Galaxy Accustomed to Winning Big
By Jeff Kassouf
Anyone who thought that Superliga was a waste of time ate their words on Tuesday night. Cover your eyes if you are a defender or a goalkeeper who loves 1-0 wins, because Los Angeles and FC Dallas put up 11 goals in their final group game in Dallas.
Tuesday night showed us why it is good to just have a little fun every once in a while. It would have been nice to see something that resembled defending show up in this game, but the Galaxy’s 6-5 triumph over FC Dallas provided the young Superliga with a game that should be remembered for many years to come.
The game obviously won’t be on any MLS record books since Superliga is a separate competition, but if it were, it would be tied for the most goals scored in a game. The current record of 11 goals scored comes from a 7-4 Galaxy win over Colorado on May 6, 1998.
However, the trend of Los Angeles being on top of the record books doesn’t stop there, as they are alarmingly part of almost every high scoring record there is.
Los Angeles ranks first and tied for second for most goals scored in a game in Major League Soccer history. Just one month after putting up seven on Colorado in 1998, the Galaxy handed Dallas an 8-1 loss, standing alone atop the leader board for most goals in a game by a single team.
That 8-1 win at Dallas produced 26 points – meaning there were a generous ten assists given out – and leaves the ’98 Galaxy tied with the ’01 Fire for most team points in a game.
Speaking of that ten assist game against Dallas on June 4, 1998, it was followed by a ten assist, 5-1 win over New England on June 7. All of these goals and assists lead to a story book 1998 season for the Galaxy, who produced the record for assists (104) and goals (85) in a season.
The fact that each goal in the New England game had two assists attests to the absurd nature of handing out assists in those days. But, let’s just forget about that – along with shootouts, overtime, and rainbow colored jerseys. Yikes.
Most of all, and the thing that will please Galaxy fans, is that Los Angeles shows up in the record book for wins as well (though you wouldn’t know it as of late). D.C. United and LA are tied for most wins in a season at 24, with both teams achieving the mark in 1998.
So, while this Superliga game won’t go into the MLS record books, it will still be a game to remember. MLS, FMF, Soccer United Marketing, and all those involved hope that Superliga grows into something special that will pack stadiums and really prove who the best team in North America is (sorry CONCACAF). Games like these will only encourage interest in this tournament and help it grow, and maybe one day it will have an extensive record book of its own – one that will surely have this game in it.
