozen times
with excellent saves and allowed D.C. to eventually impose its superior
psyche. D.C. also exploited what could have been a glaringly offside
situation when Earnie Stewart ran onto Ryan Nelsen's long ball to score the
first goal midway through the second half of Game 1.
A four-goal advantage looks huge but those goals were scored in the 67th and
88th minutes of the first leg and the 85th and 89th minutes of the rematch.
The Metros actually took more shots, 23-22. Somehow, though, D.C. usually
seemed to be in control, and that's a tribute to how well its players stuck
to their tasks and jarred the Metros' players out of theirs.
Los Angeles defeats Colorado 2-1 on aggregate (0-1, 2-0)
In both games, the Galaxy had more of the better chances and in Game 2 they
finally produced shots that not even Rapids keeper Joe Cannon could stop.
The Rapids' failed by their offensive inefficiency. Their only goal came on
a Nat Borchers shot that hit Jean-Phillipe Peguero in the leg and fell
conveniently for him to stick away. John Spencer's ouchy groin kept him out
of both games and rookie Jordan Cila, while a resolute tryer, couldn't
contribute much.
Mark Chung tested Kevin Hartman in the second game with a dipping shot the
Galaxy keeper turned away acrobatically, but Chung labored ineffectually and
the resolute work of Chris Henderson was betrayed by some appallingly bad
touches. Henderson was just a shade late getting to a rebound in the first
game and Tyrone Marshall slid to block his shot.
With Chung and Henderson blunted and Pablo Mastroeni forced to hold down the
fort in central midfield, the Rapids' attack sputtered and eventually their
defense succumbed to Carlos Ruiz and Marshall, who pounced on balls to score
from point-blank range.
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