CARSON, Calif. – It certainly hasn’t been the best of seasons for the LA Galaxy’s Alan Gordon. But like any wily veteran, the 34-year-old striker cannot be counted out.
He certainly wasn’t Wednesday, when his goal in the 17th minute got the Galaxy even in an eventual 4-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup at StubHub Center’s Track and Field Stadium. The Galaxy, in the semifinals for the first time since 2006, will play FC Dallas on Aug. 10 at a site to be determined.
Gordon redirected a 20-yard shot by Baggio Husidic from point-blank range and past a helpless Seattle goalkeeper Tyler Miller to forge a 1-1 tie just 13 minutes after a poor clearance by Galaxy defender Leonardo resulted in an unassisted goal by the Sounders’ Michael Farfan.
Gordon brought the Galaxy back – “I was in the right place at the right time,” he said – and the two-time Open Cup champions (2001 and 2005) later erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals from Sebastian Lletget and another from second-half substitute Giovani dos Santos as an enthusiastic crowd of 3,409 looked on.
“We needed it,” Gordon said of his goal. “A great win for the team, and we’re moving on to the semifinals.”
The native of Long Beach said the Galaxy never went into a panic mode after Seattle scored so quickly.
“Luckily it was early in the game,” he said, “so we had a lot of time to make up for it. Once we scored that, we were kind of dominating, I thought, until we gave up another unfortunate goal.
“Credit to the team for coming through with the win.”
Seattle took a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute when Herculez Gomez, a former member of the Galaxy, scored from what appeared to be an almost impossible angle to the side of the Galaxy net.
But Dos Santos, who had come on for Mike Magee in the 74th minute, tied it three minutes later and Lletget later scored twice in a three-minute span.
Gordon wouldn’t say if his goal helped ease the pain of what had been an otherwise frustrating year – 13 appearances in all competitions, no goals and just two shots on goal in MLS play – but he clearly enjoyed it.
“Yeah, goal scorers always need goals,” he told reporters. “That first goal is tough to get. My minutes have been scarce, so getting that first goal is good for the confidence.
“I wasn’t sweating it. I don’t think I’ve gone dry. I just haven’t had the opportunity. It’s nice to get a goal when you get the opportunity to play, to be competitive and show the coach that you can be counted on when called upon.”
