David Beckham celebrates his 39th minute goal scored direct from a free kick with Chris Birchall, left, and Edson Buddle, right. (AFP/Getty Images).
The first 45 minutes was one of the Galaxy’s better halves in some time, punctuated by two well-worked goals of genuine quality.
The first was a lightning fast counterattack created by tenacious defensive pressure, a long pin-point pass by Michael Stephens, apparently benefiting from the break Arena was able to give him in the last several weeks and an excellent Edson Buddell finish.
The second was a trademark Beckham free kick we’ve seen precious few of during his Galaxy tenure and it came during a week the midfielder had been “under the weather, Arena said.”
Notable: It was Buddle’s MLS-leading 15th goal in 22 games, tying his career high in 2008, and enabled him to become the first MLS player to score 40 goals for two clubs – the Galaxy and the Crew.
Quotable: Here’s Arena on Gordon’s goal, which he believed was clearly offside –
“I’m disappointed with the level of officiating not to get that call right,” he said. “That flag has to be up, it’s amazing it wasn’t called.”
Finally: LA Times soccer reporter Grahame L. Jones had what one copy editor at the newspaper called the most unusual soccer column he’d ever read when he compared racehorse Zenyatta to David Beckham in Sunday’s editions and concluded the Brit couldn’t compare to the mare (no kidding) when it comes to um, generating excitement.
Bad timing, considering Beckham’s excellent goal, but Jones may have had a point.
Zenyatta drew 25,837 to Hollywood Park Saturday, while 24,283 turned up to watch Beckham run a few furlongs Sunday in Carson.
Game highlights:
Incidentally, Chivas USA’s Rodolfo Espinoza started on the bench because Coach Martin Vasquez said he had started flagging in the last couple of games around the 65th minute mark and he wanted to give him a little break.
I also asked Vasquez whether, now that the club were officially out of the post-season picture, he expected to be around next season:
“It’s a fair question,” he said, adding that he was looking for a strong finish in the team’s meaningless final four games of the season. “It’s too soon (to tell).”
*UCLA freshman striker Victor Chavez took fewer than five minutes to score the first hat-trick by a Bruin freshman in almost 25 years in a 4-1 win Sunday over Oregon State Sunday. UCLA are 2-0 in the Pac-10.
With UCLA leading 1-0, Chavez scored his three goals in the 69th, 73rd and 74th minutes.
From the UCLA press release:
Chavez’s hat trick was the first by a UCLA player since Maxwell Griffin scored three against Penn State on Sept. 16, 2007 and the first by a UCLA freshman since Lucas Martin scored three goals against Loyola Marymount on Oct. 24, 1986.
The UCLA women lost to Pepperdine Friday, snapping the longest home unbeaten streak in the nation.
In other college games Sunday:
*Pepperdine (7-3-3) extended its unbeaten streak to five games in a 1-1 tie at CSU Bakersfield.
*The Loyola Marymount men have started 2-0 in West Coast Conference play for the first time since 2004, shutting out Saint Mary’s 1-0 in Moraga on a 17th minute goal by sophomore David Ponce. Senior Rafael Baca of Lawndale supplied the assist, his WCC-leading sixth of the season.
*Long Beach State (8-3-2 ) extended its unbeaten streak to five games as it defeated UC Santa Barbara 3-1 at George Allen Field.
