Monday Catch-Up
A frenetic final MLS weekend is in the books and on Sunday we learned that Chivas USA and the Galaxy will face each other for the first time ever in the playoffs.
Here's the complete playoff schedule as announced by MLS today:
Eastern Conference semifinals game #1
(1) Columbus Crew at (4) Real Salt Lake, 3 p.m. Saturday.
(2) Chicago Fire at (3) New England Revolution 1 p.m. Saturday Rescheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday (Fox Soccer Channel)
Western Conference semifinals game #1
(1) Los Angeles Galaxy at (4) Chivas USA 2 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2)
(2) Houston Dynamo at (3) Seattle Sounders FC 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2)
Eastern Conference semifinals game #2
(4) Real Salt Lake at (1) Columbus Crew 5 p.m. Nov. 5 (ESPN2)
(3) New England Revolution at (2) Chicago Fire 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 (FSC)
Western Conference semifinals game #2
(3) Seattle Sounders FC at (2) Houston Dynamo, Noon Nov. 8 (TeleFutura)
(4) Chivas USA at (1) Galaxy 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8 (ESPN2)
I'll have more on the Galaxy-Chivas USA series in Tuesday's column, but let's catch up on what else happened over the weekend:
*U.S. Soccer announced today that the U.S. plays Slovakia Nov. 14 in Bratislava, four days before the U.S. plays Denmark.
"We are very pleased about the opportunity to face another quality opponent on European soil," said U.S. Coach Bob Bradley. "Slovakia finished on top of a very competitive group in UEFA (World Cup) qualifying, and has demonstrated their capabilities throughout the process. With so few available dates for international matches between now and the World Cup, having the chance to play two fellow World Cup finalists is a big plus in terms of our preparations."
It's the first time the U.S. and Slovakia have played each other.
*In Sunday's men's college games it was:
Loyola Marymount 1 San Diego 4
Junior Rafael Baca scored his league-leading ninth goal of the season for LMU (7-7-1, 2-4-1 WCC). Next: at San Francisco Sunday.
Stanford 2 UCLA 0
The Bruins saw their 10-game unbeaten streak snapped and fell to 9-2-2, 4-1-2 Pac-10. Next: at Creighton Saturday.
On Saturday, the Cal State Northridge men (7-6-2, 2-3-1 BWC) lost 3-1 to Cal Poly. Next: at UC Santa Barbara Wednesday.
*Sunday's women's college games
Santa Clara 1 Loyola Marymount 0
The Lions fell to 9-6-2, 1-3-1 WCC. Next: hosting San Francisco Friday.
Long Beach 1 UC Riverside 1
Next for Long Beach (5-9-3, 1-4-1 BWC): at UV Irvine Thursday.
Cal State Northridge 1 UC Irvine 0
The Matadors (9-9, 5-2 BWC) qualified for the Big West Conference tournament for the first time since 2004 with the win. Next: hosting Long Beach State Sunday.
USC 1 Oregon 0
The Trojans sit at 12-5-0, 4-2 Pac-10. Next: at UCLA Friday.
UCLA 3 Oregon State 0
After beating Oregon 5-1 Friday, the Bruins completed their sweep of the Oregon schools and improved to 14-2-1, 5-1 Pac-10. Bruin sophomore Sydney Leroux scored her team-leading 15th goal of the season after netting a pair Friday. Next: hosting USC Friday (live at 7 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel)
San Diego 2 Pepperdine 0
The Waves fall to 8-7-1, 1-3-1 WCC. Next: hosting Seattle University Thursday.
On Saturday, the CSUDH women (11-7) beat Seattle Pacific 2-0. Next: at Cal State East Bay Friday.
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
Stupid MLS goes up against the NFL and the World Series on Sunday. When will they learn?
NFL and World Series, two very relevant events in LA right now.