Chivas USA moves into a new era this evening without star goalkeeper Brad Guzan in their SuperLiga opener at 7 against Pachuca (live on TeleFutura).
Said Coach Preki of the culmination (hopefully) of the drawn out trade:
“I won’t say it’s a relief because now we’ve got to see what we have with the other young goalkeepers we have. It’s going to be a challenge.”
I’ll blog from the game as usual.
Of course, Guzan still has to get a work permit and if you believe The People, an English tabloid, there could be other complications, as well. By the way, the copy editor who came up with that headline has way too much time on his hands.
Speaking of American goalkeepers in England, Guzan said he has employed the consulting services of Everton’s Tim Howard:
“Timmy’s been awesome about the entire process going back to January when things didn’t work out. We’ve had some little discussions here and there, nothing too serious, but he’s helped me in maturing into a good professional and hopefully I’ll be able to continue the success of American goalkeepers.”
Santos Laguna and the New England Revolution kick off their SuperLiga encounter at 5 p.m. on TeleFutura today, while CD Guadalajara turned out the D.C. United lights ( and Jaime Moreno actually missed a penalty kick) Saturday. The Houston Dynamo pounded Atlante, 4-0, in the other game.
In MLS games Saturday, Palos Verdes’ John Thorrington scored a late winner for the Fire to break Chicago’s five-game losing streak and Real Salt Lake answered the question: How bad is the Western Conference? Salt Lake sits in first place after beating Sigi Schmid’s Columbus Crew, 2-0.
The U.S. women will seek revenge against Brazil today for their World Cup loss in the first of two games between the nations before the Olympics. Kick off is at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach is one goal shy of her 100th international strike going into the game.
How significant is that?
As U.S. Soccer points out:
At 99 career goals in 125 games, Wambach’s prolific scoring rate – the best goals-to-game ratio in U.S. history in fact – puts her just one away from joining four other U.S. players in the 100 Goal Club. Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (129), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100) are four of eight players in the history of women’s soccer to score 100 or more international goals. Wambach scored her first-ever goal in 2002 against Finland and since then has averaged a goal every 90 minutes she has played for the WNT.
Wambach sounds, well, amazed by the feat, too:
“I’ve been thinking about it, because I knew everyone would be asking me about it. I think it’s amazing the impact that it’s had on myself and maybe my team. I’ve seen a lot of countries and met a lot of people and I think about the amount of joy every single goal has brought not only to my life but also my teammates lives. I also just think about the company I’m in. I’m getting compared to Michelle Akers. I sort of don’t want to even be compared to her because it’s a bit surreal. She’s just up there in my book in terms of how dominant she was.”
In the PDL Saturday it was:
Los Angeles Legends 0 San Francisco Seals 2
San Fernando Valley Quakes 4 Fresno Fuego 1
Bakersfield Brigade 1 Orange County Blue Star 3
San Jose Frogs 1 Southern California Seahorses 3
Today there’s a doubleheader at Buena High in Ventura for the last home game of the Fusion season, with the W-League Ventura County Fusion kicking off at 4 p.m against the Real Colorado Cougars, while their male counterparts in the PDL play at 6 p.m. against Orange County Blue Star.
In WPSL games today:
Claremont Stars v Ajax America Women at 5:30 p.m. at Claremont High
SD United v Los Angeles Rampage at 4 p.m. at Valhalla High
In the WPSL Saturday:
San Diego WFC SeaLions 1 Claremont Stars 0
West Coast FC 2 SD United 1