CARSON, Calif. – Baggio Husidic summed up the LA Galaxy’s heartbreaking U.S. Open Cup semifinal defeat to FC Dallas in just two simple words.
“It sucks.”
The midfielder’s explanation was the perfect summation for the Galaxy’s 2-1 defeat, which saw the team concede two goals deep into extra time to crash out of the Open Cup.
Mike Magee’s penalty kick goal in the 101st minute put the Galaxy ahead, but Dallas had the last laugh as Matt Hedges, and Victor Ulloa scored off nearly identical set piece goals to send the visitors through to the final. During each of the goals, the Galaxy’s zonal marking system broke down, allowing Hedges and Ulloa the space to head home.
A clearly disappointed Husidic described the defeat as the “lowest point” in the Galaxy’s season, and his sentiment was shared throughout the locker room.
“Frustrating,” Magee told reporters after the defeat. “We worked our asses off for 115 minutes and then in the only part of the game that mattered, we had some lapses.”
Added defender Dave Romney, “[To be up with five minutes left], and then to get out of there with a loss, it’s never a good feeling.”
After such a disappointing defeat, Galaxy boss Bruce Arena revealed that he did not mince words in the locker room postgame.
“You get on them and have them accept that responsibility for failing in that situation, and in the other locker room you obviously applaud them,” Arena said. “But there’s no excuse on our end; we shouldn’t lose that game.”
The Galaxy will have the opportunity to turn the page on Saturday when they host the Colorado Rapids in a vital Western Conference clash.
Although the sting of the semifinal defeat will be last in the days to come, Magee believes that his team must forget about the loss and move forward.
“Tomorrow we have to find a way to forget about it,” Magee said. “Work on our defensive set pieces and figure out what went wrong there, so we don’t concede on more set pieces. You just have to forget about it.
"We have a veteran group so I don’t see it being a problem, but it definitely stings right now.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
