CARSON, Calif. -- Once again, when the LA Galaxy needed him, Mike Magee was able to step up and deliver a timely goal.
Magee's goal in the 82nd minute -- which is up for Goal of the Week -- gave LA a 1-0 victory in Sunday's MLS Regular Season Finale against the Seattle Sounders, allowing the club to head into Thursday's Knockout Round game against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on a winning note. The goal was Magee's fifth of the season and could be an important one as the versatile midfielder-turned-forward-turned-midfielder looks to fight for minutes in a highly-competitive Galaxy attack. The 28-year-old's clutch goal against Seattle is one that LA hopes is a sign of things to come as Magee tallied three of LA's four postseason matches during the Galaxy's run to MLS Cup last season.
Below Galaxy attacker discusses the victory, his goal and the role of his teammates like Josh Saunders...
MAGEE: "Momentum-wise, it’s huge, because this league you always see the teams doing well at the end of the year get in the playoffs. Having said that, we all know the real game’s on Thursday, so we all aren’t going to lose sight of that...I wouldn’t call it too clutch. I think if I do that again on Thursday, I’ll be a lot more happy. But we’ll take it, we always want to win, especially against a team that we’re hoping to see in a couple of weeks.
(On the intense nature of the match with Seattle...)
MAGEE: "No. I think every time we’ve played them it’s definitely been intense. They had to win tonight, obviously we didn’t but we didn’t want to give them any psychological advantage. We never want to lay down in front of our fans or anything like that, so it ‘s always going to be heated, no matter what the importance."
(On the play of Saunders...)
MAGEE: "Josh was ridiculous tonight. If it weren’t for him, I think we’re not winning tonight’s game. That’s how we need Josh, and that’s the Josh we know. That’s what we expect out of him, even though he’s making saves out of his ass."
