Union ties Galaxy on goal by Mwanga

BEFORE LAST NIGHT'S matchup against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Union forward Carlos Ruiz told reporters he was "sick and tired" of talk that his team lacked an offensive spark and said his teammates planned to use this as a "statement game" to prove just how much he and the offense have blossomed.

That, too, appeared to be all talk . . . until the 84th minute.

Danny Mwanga, a second-half substitute, provided the spark the Union desperately sought when he pounced on a miscue by Galaxy defender Sean Franklin and scored past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to send a throaty, sellout crowd of 19,178 - a record in the barely year-old PPL Park - into a frenzy.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

It was Mwanga's first goal of the season. He intercepted an attempted outlet pass from Franklin to Ricketts and bypassed three additional Galaxy defenders to score.

Rarely has a tie been so enthralling, as the previous 83-plus minutes screamed for a breakout - from anyone wearing a Union uniform.

"It was a great moment for us," Mwanga said. "Obviously, we haven't been doing very well offensively, but, at the same time, I know it was just a matter of time before we would get that chemistry together, and we started to play together a little bit. Hopefully, we are going to look at tonight's game, see the things that we did well together - me and Carlos and Sebastien Le Toux - and build on that going forward."

The previous seven games for the Union (4-2-2, 14 points) had been devoid of anything resembling an attack. In fact, the club still seeks its first multigoal game of the Major League Soccer season.

Before Mwanga's late tally, the Union has scored only on set plays. It was obvious that the offensive duo of Ruiz and Le Toux still weren't putting together the combinations that they should be at this point of the season, leaving the technical staff to throw in the "kitchen sink" in an effort to generate some offense for the Union.

This time, Union playmaker Roger Torres entered in the 67th and Jack McInerney entered as an 80th minute firecracker. Those two, plus Mwanga, proved to be the cure for what ailed the team.

"I think we are all offensive players, so it brings a spark," McInerney said of the insertion of him, Torres and Mwanga in the second half. "It's tough, because you have 30 minutes to make a difference. Tonight was kind of throwing [in] the kitchen sink, but it worked, and we got a result."

The final statistics showed an evenly matched affair. Each team had 10 shots, four shots on goal and three saves, but none of this left the Galaxy (4-2-5, 17 points, good for first in the Western Conference) shortchanged, even if it was without star midfielder David Beckham.

Los Angeles - which boasts MLS' version of the "Big Three" in Beckham, forward Juan Pablo Angel and midfielder Landon Donovan - scored in the 24th minute.

While much of the talk about Beckham's absence - Galaxy coach Bruce Arena rested him in advance of Saturday's game against Sporting Kansas City, disappointing many fans here - it was Donovan who picked up the slack, burying a one-timer with the outside of his boot that skipped past a sprawling Faryd Mondragon, for his fifth goal in five consecutive games.

Mondragon suffered a groin strain late in the match and was listed as questionable for Saturday's match at FC Dallas, following a preliminary examination by the team's training staff.

Union assistant John Hackworth said Mondragon will undergo additional tests today at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

The Union players will have little rest, as Saturday's game (8:30 p.m., Comcast Network) will be their third in 9 days. In Dallas, Ruiz, who spent six seasons in Los Angeles, will play another former team, and the Union will visit former goalkeeper Chris Seitz, currently the backup behind MLS All-Star Kevin Hartman. *