photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
If this summer's slate of matches were indeed meant to replicate a tournament, the U.S. men's
national team would be in must-win territory.
Fortunately for the Americans, this is not a tournament and their visit to BMO Field in Toronto
to take on Canada on Sunday is not a win-or-go-home scenario.
The Los Angeles Galaxy had a welcome sight at training on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Josh Saunders was back in uniform and on the training field despite still being
ineligible to play games for the club. Saunders said he was enrolled in the league's substance
abuse and behavior health program for stress reasons -- not drugs and alcohol, according to ESPN LA
-- and he shed a bit of light on his situation.
Zak Whitbread's career has hit a most unwelcome bump in the road.
The American centerback was released by Norwich City on Thursday after another injury-plagued
campaign. Whitbread, 28, made 21 appearances for Norwich as the club finished midtable in its first
season back in the Premier League.
Summary
Chicago Fire 2 - 1 CD Chivas USA
Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Arne Friedrich, Austin Berry, Gonzalo Segares; Logan
Pause ©, Pavel Pardo, Marco Pappa; Sebastian Grazzini (Rafael Robayo 78'); Patrick Nyarko, Dominic
Oduro (Federico Puppo 86')
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Hunter Jumper, Michael Videira, Daniel Paladini, Orr
Barouch
CD Chivas USA: Dan Kennedy; John Valencia, Rauwshan McKenzie, Heath Pearce, James Riley;
Oswaldo Minda, Nick LaBrocca, Jorge Villafana (Michael Lahoud 81'), Miller Bolanos (Ryan Smith
66'); Alejandro Moreno ©, Juan Pablo Angel (Jose Correa 70')
Substitutes not used: Tim Melia, Ante Jazic, Peter Vagenas, Laurent Courtois
Scoring Summary
CHV - Juan Pablo Angel (penalty kick) 23'
CHI - Austin Berry (Sebastian Grazzini) 25'
CHI - Marco Pappa (Federico Puppo) 93+'
Misconduct Summary
CHV - Oswaldo Minda (caution) 16'
CHI - Pavel Pardo (caution) 20'
CHI - Dominic Oduro (caution) 72'
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistants: Ian Anderson, Fabio Tovar
Fourth Official: Alejandro Mariscal
Attendance: 14,652
Highlights
Quotes
Chicago Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas
On Marco's goal.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
All-time record: 2–0–2
At PPL Park: 2–0–0
At Home Depot Center: 0–0–2
Goals for: 7
Goals against: 4
Did you know...
The Union's 1–1 draw with Chivas USA on July 3, 2010 was the second time the club had earned
points on the road.
Saturday night's game against Real Salt Lake is one that Casey Townsend won't soon forget.
With injuries to forwards Juan Pablo Angel and Alejandro Moreno, Townsend stepped up for Chivas
USA, starting his second straight game and delievering the game-winning goal in Chivas' surprising
1-0 victory over RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium to earn SBI MLS Rookie of the Week honors.
We are nearing the end of this elaborate gag. It's been a journey of laughs and "what the hell were
we thinking" type moments. With Champs League just around the corner, we will finally be resuming
our regular actual football focus shortly. Hey, what does a 'down homer', a model, and Doneil Henry
have in common?
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
BY ADAM SERRANO
Preseason is all about learning and both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA felt that a great
deal was learned in their preseason scrimmage on Thursday as the Galaxy defeated Chivas, 3-2
Starting a primarily reserve team lineup, the Galaxy jumped out to a three
goal lead in the first half goals.
Photo by Brad Smith/ISIPhotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
Fans expecting their team to nab that missing piece of the MLS Cup puzzle in the Re-entry Draft
on Monday shouldn't get their hopes up.
Last year, clubs used the mechanism to bolster their rosters with the likes of Juan Pablo Angel,
Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad and Cory Gibbs.
The list for the Re-Entry Draft is out. Any interesting targets for United?
Ante Jazic: To old (36 before 2012 season starts) and too expensive ($115k
salary), but plays a position of need. This would be an extreme reach, even at a reduced salary in
Stage 2.
Bobby Boswell: Way too expensive ($210k salary) and we're probably set with
McDonald and Jakovic in the middle of defense, but .
Houston's Danny Cruz could be an easy selection for the Impact tomorrow. (Getty Images)
I've already given a mock draft based on my predictions of each MLS club's protection lists and
now that the real lists are out we can get a better sense of who could be actually taken
tomorrow.
Every team released their protection lists yesterday evening with a few surprises listed
Montreal should come away with a decent start to their expansion campaign.
Clubs can protect 11 players ahead of the 10-round draft for the Montreal Impact, which will
join MLS next year.
A team can only lose one player.
Wonder if Impact Coach Jesse Marsch will take a player from his most recent former club, Chivas
USA? Will he bring home Canadian Ante Jazic, a solid addition to any expansion team's backline?
Unwatchable? Don't look now, but Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls are one game away from
reaching the Western Conference final - if they can become the first MLS team to beat the Galaxy at
home this year (AP Photo).
I haven't yet heard whether those extra 5,000 tickets the Galaxy put on sale for tonight's
Western Conference semifinal against New York have sold out, but a capacity crowd must be all but
certain because after stirring the pot earlier in the week, players and coaches on both sides
Wednesday downplayed the sniping that occurred earlier in the week.
It's a very Pacific Northwest kind of day here in Carson with fog billowing therough the stadium
and several hundred Sounders fans in the stands outcheering the home crowd.
Seattle has started pretty much a full strength lineup: Kasey Keller-James Riley, Jeff Parke
(who has returned from concussion) Jhon kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez-Alvaro Fernandez, Brad Evans,
Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales-Mike Fucito, Fredy Montero.
Chivas USA hasn't had too much to celebrate, now comes the dreaded expansion draft. (Getty
Images)
Chivas USA had an up and down 2011. Their season looked promising at times but injuries piled up
and issues with scoring took this team over. First year manager Robin Fraser did a decent job this
year but will have the fun task of going through the roster to figure out who stays and who will be
left available for next month's expansion draft.
Chivas USA 1 Toronto 0
Juan Pablo Angel scored his sixth goal in five games for Chivas USA in the 12th minute, heading
home an Ante Jazic cross from seven yards after Justin Braun picked up a loose ball in the Toronto
half.
*************************
It took me just 30 minutes to get from my Torrance driveway to my press box seat tonight at Home
Depot Center where a rather subdued atmosphere has greeted two struggling teams.
That is some detailed scoutingCHIVAS USA (13th) VS. TORONTO FC (16th) THE HOME DEPOT CENTRE - SATURDAY 10:30PM ETTV: GOLTV RADIO: FAN 590 THE KICKABOUT:Once a year, usually around this time of the season, Toronto FC is faced with "The Most Important
Match of the Season (TM)".
By AVI CREDITOR
WASHINGTON -- Juan Pablo Angel's resurgent night nearly got offset by a questionable decision at
the worst possible time for Chivas USA.
That is until Dan Kennedy came to the rescue.
The Chivas USA goalkeeper saved a Dwayne De Rosario penalty kick in stoppage time, and Angel
scored twice in the second half to lift Chivas USA out of a two-goal hole and carry the Goats to a
2-2 draw with D.
With the Timbers solidly in the playoff race and the results of other matches around the league
increasing in importance, we thought we'd keep you all abreast of the MLS's weekend matchups. We
had a light load this week due to Hurricane Irene, but there were still plenty of matches held this
weekend, some more important than others.
BY JONATHAN VERA
CARSON, Calif. – Chivas USA had their first home game in a month, and faced an opponent that
went a man down after a first-half red card, but the Goats couldn't capitalize on the advantage as
a crucial defensive error and inept offense kept Chivas USA from gaining ground in the playoff
race.
I hate to admit it, but I was at a conference on Saturday and was left to follow the Seattle
Sounders-Chivas USA match via Twitter. I've now watched the highlights (and promise to watch the
full game) and can safely say that the frustration I felt while not watching the game would have
probably been even worse if I had watched.
I'm not sure I entirely believe in the concept of a "trap game," but if one ever fit the bill,
this is it. The Seattle Sounders are coming off a very tough stretch that saw them playing
emotionally and physically draining games once or twice a week for about a month. They face a
similar stretch coming up.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution's first homegrown player, 16-year-old Diego
Fagundez, drew a penalty and scored a goal in his MLS debut against Chivas USA Saturday night, but
it wasn't enough to lift his side past the Goats, who got two goals from Alejandro Moreno en route
to a 3-2 win.
*Chivas USA wilted in the Texas heat today and lost to FC Dallas for their first loss in their
last five games. Dallas play the Galaxy next weekend in Carson.
Quotable:
"It was possibly the hottest game I have been a part of in MLS, so it was difficult for
both teams," Chivas USA Coach Robin Fraser said.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
BY JONATHAN VERA
CARSON, Calif – Chivas USA endured their worst month in June, but after a series of ties, a
few wins, and an epic hat-trick by Justin Braun, the Goats are starting to get on the right
track.
With 17 games already played, tonight's game against Chivas USA represents the beginning of the
second half of the 34 game season for the Chicago Fire. A win and everything else going Chicago's
way tonight would inconceivable put the Fire in the last qualification spot for the MLS Playoffs
leading into Sunday, July 3rd.
BY ADAM SERRANO
It was a back and forth affair between the Columbus Crew and Chivas USA as the two clubs battled
to a 3-3 draw.
The Crew were able to battle back from a three decifits as Crew forward Andres Mendoza tallied a
pair of goals in the high-octane match.
SuperClassico weather here in Carson, so let's hope for a game to match.
Fans are filtering into the grass berm; perhaps a larger crowd is in store than the fewer than
20,000 that took in the corresponding fixture last season.
Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts returns from illness for the Galaxy this evening, while Juan Pablo
Angel replaces Miguel Lopez (who is on the bench) up front in the only two changes for Coach Bruce
Arena from the team that destroyed Sporting Kansas City 4-1 last weekend.
Chivas USA takes a dig at its rival in this SuperClasico promotional poster (although given
the host's tepid fan base it strains credulity more than a little). But will the game live up to
the hype?
*With two steadily improving teams in Chivas USA and the Galaxy, this Saturday's derby promises
much.
By MIKE NASTRI
New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said during the week that Sunday's match vs. Chivas USA
could be a trap game for the Eastern Conference leaders. And that's exactly what it was.
Justin Braun's hat trick was just enough for Chivas USA to slip by New York, 3-2, at Red Bull
Arena on Sunday.
This review was written by Saurabh of Hoffenheim Offside. Thanks to him for his help
and make sure to check out his blog!
It may have been important to start playing immediately after losing Dwayne De Rosario in a
trade to New York. We got to see new boy Tony Tchani in action right away and he showed glimpses of
the vision and creativity that is sometimes lacking in THE MLS.
Here's what lies ahead for SoCal soccer lovers this week:
*The Galaxy and Chivas USA are both out of town.
The Galaxy headed to Arizona Sunday for a 10-day camp that will see them play the Colorado
Rapids Wednesday and Vancouver Sunday and next Tuesday.
*Chivas USA dropped a 1-0 decision to the Seattle Sounders Saturday in Casa Grande, Ariz.
Chivas USA 1 San Jose Earthquakes 0
Van Nuys' Tristan Bowen looked lively this afternoon playing out wide against the 'Quakes,
producing a couple of chances for Chivas USA that included a shot he hit just shot wide of the
post. (Photo by Staff Photographer Robert Castillas).
Chivas USA won 2-0 on goals from Alan Gordon and draft pick Victor Estupiñan over PDL team
Fresno Fuego today in a game played just outside Paso Robles.
Gordon scored in the 31st minute from a header off a cross supplied by his former Galaxy
teammate Tristan Bowen. Estupiñan's second similarly resulted from a header off a cross from
defender Carlos Borja in the 80th minute.
