Saturday Galaxy Gameday & More

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."