September 2007 Archives

Late and light post this morning, since some of the boys in the press box hung out at the bar at Alpine Village, a true kitschy South Bay institution, after the Chivas USA game and I got home at 2 a.m. just in time to watch the U.S.-Norway game.

If you didn't stay up, you can catch up on the action here.

The U.S. found a measure of redemption with its win, but here's a memo for U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati: hire Germany Coach Neid Silvia.

Discipline beat flair in the World Cup final, with Germany showing the U.S. how to stifle Brazil.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy continue their improbable playoff slog today against former Coach Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew.

The game is sold out (thanks to Beckham) and the Crew are asking fans to wear black in what the team is dubbing a "black out."

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has a preview of the game and its playoff implications. The game is delayed three hours until 5 p.m. on FSN.

The Crew have plenty to play for as well, sitting just two points behind Chicago for the last playoff spot.

Chivas USA saved their unbeaten home record when Claudio Suarez scored an 82nd minute penalty kick after Brown had brought down Maykel Galindo.

The goal was throughly deserved; Chivas USA had attacked relentlessly and were desperately unlucky not to get a goal in the 72nd minute when a Mendoza volley from close range hit the underside of the bar, yet somehow still didn't go in.

Guzan secured the tie with an acrobatic fingertip save off a 25-yard Gutierrez blast in the 89th minute that was on its way into the net.

There was even more drama just before the final whistle when Blanco was brought down in the penalty box by Zotinca, but the referee awarded a corner much to the disgust of the Chicago bench.

Coach Juan Carlos Osorio was red carded apparently for not leaving the field while virulently protesting the tackle.

Cups of soft drinks and who knows what else rained down on Blanco as he waited to take the corner, which came to nothing.

Updated: Osorio didn't speak to the media after the game, although it turned out he was more angry about a previous tackle than the one on Blanco.

Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch, who had just written for this blog about some of the league's worst unabashed divers, observed in the locker room that he may have to revise his list after dealing with Blanco "cheating all over the place."

"I know he's shifty and I know he's faster than you think and I know he likes to draw contact and I know he likes to fall and he did all that tonight," he said, adding this was the first Chivas USA home game he had experienced significant support for the opposing team.

"Blanco's a big draw," Marsch said. "And he's a polarizing figure. It's good for this league. I just wish he'd stay on his feet a little more."

Did Chicago Assistant Coach Daryl Shore (who spoke for Osario) agree with the diving comment? No.

Claudio Suarez enjoyed scoring on that penalty in a soldout stadium (a real one not the pseudo ones the Galaxy have) with a crowd that reminded him of Mexico.

"Classico's in Mexico have that kind of passion," he said. "We gave the fans their money's worth. It was a great show."

It was sub Alex Zotinca who surreptitiously slapped Blanco around the back of the head to draw the retaliation that led to Blanco's 85th minute yellow card, by the way.

And speaking of yellows: Chivas USA striker Maykel Gaylindo will miss the game next Saturday against Real Salt Lake after drawing a 54th minute yellow card.

A politically correct Blanco didn't say much interesting in the locker room and denied he was guilty of diving.

"You guys saw the game, you saw all the kicks I was getting," he said.

Fans who haven't had enough can take in the reserve game at 10 a.m. Sunday on the sunken field near the tennis courts (take a right at the stop sign in front of the fountain).

The Palos Verdes Peninsula's John Thorrington will play.

Thorrington has been taking things relatively easy since failing to hook on with either the Galaxy or Chivas USA before the season began. He has stayed fit playing with his brother's club team, FRAM, which plays in Rolling Hills Estates on a superb private facility called Nansen Field (it's where aging rocker Rod Stewart plays when he's not marrying another young blond).

Thorrington said he was happy to return to Chicago, especially since the Fire had a new coach (Dave Sarachan had waived him).

"This was the only option I was willing to look into other than (playing in) LA," he said.

Thorrington said he has recovered fully from the hamstring injury that restricted his playing time to just two games for the Fire last season.

Updated: Game story is here.

A world class Blanco goal from a 30-yard free kick in the 24th minute was the highlight of an entertaining first half.

In a piece of sheer artistry, Blanco somehow managed to find a sliver of space between the Chivas USA wall and the right post, leaving goalkeeper Brad Guzan no chance. The player who least enjoyed that skill: Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch, who fouled Blanco in the first place and then apparently got a yellow card for sharing some choice words with the referee.

Blanco had claimed at Friday's press conference that this was just another MLS game for him.

Don't believe it. He was in the middle of everything Chicago did and was clearly revelling in the large crowd that appeared to contain just as many Club America as Chivas USA fans.

The crowd buzzed every time Blanco received the ball waiting for an audacious back heel (check), theatrical dive (check) and yes, that, stunning goal that was still rising as it hit the back of the net.

Chivas USA, who have not lost at home this season, were not without their own opportunities in front of goal and had four shots to Chicago's one.

Maykel Galindo had a goal disallowed for offside that appeared perfectly fine, while Razov saw a shot take a wild deflection and hit the top of the bar.

There's an incredible atmosphere at this game and a second half any soccer fan would drool over in anticipation awaits.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco received a big cheer - yes, cheer - from fans when he came out for the pre-game warm-up. Lots of Club America fans in the stadium tonight and it looks to be one of Chivas USA's largest crowds of the season.

Former Chadwick School star John Thorrington, resigned by Chicago just before the transfer window closed, is on the bench. He's scored a goal in the Fire's last two reserve games.

Goalkeeper Matt Pickens can tie the regular season team shutout record if he keeps a clean sheet tonight.

Wilman Conde starts at the back as usual for the Fire, Logan Pause has moved from midfield back into defense with Dasan Robinson benched. C.J. Brown and Gonzalo Segares complete the back four.

Diego Gutierrez is moved to midfield, with Chris Rolfe stepping in alongside Chris Armas and Blanco.

Up front: Costa Rican Paulo Wanchope and former UCLA star Chad Barrett.

Chivas USA Coach Preki has benched defender Alex Zotinca and moved Lawson Vaughn from the midfield slot he played in the 2-1 win against Kansas City last Saturday. As usual, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein compolete the back four.

Jesse Marsch returns from suspension alongside Sacha Kljestan, Paulo Nagamura and Panchito Mendoza, who is awaiting a possible national team call for Mexico's Oct. 17 friendly against Guatemala at the Coliseum.

The forwards, as usual, are Maykel Galkindo and Ante Razov, three goals behind D.C. United's Jaime Moreno (who scored today against Toronto) on the MLS all-time goal scoring list.

Chicago, hanging on to the final playoff spot, are seeking their first win in four games.

Chivas USA were just three points behind MLS leaders D.C. United coming in to today's game, but D.C. slaughtered Toronto 4-1 earlier in the day.

The kick off is delayed a half hour on FSN

Blanco en Fuego

It will be fascinating to see the reaction of Chivas USA's Legion 1908 to Blanco tonight when he walks out on the field at Home Depot Center with the rest of the Chicago Fire. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m., although if you're watching on TV FSN has delayed airing the game until 8 p.m.

It will be no where near as friendly as at LAX Thursday when Blanco was greeted by Club America fans.

I'll blog from the press box as usual.

Chivas USA beat writer Ivan Orozco filed this Blanco profile and game preview.

World Cup Final Preview

While the fallout from the U.S. loss continues before the 1:55 a.m. Sunday third place game on ESPN2, U.S. Coach Greg Ryan has confirmed goalkeeper Hope Solo has been banished.

Torrance's Shannon Boxx is suspended for the game after her red card that really wasn't in the loss to Brazil.

Meanwhile, Ajax America Coach Brian Boswell provides the pregame analysis of the enticing Brazil-Germany matchup in the final set for 4:55 a.m. Sunday on ESPN that's mandatory viewing for any soccer fan:

Current champions Germany, with four wins, a tie and most importantly, no goals conceded, are extremely well organized.

They play a 4-4-2 system with overlapping outside midfield players. Look out especially for the lightning quick surges from Kersten Garefrekes (two goals) on the right.

Their 19 goals have come from a variety of players with their world class forward Birgit Printz and playmaker Renate Linger getting four apiece

Veteran Kirsten Stegeman anchors the defense and is the calming influence on a young back line that includes 22-year-old Annike Krahn.

The Germans have struggled at times, especially in the first half of each game; they need to start better against a free scoring Brazil side that starts fast. They must play the ball quickly to avoid the Brazilian offensive pressure.

The defense must remain compact and keep its shape and not be pulled apart by the Brazil’s creativity.

Germany must make the most of its free kicks in the Brazilian half. Brazil does not defend well from dead ball situations and goalkeeper Andreia has not really been tested.

Brazil, fresh from a resounding 4-0 victory over the U.S., are a joy to watch. In team possession, individual creativity, solid defense and confidence, they’ve got it all. If you watched the game with the U.S., it’s hard to believe anyone can beat them.

Marta was superb, the fourth goal possibly the best you will see in women’s soccer. They boast attacking threats all over the field with Marta, Cristiane, Daniella and Formiga all capable of working their way inside the box or shooting from distance.

Defensively I was surprised how quick Brazil was to pressure the ball and how strong they were.

The Brazilians, as is their heritage, have great technical ability. Add that to a Brazil that is playing well as a team, and Germany have their work cut out for them.

Look for Brazil to get into their rhythm early and try to pull the organized Germans all over the field. Brazil will then attack quickly through a combination of passing, individual skill and shots from anywhere. If they get Germany on their heels as they did the U.S. they will score and score. Germany must start playing right from the whistle, keep compact and play down the outside. If they can stifle the Brazilian offense and possess the ball, the experience and goal scoring ability of Prinz and Linger will put goals on the board for Germany.

Expect goals.

Prediction: Brazil will win 2-1 or 3-2.

Friday's College Roundup

After missing all of last year with a knee injury, including the first seven matches of this season while at the Women’s World Cup in China, Canadian international striker Kara Lang returned to the college game in a big way Friday evening, scoring both UCLA goals in a 2-1 overtime upset of No. 2 Portland at Drake Stadium.

Lang, whose last game college game happened to be against Portland (7-2) in the 2005 NCAA Final, opened the scoring after just eight minutes with a 30-yard strike. Portland equalized eight minutes from time, but Lang scored her second seven minutes into overtime.

UCLA (5-1-2) extended their home winning streak to 31 matches.

Next: San Diego State Friday in San Diego.

Senior Jamie Bell continued her goal-scoring binge for the Lady Lions, finding the net for the third consecutive game as Loyola Marymount defeated 3-1 Friday afternoon at Sullivan Field. The Lions have won five straight to post the program's longest winning streak since 1998 and tie the school record.

The 5-3-1 Lions can break that record 1 p.m. Sunday against UC Riverside at Sullivan Field.

No. 14-ranked USC (7-1-1) beat Long Beach State (6-4-0) 3-0 Friday before a record crowd of 954 for a women's soccer match at LBSU.

Evoking memories of the 1998 World Cup debacle that rightfully focused on then U.S. Men's National Team Coach Steve Sampson, pressure on U.S. Women's Coach Greg Ryan is intensifying in the wake of the humiliating 4-0 loss to Brazil.

Even though Hope Solo backtracked on any perceived criticism of backup Briana Scurry on her MySpace page (click on the "2007worldcup" link for her statement) after her angry words in the wake of the Brazil game, Solo pointedly did not express any regrets in regard to Ryan.

Fans have the knives out.

Over on BigSoccer.com they're discussing potential successors.

There's also a poll asking when (not if) Ryan will be fired.

And Nike's World Cup advertising campaign around its "the greatest team you've never heard of" slogan (am I the only one who found those ads incredibly annoying?) isn't immune either from general derision.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Women's National Team stars are also calling for Ryan's head.

As usual, the outspoken Brandi Chastain was particularly damning in her assessment:

“People say this is a step back, but I think Greg Ryan has put us three steps back – all the way to the starting gate," said Chastain, the 1999 World Cup hero who watched Thursday's loss from her home in Northern California. "He lacks the ability to communicate and is not in tune with his players, and he's obviously not a tactician or he wouldn't have made the decisions he did.”

For what it's worth, I e-mailed U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati for his view. No, I haven't heard back, but if I do, I'll post the response here.

Updated 4:45 p.m.: Sunil got back to me via e-mail, gave me a quote, then told me it wasn't for use. So, to ensure the president of U.S. Soccer does talk to me again I'll respect his request and won't use it for publication.

I'll say this though, Ryan is in trouble. (I can read between the lines).

Galaxy Find Yellow Brick Road and Win

The Galaxy won on the road for the first time this season beating nine-man Kansas City 1-0 Thursday to keep their slender playoff hopes alive.

Notable: The Galaxy took just one shot on goal and scored, meaning that former UCLA goalkeeper Kevin Hartman remains stuck on 999 career MLS saves.

Defender Ante Jazic, out of the lineup since sustaining an injury against New York Aug. 18, came on as a second half sub. Can fellow full back Chris Albright be far behind?

Here's the view from Kansas City.

Next for the Galaxy: A visit Sunday to former Coach Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew that FSN will air on tape-delay at 5 p.m.

Weekend College Games

The Cal State Northridge men host tenth-ranked UCLA at Saturday in the first game between the two schools since 2005. The Matadors have never beaten UCLA.

The Loyola Marymount women (4-3-1), winners of four straight games, play at 4 p.m. today against Idaho (4-3-0) and 1 p.m. Sunday against UC Riverside (5-3-0). Both games are at Sullivan Field.

The Long Beach State women (6-3-0), winners of four in a row, host two games this weekend First up at 4 p.m. today is No. 14-ranked USC (6-1-1), while at 11 a.m. Sunday it's Wyoming (4-4-0) in town.

Etc.

If you only watch one game this weekend, make it Germany against Brazil in the FIFA Women's World Cup Final, a game between a team yet to concede a goal in the tournament against one that put four past the U.S. Kick off is at 4:55 a.m. The third place Norway-U.S. game is at 1:55 a.m. on the same channel.

Are the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros big in Uzbekistan? The revamped Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics’ Web site has surpassed 14,000 hits since it was launched one month ago with visitors coming from 42 different countries including South Korea, Kenya, Uzbekistan and Turkey.

Finally, former UCLA soccer player and avid supporter Jonathan Moore died at his Los Angeles home Wednesday, just days after his 60th birthday.

A member of the UCLA soccer team in 1968 and 1969, he led the team in scoring in his first season. After graduation, he was a fixture at UCLA soccer games.

U.S. Crashes Out of World Cup

A brilliant individual goal from Marta in the 80th minute sealed a historic 4-0 win for Brazil over the U.S. this morning and handed the South Americans a deserved World Cup final berth Sunday against Germany.

Bad luck, questionable coaching decisions and uninspired play all combined to work against the U.S. and gave Coach Greg Ryan his first and possibly last loss since his 2005 appointment, rendering a two-year undefeated streak meaningless.

It was the worst U.S. defeat ever and it could have been even worse: Brazil hit the post shortly before the end of the game.

Brazil's players celebrate the victory over the U.S. after their semifinal match

Game details here.

The U.S. now turns its attention to the Olympics next year. But questions arise: has the rest of the world caught up to the U.S.? And will Ryan remain the coach?

Galaxy Preview

The Galaxy plays the Kansas City Wizards live at 5 p.m. today on ESPN2. There's a viewing party at the Underground Pub & Grill in Hermosa Beach.

David Beckham, by the way, took the first flight to London he could after learning late last night that his father had suffered a heart attack. Details here.

Beat writer Billy Witz has the game preview.

And just to catch up with Wednesday's stories: Cobi Jones said he may not retire.

And columnist Paul Oberjuerge has this take on the Galaxy's season.

Blanco Ball

Lots of fans are expected at the American Airlines terminal at LAX today to greet Cuauhtémoc Blanco as the Chicago Fire step off an airplane en route to Saturday's game against Chivas USA. American Airlines Flight 55 is scheduled to arrive at 5:30 p.m. if you want to take in the scene or just avoid the crowds.

From the Chivas USA press release:

There will be brief media availability with Blanco and Fire personnel upon arrival at the airport, where scores of fans are expected to greet the controversial Mexican National Team and ex-Club América icon ahead of his only scheduled appearance of 2007 in Southern California.

Blanco, reportedly Major League Soccer’s second-highest paid Designated Player after David Beckham, signed with the Chicago Fire in June and in just 10 games since his MLS debut has scored three goals and registered six assists, leading the Fire to a 4-2-4 record (W-L-T) and, for now, the eighth and final spot in the race to the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Mexican-owned Chivas USA (14-6-5, 47 pts) is currently in first place in MLS’s Western Conference with five regular season games remaining. Led by three-time Mexican World Cup star Claudio Suárez, Chivas USA will look to extend their unbeaten streak to nine games on Saturday against the Fire and Blanco, who for over a decade represented Club América, the Mexican archrival of Chivas USA’s parent club, Chivas de Guadalajara.

Chivas USA and the Chicago Fire face off this Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. PT at The Home Depot Center in a preview of a potential first-round 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs matchup.

It's a first half disaster for the U.S.

A 20th minute own goal from a corner kick, a second Brazilian goal scored seven minutes later in a manner usually athletic goalkeeper Briana Scurry was brought in precisely to save and Torrance's Shannon Boxx sent off just before half time. That Boxx should not have been given a second yellow card - replays showed she was clipped by a Brazilian player and not vice versa - is no consolation for the U.S.

Down to 10 players, the U.S. has just 45 minutes left in the 2007 World Cup unless it scores at least two goals.

The game is on ESPN2, by the way.

Ajax America Women Coach Brian Boswell returns to provide 100 Percent Soccer with a match analysis of the U.S.-Brazil semifinal:

The U.S. have been preparing for this game since the end of the 2003 World Cup, whereas the Brazilian team disbanded that year and did not come together until early 2007 for the Pan American Games.

The U.S. is fresh off of a 3-0 victory over a good English side, despite starting slowly and allowing England to play at a comfortable pace, ceding most of the possession.

Upping the tempo of the game in the second half, the U.S. put the English on the back foot and scored three goals in 15 minutes. They played better possession soccer and looked like a team capable of winning the World Cup, with good goals from key players Abby Wambach, Shannon Boxx and Kristine Lilly.

Brazil beat a plucky, hard-working Australian team 3-2. Although out-shooting Australia 20-4 and leading 2-0, they found it very difficult to put the Aussies away.

The U.S. is getting better with every game.

It played the England game with Shannon Boxx and Leslie Osborne as the central midfielders. Although both have been used primarily as holding midfield players, they played well together. Boxxy was able to go forward more often and this resulted in a great left-footed goal. The U.S. played the ball wider than they have in previous games and cut out a lot of the ”Route 1” long balls, which allowed the midfield to support Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly up front. This put a lot more pressure on the England defense.

Expect to see this on Thursday.

The U.S. will try to dictate the pace against Brazil, speed it up and put the Brazilians on their heels. Look for the U.S. to be dangerous on set pieces; the U.S. is the best women’s team in the air and Brazil does not mark well from set pieces.

The U.S. will play more down the lines to try to get around the back of Brazil and use Abby’s prowess in the air with Lilly, Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly picking up the knock downs and Boxxy coming through.

When defending the U.S. must pressure the ball quickly as Brazil has great individual talent and loves to shoot from outside the penalty area.

The Brazilians are the most entertaining of the women’s teams.

Good team work and great individual skill make them fun to watch, plus they have in Marta the No. 1 player in the world.

They play like their men’s team.

They beat Australia 3-2 after dominating the first 30 minutes and leading 2-0. Australia didn’t quit, were able to narrow the field and congest the midfield and claw two goals back, which shows the Brazilian defense is not at the same standard as its attack.

When Brazil are allowed to play they attack quickly, push their outside backs up and into your penalty area. They will then shoot from anywhere looking for goals, deflections, balls knocked down, anything that gives them a chance of scoring. They play well as a team, but rely on individual skill to win games.

Brazil play a 4-4-2 with forwards Marta and Christiane and attacking midfielders Formiga and Daniella interchanging positions, making them very difficult to mark. Marta is very dangerous from free kicks in scoring positions.

They are not as well organized when defending, which comes from lack of preparation time as a team. Defending is more about organization than individual ability and they've missed some of the finer points. Vulnerable at set pieces, Brazil has had the easier games to the semifinal, so the defense has not been tested in the way it will be against the U.S.

Expect the U.S. to start quickly and prevent Brazil from developing a rhythm.

To do this they will need to pressure quickly when Brazil have possession and then attack quickly on the flanks, getting midfield support to the forwards. Even though they need to attack quickly they will need to show patience and avoid the long ball that has stretched the U.S. team in previous games.

I think this will be a fun game to watch, a game of goals, Brazil loves to attack and with their individual talent they should score. The U.S., with talent, strength and organization, should score more.

Prediction: U.S. 3 Brazil 1.

Updated: Ryan has taken the unusual step of dropping goalkeeper Hope Solo for the game in favor of veteran backup Brianna Scurry.

Solo has looked shaky on a couple of occasions in group play, but the torrential rain obviously played a huge factor.

Still, it's another sign from a coach who has been with most of this squad for two years, that no one is sure of their place.

Even Shannon Boxx sat out the opening 45 minutes of the second group game against Sweden.

Was this a bold move on Ryan's part, a harsh one or simply indicative of indecision?

We'll find out within hours.

If the U.S. wins, it faces Germany in the final. Germany have yet to concede a goal in the tournament and beat Norway 3-0 earlier today.

Updated: The star of the Brazilian team, Marta, is a widely considered the best female soccer player in the world. What's the U.S. up against? Check out her skills.

World Cup Semifinals Begin Wednesday

Germany play Norway at 4:55 a.m. Wednesday on ESPN2 in the first of the semifinals, while the U.S. faces Brazil Thursday morning. We'll have a complete pregame analysis from Ajax America Women Coach Brian Boswell up Wednesday. But for now, here's the story that ran in the Daily Breeze today.

K.C. Compensates Fans For Beckham No Show

The Kansas City Wizards belatedly discovered today (I kid you not) that David Beckham won't play Thursday (are they still using pony express there?) in the game on ESPN2. Still, the club announced a slew of special offers for fans to make up for his absence (are you paying attention, Galaxy?):

Parking is free.

Buy one playoff ticket, get one free playoff ticket for the first home playoff game (for fans with) the ticket stub from the Wizards versus Galaxy game

A drawing for three kids to have a Wizards starting player (as chosen by the Wizards staff) visit their school.

The Wizards have already arranged for numerous attractions surrounding the match, including an expanded soccer celebration east of the stadium (which includes 40 booths), NASCAR driver David Ragan signing autographs before the game, a performance by the band Liverpool: A Tribute to the Beatles, a special pre-game tribute to Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones and much more. The first 10,000 fans into the stadium will receive blue and white thundersticks courtesy of game-sponsor M&I Bank, and the game ball will be delivered to mid-field by jet pack. After the game there will be a fireworks show and then Wizards players signing autographs.

By comparison, Galaxy season ticket holders got a "hey, we won't jack up the prices for next season if you renew by such and such a date."

Beck's on Best World XI List

The MLS Players Union was bursting with pride today that it had a player - David Beckham - included among the 55 finalists for the third annual World Best XI Player Awards. Too bad the press release from FIFPro, which represents 45,000 professional players worldwide, noted that Beckham plays for Real Madrid.

Here are the nominees, as voted on by players, with the winners announced in October:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/ Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain/ Real Madrid), Petr Cech (Czech Republic/ Chelsea), Nelson de Jesus Silva ‘Dida’ (Brazil/ AC Milan), Edwin van der Sar (Holland/ Manchester United)

Defenders: Éric Abidal (France/ Olympique Lyon), Daniel Alves (Brazil/ Sevilla), Roberto Ayala (Argentina/ Valencia), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/ Real Madrid), Roberto Carlos da Silva (Brazil/ Real Madrid), Jamie Carragher (England/ Liverpool), Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal/ Chelsea), Cristian Chivu (Romania/ AS Roma), Ashley Cole (England/ Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (England/ Manchester United), Philipp Lahm (Germany/ Bayern Munich), Ferreira Lucio (Brazil/Bayern Munich), Paolo Maldini (Italy/ AC Milan), Marco Materazzi (Italy/ Inter), Alessandro Nesta (Italy/ AC Milan), Carles Puyol (Spain/ Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/ Real Madrid), John Terry (England/ Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia/ Manchester United), Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy/ Juventus).

Midfielders: David Beckham (England/ Real Madrid), Anderson Deco (Portugal/ Barcelona), Mickaël Essien (Ghana/ Chelsea), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy/ AC Milan), Steven Gerrard (England/ Liverpool), Andrès Iniesta (Spain/ Barcelona), Ricardo Kaká (Brazil/ AC Milan), Frank Lampard (England/ Chelsea), Claude Makélélé (France/ Chelsea), Andrea Pirlo (Italy/ AC Milan), Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina/ Villareal/Boca Juniors), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/ Manchester United), Paul Scholes (England/ Manchester United), Clarence Seedorf (Holland/ AC Milan), Xavi (Spain/ Barcelona).

Forwards: Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria/ Tottenham Hotspur), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/ Chelsea), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon/ Barcelona), Thierry Henry (France/ Arsenal), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/ Inter), Filippo Inzaghi (Italy/ AC Milan), Lionel Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Holland/ Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Brazil/ Barcelona), Ronaldo (Brazil/ Real Madrid/ AC Milan), Wayne Rooney (England/ Manchester United), Carlos Tévez (Argentina/ West Ham United), Luca Toni (Italy/ Fiorentina), Francesco Totti (Italy/ AS Roma), David Villa (Spain/ Valencia).

Hail Haley

The Under-14 Girl’s National Developmental Program competed for the first time as a team at the 2007 Women’s Nike Friendlies at Home Depot Center last weekend, picking up two wins and a draw against the nation’s top Under-16 club teams. Haley Rosen of Palos Verdes scored twice.

Toros Triumph

Freshman Tiburcio Casillas (Gardena/Animo Leadership High) scored twice as the Cal State Dominguez Hills men slammed visiting Cal State San Marcos 6-1 Monday at Toro Stadium.

CSUDH, now 8-2 overall, concludes its six-game homestand at 7 p.m. Saturday against nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women, meanwhile, beat Cal State San Marcos 3-0 Monday with Melissa Livergood (North Torrance High) and Kristen Boskovich (Peninsula High) combining for the three goals.

The 7-1-3 Toros concludes its six-game homestand 7 p.m. Tuesday against Western Washington.

The good, the bad and the ugly Tuesday column is here. I'll let the reader decide who's who.

Jesse missed Saturday's game against the Kansas City Wizards. And he wasn't happy about it. This is his inaugural post:

I was sitting in my house this week contemplating what to write for my first blog entry. I was thinking about the extra time I had on my hands this week because I had been suspended for yellow card points for the game against the Kansas City Wizards.

I became irritated because my last yellow card was for a tackle on Colorado's Colin Clark where I not only didn't foul him, but I didn't even touch him! He took one and a half more steps and then took a dive that Greg Louganis would have been proud of. The attempt to garner a call from the referee was so pathetic that when he took out the yellow card, I was sure it was fixed on Clark. I actually started clapping and demanding that Clark get off his rump, but the ref then pointed at me indicating that I was the recipient. I couldn't believe the ref fell for it.

I have a major problem with diving, and an even bigger problem with rolling around on the ground like someone has been shot.

I grew up in Wisconsin, which needless to say is not a soccer state.

We like brats, cheese, beer, and the Packers.

Most of my friends and family back home don't understand soccer, but they will watch occasionally because they like to see me on TV. (Although I always get the question, "Why don't you shoot more?")

The one thing they do know about soccer is that they hate diving! And I mean loathe it. And because of this reason I have never in my career done the ole' lay on the ground and cry for a card.

It's pathetic.

I mean we are talking about grown men, with families, lying on the ground grabbing their knees (even though the were kicked in the ankle) moaning and whining. So much so that when I go out and play with my three-year-old son, he kicks the ball and then falls to the ground grabbing his foot. That's what he absorbs from watching professional soccer.

The biggest problem is that it works.

I'm not sure if Carlos Ruiz or Brian Ching will read this blog. Or if we can forward this article to every Brazilian that comes to play in America, but I am starting a "no diving" campaign.

Let's get some sponsors and go global with it. Because unless we eliminate diving from our sport, we provide easy fodder for all of the antagonists of soccer in this country.

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So now you know who Jesse Marsch thinks are the biggest divers in MLS.

Who do you think are the worst culprits at faking injury?

My nominee: the Galaxy's Kyle Martino.

If memory serves, he won two penalties in quick sucession by ramping up the drama when he fell in the penalty box. Now referees have caught on and Martino just flails dramatically to no avail.

And looks silly.

Light (and late) Monday post after a busy weekend. Chivas USA veteran Jesse Marsch blogs later today with his first post. Until then here are a few weekend left-overs:

MLS Playoff Update

Here's an (edited) summary from MLS after this weekend's games:

“By defeating the Kansas City Wizards Saturday on a dramatic, stoppage-time goal, Chivas USA became the fourth MLS team to secure a berth in the playoffs, which begin Oct. 25 on ESPN2. D.C. United, Houston Dynamo and the New England Revolution had previously clinched passage to the postseason.

Chivas USA, led by Ante Razov’s two-goal performance against Kansas City, moved to the top of the Western Conference and closed within two points of D.C. United, the current overall leader in the MLS standings. When the regular season ends on Oct. 21, the team with the most points will win the Supporters’ Shield and will qualify for the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Most MLS teams have just four regular season games remaining.

FC Dallas and New York can book playoff slots this week, while Real Salt Lake and Toronto could be eliminated.

College Roundup

U.S. International Lauren Cheney had a breakout performance for UCLA Sunday in the program's biggest win since 1995, while the USC women also won. Brief summaries are here.

Next for UCLA: at home at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 3-ranked Portland.

Meanwhile, second half strikes from senior Jamie Bell and junior Stefanie Baduria lifted the Loyola Marymount women to their fourth consecutive victory in a 2-0 win over visiting Fresno State Sunday afternoon at Sullivan Field in Westchester. The Lions (4-3-1) got their record above .500 for the first time this season, while handing the Bulldogs (3-4-0) their second straight defeat.

LMU continues its five-game home stand at 4 p.m. Friday against Idaho and 1 p.m. Sunday against UC Riverside.

In men's soccer, LMU and Columbia battled to a goalless draw Sunday in the finale of the LMU Invitational at Sullivan Field. The LMU Lions (2-4-1), despite going 1-0-1 in the tournament, finished second to champions UC Santa Barbara on goal difference.

Next: The West Coast Conference home opener Oct. 5 against Santa Clara.

Best in the Galaxy

Finally, Sunday was the deadline for members of the media to choose the Galaxy MVP and defender of the year.

With two virtually completely different teams fielded this year, a ghastly season and so many injuries that Coach Frank Yallop has fielded the same lineup just twice, this was a crap shoot.

My picks are below. Discussion and ridicule welcome and expected.

MVP: Chris Klein - An ever-present this season starting 15 of 15 MLS games since joining the Galaxy from Real Salt Lake, the veteran utility man deserves the award for sheer perseverence if nothing else, filling in wherever needed. As a bonus he scored two of the most spectacular Galaxy goals seen this year, including that stunning SuperLiga equalizer that sent the final to penalty kicks.

Runner-up - Cobi Jones, not for his four goals in 18 games (12 starts), but for a sparkling 12-year MLS career (hey, the Oscars are often lifetime achievement awards).

Third - David Beckham. (What this isn't for the richest player with the most valuables?). Beck's gets it for sheer guts in trying to play through serious injuries and the exposure he brought to MLS. His goal in the SuperLiga semifinal and two assists in the 5-4 loss to New York in one of the most exciting MLS games ever weren't bad either.

Defender of the Year - Goalkeeper Joe Cannon. He has the worst goals against average in the league, has lost more games than any other goalkeeper, is clearly not the player he once was and yet is the Galaxy's best defender? That tells you more about anyone else than Cannon. But he's played more games than any other Galaxy player and frankly was given virtually no support from the back four. Cannon made some fine saves and without him things could have been far, far worse.

Runner-up - Chris Albright. Played in just seven games (including two in the U.S. Open Cup) before going down with a season-ending torn hamstring. He's blameless. And he's also apparently in the last year of his contract; give him lots of money to return, Galaxy front office.

Third: Are you kidding me?

The Galaxy came from behind to win for the first time this season - and record a victory for only the second time in 13 games - on another spectacular goal from Chris Klein.

Klein, who scored a magical bicycle kick in extra time in the SuperLiga final, collected the ball on the outside of the Dallas penalty box after Carlos Pavon had jumped over (deliberately, apparently) a long grass-cutting cross from Cobi Jones, who was playing in his 300th MLS game. Klein unleashed a blistering blast that almost ruptured the top left corner of the net and left Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala with no chance.

The Galaxy apparently have a far better chance of scoring when Pavon doesn't actually touch the ball, a point proved seven minutes later when the Honduran, put through alone on Sala, shot the ball straight at the goalkeeper.

Pavon - whose goalscoring instincts are nearing the level of the almost legendary misser of sitters, Pando Ramirez - also somehow managed to miss from just six yards out in the 67th minute from a Jones cross.

The Galaxy (5-13-6) now have 21 points, but remain in last place in the league tied with Toronto on points.

Let's hope the locker room is a bit happier.

Updated: It was.

"It felt good to have a bit of luck for a change," said a smiling Yallop, who also observed that Dallas looked tired after playing Thursday against Chicago. "I looked at Dallas and thought, 'I know how they feel.' ... We've been doing that for the last six weeks."

And they'll be doing it for a few more; the Galaxy play Thursday in Kansas City and Sunday in Columbus as the great no-show Beckham tour of MLS continues.

How tired was Dallas in the second half? They had just one shot on goal.

Yallop defended Pavon's poor touch in front of goal.

"I still think there's goals in him," he said. "His finishing is amazing in practice. He needs to just bury one and he's off."

We hope.

Landon Donovan said he didn't know why the refereee called back his first successful penalty, saying he didn't hear a whistle.

But Sala apparently directed some choice words at Donovan in Spanish after the first attempt.

"After I scored (the second spot kick effort), I let him know he probably shouldn't rile me up," Donovan said.

And that's why Donovan received a yellow card. He looked like he thought it was worth it.

Updated: Duffer Billy Witz has the game details.

Both goals and an ejection of Dallas' Chris Gbandi came within a 15-minute span of the first half.

The Dallas goal came first in the 11th minute, when a Gbandi cross was dummied by Carlos Ruiz and fell to Dax McCarty at the back of the penalty area, who scored from about 12 yards.

The Galaxy, by the way, are winless this season after conceding the game's first goal.

Gbandi should have been sent off in the 21st minute when he retaliated after being fouled by Kevin Harmse, and simply gve the Galaxy midfielder a kick. Instead referee Michael Kennedy gave both involved yellow cards.

Gbandi was gone two minutes later for blatantly holding Alan Gordon in the Dallas penalty area. Kennedy amazingly had to consult with the linesman before issuing the red though, raising concerns about his eyesight.

That led to a Landon Donovan penalty kick, who scored (twice) although only one counted. Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala received a yellow card for encroachment after the initial kick.

Dallas finished the opening 45 minutes with three shots on goal to the Galaxy's one.

The (4-13-6) Galaxy, losers of nine of their last 10 games, have Joe Cannon in goal as usual.

Quavas Kirk is a late switch for Kelly Gray at right back, who was scheduled to replace Chris Klein, who slots into midfield today. The rest of the back four - Ty Harden, Troy Roberts and Mike Randolph - is unchanged.

Klein lines up in midfield alongside Kevin Harmse, Cobi Jones and second round draft pick Josh Tudela, with Landon Donovan moved up to forward to partner Alan Gordon.

Honduran Carlos Pavon, who Coach Frank Yallop probably never wants to see starting at forward again, is on the bench as any international striker with two goals in 12 MLS games should be. Full back Ante Jazic and Pete Vagenas are also potential subs.

FC Dallas sees Alan Yi come in to replace the suspended Clarance Goodson at the back, while Dax McCarty starts in midfield for the injured Pablo Ricchetti.

Abe Thompson drops to the bench in attack, with Dominic Oduro coming in to partner former Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz.

Ominously, Ruiz has nine goals in his last 12 games and five in his last seven MLS outings, including a brace in Dallas' 4-2 loss last Saturday to New England.

That doesn't bode well for MLS' worst team, who have seven games left to pull off a major miracle and make the playoffs.

The Crew's win Saturday against Toronto means Dallas (12-9-4) can't clinch a playoff spot today, but since they occupy the fifth playoff spot that's just a matter of time.

Beckham Update: Calm your collective selves - He's about to start a kicking a ball, he said in the pre-game interview on Fox.

Also, Klein is at right back after all, with Kirk in right midfield.

On Donovan and Denilson

The Galaxy plays F.C. Dallas today at 5 p.m. at Home Depot Center, but with the likelihood of Beckham Inc. making the playoffs receding with every game journalists must find other talking points.

To that end, Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz breaks down the importance of Landon Donovan to the team.

The none too surprising conclusion: he's important.

Still, since Galaxy fans often fall into two camps - those who think he's the greatest American player ever and those who think "Landycakes" is an over-rated, often-invisible and sometimes lazy playmaker - that's sure to spark a discussion or two.

The biggest point of interest at today's game for the visitors is not ex-Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz, but the first appearance in L.A. of Denilson, the Brazilian who was once the world's most expensive player, but never lived up to his potential. Which is why he's in MLS, of course, but still this is a player you expect to tear the league apart, dominating opponents on the level of a Juan Pablo Angel.

Here's the Denilson details.

By the way, fans who do decide to go to the game have three reasons to go early (in no particular order):
* The first 5,000 fans through the gates get a Galaxy soccer ball.
* The 10 Miss Galaxy candidates are introduced at 3:30 p.m. on the main concourse.
* And you can record a personal video tribute to retiring Galaxy great Cobi Jones from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Cobi's Corner at the plaza below the Stadium Club. All the different Galaxy jerseys he has worn are on display, too, just to remind you how bad the designs were in MLS' early years.

Or you can just stay home and watch on FSN.

Here's a brief summary of Saturday's World Cup and MLS action.

College Roundup

UCLA lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 8-ranked Santa Clara Saturday evening. The Bruins, down to 10 men after a red card to forward Richard Flores, almost won in in the final minute of regulation, but a shot by Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa was saved by Santa Clara goalkeeper Kevin Klasila.

I'm sure Kyle will agonize over that one in his on-going blog for 100 Percent Soccer later this week.

Meanwhile, this came in from Loyola Marymount regarding today's games:

“The Harvard-UC Santa Barbara match in the LMU Invitational scheduled for Sunday, September 23 at 1:30 p.m. at Sullivan Field has ben moved to Santa Barbara. The two LMU games on Sunday will go ahead as scheduled. The women's game against Fresno State will be at 11 a.m. with the men facing Columbia at 4 p.m.”

World Cup Final Four Set

The U.S. remains on course for a World Cup final showdown with Germany and found out their semifinal opponents today: Brazil, which beat Australia 3-2 and lost to the Americans in the gold medal game at the last Olympics.

Norway beat hosts China to meet the Germans in the semifinals.

Here's a breakdown of the action from FIFA.

Colorado's 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake tonight meant Chivas USA clinched a playoff place regardless of this result.

Still, Chivas USA kept their unbeaten home record intact, jumped to first place in the Western Conference with a game in hand over nearest rivals the Houston Dynamo and can now look forward to next Saturday's visit by the Chicago Fire and former CD Guadalajara nemesis Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

Ante Razov scored his 108th and 109th goals of his career - the winner, a curling left-footed strike coming in second half stoppage time - putting him just one behind Jaime Moreno as MLS' leading alltime goalscorer.

Chivas USA struck first in the 69th minute, when substitute Ramon Nunez sent a telling pass through the Wizards' rearguard that found Panchito Mendoza on the left wing. Mendoza's cross was met by Ante Razov for his tenth of the year.

The Wizards tied it three minutes later, a long ball out of the back finding playmaker Carlos Marinelli who crossed to fellow Argentine Eloy Colombano. It was the rookie's first-ever MLS goal.

Razov's second was a worthy winner, a stunning 20-yard strike off a pass from Lawson Vaughn that left Hartman with no chance and no 1,000th save. (He's now on 999).

"It would have been a (naughty word) hell of a save," said Hartman, who is still a great quote, despite being in a different locker room. "To let a goal in, in that way, was very disturbing."

Hartman thought the Wizards were the better team on the night, despite losing.

"I didn't necessarily think they were worth the three points tonight," he said."Chivas is a team that plays unbelievable possession soccer and I thought we managed to disrupt that tonight."

Preki agreed with Hartman about the result, but believed a modicum of justice had been done given that he thought Chivas USA dominated against the Wizards in Kansas City in July, yet lost.

"It feels very good to win when you don't play well," said Preki with an uncharacteristicly wide smile on his face. "I'm not going to feel bad about this."

Chivas USA beat writer Ivan Orozco has the full details - and Razov remembers that July game against the Wizards, too, - in the game story.

Chivas USA are pretty stoked about Saturday night given the breathless press release the club issued early Sunday:

“With its 2-1 win tonight over the Kansas City Wizards at Home Depot Center, Chivas USA has clinched a berth in the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, for the second year in a row, with five games still remaining in the club’s 30-game MLS regular season.

Fans can reserve their seats for Chivas USA’s first-round MLS Cup Playoff match (date and opponent TBD) by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visiting www.cdchivasusa.com. Fans should be sure to ask about the Chivas USA Playoff Pack, which starts at just $56 and gets fans four limited edition Chivas USA Playoff t-shirts and four tickets to Chivas USA’s Western Conference Semifinal Series opener at Home Depot Center.

Led by rookie Head Coach Preki, a leading candidate for 2007 MLS Coach of the Year, along with MLS Newcomer of the Year contender Maykel Galindo, Goalkeeper of the Year frontrunner Brad Guzan, MLS Defender of the Year candidate Claudio Suárez and MLS MVP contender Sacha Kljestan, among others, the Red-and-White have compiled an 14-6-5 record (W-L-T) to date, while remaining undefeated in 12 matches at home.

This marks the second year in a row that Chivas USA has earned a postseason berth. After joining Major League Soccer as an expansion franchise in 2005, when the team finished last in MLS with a 4-22-6 record (W-L-T), Chivas USA qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2006 after compiling a 10-9-13 regular-season record.

This year, Chivas USA seeks to surpass its first playoff run, in 2006, which ended with a heartbreaking last-minute loss to the Houston Dynamo in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals.

Following Saturday’s win, Chivas USA closes out its ‘September to Remember’ by hosting Mexican National Team legend Cuauhtémoc Blanco and the Chicago Fire next Saturday, Sept. 29 vs. (kickoff 7:30 p.m. PT). Tickets are available by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visiting www.cdchivasusa.com.”

I'll have more on the Chivas USA-Chicago Fire match-up focusing on the renewal of a Mexican rivalry in the U.S. (Blanco-Claudio Suarez and all) in my Tuesday column.

The Wizards enjoyed the bulk of the possession early on, with Chivas USA perhaps missing the experienced and calming influence of suspended midfielder Jesse Marsch, the only ever-present in the team's starting line-up until tonight.

Chivas USA was not without its opportunities on the counter attack, although Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman has yet to achieve 1,000 saves (in fact he didn't have to make a single one).

Overall it was a fairly slow opening half, with the game's first shot on target not occurring until the 38th minute, when the Wizards' Eddie Johnson prompted one from Chivas USA's Brad Guzan.

Wizards forward Ryan Pore came out in the 27th minute, suffering from blurred vision. Argentine rookie Eloy Colombano replaced him.

Chivas USA, unbeaten in their last seven and needing a point to land a playoff berth, host the visting Wizards who are in the seventh and penultimate playoff spot.

Chivas USA has MLS shutout leader Brad Guzan between the pipes as usual, with Alex Zotinca returning from suspension in the backline alongside the returning captain Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein.

With Jesse Marsch suspended, Lawson Vaughn lines up in midfield with regulars Sasha Kljesten, Paulo Nagamura and Panchito Mendoza.

Maykel Galindo, the fourth leading scorer in MLS with 12 goals, returns to start up front with Ante Razov (nine goals).

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman returns to the HDC for the first time against Chivas USA, in front of the first choice back four of Jack Jewsbury, Jose Burciaga Jr., and Nick Garcia.

Michael Harrington comes into midfield in place of Kurt Morsink, with the trio of Carlos Marinelli, Kerry Zavagnin and Davy Arnaud.

Eddie Johnson, who has 15 MLS goals on the season, partners Ryan Pore up front in place of the injured Scott Sealey.

Ex-Galaxy player Sasha Victorine is on the bench.

The Wizards have just two wins in their last seven, but are coming off a 3-2 come-frrom-behind win against the Columbus Crew, when they scored two goals in second half stoppage time.

Marsch, by the way, will blog for 100 Percent Soccer beginning Monday and will vent about his suspension.

The game is on FSN.

Updated: Hartman is three saves away from recording his 1,000th save, which will make him only the third MLS galkeeper to reach that mark.

Boxx Goal Clinches U.S. Win Over England

With a goal that typifies her game, Torrance's Shannon Boxx won the ball outside England's 18-yard box and grabbed the second of three U.S. goals scored within a 15-minute second half span today to send the Americans through to the World Cup semifinals.

Abby Wambach (her fourth in four World Cup games) and Kristine Lilly also contributed goals in the 3-0 victory.

"Cat actually got the tackle in," said Boxx of her decisive left-footed shot for the second goal. "It popped right in front of me and my thought was just to take a quick shot. I hit it low ,which is what the midfielders have been working on, and the field, I think, helped. It skipped in. It was nice and quick.”

Boxx and Leslie Osborne combined well in midfield and England threat Kelly Smith was largely shut down.

“Something just clicks with us, our communication," Osborne said of the partnership. "We feel comfortable with each other out there. We read off each other really well, and we played offense and defense tonight. We’re not just two defensive midfielders. We can keep the ball for us, possess, and we’re not going to let anything past us. It’s just fun out there, and we enjoy being out there together.”

All three U.S. goals aptly exemplified the style of the player who scored: Wambach crashed in for her goal off a corner, Boxx won the ball and then quickly attacked for her 16th international goal while Lilly poached her's.

Nice to see ESPN belatedly get commentators J.P. Dellacamera and Julie Foudy to China, too.

In the day's other game, Germany disposed of North Korea.

Saturday Sorcery

Chivas USA Coach Preki pits his tactical tricks against former team the Kansas City Wizards today at Home Deport Center with a playoff place on the line.

Here's a preview.

And even if Chivas USA takes a lead against the Wizards, the team shouldn't automatically assume K.C. can't come back, The Kansas City Star suggests. Chivas USA are unbeaten at home this season, but at times have looked (more than one critic has suggested) brittle at the back.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA opens its first American retail store Sunday in Huntington Park.

From the press release:

“The ChivasPop store, the first of its kind in the U.S., will carry official adidas Chivas USA merchandise, as well as official Reebok merchandise from Chivas USA’s Mexican parent club Chivas de Guadalajara, including jerseys, posters, soccer gear and a whole lot more.

ChivasPop stores, which in recent years have opened across Mexico’s largest cities, derive their name from ‘Chivas Popular’, a tribute to Mexico’s most beloved soccer brand. The ChivasPop store, the first of its kind for a professional soccer team in Los Angeles County, bears the same layout and feel of all existing ChivasPop stores in Mexico.

Chivas USA captain Claudio ‘El Emperador’ Suárez, as well as midfielder Francisco Mendoza and forward Maykel Galindo, will be on hand at Sunday’s Grand Opening, where Chivas fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet all three players, plus the ChivaGirls and Chivas USA officials.”

College Roundup

Friday's college games are here (South Bay-oriented) and here (Valley-centric)

I asked Torrance's Shannon Boxx to blog while she was in China at the World Cup representing the U.S. Women's National Team.

She had trouble connecting to the Internet in China Friday , but persevered and kindly took the time to blog these thoughts that landed in my in box at 11:50 p.m. Friday PT mere hours before the 4:55 a.m. US-England game that's live on ESPN2.

Here's what Boxxy had to say:

Ni Hao from China: It’s game day here in Tianjin.

We are now in the playoff rounds of the tournament and it’s either win or go home.

After coming in first in our group we now face a good England team at 8 p.m. local time.

We have had three good days to rest our legs after playing in our third group game against Nigeria in Shanghai. The team is now itching to get back on the field.

My game day routine is not much different over here than it is back in the States. The hotels we have been staying in have been great about cooking us the food that we like to eat.

This morning I woke up and had my banana pancakes and coffee, a game day ritual for me.

I have taken a walk by the river that runs next to our hotel and have visited with my mom and sister who have come over to watch. Now it’s just about staying relaxed and getting hydrated.

Our pre-game meal is in about an hour and I'm thinking about watching a couple “Rescue Me” episodes, which I have become hooked on while being here.

Even though I am counting down the days till I can have my first El Burrito Jr. meal I hope tonight will be successful and we will continue on the road to bringing home the World Cup trophy.

-Shannon

Don't forget to set up that TiVo (or get up early for the U.S.-England World Cup game Saturday morning).

Read the previous post for a complete game preview, but here's what else is going on in soccer-related news locally today.

No season ticket increase for Galaxy games in '08

That's what the club announced today - for current season ticket holders - in a press release.

And considering the quality of soccer on the field this year, even the Galaxy wouldn't have the chutzpah to shaft their most loyal supporters.

Still, from what I've been hearing, long-time fans have been slowly drifting off ever since former Coach Sigi Schmid was fired.

Not surprisingly there's a lively debate on a couple of message boards among fans discussing whether to renew or not.

Here's the (edited) press release:

“As a sign of our appreciation for our season ticket holders continued support and loyalty, they are being given the exclusive opportunity to purchase 2008 season tickets at the 2007 prices if renewed by October 19, 2007,” said LA Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas. “The results to date have not been what our fans expect or deserve, but there is much to be excited about for 2008 and beyond. As always, we remain committed to giving our season seat holders a successful and entertaining team and one that fans can be proud to support, on and off the field.”

In response to requests from fans that the club confirm next season’s seat locations as early as possible, the Galaxy are asking for the commitment of returning full season ticket holders for the 2008 season by October 19, 2007. After that date, any unsecured seating locations will be released to people wishing to relocate or purchase new season tickets, and the 2007 season price will no longer be available.”

U.S.-Catalonia Friendly Officially Cancelled

In the day's least surprising news, U.S. Soccer formally announced what most fans knew a couple of weeks back: the U.S.-Catalonia game set for Oct. 14 is off after the Spanish FA nixed it.

Here's the (edited) press release

“No replacement match will be scheduled, and the U.S. will face 2008 European Championship co-host Switzerland on Oct. 17 in Basel. Kickoff at St. Jakob Park is set for (11:30 p.m. PT) live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.

U.S. Soccer spent two weeks negotiating with the Catalonian Federation and the RFEF trying to reach a positive resolution. The Spanish Federation, who has authority for sanctioning any match played in Spain, ultimately chose not to allow the match to take place.

"We are disappointed that the match will not be played, since we believe playing Catalonia would be an excellent experience for our players,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “Nonetheless, we respect the decision of the Spanish Federation.”

The U.S. will now focus on playing Switzerland on Oct. 17 in Basel.

Switzerland finished in first place in Group G of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, ahead of eventual runners up France. Falling to Ukraine in the Round of 16 in penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation time, the Swiss became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated from the tournament without surrendering a single goal. As co-hosts, Switzerland is automatically entered into Euro 2008, which will take place from June 7-29 across eight venues in Austria and Switzerland. ”

LMU Women & Bruins Men Win

Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa played a major role in the UCLA victory.

Soccer is Good For You!

But you knew that.

The U.S. meets England at 4:55 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2 in the World Cup quarterfinals as the knockout phase of the tournament begins.

South Bay resident Brian Boswell, coach of Women's Premiere Soccer League team Ajax America Women agreed to provide a pre-match analysis for 100 Percent Soccer.

Ajax America Women are the current U.S. Open Women’s Cup Champions and ranked No. 4 team in the world by Womensworldfootball.com.

Under Boswell, Ajax America Women have won the U.S.Women’s Open Cup five times since 1998. Boswell is ranked the No. 5 women’s coach in the world behind U.S. coach Greg Ryan by the same ranking service. Boswell is a native of London, England.

Former South (Torrance) High star Shannon Boxx and Abby Wambach played for Ajax America before joining before the U.S. Women’s team camp.

Here's Brian's view of the contest:

One of the tournament favorites, the U.S., plays an up and coming England team, with the Americans winning their group and England finishing second to a powerful Germany.

Before the start of the tournament forecasting this result was easy, with the U.S. ranked No. 1 in the world and unbeaten in 42 games playing the tenth-ranked England team who just made it out of Europe to qualify for the World Cup.

But now the tournament has started things are a little different.

The U.S. battled to a tie with North Korea in their first group game after being 2-1 down. The U.S. was lucky not to concede a third in the final minutes to a Korean team that had more possession, better movement off the ball and matched the U. S. athletically.

The second game against a Swedish side that plays similarly to the U.S. finished with a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory for the Americans.

In the third game a deflection off a soft shot gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead against Nigeria after 57 seconds and the Americans were able to hold onto that lead for the next 90 minutes.

England also tied their first game against Japan after being ahead twice. Japan tied the game with two great free kicks from just outside the penalty area, although England should have won.

England’s second game was a 0-0 tie with Germany which had just come off of an 11-0 demolition of Argentina. England defended for most of the game but was able to keep the free-scoring Germans at bay.

England’s third game was a 6-1 thrashing of hapless Argentina.

So how do they match up now?

The U.S. certainly has not hit their stride yet. Is it the pressure of being pre tournament favorites or knowing they were in the group of death with the third, fifth, and nineteenth ranked teams in the world? Or the expectations of their soccer playing homeland that feel anything less than a championship would be failure?

I think it was all these.

I have got to know a number of the U.S. players and I know the pressure and expectation has been intense. Comparisons with previous American teams have also been thrust upon them. Can they compare with the teams of Mia, Julie, Brandi, and Joy etc.?

All of these factors heaped upon the shoulders of the least experienced team the U.S. has sent to a World Cup since 1991 made for a difficult beginning to the tournament. The group of death has gone, it's time to play. I think it is easier now the games are must win.

England is certainly living up to expectations. They had a tie that should have been a win against a Japanese team that was almost playing at home. A great game against Germany and a resounding win against Argentina.

How do the teams stack up against each other?

U.S. Coach Greg Ryan has tinkered with the formation playing 4-3-3 against North Korea and reverting back to a more comfortable 3-4-3 against Sweden and Nigeria.

The U.S. plays forward quickly and has great attacking options in Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly.

The problem in the early games is that the defense was bypassing the midfield and going straight to the forwards, asking too much of the forwards without support from their midfield. I’m sure that in the last few days the coaching staff has emphasized more midfield possession and playing the ball wide earlier. The nerves should be gone and the confidence to play the ball out of trouble will again be apart of the U.S. game. Abby and Kristine will get more support and you will see Carli Lloyd become much more of an attacking option. The U.S. is the fittest, most athletic team in the tournament and when their game comes together they will be very, very difficult to beat. They need to possess the ball more and not rush to get it forward.

England on the other hand seem set in their 4-4-2 formation.

They possess the ball well, but I feel with the U.S. pressure this will become more difficult.

Look for them to defend in numbers and try to hit the U.S. on the counter attack.

They rely greatly on Kelly Smith (four goals so far) who is one of the best-kept secrets in the World Cup. Kelly was with Philadelphia in the WUSA before tearing her ACL. She now plays for the Arsenal women’s team along with seven others in the England squad. Arsenal are the English League Champions, F.A. Cup champions, League Cup Champions and European Champions. This core of players adds greatly to the England success. They have all played many high profile matches, which is helping them in their first World Cup.

Both teams have some great players, but I feel the U.S. has more.

The attacking pair of Wambach and Lilly is probably the most potent in the world and should be too much for the England defense.

The U.S. midfield is young, but it is anchored by Shannon Boxx who when on her game is the best holding female midfield player in the world. She started off slowly against North Korea but now seems to be back into stride.

The defense is anchored by two veterans, Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf. Stephanie Lopez, still at college, seems to get better with each game. Behind all of these is Hope Solo, possibly the best goalkeeper in the World Cup, although she did let a soft one in against North Korea.

Expect deep-lying Smith to battle with Boxxy.

Katie Chapman is England’s Boxx; She did not play against Argentina due to yellow card accumulation, but will be well rested for the U.S.

England will depend on her to win balls and settle things down. Faye White, the player of the game against Germany, is the glue for the defense.

England is playing better as a team, although their group was easier, but the U.S. just has too many weapons.

The game should be tight, but I think the U.S. pressure will wear the English down.

Prediction: 3-1 U.S.

Updated:
Boxxy sat down for an interview with U.S. Soccer before Saturday's game.

AP has more on the game here.

Also, one of the best American soccer reporters, Steven Goff of The Washington Post, has been blogging from China.

A couple of notes from U.S. Soccer:

“FAIR PLAY DAY - FIFA will hold World Fair Play Days during the quarterfinal matches to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace Friday, an invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities around the world. Shortly before kick-off, both team captains will read a declaration to support fair play on the pitch and in society. The special activity will be broadcast to 200 territories across all six confederations. FIFA has celebrated Fair Play Days since 1997 and this year is the fourth time that the events will be linked to the International Day of Peace.

ABBY TO HIT 100 - The England match will be the 100th career cap for Wambach, making her the 20th U.S. player to hit the century mark. The 27-year-old has the best goals per game ratio in U.S. history, having found the net 80 times in her 99 matches, and averages a goal for about every 90 minutes she plays for the national team.

WEATHER REPORT - A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected in what will likely be the first match in the Women’s World Cup for the USA played in good weather and on a pitch in excellent condition.”

Galaxy Can't Hold Lead

Pasadena City College product Yura Movsisyan getting an assist in his Real Salt Lake debut against the Galaxy Wednesday, UEFA Champions League results and news of drama at Chelsea is here.

Torrance's World Cup Fern

Torrance's Simone Carmicheal (Ferrara), who overcame an Achilles tendon rupture to make New Zealand's squad, played the last eight minutes of the Ferns' World Cup-ending 2-0 loss to China this morning.

I'll have a preview on Friday of the U.S. Women's quarterfinal Saturday against England including a pre-game analysis from one of the top women's soccer coaches in the world, Ajax America's Brian Boswell.

School Is In

College beat writer Chris Jackson riffs on the prospects for local college programs including LMU and Cal State Dominguez Hills here.

The LMU women look to extend their two-game winning streak with a pair of matches this week. First, LMU seeks revenge for last year's NCAA first round loss against Cal State Fullerton at 7 o'clock tonight at Titan Stadium. Sullivan Field is the site for the first match of a five-game home stand against Fresno State at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The CSUDH men ran their win streak to seven Wednesday beating UC San Diego 3-0 at Toro Stadium. The Toros (7-1, 5-0 CCAA) continue their homestand Friday with a 4:30 p.m,. game against cross-town rival and Far West Finalist Cal State L.A.

Freshman keeper Alyssa Congdon (South Torrance High) tallied 10 saves the as the Cal State Dominguez Hills women drew 0-0 with UC San Diego in double overtime Wednesday at Toro Stadium. CSUDH plays at 7p.m. Friday against Cal State L.A.

The sixth-ranked UCLA women's soccer team (3-1-1) has a pair of matches this week, traveling to Pepperdine (1-4-1) for a 3 p.m. Friday game and hosting Hawaii (5-0-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday. UCLA boasts a 10-match winning streak over Pepperdine.

Long Beach State (4-3-0) participate in the Oklahoma Sooner Classic this weekend playing Middle Tennessee (3-2-1) Friday and North Texas (6-0-0) on Sunday.

U.S. Head to 2010 World Cup Hosts in November

The U.S. Soccer press release:

“The U.S. Men’s National Team will make their first-ever trip to South Africa when they take on the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts on Nov. 17 in Johannesburg as part of the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup. Kick off at Ellis Park Stadium, which will host one World Cup semifinal match in 2010, is set for 7 a.m. PT, with the television schedule yet to be determined. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

The Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, an annual one-off event typically hosted in South Africa, began in 1994 and has seen South Africa face opponents like Brazil, Argentina, Holland, Nigeria and a host of others.

“It is a great honor to be invited to participate in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “South Africa has always had a talented team, and the match represents an excellent opportunity for our players to travel and play in South Africa.”

The United States will make a rare trip to Africa, playing on the continent for just the third time in their long history. Their last visit came eight years to the day before the November match, a 1-2 loss to Morocco on Nov. 17, 1999 in Marrakech. The only other trip to Africa was also against Morocco in 1992, when the U.S. suffered a 3-1 loss in Casablanca. As the 2007 Gold Cup Champions, the U.S. will represent CONCACAF in the 2009 Confederations Cup to be held in South Africa one year prior the World Cup.

In the only prior meeting between the two sides, the U.S. beat South Africa, 4-0, on June 3, 2000, in Washington, D.C. Cobi Jones tallied twice that day, with Earnie Stewart and Claudio Reyna rounding out the scoring as Kasey Keller earned the shutout.

Under the leadership of Bradley, the United States has posted an impressive 10-5-1 record in 2007. Bradley, who took the reigns in December of 2006, became the first coach in U.S. history to record victories in his first three games with wins against Denmark, Mexico and Ecuador. Leading the charge on the field has been two-time U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year Landon Donovan, who has already amassed nine goals in 12 games played this year. With his strike in the Gold Cup final, the 25-year-old moved into a tie for first place on the USA’s all-time leading goal-scoring chart with 34 goals.

Eight days after the Nov. 17 match, South Africa will host the Preliminary Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The event, held in Durban, will determine the qualifying schedule for 156 countries spanning five confederations. The South American qualifying competition begins Oct. 13 with all ten teams in action.”

Updated 2 p.m.

China out, Carlos Ruiz in against Mexico in LA?

Soccer United Marketing announced today that Guatemala will replace China as Mexico's fifth and final opponent of the year on U.S. soil Oct. 17 at the Coliseum. No reason was given for the switch.

Tickets, starting at $25, go on sale Friday.

The (edited) press release:

“The game will mark the Los Angeles debut of Hugo Sánchez as head coach of “el Tri”, closing out Mexico’s 2007 U.S. Tour.

Three of the four matches so far have been played in front of sold-out crowds across the country, from San Diego to Oakland to Boston.

The last time the Mexican National Team played in Southern California was May 2006, when Mexico defeated Venezuela in front of more than 50,000 fans at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. Guatemala drew large crowds in Los Angeles during the recent 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup including a sold-out match day at the Home Depot Center when the Central American national faced its rival El Salvador on June 9th.

The match in Los Ángeles will be the first meeting between both sides since 2006 World Cup qualifying when México beat Guatemala in San Luís Potosí, México 5-2 on October 8, 2005. In its history, Mexico has a record of 17-3-6 against the Central American country.

“Futbol Fiesta,” a pre-game fan interactive zone that spans more than 100,000 square feet at every game that includes live music and thousands of promotional items, will be part of the event.

Youth Is Served in Carson

From U.S. Soccer:

"The U.S. Under-14 and Under-15 Girl’s National Teams are participating in the second annual Women’s Nike Friendlies, which began Wednesday evening and run through Sunday at Home Depot Center.

The Under-14 squad, all born in 1993, will match up against the top Under-16 club teams from all over the country, while the Under-15 team will be pitted against the nation’s best Under-17 clubs.

Under-15 head coach Tad Bobak named a 23-player roster for the friendlies last week, and will also be watching the U-14 GNT in their first-ever competitive matches to get an early start on picking next year’s player pool.

Southern Californians on the roster include: (for the U.S. U-15 team) goalkeeper Makenna Henry (Fountain Valley); defender Mia Bruno (Rancho Palos Verdes); midfielders Michelle Cruz (Thousand Oaks) and Natalia Ledezma (La Mirada).

(For the U.S. U-14 team): midfielders Jennifer Gonzalez (Alta Loma), Lo’eau LaBonta (Rancho Cucamonga), Vania Robles (Arcadia), Haley Rosen (Palos Verdes).

Here's a game schedule.

Kyle's third post:

It was an exciting weekend for UCLA men's soccer as we went into the weekend without a win under our belts for the beginning of the season but came away with two wins.

The first match played on Friday night against Ohio St. was a very eventful night game where we tallied three goals.

The first goal resulted from a through ball I played to Maxwell Griffin, who nicely placed it past the keeper. Soon later, we were awarded a penalty kick from a handball in the box, and Mikey Stephens converted it with ease.

The first half involved some impressive play from our side, as we were able to connect numerous combinations and present a style of soccer that is very enjoyable to watch.

The third goal came from a corner in the second half that I hit to Jason Leopoldo, who jumped above every defender to perfectly head the ball in the back of the net. The win against Ohio State really gave us some momentum going into Sunday's game.

Sunday's game was another great showing for us against our opponent Penn State, ending 4-1 in our favor, which concluded a very promising weekend for us.

The game showed an exciting display of offensive-minded soccer from us, but defensively we were very efficient in ensuring the win. The game was highlighted by Maxwell Griffin's hat trick where all three goals began with great build-ups from the back to the front. What a way to top off the weekend!

We are off to San Francisco Wednesday to play USF on Thursday night and then Santa Clara on Saturday night. It will be two very challenging games, but we are up for the challenge.

Go Bruins!

The Galaxy are in Utah tonight with kick off at 6 o'clock on FSN.

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has a preview, a note on security at Home Depot Center in the wake of the SuperClassico and another money-spinning David Beckham exhibition.

The Galaxy's Chris Klein talked to The Salt Lake City Tribune about his time with Real Salt Lake.

By the way, Cobi Jones could achieve a notable statistical milestone this evening, according to the Galaxy PR folks:

“Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones is now just one game away from competing in his 300th regular season game of his MLS career. Since the inaugural 1996 season, Jones has appeared in 299 games for the Galaxy, scoring 70 goals and adding 89 assists. If Jones, who has said that he will retire after the 2007 season, appears in just one more game, he will join Steve Ralston, Chris Henderson and Jason Kreis as the only players in league history to have appeared in 300 or more regular season games in MLS history.”

Here's more on the Galaxy exhibition in New Zealand. The figure quoted in the story is in New Zealand dollars, of course.

Meanwhile, a moment I've been dreading has arrived: the Galaxy are asking media members for their nominations for Defender of the Year and MVP.

Gulp.

Um, how about Chris Albright (for both?).

Suggestions welcome.

Shannon Boxx isn't the only Southern Californian at the Women's World Cup; Torrance resident Simone Carmichael (Ferrara) is representing New Zealand after recovering from a devastating achilles injury in May.

New Zealand plays China at 4:55 a.m. Wednesday on ESPN2 in its last group game so I e-mailed Simone to see if she would get some playing time.

Her response:

“There is a possibility that I'll get a little bit of time tonight, but I'm not positive. The World Cup experience has been amazing, I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity, especially with my injury. What an amazing event.

Its been a very different experience for me because I haven't been playing, but one I will remember for the rest of my life. It has been a great spring board for me to be ready for the Olympics.

My Achilles is finally feeling pretty close to 100%, perhaps about a week too late, but I can't complain about my recovery."

Meanwhile, Bruin Kara Lang plays at 1:55 a.m. for Canada against Australia on ESPN2.

Canada, which suffered a 2-1 loss to Norway in its opening match of the tournament, likely needs a win to move out of the group, although a draw would be good enough if Ghana defeats Norway. Lang, who has started both matches in China, could be back in a Bruin uniform at the earliest Sept. 28 against Portland at home.

Updated 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: The two games were postponed.

An updated television schedule is here.

Despite a fast start to the game for the U.S. against Nigeria this morning, the Americans couldn't put the Africans away in the 1-0 win. Nigeria actually had a couple of good opportunities to equalize in the last 15 minutes, almost making the U.S. pay for not being more ruthless in what were admittedly extremely difficult conditions.

Still, the U.S. tops its group and plays Saturday against England.

Here's the game story.

To give you an idea of how awful the weather for the game was, here is what Shanghai is bracing for.

Not surprisingly, that's meant some adjustments to the World Cup schedule.

Meanwhile, I took a look at what the recent hiring of former AEG exec Shawn Hunter means for Chivas USA in my regular weekly column.

Chivas USA co-owner Antonio Cue, right, welcomes new club president
and CEO Shawn Hunter with a team jersey. El Cazador means "the hunter" in
Spanish.

Finally, the UEFA Champions League resumes for another season today with ESPN2 televising the Liverpool-Porto game (kick off is 11:30 a.m.). Here's the complete television schedule.

This is her first post:

Finishing the weekend with two CCAA victories was the perfect way to celebrate my 21st birthday.

We played San Francisco State University on Friday, which also happened to be my birthday. My team gave me the best birthday present, helping me score a goal and two assists in the 3-0 victory over the Gators and another goal in the 2-0 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay two days later.

Before last weekend we were 0-1-1 in conference play with an overtime loss to Cal Poly Pomona and a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Cal State San Bernadino, but as a team we stayed composed, kept our heads up and every player worked together to accomplish getting two much-needed wins this past weekend.

We now will start preparing ourselves for No. 2 ranked San Diego, which we face this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in Toro Stadium. The Tritons are undefeated this season, so we have a lot to work on this week.

I think with this team having so many experienced players, including five four-year seniors, we are as ready as we have ever been to take on UC San Diego. The glue holding our team together is our stellar defense lead by Sandy Lloyd, Krista Rojas and Fawna Waldo. Those girls really do not get enough credit for the awesome job they do every game.

Our team has bonded together to form one unit that is ready to work hard for one another to accomplish our goals. Although we are taking it one game at a time, we want the end result to lead us to another CCAA Championship and NCAA bid.

I can’t believe this is my last season playing college soccer, but I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for me.

GO TOROS!

Chivas USA Choke

Carson's other soccer team, Chivas USA, squandered a chance to secure a playoff berth Sunday in Denver, a ghastly defensive miscue allowing the Colorado Rapids to nab a draw.

Here's a playoff update from MLS:

“NEW YORK (Monday, Sept. 17, 2007) – By winning their respective matches over the weekend, the New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo secured berths in the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, bringing the total number of teams to clinch a spot to three. D.C. United clinched a spot last Wednesday.

Five spots remain unclaimed as 10 teams vie for a chance to reach MLS Cup 2007 on Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. Among those, Chivas USA is the closest to clinching, as only a wild sequence of outcomes could remove them from playoff contention. While the Colorado Rapids could match Chivas USA’s current point total of 44, they would need to make up a large margin in goal differential to win the tiebreaker. Thus, Chivas USA can clinch with a win or a tie in their next game. FC Dallas could also clinch this week with a win and some help from other results.”

USA World Cup Preview

There was a brief look ahead to Tuesday's U.S. Women's World Cup game at the end of the Chivas USA story. A few more details from U.S. Soccer follow. Kick off, by the way is at 4:55 a.m. on ESPN for those who want to get an early start on their day.

Here are the various scenarios for the U.S. to win the group (and likely avoid playing China)

“If North Korea defeats Sweden, the USA must:
1. Win and beat Nigeria by a greater margin than North Korea beats Sweden.
2. Win and beat Nigeria by the same margin than North Korea beats Sweden, but score more goals than North Korea.
If North Korea ties Sweden, the USA must:
1. Defeat Nigeria
2. Tie Nigeria, and either score more goals in its tie than North Korea, or if both the USA and North Korea score the same amount of goals in their tie, emerge from the match with less overall cards (yellow and red) than North Korea received in its three group matches. The USA currently has one yellow and North Korea has two.
If Sweden defeats North Korea, the USA must:
1. Tie, or beat Nigeria by any score”

Got all that?

And just to complicate matters further, here's a weather report:

“Heavy rain is expected in Shanghai on game day as Typhoon Wipha is expected to batter the east coast of China. There is a 90% chance of rain – meaning it’s going to rain – and the already chewed up field at Shanghai Hongkou Stadium will certainly present a most difficult playing surface. Winds could reach between 30 to 55 miles per hour, and as any soccer fan knows, wind wrecks havoc on a soccer game.”

College Roundup

UCLA's Maxwell Griffin got the Bruins' first hat trick since former Chivas USA forward Matt Taylor recorded one in 2003 in a 4-1 win over Penn State Sunday afternoon.

The 10th-ranked Bruins improved their record to 2-2-1.

In the earlier match-up at Drake Stadium, 12th-ranked Ohio State defeated Cal State Fullerton, 6-1.

Meanwhile, the sixth-ranked UCLA women found the back of the net three times Sunday, posting a 3-1 victory over Cal State Northridge at Matador Soccer Field. The Bruins, paced by a pair of goals from sophomore Lauren Cheney, improved to 3-1-1 on the season. The Matadors fell to 1-4-1.

The Loyola Marymount women scored three times in the second half to defeat Michigan 3-0 in the finale of the LMU/Four Points Sheraton Culver City Classic at Sullivan Field Sunday in Westchester.
The Lions earned a share of the title at their home tournament for the fifth straight season and improved to 2-3-1.

The No. 13-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills men's team crushed Cal State Monterey Bay 4-0 Sunday at Toro Stadium.

One highlight, according to the CSUDH press release:

“As the second half opened, freshman Tibu Casillas (Gardena, CA/Animo Leadership High gave the crowd a thrill as he took a loose ball just past mid-field and weaved in, out, around and through what seemed like the entire CSUMB defense before sending his blast past Baca for a 3-0 cushion.”

The Toros, now 6-1, continue their CCAA homestand at 7 p.m. Wednesday against UC San Diego.

Senior Corrie Hirokawa (North Torrance High) and junior Kelly Matosian of Lakewood each scored to lead the CSUDH women (5-1-2) past Cal State Monterey Bay Sunday morning at Toro Stadium. The women also play UC San Diego Wednesday.

Long Beach State (4-3-0) posted their second-straight victory of the weekend, beating Baylor 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.

No Home Depot Center Wi-Fi meant no blogging from the game tonight, but frankly that was a blessing.

This was another insipid, uninspired display from a Galaxy team numerically and qualitatively short on players committing the same old problems and saying the same old things.

There were fans with brown paper bags on their heads at the game.

Coach Frank Yallop is sick of it too.

"Just start the questions," he said as he walked into the post-game press conference. "I've got no opening comments."

If I hear someone from the organization use the word naive one more time I'll have world champion boxer Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton (sitting next to David Beckham tonight in the AEG suite) give 'em a belt).

A sign one fan held in the stands tonight said it all: "Sampson never lost to Chivas." Ouch.

Yallop pulled no punches of his own tonight.

"Our confidence level tonight was piss poor, especially at the back," he said. "Anybody attacks us, we (soil) ourselves."

It's hardly worth discussing the game from a Galaxy perspective (although it should be noted the Dynamo clinched a playoff spot tonight).

Lets just say the tone was set when the Galaxy was forced to clear a ball off their goal line in the 10th minute. It went downhill from there.

It's safe to say the "Peanuts" theme music used for the kids' games at half time would have been appropriate for the main event.

Still, Alexi Lalas, president and general manager (for now) refused to guarantee Yallop his job as Toronto FC has done for Mo Johnston.

"We're not going to discuss technical staffing at this point," he said. "There's a much bigger picture we have to assess when we look at the staffing of the organization."

I'm not sure I even know what that means.

One possible translation: "I don't have the authority to guarantee Frank his job. (Especially when mine is in jeopardy)."

Game story here.

Updated: The Houston Chronicle had a telling quote Monday from Dwayne De Rosario:

“"The old Galaxy team was definitely a little more hungry," he said adding that his team exploited the Galaxy's lack of cohesion. "The team that doesn't work together is basically destruction waiting to happen. They're going to get down on each other and start yelling at each other. Then you start picking them apart. That's what we did.”

Both Chivas USA and the Galaxy play today, with the Goats on the road at noon in Denver and the Galaxy kicking off in Carson at 5 p.m. against the Houston Dynamo.

Because the Columbus Crew lost to the Wizards Saturday, Chivas USA can clinch a playoff berth with a win today.

Thumbnail previews of both games are here.

Here's the view from Houston and why the Dynamo will root today for Galaxy rivals Chivas USA.

KROQ held the "LA Invasion" at the HDC Saturday and the state of the turf is always an issue after concerts.

AEG put together a guide to the conversion process for the concert and the subsequent return of the grass field. Here's an edited version: There's not much margin for error:

The four-day, 24-hour a day, 100+ person field crew process began immediately following the Thursday Chivas USA-Galaxy and ended by 3:30 p.m. today.

The turf protection system included 100,000-square-feet of Terrafloor (for 10,000 standing-room tickets on the field) and 10,000 square feet of Terrafloor2 and Enkamat Plus to better protect areas enduring the majority of field stress (the stage area/south endline).

Underneath the stage area, Enkamat is laid under the T-2 to allow the grass to breathe. The T-2 plastic surfaces are denser than the regular Terrafloor to endure more stress.

In preparation for conversion, the field was sprayed three times in the past week with biostimulant, calcium and potassium nutrients from Floratine Products Group to help combat the stress during the concert, and speed-up the recovery post-concert. This process is a pre-concert and post-concert program that The Home Depot Center does in preparation for every concert.

Other preventative measures included spraying the field with Fungicide to prevent disease from developing while the field was covered.

No resodding was done to field prior to Sunday’s Galaxy’s game, however, we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars resodding portions of the field throughout the year.

A quick summary of Saturday's MLS and Women's World Cup action is here.

Can't We All Just Get Along

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz follows up today on the growing rivalry between some elements of Galaxy and Chivas USA fans that was displayed at Thursday's SuperClassico.

Not surprisingly, the scuffles and taunting that apparently took place are the subject of several threads over on the LA Riot Squad message boards you can check out by clicking the link to the right under the "Los Angeles" listing. (Parental advisory: strong language and opinions).

Despite the name, the Riot Squad are not and have never been violent types. Still, it seems all concerned need to take more responsibility for their actions and/or words (stadium security gets blamed by one Chivas USA fan because they didn't park the cars of opposing sets of fans in different lots? C'mon, grow up).

Still, security at games has been a problem dating back to the day the stadium opened. Reporters also grumble about the inaction or apparently arbitrary decisions made by what appear to be power hungry stadium security types. Here's a hilarious example of stadium security in "action," for instance.

Witz' story is in sharp contrast to one published Friday about Chivas USA fans.

College Roundup

Friday's local college action is here.

World Cup Update

Lastly, Torrance's Shannon Boxxx didn't come on the field until half time, but the U.S. women beat Sweden in its second group game.

Boxx teamed up in midfield with Leslie Osborne.

"We’ve always known that we could have the two of us back there if we’re up a goal or if we needed the presence of two defensive center mids," Boxx said. "Me and Leslie just work so well together. It made it very easy for us to defend. ... We have the same kind of mentality. We are both hard, good in the air and we were very organized back there.”

Despite what it says below Kyle's picture, this is his second post:

This weekend we traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to play Creighton on Saturday night.

We arrived on Friday afternoon to get in a short training session in Creighton's state-of-the-art college soccer stadium. The stadium resembled a first division English soccer stadium but was equipped with field turf. Fortunately, the majority of our team had prior experience on the surface, so playing a game on it was not too unfamiliar.

The game against Creighton was a memorable one. We set our opponent’s attendance record for the second time in just two weeks (we did the same at Indiana), and we played before a crowd of nearly 6,000 loud spectators.

The atmosphere was amazing as we battled Creighton for 110 minutes. We nearly clinched the win with minutes left in the game when we had a corner. We managed to hit the crossbar twice and the post once in the exact same play. What luck! Well, the game concluded in a draw, and we left for home the following day.

This week we have been preparing for this weekend's games against Ohio State and Penn State. Come check us out on Friday night. Go Bruins!

UCLA plays at 7 o'clock tonight against No. 14-ranked Ohio State (3-0-1) and 2 p.m. Sunday against Penn State. Both games are at Drake Stadium.

Two goals in three minutes to end the game pretty much summed up Chivas USA's superiority and the Galaxy's season.

Galaxy reject Laurent Merlin got the final goal in stoppage time from a poor Troy Roberts clearance for his first-ever MLS goal.

Panchito Mendoza had scored the second from a Sacha Kljestan pass.

The result gives Chivas USA (13-6-4) sole possession of first place in the Western Conference and goalkeeper Brad Guzan his MLS-leading 11th shutout, a single season record for Chivas USA. Chivas USA are undefeated in 11 games at home.

They also won the four-game SuperClassico series with two wins to the Galaxy's one (there was also a tie in there).

The Galaxy (4-12-5) slip further into the mire.

Updated:

The game was tight, with few chances, yet not surprisingly the opposing coaches had opposing views.

"I think the result flatters them, to be honest," said Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop. "But a 3-0 loss is a 3-0 loss."

Still, Chivas USA had 10 shots on goal to the Galaxy's two.

"We created far more chances, we were more dangerous," said Chivas USA Coach Preki. "These kinds of games around the world are always tense games, they're not the prettiest games."

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan was savoring the shutout record, especially given the sharp contrast with the team's dire debut season.

"That first year was a tough season for us," he said. "To be here for those tough times ... it makes it so much sweeter."

Merlin, whose mother and father are visting from France for a month and were in the stands to see him score, was positively bursting with pride to have scored against his old employer.

"It's especially great to score against them," he said. "I wanted to prove to them I could have done the same for them."

Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon is now tasting the humiliation Chivas USA formerly felt.

"The painful thing for us is to be part of an LA team that lost the classico for the first time," he said. "That's embarassing."

Abel Xavier looked sharp after the game as usual, but he wasn't in a good mood.

"I just don't like losing the way we are," he said. "To lose is for losers."

But he wasn't about to accept the blame for Razov's goal.

"It was difficult to track him and he was clever to put the ball in the net," Xavier said. "As a defender it's very frustrating for me when we concede a lot of goals. It's killing me inside."

Yallop avoided talking about Vagenas' payback to Jesse Marsch, saying he wanted his players to win the "first tackle" (hmmm).

Marsch, his usual animated self in the locker room, wasn't as reticent.

"He got me pretty bad," Marsch said. "He said it was just a clumsy tackle. Right away, I thought 'was this for Beckham?'"

Yeah, Jesse, it was.

There were a couple of notable appearances tonight on and off the field.

Morrissey was on the sidelines in a Chivas USA shirt (that's way cooler than Tom Cruise). And Izzy Sesay became the youngest player ever to don a Galaxy shirt in an MLS game when he came on for the last minute.

A final postscript: a comparison of the signs in the opposing locker rooms says a lot about these teams.

This is the Chivas USA sign: "It's amazing what you can accomplish when no-one cares who gets the credit."

The more anonymous Chivas USA players perform as a team; Xavier pointed out the Galaxy could do with a little more "team bonding," a "buzz between players."

This is the Galaxy sign: "The only thing we play for here are the jersey and championship."

At this point they might want to try playing for pride -- and each other.

Full game details here.

Pete Vagenas didn't take long to get revenge on Jesse Marsch for his foul on Beck's at the last derby on Aug. 23; in the third minute Vagenas kicked Marsch, who retaliated by throwing the ball at Vagenas.

End result: Marsch gets a yellow card and misses the next Chivas USA game Sunday in Colorado.

Chivas USA had the last laugh of the first half though with a lovely (and direct) move started by defender Lawson Vaughn. His 60-yard pass up the right wing found Ante Razov, who controlled the ball with his chest, rounded a slowly chugging Abel Xavier and sent a right-foot shot into the far corner past goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

That was Razov's 107th MLS goal, which puts him one behind the second leading MLS goalscorer, Jason Kreis, and gives him four goals against the Galaxy. That's more than any other player against their arch rivals.

Chivas USA had five shots on goal to the Galaxy's one.

Meanwhile, the Legion 1908 sewing circle has been busy and they unveiled a new flag during the half with the national flag of every Chivas USA player on it.

Beck's didn't offer any piercing insights at half time, by the way. His injuries are getting better and MLS players "have been very nice to me."

The Galaxy have made two changes from the team that beat Colorado 3-1 Saturday, with Landon Donovan returning from international duty in place of Kevin Harmse (who's out injured anyway and did not play for Canada). Carlos Pavon will get another chance up front, replacing the injured Edson Buddle.

Chivas USA makes just one change from the team that beat New York 3-0 Sunday, captain Claudio Suarez coming in at the expense of Jason Hernandez, who is on the bench.

Also on the bench: dueling 17-year-olds, with the Galaxy having Izzy Sesay and Chivas USA replying with reality show winner Jorge Flores, who turns 18 in three days.

The Galaxy, by the way, list 13 walking wounded on the injury list, although some -- such as Abel Xavier and Cobi Jones are starting -- so you know they're not 100 percent.

Don't forget, David Beckham will be interviewed at half time on ESPN2. All the questions have been pre-approved by Beckham's peeps, apparently. What is this guy, the pope?

Oh well, at least he won't look as stunned as he did for long stretches of this interview (do you know how long I've been waiting for an excuse to post this hilarious clip?)

The stadium is not close to sold out, by the way. New Chivas USA CEO Shawn Hunter has his work cut out for him.

Dont forget to set up that TiVo: the second U.S. group game at the World Cup against Sweden begins at 1:55 a.m. Friday on ESPN.

The last two games between the U.S. and third-ranked Sweden, in July 2006 in Blaine, Minn. and at the Algarve Cup in Portugal in March, ended in 3-2 victories for the Americans.

These are experienced teams: Sweden has five players on the roster with more than 100 caps, the U.S. six, while striker Abby Wambach will make her 98th appearance for the national team.

Both team's sport dangerous forward partnerships: Sweden boasts Hanna Ljungberg (71 international goals) and Victoria Svensson (59 goals), while the U.S. answers with Kristine Lilly (126 goals) and Wambach (78).

"This group is like playing a semifinal and a final in our first two games," said U.S. Coach Greg Ryan. "That's the quality of the teams. North Korea is fantastic and Sweden was in the final game of the last World Cup. We got Greece in the Olympics in our first game, so this start is unbelievably challenging."

"We're ready to get back out there," said South Bay native Shannon Boxx. "We're both great in the air, so you are going to see a battle there. I think the biggest thing is that it's going to be an up and down game. We are going to defend, but we're going to get forward and so are they.”

Unlike the first game, torrential rain is not expected. AP has a preview.

David Beckham joins play-by-play commentator Glenn Davis, and analysts Eric Wynalda and Tommy Smyth in the ESPN booth for today's SuperClassico between the Galaxy and Chivas USA from Home Depot Center.

Clarification: Beck's will appear at half time, not be in the booth during the game as I previously posted. I'll blog from the game as usual and if Beck's decides to wander up a short flight of stairs to mix with the print hacks (don't hold your breath) you'll be the first to know.

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has more on the burgeoning rivalry between the two teams in his game preview.

See the intensity here.

Those who like moving pictures can check out the highlights of the last game here:

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has more on the challenges facing new Chivas USA CEO Shawn Hunter.

As expected, Torrance resident Simone Carmichael remained on the bench for New Zealand today, blasted 5-0 by Brazil at the World Cup.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills Men's Team, winners of four straight games, moved up to No. 13 from No. 22 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s Top 25.

Finally, the Long Beach State Women's Team (2-3-0) suffered their third-straight loss to a top-25 team Tuesday, losing 1-0 at No. 24-ranked Brigham Young. Long Beach played played the final 20 minutes with 10 players after freshman defender Tara Corcoran received a red card. The 49ers return home to play at 5 p.m. Friday against Oklahoma and 1 p.m. Sunday against Baylor.

Hunting Chivas USA Fans

As expected, Chivas USA announced Tuesday that former Anschutz Entertainment Group executive Shawn Hunter will become the new CEO and president of the franchise that has turned around its fortunes on the field, but has yet to match that success at the gate. Can a gringo succeed where his Latino predecessor -- Javier Leon -- could not?

From the Chivas USA press release:

“Hunter joins Chivas USA from AEG, one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment presenters, where for five years he held the dual titles of Chief Marketing Officer and President, AEG Sports. In the latter role, Hunter oversaw AEG’s marquee sports events and eleven sports teams worldwide, as well as the company’s marketing partnership with Chivas USA.

'Words can’t describe how excited I am about this newest challenge in my career,” Hunter said. “Since I first began working with Chivas USA on behalf of AEG three years ago, I have been captivated by the passion of this organization and the intense devotion of both its fans and players. I know that Chivas USA has only begun to realize its tremendous potential and – though I know it will be a process – I look forward to helping take this club to the next level. I can’t wait to get to work.'

Hunter, 44, brings to Chivas USA not only his vast experience in managing sports and entertainment properties, but also a proven track record in successfully launching fledgling sports organizations.

Prior to joining AEG, Hunter was for six years the President of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Under his leadership, in the Coyotes' first four seasons, the club played to a 94-percent capacity (including 69 sellouts) and transformed Phoenix into a hockey hotbed. Hunter developed and launched the popular Coyotes logo and uniform, secured strategic television and radio broadcast partnerships for the team and created cutting edge marketing and ticketing campaigns, laying the groundwork to position the Coyotes as a premier sports franchise in Arizona.

Hunter joined the Coyotes from the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. As the club’s executive vice president, Hunter's first achievement was reaching a cap of 12,000 season ticket sales in just under six weeks – before the team even had a name. He was instrumental in creating and implementing the Avalanche team colors and logo as well as the logo for the Denver Nuggets.

Since joining AEG in 2002, Hunter has also been influential in a number of major business developments in Major League Soccer. As one of AEG’s representatives on MLS’s Board of Directors, Hunter played a role in the formulation of the Designated Player Rule, which opened the doors for the arrival of such international stars, during the 2007 MLS season, as the New York Red Bulls’ Juan Pablo Ángel, the Chicago Fire’s Cuauhtémoc Blanco and the LA Galaxy’s David Beckham. On behalf of AEG, Hunter also secured the Galaxy’s multimillion dollar jersey sponsorship following Beckham’s signing.

In addition, for the past five years Hunter has chaired – and will continue to chair – the MLS Business Development Committee, which has recently approved such important initiatives as the sponsorship of MLS jersey fronts and the guaranteed distribution of every single MLS game via local television.”

Galaxy Appoint Goalkeeper Coach

The successor to former Galaxy goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley is former MLS and English league jouneyman (literally) keeper Ian Feuer.

From the Galaxy press release:

“The Las Vegas native began his professional career in 1993 with Belgian side Club Brugge before briefly returning to the United States later that year to play for the L.A. Salsa of the APSL. After a short stint with the Salsa, the 36-year old, who earned his first and only cap with the U.S. National Team against Morocco on March 18, 1992, returned to Europe in April 1994 when he signed with West Ham United of the English Premier League. Loan spells at Peterborough and Luton Town would follow before he was sold outright to Luton in December 1995. He remained at the club, winning the Fans’ Player of the Year Award in the 1995-96 season, until March 1998 when he again returned to the U.S., signing with the New England Revolution.

Feuer appeared in and started 26 games for New England that season before being traded to Colorado in February 1999. Feuer started 19 games for the Rapids that season, as well as each of the club’s two postseason matches, keeping eight clean sheets while compiling a 1.22 goals against average. He returned to West Ham after the 1999 MLS season and spent the next three years in England with West Ham, Wimbledon and Derby County.”

Mangled Martino

Finally, Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz checks in with this update on a battered and bruised Kyle Martino.

Hope Springs in Goal to Save U.S. Hopes

The greatest team you've never heard of (to borrow from the Nike ad campaign) tied the greatest team that don't want you to know about them when the U.S. drew 2-2 with the secretive North Koreans in China today in the World Cup opener for both nations.

The U.S. were fortunate to get the draw against a fast, highly technical Korean team and required a sublime Hope Solo save in second half stoppage time to preserve its unbeaten record stretching back to 2004.

Here's the (highly detailed) game report from U.S. Soccer.

And here's a roundup of the day's action from FIFA.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Women's National Team player Brandi Chastain is out promoting next Tuesday's DVD release of the 2005 HBO documentary "Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team."

Torrance's Tough Carmichael Makes Kiwi World Cup Team

Torrance resident Simone Carmichael, who overcame a ruptured Achilles tendon in May to make the New Zealand World Cup squad, is the subject of my weekly column.

Women's World Cup Underway

The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup began this morning with Germany crushing Argentina.

The U.S. Women begin play at 1:55 a.m. Tuesday so set your TiVo. Coach Greg Ryan believes the first game against North Korea will be his team's toughest test in group play.

Fox Soccer Channel will have a preview that airs at 5 and 8 tonight.

More than 200 countries will watch this year's tournament, up significantly from the 144 that watched the 2003 version from the U.S.

I'll have more on the World Cup in Tuesday's weekly column including news of a second Southern California resident playing in the tournament (Torrance's Shannon Boxx is a starter for the U.S. of course).

Weekend Roundup

A summary of the U.S. and Mexico games and other Sunday soccer action is here.

This game was over by the 70th minute when Ante Razov scored Chivas USA's third goal -- and his eighth of the season -- from the penalty spot after Red Bull defender Jeff Parke had foolishly pushed sub Laurent Merlin from behind. It was Chivas USA's first penalty kick since last October when Claudio Suarez scored.

New York had the ball in the net in the 82nd minute, but it was disallowed.

That aside they never really stretched Chivas USA, which had the better of the attacking opportunities before a crowd of 10,292. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed Chivas USA's dominance, letting out cries of "ole" toward the game's end as Chivas USA strung passes together at one point.

Galindo had scored Chivas USA's second in the 57th minute when he outmuscled Seth Stammler -- some might say unfairly -- to win the ball and score from an acute angle from eight yards.

Anaheim's Jorge Flores, who won a reality show to win a spot on the roster, made his MLS debut a week shy of his 18th birthday when he came on as a sub in the 76th minute.

Updated 7:30 p.m.

This was a game Preki and his players managed deftly every step of the way.

As Preki pointed out, the win was all about organization and discipline.

"We got a (early) goal, we defended properly and that's the big battle," he said. "The guys came out with a great attitude, worked really hard, created things."

Flores was a little overwhelmed as he stood in the locker room afterward surrounded by reporters.

"I'm happy, I'm a little bit nervous," he said of his rapid rise from reality show winner to MLS pro. "From now on it's just a question of working my hardest to make a good impression.

"It all happened fast -- four months," he added. "It's hard to explain what I feel now."

Preki said Flores' debut was well-deserved.

"The kid comes in every day, works hard, he has a really good mentality and that's how you become a good pro," Preki said. "You've got to have your feet on the ground because things can get away from you really fast."

Up next for the second place in the Western Conference and 12-6-4 Chivas USA: the Galaxy on Thursday. With a win they go top of the conference.

Game story is here.

Minimal excitement after Galindo's fourth minute goal, which also gave Kljestan eight assists on the season, good for second in the league.

New York was restricted to a couple of Juan Pablo Angel free kicks inside the first 25 minutes. Brad Guzan tipped one over the bar; the other ended up there by itself.

Clint Mathis went out injured with a left knee contusion in the 37th minute after Ante Razov fouled him ten minutes earlier.

Preki made just one change in the Chivas USA starting line-up from the selection that drew 2-2 with D.C. United Thursday, 38-year-old defender Claudio Suarez getting a rest before the SuperClassico on Thursday. Jason Hernandez comes in for him.

Starters Sacha Klijestan and Jesse Marsch must tread carefully tonight; if either picks up a yellow card they'll miss the Galaxy game through suspension.

Red Bull Coach Bruce Arena is forced to make just one change from the team that beat the Chicago Fire; Dane Richards, virtually an ever-present in the back is out through suspension. Kevin Goldthwaite is drafted in.

With a win, Chivas USA can jump Dallas and sit in second in the Western Conference.

The game is on Prime Ticket.

Incidentally, Chivas USA midfielder Ramon Nunez made his international debut for Honduras today, coming on as a sub in the 0-0 draw with Costa Rica. The score was actually 3-2 in favor of Costa Rica since they went to penalty kicks.

Nunez remains with Honduras for its game Wednesday against Ecuador and is not expected to play the next night against the Galaxy.

Chivas USA just got off to a fast start, with top scorer Maykel Galindo getting his 11th of the season in the fourth minute. Panchito Mendoza had supplied Ante Razov, who passed to Kljestan out wide. Galindo picked off the cross for the first goal from six yards.

Goats Verses Bulls

The best player in MLS -- New York Red Bull Juan Pablo Angel -- visits Carson today, but few are likely to see the 5 p.m. game between Chivas USA and Bruce Arena's team in person.

Much of the club's Mexican-American fan base will no doubt be preoccupied with the noon Mexico-Panama game on Telemundo or the 1 p.m. Brazil-U.S. friendly on ESPN2.

Chivas USA is taking steps to improve its profile and woeful attendance though -- hiring former AEG executiuve Shawn Hunter, who knows all about selling tickets at the HDC, as its new CEO.

Today's game is on Prime Ticket; here's a preview.

Champions Verses Champions?

The U.S. Men's National Team seeks to avoid a fourth consecutive loss, going up against a star-studded Brazilian side it has a 1-11 record against all-time.

The lone win came in the 1998 Gold Cup at the Coliseum when goalkeeper Kasey Keller produced save after spectacular save to keep the Brazilians at bay, prompting Romario to declare it was "the greatest performance I have ever seen by a goalkeeper."

Keller isn't on today's roster for the game between the champions of North and South America.

The U.S. roster, with an average age of 25, is led by Galaxy playmaker Landon Donovan, now tied with Eric Wynalda for most goals all-time (34) for the national team and most goals in a single year (9) as well as most points in a year (21) with Cobi Jones.

Headlining for Brazil: Kaka and Ronaldinho (gulp).

To say this game came alive in the second half would be an understatement.

The Galaxy scored more goals against Colorado in 25 minutes than they have in two years, starting with the first from Alan Gordon just 26 seconds after the restart.

Edson Buddle made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute after scoring from what looked to be an offside position from 18 yards after Cobi Jones had sent a penetrating pass through the Rapids back line.

Kyle Martino scored the third with 20 minutes to go, beating former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu to the ball with a far post header from six yards.

Mehdi Ballouchy got a consolation goal for the Rapids in the 89th minute with a 17-yard blast after Cannon had punched the ball away.

The Galaxy's record goes to 4-11-5 with their first win in more than two months. They now have 17 points and are just one point away from hauling themselves off the MLS basement, but are 12 points behind the Fire, which sits in the eighth and final playoff spot.

The victory did not come without cost though. Both Galaxy goalscorers departed early, Gordon with a left foot injury, the same one he had surgery on earlier in the year, while Buddle injured his left hamstring.

Coundoul also came out just before the hour mark wih an abdominal strain, which gave former Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton his Rapids debut.

At least the Galaxy locker room should be happier.

Updated:

It was.

"I haven't smiled too many times in this room," said Yallop. "We're over the days, for the time being, of missing a ton of chances that come back to haunt us."

That was Colorado's lot this evening.

Still, neither Yallop nor his players are thinking of anything more than the next game.

"You can't look long-term right now," Yallop said. "We've got to beat Chivas (USA) on Thursday. I'm looking forward to that game now and I wasn't looking forward to it if we'd lost."

Pete Vagenas had the most brutally honest assessment of the performance.

"To be honest I think we played pretty poorly," he said. "It was our worst performance in the last three weeks and we won."

Still, the Galaxy were without seven players through injury or suspension and haven't fielded the same line-up in consecutive games since the first two of the season.

Cannon for one appreciated the break he got by sitting out the last game.

"This is the best I've felt in a while," he said. "We did benefit from a week of rest."

Game report here.

Fans who want more Galaxy soccer can see the reserves play their Rapids counterparts on University Field #1 at 10 a.m. Sunday. The Galaxy reserves, by the way, are 2-3-1 on the season, 10 points behind the first place Rapids. It's free to watch.

The Galaxy marked the two-thirds point of the 30-game season with a deathly dull first 45 minutes against the equally tedious Rapids.

The litany of misses included Alan Gordon failing to poke it past Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul with only the Senagal native to beat in the 41st minute and a spectacular whiff by an unmarked Kyle Martino in first half stoppage time.

The Galaxy haven't scored on Colorado in 588 minutes now -- their last goal came in September 2005 -- and they don't look like breaking the streak.

The Rapids were just as awful, a selfish Mehdi Ballouchy in particular to blame for electing to sky a shot high over the bar in the 38th minute with two Rapids players stationed in front of the goal.

The positives were few for both teams: Cobi Jones slipped past Fercundo Erpen in the 22nd minute to send Edson Buddle through, but Coundoul pushed the ball around the near post.

Rapids defender Brandon Prideaux required Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon to pull off a save with a hard left-footed shot from 18 yards in the 37th minute.

Galaxy defender Abel Xavier was hobbling at the end of the first half, but has returned to start the second 45 minutes.

Coundoul just committed a howler 26 seconds into the second half, gifting Gordon an easy goal as he ran onto a through ball from Vagenas. The Rapids keeper came out of his net, but completely missed the ball.

Guess they broke the streak, after all.

Joe Cannon is back in goal for the Galaxy after being rested against Real Salt Lake, while Ty Hardin has recovered from injury to rejoin Abel Xavier in the center of defense. Chris Klein and Mike Randolph are the full backs. Troy Roberts, of course, is suspended after getting sent off against Real Salt Lake.

With Landon Donovan away on national team duty, Cobi Jones gets a rare start in midfield alongside Kevin Harmse, Pete Vagenas and Kyle Martino.

Edson Buddle and Alan Gordon get the starts up front again, while Carlos Pavon is on the bench (again). Also a sub: 16-year-old Izzy Sesay. That's either a sign Sesay has looked good in training or Coach Frank Yallop is getting desperate.

Two changes for the Rapids from the team that drew 1-1 with the Crew last Sunday: Terry Cooke recovers from injury to replace an ill Pablo Mastroeni in midfield, while Herculez Gomez gets a start up front in place of an injured Conor Casey.

The game is on Fox Soccer Channel.

Updated: Just to rub it in for the Galaxy, former forward Nate Jaqua broke out to score a hat trick today for Houston in its 4-3 win over Real Salt Lake.

Chicago also won 1-0 over Columbus, which means the Fire leap frogged over Colorado and the Crew for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Last Gasp Galaxy

Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop declares the obvious -- "we need to win all our games" - yet Landon Donovan is absent to play in a meaningless U.S. friendly?

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has the preview of tonight's game in Carson against the Colorado Rapids, a six-point game if there ever was one.

Former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu is looking forward to his first game against his former team at Home Depot Center since his trade.

Going to the game tonight? Get there early. The first 2,500 fans to enter the gates get the third and last of a trio of commemorative T-shirts designed by Manhattan Beach artist Terry Davis.

College Roundup

The (0-2) UCLA men, which fell to tenth in the Soccer America rankings after two straight losses to open the season, faces its third-straight Top 20 opponent on the road when they head to Nebraska for a 5 p.m. game today at 17th-ranked Creighton (1-0-1). A live webcast is at mvc.org.

The sixth-ranked UCLA women's team picked up its first victory of the season Friday, beating Illinois 4-2 in the first match of the 2007 UCLA Women's Cup at Drake Stadium. UCLA (1-1) saw senior Danesha Adams grab a hat trick, while junior Christina DiMartino added the other goal.

Next: San Francisco at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Despite being outshot 21-10, a lone goal from a free kick by junior midfielder Brad Stisser in the ninth minute was enough to give the LMU men (1-1-0) their first win of the season Friday over No. 17-ranked New Mexico. The loss was the Lobos' first home defeat of the season and came in the opening night of the 2007 TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational.

LMU plays for the tournament championship Sunday morning against Central Florida, which downed Cincinnati 2-1 in the day's first match.

Senior goalkeeper Joslyn Slovek recorded her first shutout of the season and the 19th of her career as the LMU women battled to a 0-0 tie at Indiana in the teams' opening game at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington. The Lions improved to 0-2-1.

LMU concludes play at the Hoosier Classic Sunday against Maryland, which lost 2-1 in overtime Friday to No. 13-ranked USC.

The No. 23-ranked Long Beach State women (2-2-0) could not overcome two Clemson goals in the first 21 minutes Friday and fell 2-1 to the No. 20-ranked Tigers (3-0-0).

Next: at Brigham Young Tuesday.

Dubious New Award of the Week Award

Does MLS need yet another end of season award category? The MLS suits think so, especially since they want to recognize those expensive overseas imports, so the league has created the "Newcomer of the Year Award."

"This honor will be bestowed annually to reward new acquisitions that do not qualify for the league’s Rookie of the Year award, which is limited to players without previous professional experience," the league announced in a press release.

MLS provided a list of possible winners:
Juan Pablo Angel – forward, New York Red Bulls.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco – forward, Chicago Fire.
Conor Casey – forward, Colorado Rapids.
Luciano Emilio – forward, D.C. United.
Fred – midfielder, D.C. United.
Maykel Galindo – forward, Chivas USA.
Carlos Marinelli - midfielder, Kansas City Wizards.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto – midfielder, Columbus Crew.
Juan Toja – midfielder, FC Dallas.

David Beckham was not on the list.

School Starts for U.S. Under-17 Players

A total of 48 players are participating in U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program’s fall semester at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla.

Since its inception in 1999, about 200 players have gone through the program with 70 turning pro and 14 going on to become full U.S. internationals.

Southern California locals on the residency roster:
Arevalo, Estanilao, defender, Oxnard (Valley United Blast).
Arreola, Eder, midfielder-forward, Chino Hills (FC Barcelona).
Cruz, Pablito, midfielder, Azusa (FC Barcelona).
Gyau, Joseph-Claude, forward, Lake Forest, (West Coast FC).
Lemus, Edson, midfielder, Wilmington (Stampede FC).
Orozco, Emilio, forward, Oxnard, (Rampage FC).

From U.S. Soccer:

“The 48 players live on campus at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., and train daily under the guidance of Hackworth and assistant coaches Keith Fulk, Raul Diaz Arce, Tim Mulqueen and Brian Maisonneuve. The players train at IMG in the morning and attend classes at Edison Academy in the afternoon."

A second lucky goal from a man who had never before scored during his MLS career gave Chivas USA an unprecedented draw this evening; never before had they come back from a two-goal deficit to snatch a point.

Defender Lawson Vaughn saw a 60th minute shot deflected into the net by the ankle of a leaping Clyde Simms to enable Chivas USA (12-6-3) to retain their undefeated home record. Sacha Kljestan had supplied the assist, his seventh of the season, putting him in a three-way tie for the second most assists in MLS (the Galaxy's Landon Donovan also has seven to put that into perspective a little).

A draw was a fair result on the game, but Chivas USA might have felt hard done by after Panchito Mendoza was called offside in stoppage time that replays showed was a harsh, if not incorrect, call. And that's a reflection of just how far this team has come.

Updated: Indeed, Chivas USA Coach Preki was more disappointed than relieved with the draw, suggesting than his team dominated the second half after United's quick start and missed more chances than D.C. created.

"I don't remember D.C. missing any chances," he said. "My guys showed a lot of character to come from 2-0 down against the best team in the league."

In fact, it was the first time Chivas USA had ever gotten a point against D.C. -- and they were upset it wasn't three.

"This referee I don't want to see ever again," said team co-owner Antonio Cue, referring to the fact Chivas USA had never gotten a win in a game Kevin Stott had officiated.

Kljestan, who is maturing rapidly as an attacking midfielder, was pleased with his contribution and the number of assists he has racked up this season.

"It means we're starting to attack better," he said. "It's going to be on my shoulders to create more from midfield and I'm starting to do that now."

Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan, right, battles D.C. United's Bryan Namoff
at Home Depot Center Thursday night. Photo by Bruce Hazelton

And the team's confidence is rising as the season progresses; up next Sunday at the HDC, Red Bull New York.

"Even when we were two down I wasn't scared, I thought we could come back," Kljestan said. "It's a little step for us and on Sunday we have a big chance to move into first place (in the West)."

Chivas USA beat writer Ivan Orozco has the full report on a game. only 9,306 (and that includes prepaid club seats) were there to see.

This team deserves better.

The flukiest goal seen at Home Depot Center this season kept Chivas USA in the game after Luciano Emilio had scored the first two for D.C.

United goalkeeper Troy Perkins, attempting to clear a long ball out of the back by Chivas USA's Paulo Nagamura, advanced about 30 yards off his goal line in the 31st minute. Chivas USA stiker Ante Razov, who had turned the other cheek, if you will, to protect his assets was hit hard in the upper thigh by the ball that ricocheted agonizingly into the D.C. net. Perkins, not surprisingly, looked mortified.

It was a fortuitous break for Chivas USA who had looked out of it after D.C. went two up inside the first half hour.

Emilio had scored his second after Chivas USA failed to hold a Jaime Moreno shot that bobbled back to the league's leading scorer. It was the second time this evening Guzan had failed to hold onto a shot, an uncharacteristic display of sloppiness.

Still, Chivas USA striker Maykel Galindo should have done better on two occasions at the other end within three minutes, but failed to capitalize on his chances.

As half time neared Chivas USA could have even drawn level, when United defender Bobby Boswell almost directed a Sacha Kljestan cross into the net, luckily hitting the post instead.

Brad Guzan is in goal as usual for the home team, while Lawson Vaughn and Shavar Thomas return to the back four at the expense of Jason Hernandez and Orlando Perez, who are both on the bench.

The only other change for Chivas USA compared to their last game against the Galaxy; a presumably fully fit Maykel Galindo regains his starting spot, while Ramon Nunez is a sub.

Coach Tom Soehn names an unchanged D.C. United team from the one that beat FC Dallas 4-0 last time out.

Chivas USA co-owner Antonio Cue visited the press box before the game because of the delay and explained it was time for CEO and GM Javier Leon to leave.

"We now need to take this club to the next level," he said.

Cue said he'll make an announcement next week on Leon's replacement.

United just scored a third minute goal, Christian Gomez supplying Jaime Moreno who set up Luciano Emilio for his league-leading 15th of the season.

ESPN2 is still showing the college game.

The planned 7:30 p.m. kick off has been pushed back 15 minutes because the Middle Tennessee State (I kid you not) college pointy-ball game on ESPN2 is running long.

That's a real inconvenience for, oh, the 2,000 or so fans who bothered to show up (this could be the worst attendance of the year for Chivas USA).

One person not here is Chivas USA GM Javier Leon who left his post this afternoon to "pursue other endeavors," the club said in a press release.

None of the usual "spend more time with my family" or "personal reasons" excuses here. Maybe they just needed to save a buck or two with crowds like this.

In any event, co-owner Antonio Cue is expected in the press box at half time, presumably to explain.

I'll be back with starting line-ups as soon as they're handed out.

Middle Tennesse State is losing 42-57 against eighth-ranked Louisville, by the way.

This weekend I traveled with my UCLA soccer team to Indiana for the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, a prestigious tournament that Indiana University has hosted for several decades.

The four teams invited to thee tournament were all top ten national-ranked teams, including Indiana, Maryland, Notre Dame, and of course us, UCLA. We fortunately had the opportunity to play Notre Dame and Indiana, two teams that we did not play during my freshman season. The emotions were felt by everyone as we were all anxious to get our season under way.

The Notre Dame game ended with a disappointing loss. We actually tied the game with only seconds left to take the game into overtime. Our left back Mike Zaher from Las Vegas hit a great cross to Chance Myers, who volleyed the ball into the side netting. With the momentum behind us, we entered overtime but were unfortunately defeated, 2-1.

With one loss behind us, we were still looking forward to the next game against Indiana to redeem ourselves. In front of a record crowd on a blistering hot Sunday afternoon, we displayed a great first half of soccer on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, we came away on the short end of the stick, as we were scored on with nearly fifteen minutes to go. We were never able to overcome the deficit.

With two disappointing results this past weekend, we returned to LA with dampened spirits. However, we took away many lessons from this weekend.

As much as we all hate to lose as a team, it is now important for us to prepare for this weekend's game at Creighton.

Go Bruins!

- Kyle Nakazawa

Prime Time Preki

The biggest MLS game of the season for Chivas USA live on ESPN2 tonight against league leaders D.C. United and only two print reporters (both from the same set of publications) and one television reporter show up Wednesday for practice. Even the Spanish-language media don't care about Chivas USA it seems.

It's the first of four games in 11 days that the Coach, Preki, understands could go along way in defining his team's season. And he was a lot more concerned about that than the, um, media attention that goes along with going top of the Western Conference if Chivas USA wins.

"All the eyes are going to be on us because D.C. has already been there," he said. "It's not about (making) statements for us. We control our own destiny in the next 10 days."

Veteran Mexican defender Claudio Suarez is relishing a big game in a league that needs more of them and hopes for more fans in the stands. Only the Kansas City Wizards are drawing fewer fans than Chivas USA's average of 12,789.

"It's a good opportunity for us to prove we are a team that aspires to win a championship," Suarez said. "We expect more support from the fans."

Chivas USA is riding a club-record three game winning streak, but has never beaten D.C. Here's a brief preview.

Donovan's Pitch

Landon Donovan throws out the first pitch tonight at the Cubs-Dodgers game as the U.S. men continue preparations for Sunday's game against Brazil in Chicago.

More than 30,000 tickets have been sold. Coach Bob Bradley called in Kansas City Wizards midfielder Kerry Zavagnin Wednesday, replacing the ill Pablo Mastroeni.

The U.S. faces a daunting task against a Brazilian team packed with some of the most famous names in the game: goalkeepers Doni (Roma), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan); defenders Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Alex Silva (São Paulo), Lúcio (Bayern Munich), Juan (Roma), Alex (Chelsea), Kleber (Santos), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin); midfielders Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Josué (VfL Wolfsburg), Fernando (Bordeaux), Elano (Manchester City), Kaká (AC Milan), Julio Baptista (Real Madrid), Diego (Werder Bremen); forwards Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Robinho (Real Madrid), Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow), Afonso (SC Heerenveen).

On Wednesday, the three finalists were announced for the 17th Honda Player of the Year Award: Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. The winner will be announced Oct. 5 here in L.A.

Beach Bounced

No. 24-ranked Wake Forest edged defending Big West Champion, No. 23-ranked Long Beach State, 1-0, Wednesday. The previous evening the Cal State Dominguez Hills women out-shot visiting Biola University 28-8 to win 1-0. Their record improved to 3-0-1.

Hot Streaks

Major League Soccer's two hottest teams are in Carson Thursday as Chivas USA (11-6-3), winners of three straight games, take on co-league leaders D.C. United (13-6-3), winners of six straight league games (although they lost a SuperLiga contest to the Galaxy in the middle of the string).

There's plenty of motivation for both teams: Preki's Chivas USA can claim first in the Western Conference with a victory; Tom Soehn's D.C. United only needs a tie to claim the top spot in the league outright.

“Honestly, having David Beckham playing with the Galaxy has made us a stronger team,” Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein told the New York Times. “We felt we needed to prove ourselves and squirm out of the shadows. We came out and proved it against them last Thursday, and now I think we’re showing the soccer world that Chivas USA is really a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Read the rest of The Times' take on the evolution of Chivas USA here.

D.C. United's Ben Olsen has never been the same player since getting struck with multiple serious injuries while playing in England a few years back, but is on a roll with a new role this season.

The game is live at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, but Chivas USA also have a "Guys Night Out 2-Pack" that includes two seats, two beers, a ChivaGirls 2008 Calendar and access to a special pregame ChivaGirls meet-and-greet. The cost is $40.

The David Beckham Effect

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson casts doubt on David Beckham's impact on MLS.

Still, Beck's is apparently having quite the impact on the Galaxy's Chris Klein.

Incidentally, it appears the second ridiculous Galaxy friendly AEG lined up to make bucks off Beck's looks like it's off. It's shaping up to be a busy Galaxy off-season, too, what with planned trips to Australia and Vancouver, as well as Minnesota.

U.S. Open Cup Finalists Set

The Seattle Sounders vanquished Chivas USA in an earlier round of the U.S. Open Cup, but couldn't beat FC Dallas who will play the New England Revolution (victors Tuesday over the USL's Carolina Railhawks) in early October in the final.

Here's a wonderfully written take from Seattle Times sports columnist Steve Kelley, one of the best in the country.

As someone who used to sit in the old Kingdome watching the Sounders play the Vancouver Whitecaps back in the NASL days (a terrific atmosphere even in that monolith), I'd love to see that recreated in MLS.

News of the women's pro league, U.S. Coach Bob Bradley's roster for the Brazil game, a Galaxy-Beckham update and more below as we play catch-up over a long weekend:

Women's Pro Soccer in the U.S. in '09

As expected, the launch of the new women's professional soccer league will be delayed until 2009, organizers announced today.

MLS did the same thing, not cranking up until 1996, two years after the World Cup in the U.S.

Bradley Names Roster; Bornstein Dropped

Coach Bob Bradley included the Galaxy's Landon Donovan, but dropped Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein from the U.S. roster announced Monday for the Brazil game set for 2 p.m. Sunday in Chicago (live ESPN2/Univision).

Just to illustrate the gulf between the teams: Brazil has called up the likes of two-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho and Kaka, a possible finalist this year; the U.S. has brought aboard Sheffield Wednesday's Frankie Simek.

The full U.S. roster: goalkeepers Tim Howard (Everton) and Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United); midfielders DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Bobby Convey (Reading), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids); forwards Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Landon Donovan (Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich).

Galactic Rumors

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz amplified on Landon Donovan's statements regarding Coach Frank Yallop and the danger of any sort of knee jerk reaction to the Galaxy's poor season.

Of course, some cynics have already observed that Donovan would feel that way since at an annual salary of $900,000 a year he may be trade bait. That's, what, two Carlos Ruiz' or three $300,000 a year (and presumably) quality players. Could the Galaxy get rid of the best American soccer player ever in order to rebuild?

By the way since we're on a highly speculative roll, the San Antonio Express-News had the rumor of the day observing that David Beckham (as player-coach) has already been rumored as a possible Yallop successor (presumably by the English tabloids).

College Round-Up

Visiting University of Dayton upended the Loyola Marymount women 1-0 in double overtime Sunday afternoon at Sullivan Field. The 0-2 Lions face Indiana Friday in the opening game of the Hoosier Classic.

Meanwhile, the top-ranked UCLA men dropped a second consecutive one-goal game Sunday to a Top 10-ranked team, succumbing 1-0 to seventh-ranked Indiana in front of an Indiana University record 7,243 fans.

UCLA's record drops to 0-2 to start the year; the Bruins face Creighton Saturday.

The No. 25-ranked Long Beach State women (2-0-0) beat Utah (1-1-0) Sunday; the Toros men beat defending Far West Champion and 6th-ranked Seattle University 2-0 Sunday night at Toro Stadium.

Hawk Hamburger

Nothing to do with local soccer, but seagulls plague Toronto's stadium. Steps are taken.

Posting will be light(er) since I managed to take four days vacation between MLS games (Chivas USA plays Thursday night at Home Depot Center).

Galaxy fans that have watched the team go from first to worst since Sigi Schmid got fired can complete the loop by watching his improving Columbus Crew play the Colorado Rapids at noon today on Telefutura.

The Crew lost Danny Szetela this week when he became the latest American to head to Europe, joining Spain's Racing Santander. He played better at the recent Under-20 World Cup than he ever really showed in MLS. Also this week, the Crew lost defender Chad Marshall for the season to injury.

Over at the Rapids, former Galaxy striker Herculez Gomez is having a hard time cracking the starting line-up.

The Loyola Marymount men conceded two goals in 90 seconds Saturday to lose their season opener 2-0 against Paul Caliguiri-coached Cal Poly at Sullivan Field.

Next: Two weeks on the road playing tournaments, the first in New Mexico where they will face the 15th-ranked New Mexico Lobos 6 p.m. Friday.

Well, that's the season then.

Real Salt Lake came from behind with two goals in four minutes, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan provided more fodder for his detractors by missing his second penalty in as many games and Galaxy defender Troy Roberts got himself sent off with two yellow cards inside eight minutes.

Robbie Findley came off the bench to score the equalizer against his old team, while veteran Eddie Pope bundled in the winner after Cronin had parried an Eskandarian free kick.

The announced 27,000 in attendance -- allegedly a capacity crowd, although as is customary for the Galaxy there were plenty of empty seats -- discovered just why these are the two worst teams in the league.

Still, RSL got its first away win of the season, while insults and boos rained down on the Galaxy from the stands as the club recorded its sixth straight MLS loss.

The Galaxy's last MLS win came July 4. I'm dreading going to the locker room. It's going to be grim.

Updated 10:30 p.m.

It was grim.

"Do you guys want the same quotes as Wednesday?" said Donovan before taking the time to answer every last question as he always does.

And yeah, Donovan said he's prepared to take a third PK if one is awarded to the Galaxy Saturday against the Colorado Rapids. So how many times has Donovan missed two consecutive penalties? "Never," he said.

The general consensus was that the Galaxy essentially threw the game away.

"It could have been four or five nothing at half time," Donovan said. And it probably should have been.

To say nothing of the missed penalty, Cobi Jones' 66th minute shot that hit the bar or Alan Gordon's header that smacked against the bar in the 80th minute. The Galaxy had just one shot on target in the second half.

"I'm going to start filling up people's parking meters or something to get my karma back," Donovan said.

But he cautioned management against making wholesale changes to the team (again) in response to its terrible 3-11-5 record.

"If you have a fire sale and get rid of everybody, you're going to be further in the hole," Donovan said. "We've got to be careful."

The relentlessly dour season is taking its toll, though.

Reporters are almost terrified to go into the locker room (it's tough to rip guys over and over when injuries, the schedule and AEG/MLS greed are clearly responsible for most of the problems). Problems that most beat reporters could foresee happening when you build an exploitative season around a 32-year-old player no matter who he is.

It's Yallop, a popular, friendly, witty figure among the media that most fear for.

At the post-game press conference he was clearly stressed out: glassy stares, nail-biting, repetitive temple rubbing and all.

"We showed tonight we can play some good stuff in spurts," Yallop said. "It's just about punishing teams.

"We're beat up, we're tired, we make mental mistakes because of the fatigue," he added, looking like he wished he was tucked up in bed with an ovaltine.

Beat writer Billy Witz has the game details.

As usual, the Riot Squad have the best line of the night: a sign that reads "We're effing knackered too, Frank," a reference to the expletive-laden comments the frustrated Galaxy coach made after the Pachuca game (translation for non-Brits -- knackered means tired, as well as other things, but we won't go there).

Yallop acknowledges the sign as he jogs off the field after a TV interview.

The Galaxy were the far superior team in the first half, although it's not reflected in the stats as much as one would think. Shots are 11-7 in the Galaxy's favor, but both teams have four on target.

Still, the closest RSL got in the second half was a stoppage time free kick from Alecko Eskandarian that required a diving save from Cronin.

By the way, Beckham is here, in the AEG suite.

David Beckham is out, of course, for the Galaxy while Carlos Pavon was benched in favor of Edson Buddle. Steve Cronin makes his first MLS start of the year in goal so the ever-present Joe Cannon can catch a breather. But otherwise it's the same tired eleven that started against Pachuca.

Real Salt Lake sticks with the same starting line-up that brought them their third win of the season Wednesday against the Wizards, which means former Galaxy forward Robbie Findlay stays on the bench. Recently signed Argentines Mathias Mantilla and Javier Morales make their third MLS start, while Fabian Espindola (another Argentine) gets his second. Former Galaxy player Nate Sturgis is still out injured.

No TV tonight unless you have HD Net (and few do).

Galaxy striker Alan Gordon just scored a header in the sixth minute off a Landon Donovan cross to get things off to a fast start.

RSL just had a goal disallowed for offside in the eighth minute.

Updated: That's Gordon's first MLS goal of the season.

Also, the Galaxy are playing in their galactic blue tonight. The reason: RSL only brought their white kit, which is appreciated here in the press box.

The feeling is the blue and gold looks far better than the faux Real Madrid white the Galaxy adopted to make Beck's feel at home.

Galaxy Get Real

The post-Beckham era begins tonight for the Galaxy with another heavy dose of reality -- a crucial bottom of the conference clash against the team just above them, Real Salt Lake. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center.

No complex analysis is needed; the depleted Galaxy must simply win and even that may already be irrelevant.

Meanwhile, as one designated player is sidelined another begins his MLS career: Brazilian star Denilson makes his debut today for FC Dallas.

Tolerance Through Soccer

A Manhattan Beach-based film production company does its part in bridging cultural divisions with its show "The Soccer Academy"

Check out some show excerpts:

Chivas USA Update

"Chivas USA don't play another MLS game until Thursday against D.C. United at the HDC, but top scorer Maykel Galindo will appear noon Sunday on Univision live on Spanish-language sports show "República Deportiva."

The club also announced Friday that recently-signed "midfielder Ramón Núñez has been called up by Honduran National Team coach Reinaldo Rueda for the Catrachos’ upcoming friendlies against Costa Rica (Sept. 9 in Boston, Mass.) and Ecuador (Sept. 12 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras)."

Here's more from the Chivas USA press release:

"Núñez is expected to fly to the East Coast on Sept. 7, one day after Chivas USA’s Thursday night match against D.C. United at Home Depot Center.

“I am honored, as always, to have been called up by Honduras,” said the 21-year-old Núñez. “I hope to work hard and give my best effort, in hopes of making my debut with the full national side.”

Born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and raised in Dallas, Texas, Núñez was acquired by Chivas USA on Aug. 15 in a trade with FC Dallas. Although he has yet to play for Honduras’ senior national team, he was previously called up by Honduras in 2006 for a pair of exhibition matches against Guatemala in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Previously, Núñez represented Honduras at the youth national team level, including at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland."