to take advantage of the team's midfield depth, with the ability to switch to a 4–3–3 in certain situations. Los Angeles lost its opening two matches to San Jose and Kansas City, but a change in several starting positions lead to three consecutive wins and a 4–4 draw with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Galaxy used its several wins to reach second in the Western Division standings, passing Kansas City but falling behind the unbeaten San Jose Earthquakes. The cancellation of the 2001 FIFA Club World Championship left a gap in the team's schedule in late July and early August, which was partially replaced with previously-rescheduled league matches. By early September, the Galaxy had begun challenging the Earthquakes for first place in the Western Division, winning seven of nine matches before a scheduled two-match series against San Jose to close out the regular season. After the matches were canceled, Los Angeles was declared the Western Division champion with 47 points and seeded third in the playoffs bracket. The Galaxy played against the sixth-seeded New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the quarterfinals, coached by former Galaxy manager Octavio Zambrano. The first leg, at the Rose Bowl, ended in a 1–1 draw after a second-half goal by Paul Caligiuri, who was ejected in the second half alongside MetroStars midfielder Gilmar. The second leg, played at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, was one of the first sporting events in the New York City area following the September 11 attacks; the MetroStars defeated the Galaxy by a 4–1 scoreline, coming from behind after conceding an early goal to Los Angeles, and took a three-point lead in the quarterfinals series. Los Angeles hosted the third match of the series at the Rose Bowl and took a 2–0 lead in the first half on two goals by Sasha Victorine. After conceding a third goal in the second half, the MetroStars responded with two goals by Petter Villegas, losing 3–2 to the Galaxy in regular time to tie the series at four points apiece. The tie went into sudden death extra time, which ended after eight minutes when Mauricio Cienfuegos scored the winning golden goal for Los Angeles. In a rematch of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal, Los Angeles faced the Chicago Fire, winners of the Central Division, in the MLS Cup semifinals. The first leg at Chicago's Soldier Field ended in a 1–1 draw between the two