By Jeff Dieffenbach

The blue dye-job of Danny Califf rose to head home a Cobi Jones’ corner kick for the Golden Goal game winner, giving the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 victory over New England Revolution to win the 88th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The strike was a sweet redemption for Califf, who been beaten in the penalty area by Dwayne DeRosario for a Golden Goal in the San Jose Earthquakes’ defeat of the Galaxy a week ago in the MLS Cup championship game.

When asked by Soccer365 if the blue hair was laced with helium to help him get up so high, Califf replied, “I guess so. Something happened. It’s a great way to win. After the setback last week, to be able to come back from that, it’s insane.”

Califf used overtime substitute Alexi Lalas as a screen to shed defender Mauricio Wright just under 2 minutes into the first fifteen minute overtime period. Lalas started the overtime at center forward, having replaced a spent Sasha Victorine.

Victorine, a second-year player out of UCLA, made full use of his ninety plus minutes, wearing down the Revolution defense with tireless running. Among his many head ball plays, he put two just off target on services from Wellington, New Zealand native Simon Elliott to close out the first half.

The game started at 2pm on a hazy blue Saturday afternoon. Nearly 5,000 fans came out to watch the under-hyped championship game. Throughout the game, cheers of “REV-O-LU-TION” filled the stands, but the Midnight Riders fan club was left to face a disappointing cross-country flight back home.

The opening that Califf found to knock in the game winner was due in part to the absence of Revolution midfielder Jay Heaps, shown a red card and sent off by referee Paul Tamberino for an elbow to the face of Los Angeles midfielder Adam Frye in the 88th minute.

Throughout the game, former Duke University soccer star and basketball reserve put his leaping skills on display, repeatedly clearing dangerous balls sent into the New England penalty area. The Revolution clearly missed his aerial talents in overtime. Said New England head coach Fernando Clavijo to a group of reporters after the game, “It’s a factor in the box because of his jumping ability.”

The elbow from Heaps, in over-zealous retaliation for the same play shirt-pulling that earned Frye a yellow card, marred an otherwise excellent game from the Massachusetts native. Heaps, the 1999 MLS Rookie of the Year for the Miami Fusion, repeatedly presented himself on the right flank as a target for passes both short and long.

The first third of the game offered little excitement for the fans, prompting one sportswriter to lament, “I’ve got only six words of notes.” The two teams shared possession, with Los Angeles owning the slight edge in creative play.

New England scored first, however. In the 29th minute, forward Wolde Harris, who missed on scoring opportunities in the 19th and 52nd minutes, lined up next to midfielder Cate for a free kick from just left of center about 35 yards from. Harris took the kick, deflecting his signature low blast off of both the three-man wall and the unlucky Frye several yard behind. The ball still carried enough pace to beat wrong-footed Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman in the lower right corner.

Reminded of similar under-the-wall goals in years past, Harris said, “Yes, definitely, I’m pretty happy that we scored early.” After the game, however, he continued, “A one-nothing lead in any championship games is a pretty scary lead.”

The goal was the bright spot for Harris in an otherwise lackluster day. In addition to his two missed scoring chances, he looked uneven controlling and passing the ball. In the sixty-seventh minute, he was replaced by Costa Rican national team player William Sunsing, who was ineffective in relief.

In fact, substitutions were the downfall for the Revolution. Defender Alan Woods replaced forward and Jamaican national Andy Williams in the 60th, changing their formation from a 3-5-2 to a more defensive 4-4-2. While Woods played solidly, he certainly did not pose the playmaking threat Williams had been.

With twenty minutes remaining, two of New England’s strongest offensive players were on the bench. In the 77th minute, Ted Chronopoulos, nagged by a tender left hamstring, replaced Nick Downing in the midfield, but like Sunsing, failed to factor.

Eight minutes after the Harris goal, Elliott missed a prime chance to equalize. A Jones pass from the right edge of the penalty box found Elliott alone at the top of the “D.” He should have done better with his volley that sailed just high and right.

Just after half time in the 51st minute, New England similarly squandered a scoring chance. Remarked Clavijo, “You put a game away two-nothing, they’re going to have to open up, and you can make them pay on the counter attack.”

The otherwise quiet Cate led Williams into the center of the Galaxy’s penalty area with a brilliant soft pass. Williams eluded the charging Hartman, but in so doing, took the ball a bit wider right than he would have liked.

Williams found himself facing St. Vincent of the Grenadines native Ezra Hendrickson, Los Angeles’ offensive-minded right back, who had slipped in behind Hartman. Williams elected not to go low and instead put a blast wide into the upper outside netting at the near post.

In the sixty-third minute, an era came to an end, as forward Brian Mullan replaced defender Paul Caligiuri for the Galaxy. As U.S. soccer fans may remember, Caligiuri scored the “shot heard round the world” game winner at Trinidad and Tobago in 1989 to put the U.S. through to the 1990 World Cup. The U.S. presence in that tournament helped secure the hosting of the World Cup in 1994, which in turn led to the creation of MLS.

The 2001 U.S. Open Cup final marked Caligiuri’s retirement from professional soccer. His connection to the game is far from over, fortunately. He has all of one day off before his first day as coach of the men’s and women’s Cal-Poly Pomona soccer teams.

When asked by Soccer365 if he might duplicate Michael Jordan’s comeback from retirement following a championship, he observed, “Soccer’s a lot different than basketball. Do I look forward to coaching? Absolutely, I’m very excited.”

Fans who weren’t paying attention might have missed Caligiuri’s presence on the field today, as his long bottle blonde locks of late had mysteriously disappeared. In fact, Mullan, his replacement, with below the shoulder brown hair, looked more like Caligiuri from a distance than Caligiuri did.

In the 67th minute, the Galaxy appeared due the break they needed to tie the game when Wright grabbed more than a handful of Victorine’s shirt inside the penalty area. No call.

No amount of kindness on the part of the officials could save the Revolution three minutes later, however. From the center of the field 40 yards out, Galaxy defender Greg Vanney lofted a harmless looking ball to Hendrickson on the right just above the box.

Hendrickson took Revolution defender Downing toward the end line before using his right foot to loft what appeared to be a pass towards the New England goal area. The ball carried over helpless goalkeeper Jose Fernandez into the upper left corner, knotting the score at one. As for whether the ball was a pass or a shot, Hendrickson said, “Definitely where I wanted to put it.”

Fernandez, a member of the Bolivian national team called up for their next World Cup qualifier against Brazil, kept the Revolution in the match for the remaining twenty minutes.

Whereas the first half was fairly balanced, the second half was all Los Angeles. In the 87th minute, Fernandez fought through traffic to punch clear an Elliott corner kick. Seconds later, he made a point blank stop of Galaxy midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos at the 6 yard mark. Cienfuegos, who uncharacteristically had an otherwise ineffective game, took a chip pass from Jones from 30 yards out.

In a 97th minute flurry that almost put the Revolution away, Hendrickson turned and side volleyed a blast from the top of the penalty area that Fernandez just managed to tip over the top. In his final save in the first minute of overtime, he came out past his penalty area to stuff Jones with his feet.

Seconds later, though, Califf’s heroics cemented the Galaxy’s second championship of the year, the first coming against Olimpia of Honduras 3-2 in the Football Confederation Champions Cup Final in January.

Asked if the Revolution’s second-place finish in the U.S. Open Cup would set the table for next year, Fernandez commented, “Hopefully this will help us out next year to make things happen.”

2001 may go down as the year of the retirement. Legends Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn played their final baseball games. Conversely, another legend, Michael Jordan, ended his retirement to return to basketball.

Paul Caligiuri may not get the same national attention, but this soccer star is no less a class act. After the match, he consoled a dejected Heaps, “It’s the worst feeling, it’s the longest walk (off the field after being ejected).”

Later, when asked about the day, he said, “It’s remarkable. One thing is winning a championship, because it’s so difficult, it’s another thing altogether to conclude a career like that.” Remarking on a large yellow “Thanks Paul #20” sign put up by fans, he continued, “This day has just been wonderful. From the way the game ended up to the gesture of Ezra Hendrickson giving me his jersey (after scoring the tying goal), the sign, the fans, the standing ovation, it’s tremendous.”

SCORING SUMMARY:
N.E. - Wolde Harris (unassisted)     30th minute.
L.A. - Ezra Hendrickson (Greg Vanney)    70.
L.A. - Danny Califf (Cobi Jones)     92.

Lineups:

L.A. - 22-Kevin Hartman; 3- Greg Vanney, 20-Paul Caligiuri (19-Brian Mullan, 64), 23-Danny Califf, 17-Ezra Hendrickson; 12-Simon Elliott, 8-Peter Vagenas, 10-Mauricio Cienfuegos; 18-Adam Frye, 11- Sasha Victorine (30-Alexi Lalas, 91), 13-Cobi Jones (Capt.).

Subs Not Used: 1-Matt Reis, 6-Craig Waibel, 9-Brian Chin, 16-Alex Bengard, 25-Marvin Quijano.

N.E. - 25-Jose Fernandez; 8-Joe Franchino, 29-Mauricio Wright (Capt.), 2-Leo Cullen; 14-Leonel Alvarez, 6-Jay Heaps (ejected, 88), 19-Nick Downing (5-Ted Chronopolous, 78), 17-Brandon Cloutier, 10-Cate; 7-Andy Williams (12-Alan Woods, 61), 13-Wolde Harris (77-William Sunsing, 68).

Subs Not Used: 26-Jeff Causey, 3-Rusty Pierce, 20-Fernando Ortiz Solis, 33-Matt Okoh.