The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 61

LOS ANGELES TIMES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1999 'rs Galaxy Grabs the Spotlight in 2-1 Victory Over Fusion U.S. Women Get Going Again in Rout of Ireland i. A mere 55 days after winning the world championship, Julie Foudy, Carla Overbed and the rest of the U.S. women's national team are off and running on their latest quest for gold ard glory. On Saturday afternoon, Coach Tony DICicco's side played Ireland at Foxboro (Mass.) Stadium in its first match on the road to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The result, not surprisingly, was a 5-0 victory for the U.S. in front of a ii GRAHAME L. JONES Ml We were not smart in the game." And Wynalda's play? "The only way for him to get better is to play games," he answered diplomatically. The Galaxy was in control until a strange play 4a, which Hendrickson put the ball in his own neC'lC happened in the 27th minute after a foul on Weltorubjt, Vanney in the right corner. 77 Henry Gutierrez sent the free kick into the goaln mouth and in the melee the ball was propelled straight up in the air, dropping right at the crossbar.

With, Galaxy goalkeeper Hartman stranded, having goneui, for the initial free kick, Hendrickson tried to head away but succeeded only in nodding it into the net. "f7 "I don't know, man," Hendrickson said. "It was jusp unfortunate what happened. I'd have felt really bacl-kf we lost that game." TITT, Instead, all that was lost was Hartman's chance foe his ninth shutout of the season. The Galaxy might have been under less pressure, in: the closing minutes had Tamberino not been the "only; person in the stadium not to see Jones tripped up in penalty area by Leo Cullen.

It was the worst of a sejrjeg: of missed calls by the referee. "Not many calls went our way tonight," Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said, "but I was proud of the wa'wg1 stood up to the pressure." -4. at MLS: LA. clinches playoff berth in game that marks Wynalda's debut with Miami. By GRAHAME L.JONES TIMES STAFF WRITtR FT.

LAUDERDALE, the postgame chaos that invariably follows Major League Soccer games, Eric Wynalda and Mauricio Cienfuegos were standing close together, signing autographs for the usual throng of screaming kids. Wynalda, sensing a chance to do some mischief, sneaked behind Cienfuegos and started to write his name on the Salvadoran midfielder's jersey. Startled, Cienfuegos shook his shoulder and spun around, then grinned when he saw who it was. They have battled long and hard for club and country, these two veterans, but on Saturday night it was Cienfuegos, not Wynalda, who left his signature on the game. His superb chip over the Miami Fusion defense in the 48th minute presented a glorious scoring chance for Cobi Jones and the Galaxy forward grabbed it eagerly.

He looped a header over Fusion goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey for the winning goal in a 2-1 victory that clinched a playoff spot for Los Angeles. But it wasn't easy. The Galaxy (17-9) had to overcome the Fusion and MLS season debut of Wynalda, the U.S. national team's all-time leading goal scorer; a bizarre own goal by Ezra Hendrickson; some determined play by the Fusion (10-17) in the late going, and a miserable performance by referee Paul Tamberino. First, Wynalda, who had been sidelined for six months after knee surgery.

"I'm a ways away from being 100, that's pretty clear," he said. "My touch was all right. I struggled with the hardness of the field. It was a little bit harder on my knee than I anticipated. I'm unhappy with the result, obviously, but it was a great goal by Cobi to beat us." The closest Wynalda came to scoring was when he sent a glancing header off a pass from Welton flashing just wide of the right post with 14:21 to play.

"I don't know if it was my touch or my haircut," joked Wynalda, who sported a close-cropped look. The Galaxy drew first blood, taking the crowd of 14,421 out of the game early. Greg Vanney sent a corner kick in from the left wing and Danny Pena, unmarked, stooped to head the ball in from close range in the 10th minute. "We gave up a goal on a set piece," said Ivo Wortmann, the Brazilian coach whose Fusion team has now lost four in a row. "The players know who they should mark." Wortmann was more surprised by Jones' headed goal than by Pena's.

"He's a great player but not a tall guy to make goal by header," he said. "After that, it was tough for us. In other MLS games: Columbus 2, Colorado 1 Robert Warzycha scored off a rebound of his own missed shot to lead the Crew'pasl the Rapids (16-9) before 19,521 at Columbus, Crew's win, combined with losses by New England and Miami, put it in the playoffs for the fourth time in lha league's four-year history. Columbus (16-10) also set a franchise record for victories. Tampa Bay 5, New England 1 Manuel Lagos scored the first two goals of his career and set up two more a the Mutiny (13-14) won before 30,564 at Foxboro, Mass; The game was part of a "doubleheader involving the U.S.

women's national team and Ireland. The U.S. won 5-0. The Revolution (9-17) has one vjctory in its last 10 games. Washington 4, Dallas 1 Marco Etcheverry scored1 two goals and Jamie Moreno added a goal and thre assists as the United won its eighth straight MLS game before 12,093 at Washington.

Roy Lassiter added two assists for United (20-7), which prevented Dallas (14-13) from moving into third place in the Western Conference. Lassiter scored his 41st and 42nd points, snapping a tie for first place in league scoring with the Burn's Jason Kreis, who was shut out. ti crowd of 30,564. Tlffeny Milbrett scored twice and Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Kristine Lilly each got one goal. The Irish, fielding a young and inexperienced team, were no match for the Americans, who picked up where they had left off in the World Cup.

Milbrett's two goals brought her international total to 64, and Lilly's was her 77th. With Brlana Scurry absent because of a schedule conflict, Saskla Webber and Tracy Ducar shared the shutout, each playing a half. The U.S. has not given up a goal in 345 minutes, the last time being against Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals. "While we might not have had as much to leave on the field as we did in the World Cup, everything we had, we gave," DiCicco said.

"It showed the pride these players have and their professionalism every time they step on the field." Next on the agenda is a game against 1999 Women's World Cup bronze medalist Brazil in Denver on Sept. 26. The game, to be broadcast live on ESPN, originally was scheduled to be part of a doubleheader with the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, but details could not be agreed on and it was switched to Colorado. After that, Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow and company will be out to win their fifth Nike U.S. Women's Cup in a row.

The U.S. is unbeaten in the annual, four-nation tournament, and this year's opponents will be South Korea, Finland and Brazil. The Americans play the South Koreans in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. the Finns, featuring outstanding midfielder Anne Maklnen of Notre Dame, on Oct. 7 in Kansas City, and the Brazilians on Oct.

10 in Louisville, Ky. 'Two matches against Brazil within a two-week span offer a stiff test for the U.S., which shut out the South American champion, 2-0, in the semifinals of the World Cup on July 4. "We knew we would have to get through Brazil to win the Women's World Cup, and we think the 2000 Olympics will be no different," said DiCicco, who needs only one more victory to reach 100. The U.S. had been expected to start introducing new faces to the team right away, but the 17 players called on by DiCicco for Saturday's game were all from the World Cup roster.

The only three missing were Michelle Akers, who has not yet decided whether she will retire, Scurry and defender Lorrle Fair, who is back in school at North Carolina. HEAPS AND THE REGGAE BOYZ A year ago, Jay Heaps was playing basketball for Duke. On Wednesday, he might be playing soccer for the U.S. Heaps, a 23-year-old defender for the Miami Fusion, is pne of 19 players called on by Coach Bruce Arena for a game against Jamaica in Kingston. For Arena, the experimentation goes on.

He is 7-3-2 Since taking over from Steve Sampson as U.S. national team coach, with victories over such powers as Germany (twice) and Argentina to his credit, as well as a bronze medal in the FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico. So far, Arena has brought 58 players into one camp or another as he reshapes the U.S. team for its run at the 2002 World Cup. He has given 36 of them playing time, including first caps to Imad Baba, Leo Cullen, Tom Presthus and Matt McKeon.

There is a good chance several others could make their international debuts Wednesday. In addition to Heaps, players on the U.S. roster who have never donned a national team jersey are goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Galaxy); forward Josh Wolff (Chicago Fire); midfielders Chris Albright (D.C. Unite.i), Henry Gutierrez (Miami Fusion) and Billy Walsh (New York New Jersey MetroStars); and defenders Chad McCarty (Tampa Bay Mutiny) and Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96). Cherundolo, a former University of Portland star now playing in Germany, is the only non-MLS player on the U.S.

roster. The U.S. tied its most recent two games against Jamaica, both in World Cup '98 qualifying. The "Reggae Boyz" were 3-5-3 this year, going into a game against Canada in Toronto on Thursday. MLS CONTRACTS It might be a positive sign for the future or just so much public relations smoke.

Only time will tell. Last week, Major League Soccer made a big deal about signing Dallas Burn forward Jason Krels to a new contract that will keep him in the league through the Associated Press Kristine Lilly (13) and Emma Kilduff of Ireland battle for the ball during the United States' 5-0 victory. 2001 season, with options beyond that. Kreis, who is tied for the MLS scoring lead with 14 goals and 12 assists in 26 games and who was called up to the national team for the Jamaica game, had said his "lifelong ambition" was to play overseas. Now, MLS has offered him enough to change his mind.

"We need to do that because we are in an international marketplace," said Ivan Gazidis, MLS executive vice president. "Players such as Jason are attracting interest from other places around the world and we need to be competitive with that." Kreis' contract, details of which were not revealed, is largely incentive-based, something Gazidis said will become more common. "I doubt that it ever was enough for us to say to these young players, 'Make the commitment to MLS, make the commitment to soccer in the States and that is a reward in Gazidis said. "We need to make a financial environment for our players to thrive on this side of the Atlantic." The big test, of course, will come when European clubs start waving large stacks of money in front of Columbus Crew forward Stern John, who already is being scouted by English teams. If MLS really wants to be taken seriously, one of these days it is going to have to match those offers and stop being a league that can have all its brightest feathers plucked at will.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, FIFA's president, and the entire FIFA executive committee will meet in Las Vegas later this month during the CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament. Blatter hopes to use the occasion to announce how he has persuaded Asian countries not to boycott the 2002 World Cup, which they are threatening to do unless Asia is awarded a fifth berth in the tournament, to be held in Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, qualifying for the Sept. 28-Oct. 3 Champions Cup was completed in Central America, with Olimpia (Honduras), Alajuela (Costa Rica) and Saprissa (Costa Rica) earning places in the eight-team event.

Already qualified were D.C. United (USA), Toluca (Mexico), Chicago Fire (USA), Necaxa (Mexico) and Joe Public (Trinidad Tobago). The tournament will consist of four doubleheaders at Sam Boyd Stadium, scheduled for Sept. 28 (6 and 8 p.m.) and 29 (6 and 8 p.m.), and Oct. 1 (6 and 8 p.m.) and 3 (2 and 4 p.m.).

The winner will advance to the inaugural FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil in January. QUICK PASSES Soccer America magazine's preseason Ail-Americans include UCLA defender Carlos Bocanegra and midfielders Sasha Victorlne and Pete Vagenas, as well as Cal State Fullerton forward Colby Jackson. The Tampa Bay Mutiny will play Puerto Rico's national team Sept. 22 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The U.S.

Under-17 national team that will play its Jamaican counterpart Wednesday in Kingston features five Californians, including forward Landon Donovan of Redlands and midfielder Bryan Jackson of La Canada. Portland will become home to an A-League team starting in the 2001 season, with Civic Stadium being used as its home Goals by Kerry Gragg and Jennifer Tletjen earned the W-League all-star team a 2-1 victory over University of Connecticut. FIFA has given approval for the United States, along with Brazil, Egypt, Italy and Malaysia, to experiment with using two referees simultaneously on the field in domestic competition. LS4 ALL-SEASON Quality All-Season Radial 60,000 Mile Warranty 30 Day Test Drive 19560HR15 20560HR15 71 18560HR14 19560HR14 18565HR15 $59 65 64 66 72 22560HR16 971 21570R14 $66 20570R15 66 21570R15 67 20565R15 67 155B0R13 141 I8675R14 58 I9575R14 58 20575R14 61 62 21575015 $63 23575R15 64 1B570R14 52 19670R14 53 20570R14 54 40,000 MILE I M19565i 205651- 19565HR15 20565HR15 UMITED WARRANTY I SEIBERLING BFGoodrlch mncHEutr Any Size 39 TO70R13 XH4 BLACKWALL PUWORMANCI 18560HR14 $34 19560HR14 39 19560HR15 41 20560HR15 44 20565HR15 47 11.000 MIL! FOB LIMITED QUANTITIES uumiMniiui HMIUUDtR AT WHITE LETTER P20575R15 $45 P23575R15 52 30X9.50R15 65 31X10.50H15 69 23585R16 74 24575R16 78 26575R16C 80 10,000 MILI UMireoKuatAxn BLACKWALL WHITEWAlI MITBOUUNTA 27X8.50R14 $90 30X9.50R15 98 31X10.50R15 TOO 32X11. MR 15 114 33X1250R15 125 33X9 50R15 129 35X12 50R15 137 LT21576R16 86 LT23575R15 90 LT23585R16 119 LT22575R16 127 LT24575R16 131 LT26575R16 137, LT29575R16 175 31XI050R16.5 128 33X1250R16.5 137 35X12 50R16.5 167 17570R13 19575R14 18570R13 20575R14 20575R15 WHITEWALL 21575R15 18580R13 22575R1S 18575R14 23575R15 35,000 MILK RADIAL5 LIMIT 4.

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Not Valid With Any Other Offer. mm ml SlEHlSEE mm. 13101 829-1534 13231 6626401 SANTA MONICA 2411 PICO BLVD SILVER LAKE 3904 FOUNTAIN AVE TORRANCE 20333 HAWTHORNE BL VANNUYS 14053 0XNARD ST (3I0I37O6296 (8181781-1227 1909! 5954S13 WALNuTHA. BAR 2C-225 VALLEY BL HEMET 503 FLORIDA AVE MORENO VALLEY 23316 SUNNYMEAD BL ONTARIO 11075 CENTRAL AVE POMONA 1249 HOLT AVE REDLANOS 1647 REDLANDS BL FHALTO 484 VALLEY BL RIVERSIDE 5520 VAN BUREN BLVD SAN BERNARDINO 101 BASELINE TEMECULA 28007 JEFFERSON ST UPLAND 825 CFNTRAL Ffi7iTriT.Ti?T:ijT.i;r1y.ilv,'M WEST COV1NA 668 SUNSET AVE NEW 16261 960-3434 WEST LA 1992 SEPULvEOA BL (3101477-1438 WHTTTlfl 14101 WHITTlERBL i5621 6980503 190917666441 19091924635c 19091590-2176 1909)629-2527 19091 799-2393 19091 877-342! i90687-95B l909i 0646SH 19091 6946722 i9Ga 94W767 18051 964C6X 18061 56315 I 5i 4S64654 I 806i 641-15o; I circling the Sports Arena. The racing circuit includes a stretch on Figueroa Street, with most of the course on roads inside the park, between the Sports Arena and the Coliseum.

The Southwest Tour is one of NASCAR's eight touring series. Today's program, in addition to Southwest Tour first-round qualifying, will feature the American Indy-Car series, composed of vintage look-like-Indy cars. It will be 60 miles, starting at 3:30 p.m. The other support races for Ultra Wheel spec trucks, PRO racing series cars and Ford's EV Ranger trucks will be Monday. Jack Roush, whose multi-car team of Fords has revolutionized Winston Cup racing, will enter three Southwest Tour cars that were prepared in his West Coast shop.

They will be driven by Irwin, Schrader (who campaigns Chevro-lets the rest of the year) and Mario Hernandez, a Cuban American who is replacing the injured Adrian Fernandez. It will be Hernandez's first stock car race. Fernandez, a CART champ car veteran, had been contracted to drive here, but he suffered a broken wrist last month. Last year's L.A. Street Race was won by Steve Portenga, who moved up to Winston West this year after also winning his second tour championship.

Kurt Busch, 20, of Las Vegas is this year's leader after 12 races. Busch, who drives a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, is also the only two-time winner this season. By SUA CLICK HMKS STAFF WKIIKR It's NASCAR, but it's definitely not Winston Cup. It's not even Busch Grand National, or even Winston West. The Ford L.A.

Street Race, the Labor Day main event, is a Feath-eflite Southwest Tour points race, sprinkled with such names as Ken Schrader, Ron Hornaday and Kenny Irwin, last year's Winston Cup rookie of the year and surprise pole-sitter for today's Pepsi Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. Schrader and Irwin will fly to Los Angeles tonight after the 500 and will be at Exposition Park for second-day qualifying Monday morning, the race is at 1 p.m. Monday around a one-mile course COSTA MESA lu NEWPORT BLVD I94 b4H554 (7141995-5085 4942 LINCOLN AVE CYPRESS FULLERTON FULLERTON FULLERTON 2341 ORANGETHORFf 17141526-2256 504 GILBERT 714i 992-1666 SANTA BARBARA AZUSA 433 E. AnROW HWY (6261 967-2953 BURBANK 934 VICTORY BlVD 1818)6436611 DOWNEY 12434 BELLFLOWER BL 156218036627 a MONTE 10707 VALLEY MAIL 16261 579-1 IB2 GARDENA 16'0 ARTESIABLVO 13101327-8172 GLENOALE 691 1 SAN FERNANDO R0 18181 9540513 GLEN0ALE 70! GLENDA1E (8161547-5482 HARBOflCtTY 733W PC.H. 310i HERMOSA BEACH 1414 PC (3101 798-7929 HOLLVWOOO 3904 FOUNTAIN AVE 023i 662-6401 IAKEW000 5453 DEL AM0 BLVD l662l 804-1436 LONG BEACH 1310 LONG EEACH3L 1562) 591-5565 LONG BEACH 3340 ANAHEIM I562i 59-3801 LOS ANGELES 330 IV OLYMPIC BLVD 12131 7486343 MONTE BELLO 400 WhlTTiEfi BL.U (323) 721-3i05 NHOUYWOOO 7120LAORELCANYON 16i982-2611 NORTHFSOGE 19545 PARTriENIA ST I816i 3934758 PALMOAlf 3064 PALWDAlE 3L 16611272-0608 PASADENA 455 ARROYO PAFW.AY 26i 796-3000 POMONA 1249 HOLT AvE 90S 629-2527 ROWLAND HGTS 20225 VAlLEy BL 26i912-3414 SiSPSGSlAMiWOA 15621921-8372 301 ORANGETHORPE 1714; 5267791 I SM VALLEY 2180 FIRST ST THOUSAN00AKS 135LE THOUSA'J) OAKS 6l VENTURA 686 THOMPSON BLVD GARDEN GROVE 13692 HARBOR BlVD 714i 638-9401 HUNTINGTON BCH 7562-A VvARNER AVE 7I4i 642-0239 LAKE FOREST 23942 MCWHORTER 'MY 9i 6556155 ORANGE aOSEDSLMWS 1640W ChAPMAN 1714-986294 1606 ElCAM'NOREAL 949i492'7 1409 ftiRNEfl AVE 714i 7516761 SANCLEMENTE SANTA ANA WESTMINSTER 8933521 CATHEDRAL CITY RAMON RD 6TH ST I760i 3286111 i90 7356010 CORONA WWW.DISCOUNniRECENTERS.COM rtf mmmfOmKIIMtilfammlmmmWnWr'.