Jones Is Galaxy Leader

DENVER —  The Galaxy players’ hearts dropped more quickly than Cobi Jones did when he fell to the Rose Bowl grass in a heap on Saturday.

But it wasn’t just the speed with which Jones, the Galaxy team captain and unquestioned heart and soul of the franchise since its 1996 inception, went down that worried onlookers.

It was in how much agony he appeared to be in after a full-speed collision with Colorado defender Robin Fraser in the fourth minute of the Major League Soccer semifinal series opener.

Tossing, turning and clutching his side, Jones began vomiting as trainers appeared with a stretcher. He was convulsing as was carried off the field, and the Galaxy’s hopes for finally winning the MLS Cup seemed to shudder with him.

This season more than any, the Galaxy’s fortunes seem to rise and fall with the dreadlocked Jones. So it was no real surprise that after the attacking midfielder gathered himself, his return helped spark the Galaxy to a dominating 4-0 victory over the Rapids and gave it added confidence for Game 2 tonight at Invesco Field in Denver.

Win, and the Galaxy is in the MLS Cup for the fourth time--the third in four years. Tie or lose, and Game 3 is Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.

“He’s been the inspiration and really the driving force behind our run this year,” Galaxy defender Danny Califf said. “We didn’t really know what his reaction was going to be after the World Cup, coming off such a high and coming back to the club team. But he’s really been ... the guy that’s propelled the team to where it’s at right now.

“Hopefully, he continues to be that guy and it gives L.A. its first championship.”

Consider: Jones missed nine MLS matches while he was with the U.S. national team and the Galaxy went 4-5, getting outscored 15-12. With Jones in the lineup, the Galaxy is 15-5-3.

Jones, 32, has also experienced a rebirth as a scorer in the playoffs.

After gaining a Barry Bonds-esque reputation of shrinking in the playoffs by scoring only three goals in his first six postseasons, Jones already has three this year.

Throw in his three assists and, with nine points, he is the second-leading scorer in the playoffs behind Carlos Ruiz, who has a postseason record 14 points.

“It’s nice, but I’m just continuing to play, doing my thing,” Jones said. “It’s about winning the games, that’s the most important thing.”

And that suits Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid just fine.

“One of the things I think few people know is when [Jones] played for me at UCLA, he was pound-for-pound one of the strongest athletes on campus,” Schmid said. “He’s extremely strong and sometimes I don’t think Cobi gets credit for the toughness that he has.”

*

TONIGHT

at Colorado Rapids

6:30 PDT

Invesco Field, Denver

TV--Fox Sports Net 2 (delayed 8 p.m.)

Radio--XTRA (1150), KTNQ (1020, Spanish).

Records--With Saturday’s 4-0 drubbing at the Rose Bowl, the No. 1-seeded Galaxy leads the No. 5-seeded Rapids in the first-team-to-five points semifinal series, three points to none.

Record vs. Rapids--3-2-0, including playoffs.

Update--The Galaxy has outscored the Rapids, 11-1, in the teams’ last three meetings.