Z/Web

Absolutely unbelievable. I was at the Britannia Arms in Almaden again, this time before 9 a.m. There was already a crowd of about 100 waiting for the place to open! At least I got a seat this time (latecomers did have to stand). The game it self was great. For some reason I wasn’t worried. I think part of that was that the real achievement had already been done: for the Quakes just getting to the finals was incredible. If they’d lost I don’t think I’d have been that disappointed (though losing to LA would have been yucky). The Quakes started of great, really pressuring and making L.A. look tenuous as they struggled to defend. But a brilliant long-ball counter-attack gave L.A. an early lead. San Jose had never lost all season when scoring first, but had the opposite record when giving up the first goal: thus it was a bit worrying to see them go down early. But the Quakes fought back and an innocuous ball to the center by Ian Russell fell to Landon Donovan’s feet and with one move he turned and blasted perfectly into the upper corner of the goal! Incredible goal, and it gave the Quakes the momentum in the second half, where they outshot the Galaxy 12-3 (at one point). But though Donovan and several other Quakes came incredibly close in the second half, no one could break the tie. I worried that a fluke goal would ruin the Quake’s party, but San Jose’s defense was absolutely superb, stealing the ball away from the feet of the L.A. offense on numerous occasions. In “golden goal” overtime it was obvious both teams were exhausted: the weeks of intense playoff games and a fast-paced game today had taken their toll. But the fresh legs of Canadian International, Dwayne DeRossario proved the difference-maker. A long feed to him on the left and he went right at the goal. The defense was slow at closing him down, so he took advantage, duked to the right and shot a curling ball that beat the keeper to give San Jose the championship! Incredible! What a fantastic conclusion to a fairy tale season. From worst in the league last year to champions this year! Even better, it was well-deserved: San Jose outplayed all the teams they faced. Awesome. Final: 2-1 San Jose!