CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy’s Mike Magee admitted he didn’t know what to think when he first saw Jelle Van Damme after the burly, Belgian international signed with the team in late January.
But he knows enough now to feel he has no peers when it comes to MLS defenders, an observation solidified after Sunday’s hard-earned 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the first leg of the two-leg Western Conference semifinals.
A StubHub Center crowd of 24,487 saw the 32-year-old defender put forth another impressive effort and assist on the game-winning goal as the five-time MLS Cup champions head to Commerce City, Colo., next Sunday for the rematch. The winner (on aggregate goals) of the series will advance to the conference finals against the FC Dallas-Seattle winner.
“No offense to other guys in MLS,” Magee said, “but I don’t think there’s much of an argument that he’s the best defender in the league. He sets the tone for the group and gets everyone going. Whatever the game needs he normally provides.
“Our defense is clicking and luckily at the right time. What is it, three shutouts in the last four (games)? That’s not easy to do in this league, and Jelle is definitely the leader of that.”
Daniel Steres, Van Damme’s central defense partner for much of the season, said his teammate “makes big-time plays when we need it.”
“There are a lot of good defenders out there,” Steres said, “but he comes up clutch when we need it.
“He’s obviously a big, strong guy and doesn’t lose many battles.”
Van Damme, wearing the captain’s armband for the third game in a row, also put his offensive skills on display in the 55th minute when he dribbled deep into the Colorado penalty area, evaded the Rapids’ Michael Azira and sent a crossing pass in front of the goal to Giovani Dos Santos. The latter did the rest, with his header deflecting off Colorado’s Axel Sjoberg and into the net past helpless Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard.
“I just tried something and it worked out,” Van Damme said. “Sometimes you need a little bit of luck, and I tried something and it worked out. At the end it’s always nice to get an assist.”
Van Damme said he was proud of the team’s defensive effort that permitted only one shot on target, Jermaine Jones’ 30-yard blast in the 59th minute that was saved by the Galaxy’s Brian Rowe.
Van Damme, however, knows the Galaxy defense will have to be just as stingy, if not more, in next Sunday’s rematch. The Rapids, after all, were unbeaten at home this season with am 11-0-6 record.
“I think we did well. We didn’t give away a lot,” Van Damme said. “The first thing we said was not to concede today, and we didn’t. That’s a good thing. And we scored one goal. Of course I wanted to score two or three.
“We created a lot of chances and scored one; now we go with a good feeling to Colorado. Of course we have to know before we go there it’s going to be harder with the altitude. They have a very good home record. We have to be ready.”
