FULLERTON -- Mike Magee followed his big afternoon in the nets by hitting the net, and so the Galaxy avoided a U.S. Open Cup upset Tuesday night against the L.A.� Blues.
Magee's goal in the 81st minute delivered a 2-1 victory for the Galaxy and a quarterfinal date against two-time defending champion Seattle Sounders on July 12 up in Tukwila, Wash.
Omar Gonzalez headed home a Juninho free kick in the 75th minute, then nodded another free kick across the goalmouth for Magee to finish as the Major League Soccer side overcame a second-half deficit.
What's next on his itinerary?
“Oh, man, you guys are expecting too much now,” he said after the third-round clash at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium. “I don't know -- hopefully, keep winning.”
Magee's been in a whirlwind since he pulled on Saunders jersey and a pair of gloves just before halftime Saturday and had his first experience as a goalkeeper. He did well enough, making four saves -- two of them quite good -- and was selected MLS Player of the Week.
“Luckily, I don't have a Twitter account, because I've heard it's been pretty intense on Twitter,” he said. “I've gotten a lot of texts and phone calls from family and friends. They're having a good time with it.
“I't been pretty nerve-racking. I'm still a little nervous from playing goalie. The butterflies haven't left yet.”
Magee didn't have to do any goalkeeping Tuesday. Brian Perk, the second-year, third-string goalkeeper who will take over when the Galaxy play Seattle in an MLS game Monday at Home Depot Center, got the start rather than Saunders -- just to get another game under his belt before his Fourth of July duty.
“I'm tremendously excited [for Monday],” he said. “I might not look it, but I've been waiting a year and a half now and haven't played many games, so it's good to make my MLS debut.”
Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/soccer/post/_/id/9250/u-s-open-cup-magee-big-at-other-end-too
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