Oct. 27, 2001 – LA Galaxy v Revolution 2×1 [aet] at Titan Stadium (Att.: 4,195), Revolution’s first U.S. Open Cup final
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Wolde Harris’ 30th-minute deflected free kick past Kevin Hartman opened the scoring, and the Revolution appeared capable of pulling off an upset until late in the second half. Ezra Hendrickson equalized with a 69th-minute blooping cross over Jose Carlos Fernandez and Danny Califf headed in a 91st-minute golden goal off a Cobi Jones corner. The Revolution squandered several breakaways and the defense kept the Galaxy in check before Hendrickson converted into the far side of the net. Former Revolution defender Alexi Lalas, inserted in the Galaxy lineup as a forward, took an errant pass from William Sunsing to set up Jones, who went in alone on Fernandez to earn the deciding corner kick.
The Revolution’s MLS regular season appeared doomed in the opening weeks as the team lost its first six games. Coach Fernando Clavijo rallied the Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup, Andy Williams scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over D.C. United, which lost Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno to first half red cards, in the semifinals on Aug. 22, 2001. The Revolution fell out of playoff contention, but expected a large crowd for the season finale against the NY/NJ MetroStars, scheduled Sept. 15, 2001. After the Sept. 11 attacks caused the match’s cancellation, the Revolution proposed holding the U.S. Open Cup final at Foxboro Stadium, guaranteeing a sizeable crowd. But hosting rights were awarded to the Galaxy, which set the match for California State-Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.
The crowd included a “suite”-ensconced MLS primary investor Phil Anschutz, who afterward grabbed a camera and took photos on the field while celebrating with his team. The Galaxy had lost to San Jose in its third MLS Cup final appearance on Oct. 21, 2001. The Galaxy would capture its first MLS Cup with a 1-0 extra time victory over the Revolution on Oct. 20, 2002.
The Revolution roster included five players who played in the World Cup; another nine national team competitors; plus leading scorer Caté (8 goals), a Serie A veteran and member of Sao Paulo’s two-time Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup winners (his teammates included current Boston City FC coach Palhinha).
“We knew it would be an issue of fitness at the end of the game,” Clavijo said. “We have not played for 5½ weeks, and there is no way you can equal match fitness in training. The last 25 minutes, our legs were tired, so we had to bring in an extra defender and we didn’t have the explosion up front.
“If we had been blown out, it would have been a bad way to end the season. But I look back on how we did and how we got here, and to take the second-best team in the league into overtime with 10 players, there were a lot of encouraging things.”
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