October 2007 Archives

Brad Guzan, who could well be on his way to Arsenal next year, was today deservedly named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

"Winning the award reflects the hard work the guys have put in all year," Guzan said today after training. "The biggest thing for me throughout the year was to be able to keep my head straight, never getting too high and never getting too low."

Guzan beat out the New England Revolution's Matt Reis and the Houston Dynamo's Pat Onstad for the award and became the 10th different player to win.

From the MLS press release:

Guzan, 23, in only his third year as a professional, was awarded the League’s top honor for goalkeepers after leading his club to the best record in the Western Conference (15-7-8), ranking first among goalkeepers in shutouts (13), tied for second in wins (14) and second in goals against average (0.93). Guzan’s 13 shutouts rank as the second most all-time behind Tony Meola’s 16 in 2000. His goals-against average was the fourth best of all-time in MLS.

The native of Homer Glen, Ill., and former South Carolina Gamecock anchored a strong defense that allowed just 28 goals this season, the second-best mark in MLS this season.

Rumors over the last two weeks that Arsenal were scouting him were not dispelled by Guzan.

"I will wait for a later date to release that information," he said. "If it does happen, great.

"I think they're possibly one of the best teams in the world right now, if not the best," he added. "The amount of talent they have is unbelievable."

Except in the goalkeeping department, where the starter is the aging Jens Lehmann, who turns 38 next month.

Prediction: Guzan will join the English Premier League leaders when the international transfer window opens in January.

It will be a loss for MLS, but Guzan is already developing into a world class goalkeeper and U.S. Coach Bob Bradley will undoubtedly be happy if Guzan heads to England.

Goalkeepers typically peak much later than outfield players, so we can expect Guzan and Everton's Tim Howard to compete for the starting job in the U.S. net for years to come, much as Tottenham Hotspur's Kasey Keller and Blackburn Rovers' Brad Friedel did in their prime.

In other MLS awards announced today, New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst was named the winner of the individual Fair Play award.

In 25 regular season games, he committed just five fouls and received no yellow or red cards, a remarkable achievement for a defender and a testament to his skill, positioning and ability to read the game.

Parkhurst is also expected to pick up the Defender of the Year Award.

The Columbus Crew earned the MLS Team Fair Play award, recognizing the Major League Soccer club with the fewest disciplinary points during the 2007 regular season.

Preki Profiled

Former Kansas City Wizards star Preki is profiled by The Kansas City Star ahead of Saturday's decisive playoff clash between his old team and Chivas USA at Home Depot Center.

Preki reveals he was miffed the Wizards didn't come calling when he went into coaching. And like the Galaxy's Cobi Jones, Preki conceded he didn't initially know what he would do after his playing days ended.

The profile is here.

Meanwhile, the Wizards are auctioning off goalkeeper Kevin Hartman's pink game worn (and now signed) jersey with the proceeds going to breast cancer charities. (Fortunately pink doesn't clash with the black fingernails Hartman was sporting the last time I saw him).

Hartman, the former Galaxy, UCLA, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Peninsula High product, had a grandmother survive breast cancer.

He wore the jersey Oct. 5 in a 1-1 tie against D.C. United in observation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The auction ends Nov. 16. Those with more than $400 to spare (that's the most recent bid as of this post) may bid here.

By the way, Chivas USA hosts a fan rally Thursday ahead of this weekend's game from 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Plaza Mexico, 3100 E. Imperial Highway, Lynwood.

Becks for England?

The Galaxy are set to return to training Thursday ahead of Sunday's charity game for victims of the recent wildfires, but David Beckham is reportedly resisting playing in another benefit match in Spain Nov. 19 in case he gets called up by England for their Nov. 21 European Championship qualifier against Croatia.

Long Beach State Must Go Long

Long Beach State made things tough on themselves by losing 1-0 to UC Irvine in a crucial Big West encounter Tuesday.

Complete conference standings are here.

A week is a long time in soccer.

In the last week Chivas USA have gone from Western Conference champions to looking like a team unlikely to survive the opening round of the MLS playoffs.

And Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop has gone from "dead man walking" to looking like he will be around next season after all.

I took a look at both stories in this week's column.

Meanwhile to no-one's surprise, Brazil today was awarded the 2014 World Cup, while Germany snagged the women's version in 2011.

Finally, the basement-dwelling Loyola Marymount men, without a West Coast Conference win this season, lost yet again Monday, succumbing 2-0 at San Diego for their second loss to the same team in four days.

The 2-11-1, 0-7-0 WCC Lions travel to Oregon Thursday to meet Oregon State and on Sunday play at Santa Clara.

The Mexican Football Federation announced Monday the names of the eight teams that will play in the fifth annual InterLiga in January at four U.S. venues including Carson's Home Depot Center.

InterLiga determines two of the four Mexican berths for the Copa Libertadores, the Latin American version of the UEFA Champions Leagues. It's also a money-spinner for organizers, since it generally draws big crowds to Mexican-Americans starved for live Mexican futbol.

With CD Guadalajara and Pachuca already qualified for the Copa Libertadores, the eight teams playing in InterLiga area are Club America, Atlas, Toluca, Morelia, Cruz Azul, Pumas, Monterrey and San Luis.

Locally, the HDC will host a Jan. 9 doubleheader with Toluca playing Morelia and Atlas facing Club America.

The stadium also hosts the Jan. 12 finals.

Full tournament details are here.

Two Chivas USA players as well as Coach Preki and the Galaxy's Cobi Jones are among the local finalists for MLS' year-end awards, the league announced today.

Award winners, as voted by players, team officials and media members, will be named at regular intervals through Nov. 17.

First up Wednesday is the Goalkeeper of the Year Award, with Chivas USA's Brad Guzan (the regular season shutout leader) going up against seemingly ageless Canadian Pat Onstad (who had the best goals against average in MLS) of the Houston Dynamo and former Galaxy goalkeeper Matt Reis of the New England Revolution.

The same day the Galaxy's Cobi Jones will learn whether he won the Individual Fair Play Award. The other finalists are similarly retired defender Eddie Pope and the Revs' Michael Parkhurst.

Chivas USA's savvy veteran defender Claudio Suarez is up for the Defender of the Year Award, against Parkhurst and the Dynamo's Eddie Robinson.

Up against Preki for the Coach of the Year Award are Dominic Kinnear of the Houston Dynamo and Tom Soehn of D.C. United.

Also notable: the Revs' Adam Cristman, Toronto FC's Maurice Edu and New York's Dane Richards are finalists for Rookie of the Year; MVP finalists are Juan Pablo Angel of the Red Bulls, Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire and MLS top scorer Luciano Emilio of D.C. United.

With no most over-hyped player award, David you know who didn't get a mention.

Attention conspiracy theorists: FIFA announced today the policy of rotating the World Cup between continents will end in 2018, when it was scheduled to be held in a North American, Central American or Carribean country.

Realistically, that meant either the U.S., Mexico or Canada was in line to be the host since they are the only nations in the region with the resources to hold the tournament. That doesn't mean the U.S. won't be awarded the tournament, it's just that there will be more competition, which was apparently the whole idea.

The move was made, not surprisingly, over the protestations of CONCACAF.

Crunch time is approaching for local colleges.

The UCLA men lost their home unbeaten record Sunday to Washington despite out-shooting their opponents 15-4.

UCLA remains first in the Pac-10 by one point.

Three second half goals by the Loyola Marymount women was enough to defeat visiting San Francisco 3-0 in a West Coast Conference match Sunday at Sullivan Field.

The win keeps LMU third in the West Coast Conference with one game remaining on the season.

The Cal State Northridge women (4-10-2, 1-4-1) and UC Irvine (8-5-2, 2-1-1) played to a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon at Matador Soccer Field.

With the draw, Cal State Northridge remains in the Big West conference basement with two games remaining on the season.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills men clinched a berth in the CCAA Championship with an 8-0 mauling of Cal State Bernadino Sunday in Carson. Sophomore Mario Guerrero scored a hat trick.

The CSUDH women beat CSU SB 3-0 with two goals coming from junior forward Yvonne Vasquez in their regular season finale.

Tournament play begins Friday in Carson with the men playing at 7:30 p.m. against Cal State LA and the women playing at 1:30 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.

A fire in a house across the street from mine delayed blogging this morning (no one was hurt), but at least the structure didn't get fully involved.

Much the same can be said of Chivas USA, which slumped to an impotent 1-0 loss Saturday in Kansas City and without their starting striking tandem of Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov never really looked like scoring.

"We have to find a way to get results," Chivas USA Coach Preki told The Kansas City Star with the team's lack of attacking depth dramatically exposed in the loss.

Former Long Beach Press Telegram Chivas USA beat writer Matt Zimmerman, who quit to go back to graduate school in Missouri, was on hand to provide the Southern California perspective.

Noteworthy:
* Should Chivas USA advance from its series against Kansas City, as the highest seed in the West the club would host MLS’s Western Conference Final the following Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (Nov. 10) against the winner of the Houston-Dallas series.

*Chivas USA midfielder Lawson Vaughn, red-carded in Chivas USA’s final regular-season game on Oct. 20 against the Houston Dynamo, served his one-game suspension and did not play in Kansas City, but is eligible to return for the second leg at home.

*On Thursday, a special Chivas USA Fan Rally will be held at 7 p.m. at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood.

*Former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Peninsula High) set numerous marks Saturday including a 246-minute scoreless streak that enabled him to equal the all-time postseason shutout record of 13 with Zach Thornton.

Hartman also extended his all-time records in wins (22), minutes played in goal (3,682), saves (141), games played in goal (40) and games started in goal (40).

He now ranks second all-time in games started among all players, trailing only former teammate Cobi Jones of the Los Angeles Galaxy (43).

Despite the loss, Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch remains bullish on the return game.

"We feel good about tonight's result. I thought we dominated the match. We were able to dictate the game the way we wanted. We didn't give them any chances tonight, and we were unfortunate that the free kick glanced off the wall."

CSUN Beached in Santa Barbara

The Matadors men lost 3-0 at UC Santa Barbara Saturday night, before a crowd of almost 2,000, which allowed the Gauchos to overtake Cal Poly at the top of the Big West conference.

Northridge returns to Big West action at 2 p.m. Wednesday against Cal Poly at Matador Soccer Field.

Prairie Goats

The season is now a maximum of four games long for Chivas USA, which begins its MLS Cup quest at 5 p.m. this afternoon in Kansas City. The game is on Prime.

Ahead of the game beat writer Ivan Orozco catches up with one of the few Mexicans to succeed in MLS, Chivas USA midfielder Panchito Mendoza. He's also one of only three players, (goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defender Orlando Perez are the others) to remain from Chivas USA's awful inaugural season. Check out Mendoza's stats here.

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Peninsula High, CSU Dominguez Hills, UCLA) provides the Wizards perspective.

By the way, Chivas USA has a viewing party set at El Gordito restauarant, 11655 Valley Blvd., El Monte.

One More Galaxy Game

The Galaxy and celebrity team Hollywood United play a benefit match for victims of the recent wildfires at 5 p.m. Nov. 4 at Home Depot Center.

Here's the (edited) Galaxy press release:

All proceeds from the match, including donations collected on the day of the game, will go to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army to aid in their efforts to assist those affected by the wildfires.

“We’ve all witnessed the destruction these wildfires have caused throughout Southern California,” Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas said. “Through soccer, we have the ability to help those who have been impacted by this disaster, and thanks to the support of the Herbalife Family Foundation, we’re proud to say that 100% of the proceeds generated will go directly to the relief effort. We encourage all Galaxy fans and soccer fans everywhere to come out and support this worthy cause.”

All tickets for the match will be $20 general admission seats, available on a first come, first serve basis, with the exception of a limited number of luxury seats available for $60.

Additionally, all firefighters will receive free admission to the match by showing their badge at The Home Depot Center box office starting on Monday.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through the Galaxy at 877-3GALAXY or online at www.lagalaxy.com and www.ticketmaster.com with funds being donated directly to the participating charities. In conjunction with the Galaxy, Ticketmaster has waived its service fees for all tickets purchased for this charity match.

Additionally, parking for the game will be free to all spectators.

College Roundup

The top-ranked UCLA women prevailed 2-0 in their local derby against USC on Friday, while the Pepperdine and CSUN women also won, as did the UCLA men.

A quick note on the Bruins' games (the event was a doubleheader): the 3,345 fans in attendance was the second-largest crowd in UCLA history and the largest in six years.

In other games:

*The Loyola Marymount men (2-10-1, 0-6 WCC) scored first, but lost 2-1 to San Diego (7-6-1, 4-1-1 WCC) in a West Coast Conference match at Sullivan Field that was moved from San Diego because of the wildfires. The teams will meet again at 7 p.m. Monday in San Diego.

*Freshman Lily Sorentino's 35-yard strike in overtime gave the LMU women a 2-1 victory over visiting Saint Mary's in a WCC game Friday at Sullivan Field. The Lions snapped their two-match losing streak while posting their eighth straight victory at home.

The 10-5-1, 2-2-0 WCC Lions go for win number 11 on the season at 11 a.m. Sunday against San Francisco.

*The Cal State Dominguez Hills men won their sixth-straight game 3-1 over visiting Cal Poly Pomona on Friday night at Toro Stadium, in their penultimate game of the season.

The 15-3, 11-2 CCAA Toros concludes the regular season with a 5 p.m. game Sunday against Cal State San Bernardino in Carson.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's 2-2 draw with Cal Poly Pomona at Toro Stadium Friday keeps CSUDH in post-season limbo.

CSUDH (12-3-4, 7-3-3 CCAA) is assured a berth in the CCAA Tournament with a win on Sunday against Cal State San Bernadino in Carson, or if Cal State Stanislaus either ties or loses against Chico State today.

MLS Playoff and Awards Update

The Chicago Fire beat D.C.United 1-0 Thursday in the opening MLS playoff game, while Chivas USA left early for Kansas City because of the locally poor air quality to prepare for their Saturday playoff game against the Wizards.

Just as the NFL is making excursions into England, could we see the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United facing off at the Home Depot Center?

Meanwhile, the MLS awards season is cranking up with announcements of every stripe gradually dribbling out (I'm looking forward to that club PR department award).

You can check out why D.C. United's Luciano Emilio won the Golden Boot below:

And fan voting for the MLS Goal of the Year has just begun.

Fans are asked to choose the best 10 from 34 nominees in the first of the three-phase process, which lasts until Oct. 31.

Fans can vote here.

U.S. Nats Changes

U.S. Soccer is shuffling some coaches.

Under-17 Men's National Team Coach John Hackworth has been named an assistant coach to Bob Bradley at the full national team level.

From the U.S. Soccer press release:

In addition to joining Bob Bradley’s national team staff, Hackworth will also serve as the Development Academy Director in U.S. Soccer’s new player development initiative that launched earlier this year. The program which launched this fall is designed to improve the environment for elite players throughout the country, in many ways emulating the successful U.S. Soccer Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., which Hackworth has been a part of since 2002.

“Joining Bob Bradley’s staff as that team gets focused on World Cup qualifying in 2008 is a great next step as a coach,” said Hackworth. “I’ve known Bob for many years and we have a great connection in terms of how we see the game, both technically on the field and in the ways you can help prepare a team off the field. I’m greatly looking forward to being a part of his staff on the road to South Africa.”

(Am I alone in thinking that's an unfortunate name for an elite soccer coach?)

This morning U.S. Soccer introduced Hackworth's replacement, new U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera to the media.

From the U.S. Soccer press release:

Cabrera, who holds a USSF A Coaching License, is a veteran of two World Cups with Colombia (1990 & 1998) and joins the U-17 Residency Program after serving as an assistant with the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team this year. Cabrera moved to the U.S. in 2003 to play with the Long Island Roughriders and most recently worked with the MLS Futbolito and Verano MLS grassroots programs of Major League Soccer.

A demographically smart move by Gulati given the numbers of emerging Latino players the U.S. needs to ensure don't fall through the cracks.

College Update

Local college action today includes:

*The No. 1-ranked UCLA women's soccer team (11-1-2; 4-0 Pac-10) hosting one of its biggest matches of the year as No. 9 USC (11-1-2; 3-0-1 Pac-10) visits at 7:30 p.m. at Drake Stadium. Tickets for the match are $7 for adults and $5 for youths and students. UCLA students are admitted free with a valid Bruin Card. Friday is a doubleheader with the UCLA men's team, which plays at 5 p.m. against Oregon State.

*The Cal State Northridge women’s soccer team (3-10-1, 1-4-0) returns home for the rest of the 2007 season after playing six of its past seven matches on the road and plays at 2:30 p.m. against Cal State Bakersfield (4-10-1).

*In a scheduling change, the wildfires have forced the kickoff of the UCLA-Washington men's soccer game at Drake Stadium to be moved from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. That's because San Diego State's game against Oregon State on Sunday has been moved to Los Angeles. The Aztecs and Beavers will play at 1 p.m. at UCLA's North Athletic Field.

Updated 3 p.m.: Long Beach State announced this afternoon that poor air quality from the wildfires has forced the postponement of tonight's game at UC Irvine. The game has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Torrance's Corrie Hirokawa, Cal State Dominguez Hills' top scorer with nine goals and seven assists, sees her college soccer career coming to an end in her third post for 100 Percent Soccer:

The season has gone by quickly leaving me only two more regular season games.

These next two games are important, because it's coming down to the wire for CCAA playoff bids. We only need one win to guarantee our spot in the CCAA tournament, which we are hosting.

With this being my last year, I’ve already realized how important this season is, but as we have just two games left and need one to win to make the conference tournament, I know how important it is for all of us to give it our all this weekend.

There is no "next year" for me.

There is only "right now" and right now I have an opportunity to take my team to playoffs and I am ready to shed blood, sweat and tears.

When you have been a part of a team for four years it is hard to accept that it is coming to an end.

I have made many life-long friendships and have created memories that I will never forget. Now I want to add to those memories as much as I can with these last few games.

I love playing soccer and I love the team I play for. I couldn't have asked for a better season thus far and I am anxious to see how my season will end. Wish us luck!

GO TOROS!!

Imploding Galaxy

ESPN color analyst Eric Wynalda, holding court in the press box before the last Galaxy home game, joked that the initials of Galaxy owner AEG actually stood for Auditioning Executives Group rather than Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Wynalda's acronym makes even more sense when you learn that the suits at AEG apparently believe Coach Frank Yallop has more to do with the Galaxy's ghastly season than their greedy marketing decisions that sapped the team of any vitality.

Incidentally, Wynalda observed that after he made the AEG crack to GM Alexi Lalas, his former U.S. international teammate didn't talk to him for five days.

Lalas isn't talking to beat writer Billy Witz about Yallop either.

I wouldn't put it past the Auditioning Executives Group to fire Yallop though; after all this is the same company that fired Sigi schmid with the Galaxy in first place in MLS.

Chivas USA Flees Fires

It wasn't a mandatory evacuation, but with health concerns rising in Los Angeles because of the ash and smoke in the air Chivas USA decided to head to Kansas City a day early ahead of Saturday's playoff game.

Crummy air quality has physicians advising even elite athletes not to exercise.

Chivas USA will fly out this afternoon after a light training session.

“After training (Wednesday) morning at The Home Depot Center we decided that it is in the best interest of our players for us to depart a day early for Kansas City ahead our crucial playoff game on Saturday,” said Chivas USA Head Coach Preki. “At the same time, as residents of Southern California, I want to say that our hearts go out to the thousands of families who have lost their homes, as well as to the brave men and women who are fighting on the front lines to help contain the fires.”

Who's The Biggest Hunk

This is terribly tabloid, but try as I might I just can't resist.

Askmen.com readers have just voted David Beckham as their No. 1 choice in the Web site's annual survey of the year's 49 top men. Allegedly the voters were mostly male.

Meanwhile, trashy NBC celebrity gossip show Extra has pronounced Chivas USA's (injured) striker Ante Razov a "soccer hottie" "with gorgeous green eyes."

He also has a reputation as being a generally moody type (team officials recently tried to convince me Razov is just terribly shy, but on this video evidence I'm not buying that).

Oh, and because enquiring minds will want to know, Torrance's Jack Stewart (latterly of Real Salt Lake) did not win Cosmo's Bachelor of the Year contest.

College Shorts

A 51st minute goal by Rafael Garcia was enough to give Cal State Northridge (5-3-5) a 1-0 win and their first victory of the Big West Conference season Wednesday over visiting Cal State Fullerton (5-8-2).

Northridge returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they travel to UC Santa Barbara, in what many consider the most heated rivalry in the Big West.

The NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Committee has released its first soccer regional rankings of the season and Cal State Dominguez Hills, ranked No. 16 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), finds itself 3rd in the NCAA Far West Region poll.

From the (edited) CSUDH press release:

The Toros, winners of five straight and seven of their last eight, boast a 14-3 overall and 10-2 CCAA record, and sit eight points ahead of Cal State L.A. in the CCAA’s south division.

CSUDH is led by a potent 1-2-3 offensive punch in seniors Sammy Rivas (Long Beach, CA/CS Fullerton) and Jose Serpas (Costa Mesa, CA/Orange Coast College), and sophomore Mario Guerrero (Riverside, CA/La Sierra HS), who have combined for 20 goals, 11 assists and 9 game-winning scores, a stellar defensive line in senior Devin Toohey (Santa Paula, CA/Ventura College) and sophomore Kevin Gallaugher (Walnut, CA/Rio Hondo JC) that has blanked opponents in eight contests and has allowed just 13 goals all season, and stellar play in net by sophomore Derby Carrillo (La Mirada, CA/St. John Bosco HS), who recently picked up his second Brine/CCAA Player of the Week Award and leads the conference in shutouts, save percentage and goals against average.

Seattle University, which the Toros bested 2-0 on September 2, sits atop the NCAA Far West poll with a No. 6 ranking in the NSCAA, and is followed by Sonoma State, ranked No. 11 by the NSCAA.

The Toros conclude their regular season with two home games this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona at 7:00 pm on Friday, followed by a 5:00 pm match-up against Cal State San Bernardino two days later, which will also mark the final regular season home game for eight Toro seniors.

Guest-blogger Brian Boswell, coach of Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women of the Women's Premier Soccer League, a team that is usually a contender for the national championship, is familiar with many of the prospective candidates for the U.S. Women's National Team coaching job.

For instance, he coached Carin Gabarra (Jennings) when she was growing up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. In a recent e-mail to me she cited him as one of two local youth coaches (Bill Merrill was the other) who helped provide a solid foundation to her career.

Here, he handicaps the field of potential successors to Greg Ryan, who was fired Monday:

There are two main female candidates, UCLA and Under-20 U.S. Women’s National Team coach Jill Ellis and Navy’s Carin Gabarra Jennings, a former U.S. National Team star who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Under Ellis, UCLA is a perennial NCAA championship contender.

As coach of the U.S. U-20 team, she has the twin advantages of access to the inner workings of the U.S. Soccer Federation and knowledge of up and coming young players.

I have always found her to easy to talk to and a good person to coach against.

Would Jill give up the security of UCLA for the national team job? Her ego may say “yes,” but I don’t know. She would do a good job if it was offered to her.

Gabarra has done a great job at Navy; military academies are difficult places to recruit players.

One of the original greats of U.S. soccer, she was MVP of the 1991 Women’s World Cup and an Olympic gold medal winner.

Her husband, Jim, who coaches the Washington Freedom, is another candidate for the job. While she would have no problem commanding the respect of the U.S. team, she’s had great offers before. Would she leave Jim in Washington D.C.? I don’t think so.

The male candidates are former U.S. National Team Coach Tony DiCicco, Santa Clara University Coach Jerry Smith, the aforementioned Jim Gabarra, former coach of the WUSA’s San Jose CyberRays Ian Sawyers and Australian National Team Coach Tom Sermanni.

DiCicco, coach of Soccer Plus Connecticut in the WPSL, has also just accepted the position of coach of the Boston franchise in the new women’s professional league.

If the U.S. are looking for a coach just through next year’s Olympics, DiCicco, the highest profile candidate is the man.

Advantage: he knows the players and more importantly the inner workings of the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Disadvantage: he isn’t the coach now, so something was wrong for Tony and the job to part company previously.

I have coached against Tony, who is courteous, professional, knows the game and a competitor. The post for the short term would still leave Tony available for Boston.

Smith has created a soccer dynasty at Santa Clara, the little Catholic school near San Jose.

He has the knowledge and ability to do a great job with the U.S. and has interviewed before for the job.

The husband of outspoken former U.S. national team star Brandi Chastain, he is open and honest and likely told the U.S. Soccer Federation things that at the time they did not want to hear.

Now it’s time for them to listen.

Jim Gabarra, coached the Washington Freedom to the 2007 W-League championship and also coached the club in the WUSA when the roster included Mia Hamm (a member of the three-person U.S. Soccer coach search committee).

He has coached at the highest level with the best players, has great knowledge of the women’s game and has accepted a position to coach in the new women’s professional league with the Washington franchise.

But I don’t think he would leave Washington, Carin and their three kids to spend a lot of time in California.

Brit Sawyers, who has the instant credibility that comes from being married to former U.S. National Team star Julie Foudy, has been out of coaching at the top level for some time developing his wife’s camps. Still, that would not stop him doing a good job with the U.S.

Sermanni, whose Australian team has put in some good World Cup performances, is surely worth a look. A Scot with a great sense of humor, he was coach of the New York Power in the WUSA, so knows the women’s game on the national level and has great club experience.

If the U.S. Soccer Federation decide they need a quick fix, DiCicco has the inside track.

If it’s someone for the Olympics it could be Smith or Sermanni, although any of the others are capable of getting the U.S. back on top.

Of Razov and Playoffs

Injured Chivas USA striker Ante Razov insists he will return for the playoffs at some stage.

Just don't expect to see him in Kansas City Saturday night for Chivas USA's opening game. The game is live at 5 p.m. on Prime.

The MLS playoffs start Thursday, by the way, when D.C. United plays the Chicago Fire live at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Details on all the playoff series are here.

FIFA Rankings Released

I'm not big on the monthly FIFA world rankings released today, but then I'm not from Argentina (the country reclaimed the top spot from Italy, which dropped to third behind Brazil).

The World Cup winners got knocked off the top, despite playing just one game - and winning it. That sort of thing just increases the irrelevance of the ranking system.

Still, for what it's worth the U.S. stayed in 18th spot, Croatia was unchanged at 10th, England dropped two places to 11th, Scotland rose one place to 13th and Mexico dropped two places to 15th, after losing to Guatemala at the Coliseum.

The entire list is here.

Soccer and Fire

Not surprisingly, the catastrophic wildfires sweeping through Southern California are beginning to take their toll on local soccer games. Doctors are advising athletes to avoid physical exertion in some spots because of the smoke and ash that's seemingly everywhere.

Loyola Marymount's men's team have been forced to move Friday's game in San Diego to Sullivan Field.

Here's the full release from LMU:

LMU's men's soccer games versus the University of San Diego have been rescheduled and moved due to the wildfires and smoke in San Diego County.

The Lions and USD will now play at LMU on Friday at noon and on Monday night at 7 p.m. in San Diego.

The women's soccer games against St. Mary's and San Francisco will go ahead as planned.

LMU will play St. Mary's at 3 p.m. on Friday following the men's match.

Sunday's game against USF that was originally part of a doubleheader will now be a single game at 11 a.m.

Pepperdine's women's team have also been dealing with the fires in Malibu.

Still, the fires didn't stop Cal State Dominguez Hills from snagging the right to host the CCAA men's and women's championship games next week.

Here's the full press release:

Cal State Dominguez Hills has been selected to host the 2007 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships, commissioner Robert J. Hiegert announced on Tuesday.

The CCAA Championships are scheduled for Nov. 2-4 at 8,000-seat Toro Stadium in Carson, Calif. The event will feature four men’s and four women’s teams competing over three days with the winners claiming the conference title.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will be hosting the championships for the fourth time and first since 2004 when its women’s team captured the conference title and them men lost in the title match.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular-season, Cal State Dominguez Hills’ men’s squad has secured a postseason berth while its women’s team remains in contention.

The CCAA consists of a North and South Division and each division winner advances to postseason play along with the next two teams with the highest point totals.

Currently on the men’s side, Sonoma State, which leads the North Division with a 13-0 conference mark, has clinched a berth along with Cal State Dominguez Hills (14-3, 10-2). Cal State L.A., Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay are still in contention.

On the women’s side, Chico State (11-5-1, 9-3-1) and UC San Diego (12-2-1, 9-2-1) lead their respective divisions and have clinched spots in the championships. Cal State Stanislaus (9-8-2, 7-4-2), Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-3-3, 7-3-2) and Cal State L.A. (9-5-1, 6-4-1) remain in contention.

The complete bracket for both tournaments will be announced late Sunday, following the completion of the regular season. The tournament format will have the women playing during Friday’s first session with match times scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The men will play at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday.

The women’s championship match is slated for 11:30 a.m. on Sunday and the men’s title match will kickoff at 2 p.m.

As many expected it would after the conclusion of the three-match post-World Cup series between the U.S. and Mexico, the ax fell Monday on Women's National Team Coach Greg Ryan.

On a personal and professional level, I enjoyed dealing with the soft-spoken Ryan.

He was always accommodating and happy to give reporters the time they needed.

That was the case again Monday when Ryan returned my phone calls so I could include comments from him in today's column, while Torrance's Shannon Boxx also took the time to give her reaction. Read it here.

And Daily Breeze columnist John Bogert received a flood of e-mails from readers happy to see him call out a boorish AYSO parent in his column last week.

Here's the reader reaction.

Finally this morning, after the Galaxy season ended Sunday, the team wasted no time in rescheduling exhibition games in Vancouver, B.C. Nov. 7 and Minneapolis Nov. 11.

That's two games in five days for Beck's. Hope the ankle holds up.

U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced the firing Monday of U.S. Women's National Team Coach Greg Ryan.

Ryan was informed of the move Sunday morning by U.S. Soccer Executive Director Dan Flynn, the day after the last game of a three-match series against Mexico.

"We want to move in a different direction," Gulati said, adding that Ryan's player management in relation to the Hope Solo debacle played a role in the move. "I'm not going to point to any one factor or any one individual decision. Obviously, coach's decisions impact games and all of that was weighed in."

Gulati said a three-person search committee - consisting of himself, Flynn and soccer great Mia Hamm - would make a decision on a new coach within 30-45 days.

The new coach could be American or foreign, male or female, but must have experience at the highest level of the game and familiarity with the U.S. team given that Olympic qualifying begins in February, Gulati said.

In addition, Solo remains part of the national team pool and is not suspended, Gulati said.

"My guess is a number of participants ... if they could do it all over again would do it differently," he said of that situation. "I'm not sure the decision was made to ostracize (Solo)."

Ryan was appointed national team coach in January 2005 and led the U.S. to unprecedented success before the World Cup, but the team's humiliating performance in China convinced Gulati to oust Ryan.

Ryan finished with a 45-1-9 record.

I'll have more on Ryan's firing in Tuesday's column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze.

Ryan Out

At least that's the supposition after you receive an e-mail from U.S. Soccer calling a 1 p.m. news conference today with President Sunil Gulati "to address the status of U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Greg Ryan."

No mention of Ryan being on the call, so whether he resigned or was fired you gotta figure he's gone.

The Washington Post's Steven Goff is already speculating about Ryan's successor here.

College Roundup

A summary of Sunday's women's college action is here.

Not mentioned in the roundup: The Cal State Northridge women’s (3-10-1) lost 3-1 to Cal State Fullerton (9-6-1) Sunday night at Titan Stadium, the Matadors' seventh consecutive loss to the Titans.

As for the men, Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa scored the game-winning goal in the last minute of the game to lead UCLA to a 3-2 win Sunday over Washington and lift them to first place in the Pac-10.

Nakazawa's clutch goal was his first of the season and the sophomore midfielder also had an assist in the game, which saw UCLA extend its unbeaten streak to four games.

The Bruins’ win, coupled with San Diego State’s 2-0 loss at Oregon State, gave UCLA (7-5-2) the Pac-10 lead with 10 points at the season's halfway mark.

Despite a Michael Clegg goal after just 62 seconds Sunday, Northridge and Maryland tied 1-1. Northridge dropped to 4-3-5 and Maryland to 6-4-4.

Cal State Dominguez Hills won 2-0 over visiting Chico State Sunday to improve to 14-3, 10-2 CCAA.

Sophomore forward Mario Guerrero out of Riverside's La Serra High scored the game-winner, while sophomore goalkeeper Derby Carrillo of La Mirada got his eighth shutout as CSUDH posted its fourth-consecutive win.

Loyola Marymount (2-9-1, 0-5-0 WCC) out-shot Saint Mary's 17-9, but still lost their fifth-straight game in a 1-0 defeat Sunday in a West Coast Conference game at Sullivan Field.

Chivas USA Playoff Tickets on Sale

Game 1 of the Chivas USA-Kansas City Wizards playoff series kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, while game 2 of the aggregate-goals series is set for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at Home Depot Center.

Tickets start at $14 and fans who purchase them by calling (1-877) CHIVAS-1 receive a limited-edition Chivas USA Road to Glory Playoffs T-shirt.

Rogers Rips D.C.

Finally, we should belatedly acknowledge Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers, who scored two goals Saturday in the Columbus Crew's road win over D.C. United. The Crew also beat the New England Revolution in their previous game, meaning they ended the season with victories against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

"Two really big wins," Rogers said to The Columbus Dispatch. "So now it's, 'Gee, if we just could have got that other point here or that one there..."

Incidentally, in contrast Lawndale's Kei Kamara ended the season on a down note, reportedly getting dropped for the game by Crew Coach Sigi Schmid

At the start of this season former Chadwick School star John Thorrington, waived by the Chicago Fire, failed to hook on with either the Galaxy or Chivas USA.

But he stayed fit playing with his brother's Palos Verdes Peninsula club team, Fram, and after re-signing with Chicago and playing just two minutes for the Fire before Sunday, delivered a dramatic goal in second half stoppage time with a calmly taken chip over Joe Cannon that killed off the Galaxy's season and sent the Fire into the playoffs.

The Fire's 1-0 win means Chivas USA begins the playoffs Thursday in Kansas City.

Updated: Game story is here.

And with the end of the Galaxy's season, this column was inevitable.

Chivas USA's Western Conference decider Saturday with the Houston Dynamo was so dull, the biggest talking point came after the final whistle when the opposing coaches exchanged words and shoves.

Still, Chivas USA got the point they needed to clinch the top seed in the West.

The Galaxy's playoff hopes are still alive too after Real Salt Lake remarkably actually won a game and L.A. will set up a pulsating first-round series with Chivas USA with a win over the Fire at noon today on FSN. Lose or tie and the Galaxy are out and Chivas USA plays Chicago instead.

Despite the fact we're unlikely to see much of Beckham Sunday, there was the inevitable Blanco-Beck's news conference Saturday in Chicago and the equally inevitable story on the "meeting" of the two superstars.

Meanwhile, Briana Scurry played in goal as the U.S. women tied Mexico 1-1 Saturday.

MLS Down To The Wire

In contrast to the Galaxy's muddled playoff picture, Chivas USA must simply avoid losing tonight to the Houston Dyanamo at Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA beat writer Ivan Orozco has more on Chivas USA's motivation.

I have another commitment tonight so Ivan will guest-blog from the HDC.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy doesn't play today, but it's still the most important day of their season, too. Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz will spend the day following the Galaxy's playoff fate on MLSnet.com

He breaks down what needs to happen (and what doesn't) here.

Ryan's Hope

The U.S. plays the final game of its post-World Cup three-match series against Mexico today in Albuquerque, N.M.

Estranged former first-choice goalkeeper Hope Solo didn't dress for the first game (in a supposed gesture of reconciliation), and third-choice Nicole Barnhart got the start in the second, so it will be interesting to see what happens today.

Cynical observers might say Coach Greg Ryan will get fired after the final whistle no matter who plays in goal, but U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati isn't known for pulling the trigger quickly.

Still, the soap opera gives extra resonance to the accompanying magazine cover as well as the fact that before the tournament Ryan told me he thought Solo would be the most likely player on the U.S. team to emerge from the tournament as a star. I'm guessing he didn't mean like this.

The USA has outscored Mexico, 9-1, in the previous two games so there's unlikely to be much suspense about the outcome.

Still, since there's no TV, the curious can check out the MatchTracker at ussoccer.com

Kick off is at 3:30 p.m.

College Update

A summary of Friday's local college action is here.

In another college game, the Cal State Northridge women’s team (3-9-1) defeated UC Riverside (8-6-1), 3-1, Friday afternoon at the UCR Soccer Stadium in Riverside.

A frightening collision between Northridge goalkeeper Ivette Esqueda and Riverside’s Jill Del Rosario delayed the final 12 minutes of the game for nearly half an hour.

Esqueda, making her fourth start of the season for the Matadors, left the field under her own power; Del Rosario had to be carted off the field by ambulance.

The win snapped the Matadors’ five-game losing streak and was their first win in 2007 on the road and in the Big West Conference.

The Matadors wrap up the road portion of their 2007 schedule at 6 p.m. Sunday against Cal State Fullerton.

Get Your Playoff Tickets Today!

In a case of either very weird timing or chronic optimism, the day after the Galaxy put their playoff hopes in jeopardy by only managing a draw with New York the team announced that tickets to the post-season go on sale at 10 a.m. today to season ticket holders only.

They couldn't have waited until Monday when the season could be over?

For what it's worth, here's the release:

Current Galaxy season ticket holders will have the exclusive rights to purchase their seats until 5 p.m. on Monday, October 22 at which point all seats will become available to the general public.

The Galaxy will discover their post-season fate on Sunday after their game against the Chicago Fire (noon on FSN West and Telefutura) at Toyota Park. If the Galaxy qualify for the playoffs, individual tickets will go on sale immediately after the conclusion of the game. Regular season ticket pricing applies.

Additionally, fans can purchase a special Playoff 4-Pack, which includes four tickets to the Galaxy’s home playoff game and four Galaxy T-shirts for as little as $100.

If the Galaxy qualify for the post-season, they would play as the No. 4 seed in either the Eastern or Western Conference, meaning that they would host game one of their Conference Semifinal at Home Depot Center on either Saturday, October 27 or Sunday, October 28. The Galaxy’s opponent in that semifinal series is yet to be determined and could be Chivas USA, D.C. United or the Houston Dynamo.

Numbers Game

A couple of statistical postscripts to Thursday night's Galaxy game.

After Thursday's game Cobi Jones moved into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time games played list for professional soccer players in the U.S. compiled by for National Soccer Hall of Fame.

The list includes all regular season and playoff games played in three major leagues, the American Soccer League (1921–1931), the North American Soccer League (1967–1984), and Major League Soccer since its first game in 1996.

New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston could eclipse the mark set by leader Bill McPherson, whose ASL career extended from the early 1920s into the mid 1930s, if the Revs go all the way to MLS Cup this season.

The top seven:
1. Bill McPherson ASL 370
2. Steve Ralston* MLS 366
3. Bart McGhee ASL 352
4. Cobi Jones* MLS 350
5. Jimmy Gallagher ASL 349
6. Chris Henderson MLS 348
7. Jason Kreis MLS 327
*Active player

In addition, the Galaxy left it (too) late Thursday to score, something they had grown accustomed to doing.

During the Galaxy's five-game winning streak, their winning goal came during the final 20 minutes of the game:
* Chris Klein in the 72nd minute on Sept. 23, giving LA a 2-1 win over FC Dallas.
* Gavin Glinton in the 80th minute on Sept. 27, giving LA a 1-0 win in Kansas City.
* Gavin Glinton in the 77th minute on Oct. 7, giving LA a 2-1 win in Houston.
* Edson Buddle in the 78th minute on Oct. 13, giving LA a 2-1 win over Toronto FC.

Not this time.

Now the Galaxy must win in Chicago Sunday to make the playoffs.

But even then they may not make it; if Kansas gets at least a point and Colorado wins Saturday the Galaxy are out.

The Galaxy failed to apply the finishing touch despite having a succession of (mainly poor) corners taken by Beckham in the second half.

Jozy Altidore could have ended the Galaxy's season in the 91st minute when he broke through and sent a 10-yard shot whistling past the far post.

Both teams picked up the attacking tempo in the second half as the game turned into a more wide open affair, but neither team - and in particular likely MLS MVP Juan Pablo Angel - could score the crucial goal.

Updated:

Tonight's capacity crowd meant the Galaxy averaged 24,252 at the HDC this year, the biggest per game turnout since the inaugural year of 1996.

Kyle Martino's yellow card means he misses Sunday's game because of an accumulation of disciplinary points.

It took the Galaxy 25 minutes to open the locker room to the media, despite the prominent sign outside that reads "Media access 10 minutes after game by order of Commissioner Don Garber."

"It's just a sign," said David Beltran, one of the Galaxy's three media relations types.

Beckham didn't deign to speak to reporters despite playing his first game for seven weeks.

Cobi Jones, however, was gracious and clearly emotional about playing for the last time with the Galaxy at the HDC.

"It was a pretty touching (pre-game) ceremony they put on," he said. "I don't have any torches or anything to pass. It's the nature of sports that players come and go and the team stays."

Jones said he didn't exactly know what he would do in retirement, but would like some sort of ambassador's role if possible.

"One of my goals is to give back to the game," he said.

"Cobi means a lot to this city, to this club and this league," Coach Frank Yallop said. "It was fitting he played 90 minutes. He's been one of the best American players to play the game."

Yallop conceded he'll be glued to the Internet Saturday looking for updates of other games, while Landon Donovan said he and Joe Cannon, who room together on the road, will probably do the same.

The game story is here.

Highlights are here.

David Beckham returned from seven weeks out injured in the 68th minute when he came in for Pete Vagenas with the score tied 1-1 and the Galaxy needing to avoid losing to end their season.

The crowd has gone bananas and the flash bulbs are popping.

Two goals in two minutes proved the high point of an otherwise tepid first half with each team only getting a couple of shots on target apiece.

The Galaxy struck first, Landon Donovan getting the better of Seth Stammler to deliver a cross that floated over goalkeeper Jon Conway and was met at the far post by unmarked defender Troy Roberts, who nodded home his second goal of the season. It was Donovan's 13th assist of the season, tying him for the MLS lead with Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and New England's Steve Ralston.

New York equalized moments later, when Dave van den Burgh crossed to a completely open Jozy Altidore, who scored his ninth goal of the season from seven yards out.

A buzz goes around the stadium every time Cobi gets the ball, with the crowd willing him to set a up a goal or score.

Coach Frank Yallop has named an unchanged line-up for the second consecutive game as the Galaxy tonight seek their sixth consecutive win.

Joe Cannon is in goal as usual, Chris Klein and Mike Randolph are the full backs, with Chris Klein and Ante Jazic the central defenders.

Cobi Jones, playing the final regular season home game of his long career, starts in midfield with Josh Tudela, Pete Vagenas and Kyle Martino.

Up front is captain Landon Donovan and Carlos Pavon.

And yes, David Beckham is on the bench.

Bruce Arena makes two changes to the Red Bull team that beat Kansas City Saturday, their first win since Sept. 1.

Joe Vide comes in for the suspended Dema Kovalenko in midfield, while striker Francis Doe has a hip injury and did not travel with the team; former Galaxy forward John Wolyniec gets the start alongside Juan Pablo Angel, while Clint Mathis is on the bench.

Claudio Reyna is out with a sprained toe.

Cobi Jones will be honored before the game with what's likely to be a lengthy presentation.

Updated: After a video presentation that included Cobi Jones highlights and comments by the likes of Sigi Schmid, Kevin Hartman and Steve Sampson (who was roundly booed), MLS Commissioner Don Garber was hauled out and he called Cobi "a great corporate citizen."

Is that the biggest compliment the league's head honcho could give one of the greatest American soccer players ever?

Oh, and Cobi got a skiing vacation anywhere in the world as a gift. Apparently, he's not allowed to ski under the terms of his contract, but has always wanted to try it. Should do wonders for his chronically injured hip.

Of Cobi, Angel and Beck's

Galaxy great Cobi Jones plays his final home game tonight, likely MLS MVP Juan Pablo Angel plays his first MLS game against the Galaxy at Home Depot Center and there could be an appearance by David Beckham.

Beat writer Billy Witz has a Cobi profile and explains the substitution rule and how it relates to Beckham for soccer illiterates.

Kick off is at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 and I'll blog as usual.

Given the quality of the designated players on the field tonight, (and no, I'm not going to explain what that means) MLS has just released a timely YouTube clip of the pricey imports' season highlights:

U.S. Wins & Mexico Loses

Guatemala inflicted a rare defeat on Mexico at the Coliseum last night, while the U.S. men and women both won.

I don't even want to talk about England.

El Tri Time

European Championship qualifiers are under way as I write this, the U.S. Men's National Team plays at 11:30 a.m. in a friendly against Switzerland that airs live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision, but here in Southern California the big game is the Mexico-Guatemala contest tonight at the Coliseum.

Ivan Orozco has a preview.

Former Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz is on the Guatemala roster, by the way.

No Time For Beckham Thursday?

With the Galaxy mounting a late season surge, Coach Frank Yallop must decide how much and, indeed, whether to play David Beckham in Thursday's crucial game against the New York Red Bulls.

Beck's (still) isn't talking to local soccer writers, but Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz takes a look at the pros and cons of that decision.

Prediction: Expect Beck's to come off the bench if needed.

Meanwhile, columnist Paul Oberjuerge has more on the Galaxy's resurrection.

Finally, Barefootballer.com, a site run by D.C. United's Jamil Walker that focuses on training methods and soccer drills posted this video interview with the Galaxy's Kyle Martino.

Swiss Time

Expect U.S.Coach Bob Bradley to field a young squad against the Swiss with an eye toward next year's Olympics.

• A total of 11 players on the roster, which has an average age of 24, are age-eligible for the 2008 Olympic Games : Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Robbie Findley, Tally Hall, Steve Purdy, Chris Seitz, Danny Szetela, Preston Zimmerman and Sal Zizzo.

The U.S. has never beaten the Swiss in seven attempts. The Swiss warmed up for the game with a 3-1 victory Oct. 13 against fellow 2008 European Championship hosts Austria.

Up to the minute info, including the starting line-up, will be posted just before kick off here.

Hope Time?

Meanwhile, the U.S. Women's National Team plays the second of three post-World Cup games against Mexico tonight largely sight unseen (there's no TV coverage) in Portland, Ore.

Striker Abby Wambach will be recognized before the game for reaching 100 caps (which actually occurred in the World Cup quarterfinal against England).

Naturally, there's no mention of goalkeeper Hope Solo's status on the U.S. Soccer Web site.

Will she be on the bench this time, get a start or just not worry about the whole thing since Coach Greg Ryan could be fired after the third Mexico game anyway?

College Time

Lastly, a brief update on the top-ranked UCLA women's team is here.

Daily Breeze columnist John Bogert would concede he's no soccer expert, but he knows a jerk when he sees one.

Bogie outs one of those annoying overly-involved parents living vicariously through their soccer-playing kids in his column that ran today. Specimens like that are one of the reasons AYSO sometimes has difficulty finding refs, coaches and other volunteers.

If you prefer, you can download the column as a podcast here.

I compared and contrasted the the Galaxy's end of season surge and Chivas USA's swoon in this week's column.

As mentioned in the column, the Houston Dynamo Monday set up the game of the season so far this coming Saturday at the Home Depot Center against Chivas USA for the Western Conference title after beating Real Salt Lake.

Houston Chronicle blogger Bernado Fallas is already hyping the game.

MLS Playoff Update

Four teams – the Chicago Fire, Kansas City Wizards, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy – are vying for the two remaining playoff spots as the regular season enters its final week, while Chivas USA still has a shot at the top seed in the Western Conference.

Over the weekend D.C. United clinched the Supporters’ Shield, given to the team with the best regular season record, becoming the first team to earn the honor two years in a row.

For Chivas USA and the Galaxy the permutations come down to this:

Chivas USA will clinch first place in the Western Conference if Houston loses to Real Salt Lake today or the Goats tie or defeat the Dynamo Saturday.

A Houston draw against Real Salt Lake tonight will set up a showdown with Chivas USA Saturday night for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Wins over New York Thursday and Chicago Sunday will see the Galaxy qualify for the playoffs. The Galaxy are eliminated if they tie New York and fail to win in Chicago.

For the rest: A Kansas City win against host FC Dallas Saturday sends the Wizards to the postseason regardless of other results.

Colorado must win against Real Salt Lake Saturday and get help from other results.

Chicago are in with a win over the Galaxy. A tie against the Galaxy means Chicago will also be looking at the scoreboard seeking help from other teams.

The playoff standings are here.

Sigi Safe

Despite beating the New England Revolution 3-2 Saturday, the Columbus Crew exited the playoff race.

But the job of coach and longtime South Bay resident Sigi Schmid is apparently safe, with the 8-11-10 Crew opting to pick up his one-year option.

Schmid told the Columbus Dispatch:

"If they decide to come back and say they want to go another direction, that's fine. I think the club right now is in a much better position than it was when I came."

College Update

Maxwell Griffin's fifth goal of the year in the 88th minute was enough for the UCLA men (5-5-2) to see off 16th-ranked California Sunday.

Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa got the assist.

Sophomore Lauren Cheney got two goals and junior Caitlyn Mac Kechnie added another as the top-ranked UCLA women beat Oregon 3-0 Sunday at Drake Stadium. The Bruins, who have won six in a row, improved to 9-1-2 overall.

The Loyola Marymount men (2-7-1) took the lead twice Sunday, but Portland scored four times in a 16-minute second half span to win 5-2 in Oregon.

Next: San Francisco at Sullivan Field 4 p.m. Friday.

The LMU women (9-3-1) won their West Coast Conference opener 1-0 over Pepperdine (3-5-5) Sunday afternoon. The Lions extended their school-record winning streak to nine games, while halting the Waves' seven-match unbeaten run.

The Cal State Northridge women (2-9-1) lost to 3-1 Long Beach State Sunday afternoon at Matador Soccer Field, despite taking a second minute lead. The Matadors have lost five straight games, while Long Beach remained in first place in the Big West Conference with three straight road wins.

Senior Julio Madrigal scored the game-winner with 11 minutes left to propel 18th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-3) to a 2-1 win at Cal State L.A. Sunday giving the Toros their third-straight win and the Golden Eagles their third straight loss.

Cal State Dominguez Hills lead Cal State L.A. by three points in the South Division.

Next: CSUDH plays 4:30 p.m. against Cal State Stanislaus at Toro Stadium.

The CSUDH women (11-2-3) lost 1-0 to Cal State L.A. in only their second conference defeat.

With the victory Cal State L.A. pulled to within four points of Cal State Dominguez Hills for the fourth and final spot in the CCAA Championship Tournament.

Guzan's Reward

Updated: Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan and New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman were added to the U.S. Men's National Team roster for the Wednesday game against Euro 2008 co-Host Switzerland in Basel. The game kicks off at 11:30 a.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.

The 10-man Rapids ruined Chivas USA's home unbeaten record in the dying moments of the game when Conor Casey ran on to a through ball and slotted a pass across the face of the goal for Omar Cummings to score his second career MLS goal with a simple tap-in.

Chivas USA now has just one win its last four games.

Veteran defender Orlando Perez had raised Chivas USA's hopes of coming away with a point from their penultimate home game of the season when he scored the first goal of his career in Carson - and only his third MLS goal in seven seasons - on a 79th minute equalizer.

It was a lovely goal, with Sacha Kljesten intelligently chipping a static Colorado back line and Perez timing his run to perfection to score from inside the box.

Chivas USA scored what they thought was a winner in the 86th minute, but striker Laurent Merlin was clearly offside.

The counter-attacking Rapids team took the lead in the 64th minute after former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu scored his first-ever MLS goal, slotting home a ball that was deflected from a Conor Casey shot.

Chivas USA has never come from behind to win an MLS game.

The Rapids played virtually the entire second half down a man, after defender Brandon Prideaux earned a straight red in the 46th minute for bringing down Maykel Galindo as the last man back.

Updated: After throwing away the chance to sew up the top spot in the Western Conference, it was an uncharacteristically quiet Chivas USA locker room after the game; even the usually voluble and quotable Jesse Marsch (who was unhappy about being subbed) wasn't talking.

Preki tried to put the best face on it, saying he had a "funny feeling" coming into the game it wasn't going to be his team's day.

"We had an incredible amount of opportunities we couldn't put in," he said. "It was one of those days."

As one of four original Chivas USA players from the first season still with the club, Orlando Perez, who was wearing a blue Smiths T-shirt in the locker room, (he didn't know Morrissey was on the side lines in a Chivas USA shirt for the Galaxy game) got a kick (ahem) out of scoring his first goal for the club.

"It did feel pretty good," he said. "I would much rather have had the victory.

"We've got to put this game behind us," Perez added. "We should have taken care of business."

Game story is here.

Chivas USA had eight shots to Colorado's two during the opening 45 minutes, but failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities.

A wide open Jonathan Bornstein should have done better when the ball fell to him in the box on the 25th minute mark, but his shot from 10 yards was blocked by a defender.

And Sacha Kljestan sent a shot whistling by the far post after nice approach work by Chivas USA about five minutes before half time.

Colorado's best chance was halted in the 31st minute after Claudio Suarez brought down Kosuke Kimura just outside the box with a professional foul when the Rapids defender had burst through the back four courtesy of a fortunate deflection off a Chivas USA player. Suarez was booked, but the free kick came to nothing.

With Mexico playing Nigeria at noon on Telemundo, it looks like Chivas USA fans stayed home in even greater numbers than usual this morning. Lots of elbow room here at the HDC.

Captain Claudio Suarez returns to the center of the Chivas USA defense after being rested for Thursday's scoreless draw against Dallas, so Jason Hernandez drops to the bench.

Orlando Perez also gets a run out in place of usual full back Jonathan Bornstein, moved into midfield in place of the benched Panchito Mendoza, who has a slight groin twinge, but is available.

With striker Ante Razov out injured, up front is top scorer Maykel Galindo and John Cunliffe, scorer of two goals in the Oct. 6 win over Real Salt Lake.

Mehdi Ballouchy and Pablo Mastroeni are both suspended, so ex-Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu moves into central defense and Facundo Erpen moves into midfield.

Signaling the urgency of the game for the Rapids, Terry Cooke is named as a forward, although he will likely play a withdrawn role.

The game is on Prime and Telefutura.

Chivas USA just circulated a press release in the press box saying that Razov is out six weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee, the first serious knee injury for the veteran in his career.

Updated: Mendoza was a late scratch from the game completely due to a mild groin strain; Erasmo Solorzano takes his place on the bench.

Razov Crocked

Chivas USA can eliminate the Colorado Rapids from playoff contention, keep their season-long home unbeaten streak intact and nail down the top seed in the Western Conference with a win at noon today at Home Depot Center.

The Rapids must win to stay alive in then playoff race, but even then the post-season is a long shot.

But Chivas USA will have to do it all without veteran striker Ante Razov.

The game is on Prime.

I'll be blogging as usual from Home Depot Center.

Hope Springs in St. Louis

U.S. Women's National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo's public flagellation over her World Cup comments continued Saturday before the team's game against Mexico as she continued to back track in a bid to rescue her career.

The U.S. crushed Mexico 5-1, by the way, with Abby Wambach getting two goals and Kristine Lilly another after the Americans had fallen behind to an early goal.

U.S. Coach Greg Ryan, who many observers believe will be fired as soon as this three-game series with Mexico is over, made nice, too:

“I think Hope has shown tremendous courage by coming in and initiating reconciliation with the team. I’m proud of her and she’s shown a lot of courage. I think she has done the right thing, and that’s hard to do. All athletes, it’s passionate, it’s emotional, but I think she’s making the right decisions and I’m proud of her.”

The next game against Mexico is Wednesday.

Matador Singh remembered

Finally, former Loyola Marymount player Jay Singh was recognized Saturday at the Cal State Northridge game.

It wasn't particularly pretty, but the Galaxy undoubtedly care much less about the performance than they do the result.

Donovan had a chance to seal the win in stoppage time, when he was sent through one on one against Toronto goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos. But the goalkeeper just turned the shot around the post with his foot.

It was the sort of game that was hard to watch - even Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon turned his back when Donovan scored from the spot.

But the Galaxy have now won five straight for the first time in almost a decade - 1998 to be precise - and remain very much alive for the eighth and final playoff spot with two games left to play.

More after the press conference.

"Not the greatest of games," said Coach Frank Yallop. "But we knew we needed three points and we got three points and that's all that matters."

Donovan agreed.

"This was the worst we've played in the last five games," he said. "But we did the right things to win the game."

There's a little bit of vindication in this for Yallop.

"I told you all along I didn't think this team was that bad," he said. "A few had given up on us and me. ... We haven't played particularly well in this spell, but we've found a way to win. We're believing in ourselves now."

Chris Klein looked like he couldn't believe that on a team with the likes of Landon Donovan and David Beckham, it was him taking home the MVP trophy.

"If we'd been out of this thing I'd probably have left it in my locker, but now we're in this thing it means something," he said.

Donovan won the LA Riot Squad's Player of the Year trophy, by the way.

New York is up next on Thursday, but no-one is getting carried away.

"We still haven't done anything," said Pete Vagenas. "If the season were to end today it would be a devastating season."

And, no, Yallop doesn't know whether Beckham will play Thursday.

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz has the game details and breaks down the playoff picture here.

Watch the highlights here.

Disaster for the Galaxy in the 68th minute, as Cobi Jones loses the ball, and Toronto FC midfielder Chris Pozniak sends a long ball up to Collin Samuel , who overpowers young Mike Randolph to equalize.

But the Galaxy pull ahead again 10 minutes later, when Chris Klein runs on to a searching Donovan through ball that splits the Toronto back line. Klein sends a pin point cross to wide open sub Edson Buddle who easily scores, less than one minute after entering the game.

It took precisely one minute for substitute Gavin Glinton to do what the Galaxy had failed to do in the previous 54 - break down the Toronto defense.

After coming on in the 53rd minute for midfielder Kyle Martino, a breaking Glinton latched on to a Donovan through ball and immediately drew a foul in the box - and a red card for Toronto defender Marco Reda, who was the last man back. Landon Donovan converted the subsequent spot kick with ease.

Nothing interesting happened; Toronto had one shot on goal, the Galaxy none.

I'm off to get a coffee.

See you at the end of the game.

Toronto Coach Mo Johnston makes three changes from the team that lost 1-0 Sunday to the Colorado Rapids.

With Maurice Edu on international duty and Todd Dunivant moved up to midfield, Marco Reda and 17-year-old Gabe Gala come in on defense.

Tyler Hemming makes his third MLS appearance in midfield, replacing Carl Robinson, who is playing for Wales this weekend.

Up front as usual are Jeff Cunningham and Collin Samuel.

The only change for the Galaxy is on defense where Mike Randolph replaces the injured Ty Harden.

Otherwise the Galaxy is unchanged from the team that is seeking a fifth straight win and making a late playoff charge.

Landon Donovan and Carlos Pavon are up front, while Abel Xavier is on the bench.

Chicago got a point today, which means a Galaxy loss would eliminate LA from the playoffs.

The game is on Fox Soccer Channel.

Updated: Before the game, the Galaxy handed out their awards for the season.

Landon Donovan, the Galaxy's top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions, won the Golden Boot for the third consecutive year.

Chris Klein, who has played every minute of every MLS game since his June trade from Real Salt Lake, - and scored a couple of spectacular and crucial goals - was named MVP.

Rookie Ty Harden, the former University of Washington star, was Defender of the Year. He missed only four games all season on an ever-changing back four.

The Galaxy are set to feast on Canadian cutlets shaped like Toronto FC soccer players at Home Depot Center tonight with LA seeking a five-game winning streak against the worst team in MLS.

(The last time the Galaxy won five regular season games in succession: the magical 1998 season when a free-scoring front line with such strikers as Welton, Carlos Hermosillo and Clint Mathis were racking up 5-1 and 8-1 victories).

Toronto are weakened yet further by the loss of Carl Robinson (Wales); Andrew Boyens (New Zealand); and potential Rookie of the Year candidate Maurice Edu (USA), who are all on international duty this weekend.

At least Toronto may feel slightly at home on what will likely be a cool night in Carson.

Beat writer Billy Witz has a preview that focuses on the Galaxy's maturing (and inexpensive) youngsters.

Kick off is at 7:30 p.m. and I'll blog from the game as usual.

Meanwhile, the suspicion is Chivas USA's Ante Razov is gone for the rest of the season (although the club is awaiting the results of an MRI) and there's more soap opera out of the U.S. Women's National Team camp ahead of today's (non-televised) game against Mexico. More details here.

In college soccer, the UCLA men and Stanford tied 0-0 Friday. With the tie, UCLA moves to 4-5-2 on the year and 0-1-1 in the Pac-10. Stanford moves to 4-2-5 overall and 1-0-2 in the Pac-10. The Bruins play at 2:30 p.m. Sunday against California.

In the other game of the doubleheader, a goal in the 82nd minute by Bruin midfielder Christina DiMartino helped the top-ranked UCLA women’s team to a 1-0 victory over Oregon State before 1,492 fans at Drake Stadium. With the win, the Bruins move to 8-1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-10. UCLA also extended its home winning streak to 33 matches, the longest streak in the nation. The Beavers fell to 7-4-1 and 0-1 in conference action.

Notable: Bruin goalkeeper Valerie Henderson broke the school record for career shutouts. She now has 32.

UCLA hosts Oregon at noon Sunday at Drake Stadium.

Also, Gonzaga struck twice in the second half to win 3-1 over the Loyola Marymount men in a West Coast Conference match Friday in Spokane, Wash.

Next for the the 2-6-1 Lions is a game Sunday in Portland.

The U.S. Women's national Team plays the first of three games Saturday against Mexico in the wake of the World Cup (and yes, goalkeeper Hope Solo is on the squad).

But 100 Percent Soccer guest-blogger Brian Boswell, coach of Southern California WPSL team Ajax America Women, looks even further ahead and argues the U.S. must rethink its long ball style ahead of next year's Olympics:


The World Cup and Brazil in particular changed the priorities in the future selection of U.S. players in the women's game.

Developing players with good technical abilities, the ability to dribble, who are comfortable in possession and creative is critical.

Yet with the Olympics nine months away, wholesale changes should not happen no matter the thoughts of the coach in charge.

The current team as a whole is very capable of changing their style of play and doing well in the tournament. The players who can dribble and comfortable in possession should be encouraged to do so and given the opportunity to work on this in practice.

Goalkeeper Hope Solo said what she and many others truly believed, even though she picked the wrong time to say it. If she has apologized to Briana Scurry and the team she should be back in the squad. Except for the first World Cup game against North Korea she looked good and has the talent and experience needed for the Olympics. Nine months is not long enough to find and blood a new starting goalkeeper.

The defense is solid. They were opened up by Brazil, but if you consider the goalkeeper change and the own goal the defense was already on their collective back foot before having time to settle.

Full back Stephanie Lopez is young, played all but 45 minutes of the World Cup and has a great future. She did not have a good game against Brazil, but who did. Lopez has good speed, is comfortable on the ball and hits a dead ball well; two goals against Norway came from her corners.

Christie Rampone, the old head in the defense, tackles well, boasts tons of experience and if allowed can play the ball out of the back.

Cat Whitehill, who can play in the middle or on the outside goes forward well, is good on the ball, and has a dangerous throw, especially when Abby Wambach is the target.

The defense must be encouraged to play the ball out, look for their midfield players and play through them.

It has to be very frustrating to be a midfield player in the current style of the US with the long ball out of the back passing them by. In the difficult games they appear to get more of the ball by winning it defensively than when its played through to them.

Shannon Boxx is the best holding midfield player in the game. Her game is almost back to her dominating self after a year out with knee surgery. Good in the tackle and in the air, she reads the game well and if given the opportunity can distribute well.

Leslie Osborne is also a more defensive midfield player who works well with Boxxy, but when they are both in the team the needed creative player is missing.

Attacking central midfielder Aly Wagner has had a groin problem throughout this year and has seen little playing time. Her only World Cup minutes came during the demolition of Norway. If the style changes to a possession game, Ali can be the link in the midfield. With good technical ability, she passes well and can attack defenses.

Outside attacking midfielders Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly both like to go for goal and O’Reilly in particular has the speed to stretch defenses. Again, they need to be encouraged to keep possession and not play full speed ahead as in the past.

The attacking pair of Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly is as potent as any forward combination in the world.

Whether veteran striker Kristine Lilly returns for the Olympics after her fifth World Cup only she knows, but the U.S. could use her leadership through one more tournament.

But a change to a possession game can only help Lilly, who would not have to run and chase balls with little support and could even play a little behind two forwards as the midfield link or a deep lying third attacking threat.

Wambach remains the best pure goal scorer in the world. A great target player, she can dominate physically and loves to score with feet or head. But in the team’s present style she receives the long ball and has two choices, go for goal or hold it to await arriving players. With a possession game Wambach would have more support players to lay balls off to and receive shorter balls from.

Defender Marian Dalmy, 22, got her first start at full back against Norway, did a good job and is one to watch for the future.

Defender Tina Ellertson, who has great speed and was converted from forward, is one of the best markers in the women’s game, but is not going to help retain much possession.

Natasha Kai, a forward with great speed, is a free spirit who gives you something a little different up front. She would also benefit from through balls from a possession team rather than the long ball forward.

The U.S. can succeed at the Olympics by basically retaining the same squad, adding a few fresh faces, but most crucially changing its style.

The U.S. must become a possession team that encourages creativity and allows for mistakes.

With both its starting strikers hobbled with injuires, Chivas USA tied 0-0 with 10-man Dallas Thursday night.

Here's the Dallas perspective.

Double headers at UCLA's Drake Stadium today and Sunday sees the top-ranked UCLA women's soccer team (7-1-2) open Pac-10 Conference at 5 p.m. against Oregon State (7-3-1), while the men's game follows at 7:30 p.m. against Stanford (4-2-4, 1-0-1), who are unbeaten in their last five games.

UCLABruins.com will host Gametracker live stats and a free internet audio broadcast for both games.

The popularity of user-generated video content on the Web has prompted MLS to hold a competition for the best goal captured on a camcorder. The deadline is Oct. 26.

Finally, Torrance's Jack Stewart, who (formerly) played for Real Salt Lake, is a finalist in Cosmo's Bachelor of the Year contest.

According to his profile, Jack likes women who "kiss me on the lips, then pull away and leave me wanting more.”

Good thing the former South High star ditched the scruffy beard.

Updated 11:30 a.m. - Stewart, who found his first-team opportunities limited this season after several defensive errors, has left the team although he is officially still on the roster.

"He hasn't been training with the team for about 10 days," said club spokesman John Koluder. "We're essentially letting him explore other options."

Updated: I did end up chatting with Jack late Friday afternoon and he sounded none too happy at his treatment by RSL, Coach Jason Kreis et al and his rapid descent down the team pecking order. It all makes his glowing RSL profile sound more than a little gushing in retrospect.

The team essentially fired him in a move that came after MLS rosters were frozen, meaning he couldn't hook on with another team this season.

Stewart is exploring his options as they say: playing in Europe, getting a job with his Notre Dame degree or, um, modeling (no calls yet, he said) are possibilities.

Short term: He was off to Chicago for the Notre Dame game this weekend and New York next week for a Cosmo party.

Jack sounded like he was enjoying the whole Cosmo thing (and no, he has no idea who nominated him) with his mother already fielding calls from women who want his cell phone number.

Couldn't help noticing this week at the annual induction ceremony for San Pedro's Sportswalk - the Harbor Area's answer to the Hollywood Walk of Fame - that no representatives from the sport of soccer are listed among the 100 or so honorees.

(Kings and NHL fans will notice there are no hockey players on the induction list either, but since this is a soccer blog we'll gloss over that one for a moment).

That seemed a little strange given San Pedro's high Croatian population, the strength of that nation's soccer team and that Southern California in general,and the South Bay in particular, are hotbeds of soccer.

So I called up a couple of members of the board of directors to ask what was going on.

I got a frank answer from Bob Bradarich (a Croat, by the way) who is chair of the group's board of directors:

"I guess we're wearing blinders," he said. "We do not have enough soccer influence (on the board). We are mainly ex-football and baseball players. It's not that we wouldn't consider soccer, we just don't think in those terms."

It's hard to quibble with that sort of honesty, but board member Jack Baric (another Croat), a huge soccer fan who is a regular at Galaxy games, went even further.

Baric suggested the first Sportswalk inductee should be Galaxy great Cobi Jones, a native of Westlake Village who has spent his entire 12-year MLS career with L.A. and is retiring at season's end (although he recently indicated he may go one more season).

That would be a great first step for the SportsWalk, which exists to honor Southern California's great athletes.

There are plenty of other worthy local soccer notables, too, including former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, who is now with the Columbus Crew and was raised in the South Bay; former U.S. Women's National Team striker Carin Gabarra (Jennings), a U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year and MVP of the first Women's World Cup in 1991 who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula; former U.S. National Team goalkeeper David Vanole, a native of Redondo Beach who recently died; and current U.S. Women's National Team star Shannon Boxx, who was raised in Torrance and is widely considered the best holding midfielder in the world.

There are many others, too, but you get the idea.

By the way, it should be noted that soccer fans can head down to the Croatian American Club, 631 W. Ninth St., in San Pedro where the Croatia-Israel European Championship qualifier will be seen on close circuit television at 11 a.m. Saturday. The cost is $15 for non-members of the club.

Don't look for Bradarich though, who didn't even know the game was being shown there.

"I'm more worried about whether USC will beat Arizona this weekend," he said.

In what could be a possible first round playoff preview, Chivas USA meets FC Dallas live at 6 tonight on ESPN2 in the Goats' final regular season road game of the year.

Ramon Nunez is absent on international duty for Chivas USA and beat writer Ivan Orozco explains why leading scorer Maykel Galindo could also miss the game.

Meanwhile, Dallas striker Kenny Cooper, out injured since then-Galaxy defender Tyrone Marshall broke his leg in the 89th minute of a game June 9, could see action.

Here's the take from Texas.

And while high-priced Brazilian Denilson is already looking like a possible bust, Dallas will "honor" coiffed Colombian Juan Toja, scorer of six goals this season, with wig night at the game.

Toja looks a bit bemused by his fellow players' reaction to his hair in this video though:

Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz points out today that instead of resting up for Sunday's crucial contest against Toronto, the team could have been on the road playing meaningless exhibitions if David Beckham was healthy.

He's not, of course, and likely won't play this weekend.

Wonder if the AEG bean counters will see the error of their ways and ease up on the schedule to give the Galaxy a better chance of actually fielding a competitive team in MLS games? Don't bet on it.

The story is here.

By the way, those looking for cheapo Galaxy gear should check out the MLS outlet store where old green and yellow garb is going for bargain prices. I'm talking $24 shirts for $9 and $20 T-shirts for $6.

Check it out here.

Meanwhile, there's apparently still a few spots left on the Galaxy's annual charity "Day on the Links" golf tournament in Fullerton Monday for those who want to shoot a round with a player or two.

Details are here.

Finally, for indoor soccer fans out there (there's gotta be at least one) Fox Soccer Channel on Tuesday announced its first television package with the Major Indoor Soccer League since it was known as Fox Sports World earlier this century.

The 20-game package on Friday nights begins at 5 p.m. Nov. 16.

Complete details are here.

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley today named a 21-player training roster - not game roster, mind you - for the Oct. 17 friendly against Switzerland that included just two out-field MLS players; classy Fontana native Maurice Edu, so impressive this year with Toronto FC, and ex-Galaxy striker Robbie Findley, now with Real Salt Lake, who has scored seven MLS goals this season. (Goalkeeper Chris Seitz of RSL from San Luis Obispo was the other MLS-based call-up, if you're wondering about the qualifier in the preceding sentence).

Edu, the first pick in this year's SuperDraft and a Rookie of the Year candidate, is likely to miss Toronto FC’s Oct. 13 game in Los Angeles against the Galaxy, by the way.

Bradley has selected a young roster filled with such relatively unfamiliar names as goalkeeper Tally Hall (Esbjerg, Denmark), defender Steve Purdy (1860 Munich) of Bakersfield and former UCLA star Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96).

Full details are here.

In addition, Chivas USA midfielder Ramón Núñez has been called up by Honduran National Team coach Reinaldo Rueda for the Catrachos’ friendly Sunday against Panama.

He misses Chivas USA’s game Thursday against FC Dallas and Sunday's encounter with the Colorado Rapids.

Núñez made his international debut for Honduras in September, when he participated in friendlies against Costa Rica and Ecuador.

In my weekly column in the Daily Breeze and Daily News I made the case for Galaxy playmaker Landon Donovan (as if one needed to be made, but Donovan is surprisingly unpopular with some fans).

Read it here.

There were a couple of points not in the column for space reasons worth noting.

With the depleted Galaxy squad suffering through a plethora of injuries this season, I asked Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas about what some in the press box had wondered this year, namely whether Donovan's $900,000 annual salary might be better spent on four or so $200,000 a year players.

His response:

"The business man in me is always looking at your ROI - return on investment - and I think Landon Donovan is certainly worth every penny. I think if you were to ask any coach or GM in the league whether they would like to have Landon Donovan even at the numbers we're talking about they would say 'yes.' It makes sense, not just from a soccer perspective, but from a business perspective, because he is one of the most popular and greatest figures in our game."

Donovan, whose contract with MLS expires at the end of 2009, according to Lalas, was asked whether he'd consider another stab at playing in Europe and where:

"If the opportunity is there I would definitely do it," he said. "It would be nice to go to England. ... Arsenal is fun to watch (and) I like Man U because there is a system in place and either you fit in or you don't."

Lalas believes Italy would suit Donovan's playing style, by the way.

Meanwhile, Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz observed today that the Galaxy's playoff destiny rests in their own hands after this weekend's games. Read his take here.

And MLS crunches all the playoff possibilities, permutations and other details here.

Former U.S Under-17 National Team member Jay Singh has died, prompting the postponement of Wednesday's Cal State Northridge game against UC Santa Barbara.

Singh, 21, died at his San Bruno, Calif., home late Sunday night of unspecified causes.

Tully Vogt, a deputy coroner with the San Mateo County Coroner's Office, said Monday evening the cause of death remains under investigation. No further details were available.

Singh was in his first year at CSUN after transferring from LMU where he played 12 games during his 2005 rookie season, starting four.

Recruited by UCLA, St. John's, Indiana, Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara, Singh was a 2004 NSCAA High School All-American.

LMU's media guide lists his parents as Nita and Jaywant Singh; he also has a brother, Jason.

Further details are in a CSUN press release.

Updated Tuesday: the Daily News had more details in a story that ran today.

Here's how the UCLA, Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine women did in Sunday's games.

Meanwhile in Westchester, late goals from freshman Gabby Parisella and junior Michelle Kanama lifted Loyola Marymount to a eighth consecutive victory, a 2-0 win over Sacramento State.

Next: The 8-3-1 Lions play Pepperdine at 1 p.m. Sunday in Malibu.

Also, Long Beach State (9-4-0, 2-0-0 Big West) defeated host UC Davis 1-0 Sunday.

Next: The 49ers play noon Sunday at Cal State Northridge.

Chivas USA's reserve team lost 2-1 Sunday to their Real Salt Lake counterparts. Sueño MLS Winner Jorge Flores of Anaheim scored for Chivas USA in a game that also featured former UCLA striker Matt Taylor, who has returned after being waived by the Goats earlier this season.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Chivas USA, who finished their year with a 7-2-3 record.

The Colorado Rapids clinched the MLS Reserve Division title for the second straight year Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Toronto FC.

Also noted: The U.S. Under-17 '91 Men’s National Team beat the Chivas USA Under-18 team 3-0 over the weekend at Home Depot Center as part of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Fall Showcase, which concludes today in Carson.

Updated 11:25 a.m. The Times (of London) chatted with Huntington Beach resident Jurgen Klinsmann about why he didn't take the Chelsea job and his next career move.

Not a word is mentioned about the U.S. national team or MLS, in case you're wondering.

The story is here.

The Galaxy won their fourth straight game Sunday for the first time since May 2005, beating the Houston Dynamo 2-1 on the road in a come-from-behind victory that kept their flickering playoff hopes alive.

It was a game that likely even had Chivas USA fans cheering as the Galaxy did their intrastadium rivals a favor. The win allowed Chivas USA to remain in sole possession of the Western Conference lead.

Things hadn't started well when former Galaxy striker Nate Jaqua struck first for Houston (where he has rediscovered his shooting touch) after Pete Vagenas inexplicably failed to cut out a Joseph Ngwenya cross. Jacqua now has six goals this season for the Dynamo after scoring just one during his time in Carson.

But then Honduran Carlos Pavon, doing his best Pando Ramirez impression, apparently, actually found the net with a glorious volley from a Landon Donovan pass just before half time. It was only his fourth goal in 15 MLS games for the Galaxy.

Gavin Glinton, rapidly emerging as the Galaxy's super sub, sealed the victory in the 77th minute.

Here's the box score.

The win means the Galaxy leapfrog the Rapids in the playoff race, (at least temporarily since Colorado plays Toronto later this afternoon) are one point behind the Columbus Crew and are six points behind Chicago, which occupies the eighth and final playoff place.

Wonder when the last time was the Galaxy sat as high as 10th place in MLS?

Full game details here.

Updated 8:45 a.m. Monday: The Daily Breeze story with quotes and context is here.

The Dyanamo believed they deserved to win.

With leading scorer Maykel Galindo and veteran Ante Razov out, young Brit John Cunliffe scored twice to lead Chivas USA back atop the Western Conference Saturday night.

The Galaxy game against the Dynamo is less than two hours away (it's a noon kick off) on FSN and Telefutura. Here's a preview.

Chicago's win Saturday did not help the Galaxy's cause. Here's a look at the playoff standings going into the game.

Finally, the Houston Chronicle took a look at the friendship between the opposing coaches.

Panchito Mendoza, the Chivas USA midfielder hoping for a call-up Friday to the Mexican National Team, didn't hear the word he wanted ahead of the team's MLS game tonight in Salt Lake City.

More on Mendoza and a brief game preview here.

Meanwhile, veteran Eddie Pope could make his 250th MLS appearance tonight, while former Galaxy player Nate Sturgis could make a surprise comeback from injury for Real Salt Lake. Details here.

Staff Writer Billy Witz has the Chivas USA perspective on today's U.S. Soccer Development Academy Fall Classic on tap at Home Depot Center. A full game schedule is available in the previous post, by the way.

Finally, Chivas USA has a $34 offer that gets fans a seat at the Mexico-Guatemala game Oct. 17 at the Coliseum and a ticket to the club's opening playoff game tentatively scheduled for Nov. 3 at Home Depot Center. Call 1-877-CHIVAS1 for more information.

*Former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (PV High, CSUDH, UCLA) got his 1,000th save Friday in the Wizards 1-1 tie with D.C. United, but Kansas City didn't seal a playoff spot.

Here are the playoff standings heading into this weekend's games.

*Brazilan Kaka was voted the FifPro’s (Federation Internationale des Footballeurs Professionels) Player of the Year by his 57,500 fellow pros around the globe.

*Sophomore Kristina Larsen scored two goals Friday as the second-ranked UCLA women's soccer team defeated San Diego State, 5-1, at the SDSU Sports Deck. The Bruins improved to 6-1-2 on the season.

UCLA hosts No. 5 Santa Clara at 1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium.

*Junior Jackie Chavez (Peninsula High) tapped in the game-winner Friday to lead the 25th-ranked Cal state Dominguez Hills women to a 2-0 road win at Sonoma State.

CSUDH (9-1-3) next plays Sunday at Humboldt State.

*The Cal State Northridge women's soccer team (2-7-1) lost its 2007 Big West opener to UC Davis (5-5-0) Friday.

Next for the Matadors: a Sunday game at Pacific.

*The Loyola Marymount men fell 1-0 to defending West Coast Conference champion and fourth-ranked Santa Clara in the teams' conference opener Friday at Sullivan Field. Jamil Roberts scored the games' only goal in the 35th minute while both teams were reduced to 10 men in the second half.

*Long Beach State (8-4) won 3-2 in its conference opener Friday over host Pacific.

The 49ers travel to UC Davis Sunday for another Big West match-up.

*Redondo Beach native David Vanole, the former national team goalkeeper who died earlier this year, was honored Friday at the National Training Center in Carson.

The (edited) U.S. Soccer press release:

The U.S. Soccer Federation dedicated one of the team’s primary training fields at the organization’s National Training Center as the David Vanole Field at a commemoration ceremony attended by family and friends on the eve of the first U.S. Soccer Development Academy “Showcase Weekend.”

"David was one of the pioneers at the start of a new era for U.S. Soccer," said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. "I remember very well his impact on the team at the 1988 Olympics and in helping the United States end a very long World Cup drought in 1989. He should be remembered for that right alongside the other early stars of the sport in our country. Having a field named after him that will help create the future stars of our game is immensely appropriate."

Vanole, a longtime player and coach at the highest levels of the sport in the United States, passed away in January at the age of 43. In addition to being part of the U.S. National Team's 1990 FIFA World Cup team, Vanole started all three games for the United States at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

As a coach, Vanole represented the United States again at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, serving as goalkeeper coach for the silver-medal winning U.S. Women's National Team. He most recently served as goalkeeper coach of the New England Revolution, a position he also held with D.C. United in MLS, and was an assistant coach for the Washington Freedom in the WUSA. He was also a coach at various youth national team levels, including a stint under Sigi Schmid with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team at the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999 in Nigeria.

Vanole earned 13 caps with the U.S. National Team from 1986-1989, recording three shutouts.

Vanole also played nine times for the U.S. Olympic team, helping the team qualify for the 1988 tournament and then starting all three matches in Seoul, South Korea. A member of UCLA's 1985 NCAA championship team, Vanole served as the goalkeeper coach for the UCLA men's and women's teams in the late 1990s.

*Meanwhile, 36 teams from 18 elite clubs will join two U.S. Youth Men's National Teams to play 38 matches during the first U.S. Soccer Development Academy Fall Showcase this weekend at the HDC.

From U.S. Soccer:

The showcase matches are the second weekend of a nine-month campaign in which 122 teams will compete in over 1,800 matches in conference play. With 2,440 players, 244 coaches and more than 200 referees participating in individual conference games, travel partner weekends and showcase weekends, the Academy boasts the most comprehensive platform for youth competition in U.S. Soccer history.

Full details and schedule here.

Late posting today since I spent most of the day at the 17th annual Honda Player of the Year Award at the Biltmore in downtown L.A. The award is given to the best U.S. Men's National Team player of the year as voted by 203 soccer journalists, including yours truly.

To no one's surprise, Galaxy playmaker Landon Donovan won for an unprecedented fourth time in a landslide, collecting 413 points. In comparison, Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard came second with 122 points and Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra third with 105 points.

"For U.S. Soccer players, this is the biggest honor we can receive," Donovan said.

The Galaxy PR folks pointed out that in 2007 Donovan:
*Leads the Galaxy with seven goals and nine assists in 21 games.
*Leads the national team with nine goals scored, including a hat-trick against Ecuador and four goals during the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.
*Scored a penalty kick against Mexico to win the U.S.’s fourth Gold Cup title with his 34th career goal, tying him with Eric Wynalda as the top scorer in U.S. National Team history.
*Broke Cobi Jones’ 2000 record for points in a year, collecting 22 points (nine goals and four assists).
*Is the all-time assist leader for the United States with 27 in 96 appearances.

"He's the most talented player 99 percent of the time when we step on the field with the Galaxy and the national team," said Galaxy defender Chris Albright. "There's certainly nobody better in this country as far as what he can do technically."

Full details from the story in Saturday's newspaper available here.

Meanwhile, here's a quick catch-up on the rest of the soccer news.

The Galaxy's playoff rivals appear to be collapsing around them at the worst possible time. New York, which could have clinched a playoff spot Thursday with a win over Toronto instead lost, 2-1, to the worst team in MLS.

From Ives Galarcep of the (New Jersey) Herald News:

The loss marked the Red Bulls' fifth straight match without a victory and dropped them to 1-4-3 in their past eight matches.

The Red Bulls (11-11-6) could still qualify for the playoffs this weekend if the Chicago Fire lose to New England and if the Columbus Crew fail to beat FC Dallas.

The victory was Toronto's first in 12 matches, and the first against the Red Bulls after two losses earlier in the year.

Best lead of the night though came from The Toronto Star:

The last time Toronto FC won a game the loonie was worth less than the U.S. dollar, Britney Spears had custody of her kids and the Canadian Soccer Association had a president.

Next to try tonight are the Wizards, which can reserve a playoff spot with a win over D.C. United in K.C. and losses this weekend by the Galaxy and Columbus Crew. The Wizards have just one win the last six games though, while D.C. can clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs with a win and a New England loss Saturday at Chicago.

Meanwhile, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber Thursday suspended Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark nine MLS games and fined him $10,000 for violent conduct directed toward Carlos Ruiz in the 89th minute of Houston’s game against FC Dallas last Sunday. It's the longest suspension in MLS history.

You can see the incident here.

The Loyola Marymount women recorded their second consecutive shutout Thursday and extended their school-record winning streak to seven games with a 2-0 win over Hawaii at Sullivan Field. The Lions got goals from senior Katie Osborne and sophomore Jessica Sharpe.

Next for 7-3-1 LMU is a home game at 1 p.m. Sunday against Sacramento State.

The Cal State Northridge (4-2-2) men tied 1-1 Cal State Fullerton (4-4-2) Wednesday. The Titans played with 10 men for the last 13 minutes of regulation and during overtime after German Moreno was sent off.

The Matadors travel to UC Irvine for a 7 p.m. Saturday game.

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This is Kyle's fourth post:

I'm sure almost everyone is aware we suffered a very disappointing 3-0 loss last weekend against Cal State Northridge.

There were many negative aspects of the game we played, so it was very difficult for us to gather anything positive from the experience. However, like every team in the world, we experience triumphant wins as well as disappointing losses. It's how you bounce back from those setbacks that really defines a team.

With dampened spirits, we went into several days of training looking forward to Tuesday's San Diego game.

After our last practice before the USD game we came together as a team. We discussed the negative outcome of the Northridge game, how disappointing it was and how important it was for us to get a result in the next game. The only way we would be able to accomplish that goal, we said, was to have every single player on our team in the exact same mindset, that no matter what obstacles we faced as a team every individual player would support each other. With that focus, we all went into the game determined to win.

The San Diego game marked the first at home since the start of the fall quarter.

So with a lively crowd behind us, we stepped onto the field with adrenaline and excitement dripping from our sweat. We ended up winning the game 1-0 on a David Estrada goal in the first half.

However, what was most impressive was how every player on the team supported each other. Whether it was the guys standing on the sideline cheering words of encouragement or the guys on the field battling for every ball, it was apparent that everyone on the team had the same focus and mindset for the game. It all showed in our performance as a team and the great result.

The loss to Northridge served not only as a learning experience but also as a real gut check. It showed what kind of team we really are here at UCLA. If we can experience such a disappointing result and then bounce back the next game to pull off a remarkable win, then we can overcome any obstacle as a team.

Go Bruins!

The U.S. Men's National Team's first game of 2008 will be a Jan. 19 rematch against Sweden at Carson's Home Depot Center, Coach Bob Bradley announced - or perhaps let slip - today at the annual Honda Symposium in Los Angeles.

The symposium at the Biltmore Hotel downtown precedes Friday's Honda Player of the Year announcement.

The game will coincide with what's becoming a traditional January camp for the U.S. men at the National Training Center.

The U.S. lost to Sweden 1-0 in August.

"In the second half of that game we didn't seem to believe in what we were doing," Bradley said. "We lost our focus a bit."

That game, played in Sweden, featured mainly European-based players. The return game will see Bradley use mainly MLS players, since the European season will still be going on.

Bradley described the U.S. team, which begins World Cup qualifying next year, as "a work in progress."

I'll have more on the symposium, which also featured Galaxy GM and President Alexi Lalas, a little later this afternoon, but that nugget was the only real news to come out of the event.

In what was a surprise to both the Galaxy and reporters, David Beckham kicked a ball today for the first time in more than a month.

So unanticipated was the "event," no cameras were on hand to capture the moment, so the picture accompanying the following story is an old one (although it doesn't make that clear).

Check it out here.

By the way, they'll likely be no blogging first thing in the morning.

I'm heading downtown to the Biltmore Hotel for the 10th Honda Symposium, a two-day event that culminates Friday with the Honda Player of the Year Award Ceremony (the nominees are the Galaxy's Landon Donovan, Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra and Everton's Tim Howard).

Speaking Thursday are Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas, U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley and Mexican Football Federation General Secretary Decio de Maria.

The Biltmore has Wi-Fi so I'll blog as events warrant.

Updated 8 a.m. Thursday:
It didn't take long for the Beckham for England speculation to crank up over there.

Not noted in that BBC story: The Galaxy have home games Oct. 13 and Oct. 18 against Toronto and New York respectively

U.S. Open Cup Final Preview

The game between the New England Revolution and F.C. Dallas may not involve So. Cal teams, but it is our equivalent of the English F.A. Cup Final so deserves a little attention.

The game airs live at 5 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel, by the way.

Here's the Dallas perspective. (No equal treatment: The Boston Globe annoyingly requires you to register.

Chivas Downs D.C.

CD Guadalajara, the team sometimes called the most popular sports franchise in Southern California prevailed on the away-goals rule against D.C. United Tuesday in the Sudamericana.

College Roundup

UCLA's sophomore forward David Estrada scored the game-winning goal in UCLA’s 1-0 shutout victory over San Diego on Tuesday in just his second game back after missing the first seven games of the year with a fractured metatarsal.

UCLA's record improves to 4-4-1, while San Diego drops to 3-5-0. The Bruins begin Pac-10 play Saturday at San Diego State.

Forwards Corrie Hirokawa (North Torrance High) and Norwalk's Yvonne Vasquez (Santa Fe High) both scored as 25th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills came from behind to beat Western Washington 2-1 Tuesday at Toro Stadium.

CSUDH hits the road for CCAA Conference play the next two weekends before returning home Oct. 19 to host Cal State Stanislaus for the second-to-last weekend of the regular season.

The Cal State Northridge men open Big West play at 7 tonight against (4-4) Cal State Fullerton at Titan Stadium.

One of the best women's soccer coaches in the world, Brian Boswell of Women's Premier Soccer League team Ajax America Women, provided expert analysis for 100 percent Soccer throughout the Women's World Cup.

Does his take on the U.S. Women's National Team coaching debacle sound like 1998 all over again?


Greg Ryan needs to go.

He did a good job with the team in playing 51 games without a loss, but they are the U.S.

It’s expected.

The Scurry/Solo episode brought his job stability to the fore, but that's only a part of the story.

The World Cup showed that the U.S. style of soccer is no longer good enough to keep us on top of the world. The day has gone when we had the fittest, strongest, fastest athletes who, if they have good soccer ability, would beat everyone.

Anson Dorrance's philosophy of win every individual battle, get the ball up front and run harder and faster than the other team worked in the early years. Add that to the skill of the likes of Carin Gabarra et al and the U.S. were unbeatable.

Unfortunately, Ryan followed in that mode, coaching the women in a men's long ball style with a big target player and power soccer.

But, the Brazilians showed what individual talent, flair and the ability to keep the ball could do. Then Germany showed that discipline, good possession, teamwork and individual skill is even better.

Possession was key to both teams' success.

The U.S. could not possess the ball, meaning we had to do something wonderful with it when we had it and were always fighting to get it back.

Moreover, on listening to some of the U.S. players, Ryan was not an easy person to approach.

Players said if you had a question over some part of playing time, position etc., you did not go to the coach for an explanation.

That's perhaps acceptable in the men's game. But it does not work with the women.

They need answers - good or bad - they need to know where they stand and what they need to do.

That's why the head coaches in England's professional ranks are called a managers; it's all about player management. Keep the players happy and amazing things can happen.

Tactically Ryan followed his playing philosophy and emphasis on the long ball, which will work and did against most teams in the world. You don't need to be too tactically aware.

But in the semifinal, when under the biggest coaching pressure of his career, his subbing and tactics left some questions, especially when 2-0 down and replacing defenders when we needed to score twice to tie.

I also question the long residential camps.

Neither Brazil or Germany had extended camps.

Their players were playing in the European leagues during the spring and early summer.

This kept them game fit and had them playing in many instances against club teams who were as good as many national teams. They were able to play against different styles and systems and hone their individual talent.

Then as the men's national teams do, they were brought into camp for training, bonding and games. The players come in fresh and had something to prove. I've got to believe that constantly being in camp around the same players takes the edge off and can make you stale.

Who could do the job as Ryan's successor?

Tony DiCicco has been suggested as a get-us-through-the-Olympics coach. He's been there, knows the ropes and could do the job.

But, I think we need someone fresh whose first priority is the Olympics, but also the years beyond.

There's Jerry Smith (Brandi Chastain's husband) if you could pry him away from Santa Clara.

Ian Sawyers (Julie Foudy's husband) did a very good job with San Jose in the WUSA,.

Jim Gabarra (husband of the former Carin Jennings) did a good job with Washington in the WUSA and has continued to do it this year in the W-League.

From outside the U.S., Australian coach Tom Sermanni performed a good job with the Australian National Team and New York in the WUSA.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women checked in at No. 25 this morning in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s poll in the wake of five-consecutive shutouts and a six-game unbeaten streak, including a double-overtime 0-0 draw Sept. 19 against then No. 2-ranked UC San Diego.

(The Toros men moved up six spots to No. 7 in the poll, by the way)

The women are led by forwards Corrie Hirokawa (North Torrance High) and Lakewood's Kelly Matosian (Long Beach City College), who have combined for 12 goals and seven assists, while goalkeeper Alyssa Congdon (South Torrance High) has allowed just two goals in seven games en route to a 0.29 GAA.

The women’s team plays at 7 o'clock tonight against Western Washington in Carson, so it's an apt time for Corrie to pen her second blog post for 100 Percent Soccer:


The Sept. 19 game against second-ranked UC San Diego was, as expected, a tough battle from start to finish with both teams creating scoring opportunities, but not capitalizing on them.

Our goalie Alyssa Congdon played an amazing game and tallied ten saves ,winning the CCAA player of the week award.

We also played Cal State L.A. and Cal State San Marcos, winning each by 3-0 scores to give us a six-game unbeaten streak where we’ve out-scored those six opponents by a 12-1 count.

Right now we are second in the south division and I believe that as a team we are starting to peak and beginning to play to our potential. I know there’s not a lot of time left in the regular season, so the game at UC San Diego on Oct. 10 will be huge.

But before we can start to look toward that match-up, there’s a lot of work to be done over this coming weekend.

We travel up to Sonoma State and Humboldt State and being a senior I know first hand that playing on the road is tough. As a captain I need to make sure that we are focused and ready to play our game.

Sitting in a bus for 6 to 12 hours, and then dealing with the opposing parents is horrible. Everyone loves playing in the comfort of their own facility. However, being a senior I am now realizing that even though traveling is at times tiresome, I am going to miss road trips.

Spending time in the hotel with my teammates and going out to team dinners is a lot of fun, and over the course of my three-plus years, I know that road trips bring teams together. I just hope that we use this weekend to create an even stronger bond on and off the field.

As one of the five four-year seniors on the team, I know the newcomers are looking to us to lead by example both in practice and in the games. All of the returning players are doing an excellent job day in and day out and the newcomers are really stepping up to the challenge and it’s great to see.

We have a solid team this year and I can’t wait to see what the second part of this season will bring.

Go Toros!

The Galaxy's slim playoff hopes as seen through the lens of their unlikely 2005 MLS Cup run was the subject of today's column that appears weekly in the Daily News and Daily Breeze.

Incidentally, the David Beckham effect continues without Beckham; the Galaxy's game in Houston Sunday is reportedly sold out, a first for the team since the former Earthquakes moved to Texas.

Finally, for what it's worth English tabloid the Daily Mirror is reporting today that former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane, now boss of EPL team Sunderland, is offering Beck's a six-month loan deal during the MLS off-season. And it's apparently not worth much.

Meanwhile, the UCLA men's soccer team (3-4-1, ranked 18th by Soccer America) hosts the University of San Diego (3-4-0) in a mid-week non-conference game at 7 o'clock tonight at Drake Stadium before starting up Pac-10 play at San Diego State (4-2-2) Saturday. UCLA fans wearing blue receive $2 off admission at the ticket booth at the main entrance.

UCLA are drawing in the fans at away games, according to their media relations office:

UCLA road games this year (five away, one neutral) have averaged 4,007 fans. School attendance records were set at Indiana (7,423) and at Creighton (5,812), and the Bruins played in front of an over-capacity crowd of 3,143 at San Francisco. In addition, the team played in front of season-best crowds of 2,333 at Santa Clara and 1,095 at Cal State Northridge. Overall this season, the Bruins are playing in front of crowds averaging 3,258.

The UCLA media relations office also offered this injury update:

The Bruins' leading scorer in 2006, David Estrada, returned to the lineup last weekend, making his season debut at Cal State Northridge and playing 76 minutes. Estrada had missed the Bruins' first seven games with a fractured metatarsal. Last season, Estrada was Soccer America's Freshman of the Year after scoring 12 goals and four assists for 28 points, the second-most goals and points ever scored by a UCLA freshman.

Galaxy Still Glowing

The suddenly resurgent Galaxy kept their playoff hopes alive by winning Sunday in Columbus.

A brief game summary is here.

The Crew perspective is here.
Improbably, the Galaxy are now just two wins away from catching Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot. (Scroll down to see the league as one division, giving the clearest view of the playoff race).

Here's a playoff update from MLS that provides a little perspective:

With only three weeks left in the 2007 MLS regular season four teams have clinched playoff berths, while the remaining four spots are up for grabs in a tightly contested race to the finish. FC Dallas, Kansas City and New York can punch their tickets to the playoffs this week, while Real Salt Lake was eliminated and Toronto FC’s chances hang by a thread.

Heading into the last weekend of September, FC Dallas and New York had a chance to clinch a playoff berth, but could not overcome tough opponents as FC Dallas lost 3-0 to Western Conference-leading Houston Dynamo and the New York Red Bulls tied Real Salt Lake – a team eliminated from playoff contention, but trying to end the season on a strong note.

The Red Bulls travel to face Toronto FC on Thursday, Oct. 4 in the ESPN2 primetime match at 7 p.m. ET, and they could clinch a playoff berth with a win, or if Columbus and Los Angeles fail to win over the weekend.

FC Dallas will clinch a spot with a win or tie over Columbus on Saturday, as Columbus is the only team that could catch them in the overall standings with 40 points. The Crew sits in ninth place with 31 points, but can earn a maximum of 40 points if they win the remainder of their games. The Wizards are the only other team that can clinch a spot this weekend, but they need to win and hope that the Crew and the Los Angeles Galaxy both fail to win.

When the regular season ends Oct. 21, the team with the most points will win the Supporters’ Shield and will qualify for the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Ten MLS teams have three games remaining and three teams have four games left, including the Los Angeles Galaxy who are 3-0-1 in their last four games.

I'll have more on the Galaxy in Tuesday's weekly column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze.

World Cup Comment

Columnist Ramona Shelburne joins in the lambasting of U.S. Coach Greg Ryan and has words of praise (sort of) for goalkeeper Hope Solo.

College Roundup

Well, not so much given that my e-mail was down from Saturday evening through Sunday evening.

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so to find out most of Sunday's scores click on the appropriate college link to the right.

But one e-mail that made it through observed that the Cal Sate Northridge women's team fell 3-1 to Pepperdine Sunday afternoon in Malibu. With the loss, Cal State Northridge fell to 2-6-1, while Pepperdine improved to 2-4-3.