TUCSON, Ariz.— The LA Galaxy picked up another trophy last night in Arizona.
The Galaxy beat the New England Revolution in the Desert Diamond Cup championship game, 4-2, in a penalty shootout, Saturday night at Kino Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. Brian Perk made two stops during the shootout and Marcelo Sarvas scored the game-winning goal.
WATCH: Arena, Perk, Sarvas react to win
The “Cup” is the club’s third trophy in the last five months, dating back to November when the Galaxy captured MLS Cup for a third time in club history. In December, the Galaxy edged Australia’s Melbourne Victory to win the Hyundai Club Challenge.
Real Salt Lake, the Galaxy’s MLS First Kick opponent on March 10 at The Home Depot Center, came in third place in the tournament, beating the New York Red Bulls, 1-0, earlier in the night.
Despite not losing a game in regulation throughout the tournament, New England finished the Desert Diamond Cup in second place. The win avenged the Galaxy’s 3-2 loss to the Revolution last week in the opening game of the tournament.
Unlike their previous encounter, the Galaxy started Saturday’s game by applying pressure on New England as soon as referee Kevin Stott blew the whistle to start the game. LA created two solid opportunities in the first five minutes, unfortunately neither managed to find the back of the net.
Jack McBean had the Galaxy’s best scoring chance in the first half when he picked off Benny Feilhaber’s back pass. The second-year forward turned around and found himself one-on-one with Matt Reis, a former Galaxy goalkeeper, who came off his line and made a timely kick save to keep the game scoreless at the 30th minute.
Both teams went into the locker room at halftime tied 0-0.
HIGHLIGHTS: LA beat New England in PKs
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams produce quality scoring opportunities. The second half, however, was more of a defensive battle that was played in the midfield for the most part. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes of the game that both teams created opportunities to score.
The Revolution’s best opportunity came in the 82nd minute, when second-half substitute Fernando Cardenas went by three defenders on his way to the net. Once close enough to the goal, he poked a shot that got past Perk but bounced off the post and back across the goal line before crossing the end line.
After 90 minutes neither team had scored a goal, and the game went into penalty shootout.
Both teams started the first two rounds by trading goals and saves. After Hector Jimenez and Shalrie Jospeh converted their attempts, the score was all even at 2-2 heading into the fourth round.
In the fourth round of penalty kicks, Kenney Walker converted his kick and Perk made a fantastic save on Feilhaber’s PK, stopping the 2010 World Cup veteran’s shot with one hand as he dove to his right.
Sarvas, who got the Galaxy into the finals with a free kick goal in Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to New York, did not shy away from the spotlight and clinically buried the game-winner.
Winning the Desert Diamond Cup was a great way for the Galaxy to close out their preseason. The club will travel to Toronto next week for the first leg of their 2011/12 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal series against Toronto FC, Wednesday, March 7, at Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. LA will then travel back to Southern California where a rematch of the 2011 Western Conference Championship game awaits the club on Saturday, March 10.
LA Galaxy 0, New England Revolution 0 (LA wins on PKs, 4-2)
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium – Tucson, Ariz.
Scoring Summary:
None.
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Shalrie Joseph (Yellow Card) 45+
Lineup:
LA Galaxy: Brian Perk; Todd Dunivant © (J.T. Murray 46’), Bryan Gaul, Tommy Meyer, Dan Keat (Justin Davies 64’); Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho (Kenney Walker 69’), Michael Stephens, Pat Noonan (Paolo Cardozo 66’); Chad Barrett (Hector Jimenez 61’), Jack McBean.
Subs Not Used: Bill Gaudette, Rafael Garcia.
Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: Frank Anderson, Ian Anderson
4th Official: Mark deClouet
