CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes have played countless memorable matches throughout their 21-year rivalry, but no California Clásico match may have been more significant for both sides than their epic Western Conference Semifinal clash during the 2012 MLS Cup playoffs.
The Galaxy headed into their Western Conference Semifinal series with San Jose as the defending MLS Cup champions, but it was the Earthquakes who were the favorites.
The Earthquakes won the MLS Supporters’ Shield that year thanks to 27 goals from previously unheralded Chris Wondolowski and a series of dramatic late-game comebacks including a victory at StubHub Center over the Galaxy in May. Meanwhile, Los Angeles’ needed a late-season turnaround to qualify for the postseason and a second half comeback to defeat Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Knockout round.
Despite a season of difficulties for Bruce Arena’s men, former San Jose Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon, and the Quakes did not take Galaxy lightly.
“We didn’t know what type of team we had over in San Jose,” Gordon recalled. “LA was the big team who had just come off the 2011 MLS Cup championship, and we were gearing up for a tough team. We expected a championship caliber team.”
It was San Jose who struck first blood after Victor Bernardez’s stoppage-time free kick goal in the first leg at StubHub Center gave the Earthquakes a seemingly insurmountable 1-0 advantage.
After losing at home on a late goal, Bruce Arena refused to let his charges put their heads down as they looked ahead to the second leg.
“As they say, [expletive] happens,” Arena said postgame.
Los Angeles approached the second leg with a quiet confidence as they arrived in San Jose for the decisive second leg.
The home side did everything to throw the defending champions off their game as rickety Buck Shaw Stadium rocked and rolled thanks to a sell-out crowd clad in bright blue wigs. With the Earthquakes riding an 18-game unbeaten run, the Galaxy were obvious underdogs in the second leg, but Mike Magee and his teammates felt the opposite.
“I remember specifically being in the tunnel; they had that stupid little blow-up tunnel in their old stadium. We were standing there, and we thought amongst us that it was going to be a good game,” Magee said. “We were confident and for the first time, we had our backs against the wall. We knew we were going to batter them, and things worked out. “
Things worked out just fine for Los Angeles as the Galaxy scored three times in the first half to quiet the Buck Shaw crowd.
Robbie Keane opening the scoring in the 20th minute with a blast from 25-yards after an uncontested run from midfield. Just 14 minutes later, Landon Donovan found Keane on a run to the near post that allowed the Irishman to round goalkeeper Jon Busch and comfortably slot in his second of the evening.
Magee put the nail in San Jose’s coffin by slotting home a Donovan cross with a right-footed blast to give Los Angeles the cushion they needed.
“It was a great first half. Maybe the best thing that happened to us was conceding late in the game before,” Magee recalls. “ Obviously like in the Vancouver game, we had to dig ourselves out of a hole and that whole week in training [ahead of the second leg] there wasn’t anyone feeling bad for themselves or mad at the wall breaking or Josh [Saunders] letting in a goal that he hadn’t before.
“We just accepted the challenge and the first half represented that.”
San Jose attempted one last miracle comeback, but despite a late goal from Gordon, it simply wasn’t enough to overcome the Galaxy’s first-half flurry.
“When they beat us at home, it was a humbling experience,” Gordon said. “The quality of the Galaxy came out, and they were very good. Robbie scored great goals, and they picked us apart. At the end of the day, they had the better players on the field and our magic had just run out.”
The rest was history.
The Galaxy blew past Seattle Sounders FC in the Western Conference Championship before winning a fourth MLS Cup over the Houston Dynamo less than a month later in front of a raucous StubHub Center crowd. Another MLS Cup title followed for Los Angeles just two years later.
For San Jose, their fortunes have gone in the opposite direction as the club has failed to reach the postseason since their dream 2012 campaign. In hopes of recapturing their magic, the Earthquakes have made a pair of coaching changes before hiring Dominic Kinnear last season and dealt veterans like Gordon, who returned to Los Angeles for their 2014 MLS Cup winning season.
Although both sides are far removed from their 2012 MLS Cup playoff series, Magee still savors the memory of Los Angeles eliminating their archrivals from the north.
“It was great. All playoff series when you advance is great,” Magee said. “When you’re down, and you come back it’s even better. When you do it on the road, it’s even better. When you do it when you’re playing against San Jose, it can’t get much better. That was one of the better feelings that I’ve had when the final whistle blew.
“The rivalry is so great, and all the games are so great. To end their season at the time, it was perfect.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
