Recently in Chivas USA Category

MLS released the opening weekend fixtures today for the 2009 season and Chivas USA plays the Colorado Rapids at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21 on Fox Soccer Channel, while the Galaxy faces D.C. United at noon the following day on Telefutura.

Complete schedules for the 30-game, 15-team season will be announced in early February.

The season begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19 with the New York Red Bulls meeting the Seattle Sounders FC live on ESPN2.

Other games March 21:
Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo.
Chicago Fire at FC Dallas.
Toronto FC at Kansas City Wizards
New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes

Oh, and his Beckhamness just landed in New Zealand.

First, the flameout:

From the press releases pile-up department:
*Simi Valley-based Los Angeles Futbol Club has become the third youth team in the U.S. to partner with EPL team Chelsea.

What does that mean?

From the (edited) press release:

LAFC will now be LAFC Chelsea and host Chelsea tournaments, training sessions and a player and coach exchange program. As a result of the partnership, LAFC Chelsea will offer more scholarships for young athletes with financial hardship. LAFC provides kids across Southern California and throughout the country the opportunity to play competitive soccer regardless of ability to pay club membership costs.

Chelsea FC Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said: "Our youth super club network is designed to support soccer development in the US. LAFC shares the same goal and has demonstrated rapid growth of their club and talent.

"Since its inception, LAFC has provided young athletes the opportunity to play competitive soccer through financial support. With our new partnership, we hope that the association with Chelsea can attract and leverage additional funding scholarships, helping to further develop the academy and club.

"Providing elite training for young talent is critical to the long-term development of the sport in America."

The club will make its debut under the new LAFC Chelsea nameplate Saturday when its Under-16 and Under-18 teams take on the U.S. Youth National Teams.

LAFC President Don Sheppard said: "LAFC was created to provide an affordable option for skilled players to play top-tier club soccer. We've been able to reach out to economically disadvantaged communities to recruit some of the best talent in the US.

"For a world-renowned club like Chelsea to recognize our mission and be a part of it shows the caliber and quality of their organization and their commitment to develop US soccer.

"We are a young program and a partnership like this allows us to reach the next level on skill development, player participation and overall club exposure. We have a top-tier coaching staff and now with Chelsea our players will receive an international view of the game - something they may not have received otherwise."

LAFC includes over 50 boys and girls teams with 800 players from ages eight to eighteen. Throughout the last year, the academy has placed seven players on US national team rosters.

LAFC is just three years old. Excellent article on the club by Sports Illustrated here.

The details on Saturday's event here.

*Staying in Simi Valley for the moment, Chivas USA will host tryouts there Dec. 12 for its pro and youth teams.

*The Ventura County Fusion also has tryouts Dec. 13-14.

*And for those already pining for summer, registration for the Southern California Beach Soccer Championships in May in Oceanside is open.

By the way, if you're home for the holidays and need a soccer jolt, check out the Women's Under-20 World Cup: at 1 p.m. it's Norway-Brazil on ESPNU and Mexico-North Korea at 2 p.m. on Galavision.

The U.S.lost Wednesday 2-0 to China, BTW, although the team had already qualified for the quarterfinals. Next is England on Sunday.

Finally, here's your gratuitous David Beckham mention of the day.

And here's a gratuitous new David Beckham commercial (he doesn't speak, much less rap and that's really something to be thankful for.) Happy Thanksgiving.

Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena made his first major (I use the word loosely) player deal today, reacquiring midfielder Jovan Kirovski from San Jose - and then promptly leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft.

Arena must figure Seattle won't be crazy enough to pick a player whose stock has dropped precipitously since his 2005 move to MLS with the Galaxy.

Kirovski was traded for a first round draft pick when he moved to Colorado in 2007 after an unimpressive 48 games and 12 goals for the Galaxy; this time around, after missing most of last season through injury, he was nabbed for a conditional pick in the 2010 Supplemental Draft.

Kirovski, who has been training with the Galaxy recently, scored 12 goals in 61 games with the Rapids.

"Jovan is an experienced player who we are happy to have back with the Galaxy," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "He has shown the ability to play abroad, internationally and in MLS and is a welcome addition to our roster."

If you say so, Bruce.

At least he'll be familiar with another under-performing former Manchester United youth team colleague - David Beckham.

So which 11 players did Arena choose to protect?

Here's the list: defenders Sean Franklin, Ante Jazic and Troy Roberts; midfielders David Beckham, Eddie Lewis, Brandon McDonald and Alvaro Pires and forwards Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon and Bryan Jordan.

Gordon? Pires? Hmmm.

By subtraction, that makes the following players are available: Vardan Adzemian, Charles Alamo, Ely Allen, Jeremy Barlow, Steve Cronin, Eduardo Dominguez, Joe Franchino, Micheal Gavin, Jovan Kirovski, Chris Klein, Mike Munoz, Michael Randolph, Josh Saunders, Josh Tudela, Pete Vagenas, Julian Valentin and Josh Wicks.

The alphabetical list of Chivas USA protected players: Jonathan Bornstein, Justin Braun, Bobby Burling, Alecko Eskandarian, Maykel Galindo, Atiba Harris, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Panchito Mendoza, Paulo Nagamura and Shavar Thomas.

So here's whose available on the Chivas USA roster: Kraig Chiles, Jim Curtin, Eric Ebert, Dejair Ferreira, Jorge Flores, Anthony Hamilton, Dan Kennedy, Gerson Mayen, Roberto Nurse, Daniel Paladini, Lance Parker, Ante Razov, Keith Savage, Claudio Suarez, Carey Talley, Zach Thornton, Lawson Vaughn, Sasha Victorine, Raphael Wicky and Alex Zotinca.

Braun and Harris were protected, but Flores and Kennedy weren't?

Remember, each team can only lose one player in the ten-round expansion draft and four teams won't lose any personnel.

Notable names available for Seattle include goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, midfielder Eddie Gaven, Quavas Kirk, Ben Olsen, Nate Jaqua, Clint Mathis, Dema Kovalenko, Andy Williams and Ned Grabavoy.

Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers capped off a breakout season today when he was deservedly named to the MLS Best XI.

Also named: the Galaxy's Landon Donovan and Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan, both of whom enjoyed the best seasons of their respective careers so far.

Rogers scored six goals and added three assists for the Columbus Crew, was a constant threat on the flank and teamed incredibly well with MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Donovan was one of the few bright spots on a ghastly Galaxy team, finishing as the league's top scorer with two hat tricks en route to a 20-goal total and winning the Honda Player of the Year award for an amazing fifth time.

Kljestan scored five goals this year, but more importantly was the propulsive spark in midfield for an injury-stricken Chivas USA team that needed his stability and leadership.

The complete team:
goalkeeper Jon Busch (Chicago Fire)

defenders Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Bakary Soumare (Chicago Fire), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)

midfielders Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA)

strikers Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Cooper was also named MLS Comeback Player of the Year after scoring 18 goals this season, rebounding from the broken shin he suffered eight games into the 2007 season.

Meanwhile, New Yawk Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his Columbus counterpart Michael B. Coleman placed a friendly wager on Sunday's game.

The bet from the (edited) Red Bull press release:

If the Red Bulls win, Mayor Coleman will send a package of Ohio State Buckeye candies and a case of Columbus's finest ale from the Columbus Brewing Co. If the Crew wins, Mayor Bloomberg will send a large John's Special pizza pie in honor of Staten Island's own, Red Bulls' Forward John Wolyniec, from Basille's Restaurant on Staten Island, a large Italian Hero from Leo's Latticini and Mama's of Corona and a case of Brooklyn Lager from Brooklyn Brewery.

A busy day as I write Tuesday's column about the karmic Sigi Schmid, but wanted to note in passing that:

*The Galaxy's poor season cost David Beckham a spot on England's squad to face Germany Wednesday so cue speculation he must leave MLS for good to keep playing for England.

*MLS Rookie of the Year and Cal State Northridge product Sean Franklin was named to his first U.S. squad along with Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein and Rolling Hills Estates' John Thorrington.

The full roster for Wednesday's meaningless (from a U.S. perspective) World Cup qualifier against Guatemala:

goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract); defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution); midfielders Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire); forwards Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire).

And the season ended Sunday for the Cal State Dominguez Hills women.

The MLS season is over for Chivas USA, but the injuries keep piling up.

Midfielder Sasha Victorine is out six to eight months - yes, months - after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee today in Santa Monica.

The former Galaxy midfielder played just five games for Chivas USA, scoring two goals, after his Sept. 15 deadline day trade from the Kansas City Wizards.

Originally, Victorine was supposed to be out a matter of weeks, not months, after suffering the injury Oct. 19 against Colorado.

Blog housekeeping that it is.

Keen-eyed readers will notice I've eliminated some outdated links, scrubbed some of limited interest entirely (most of the junior colleges are gone, for instance) and generally streamlined the list that's on the right-hand side of the blog.

I added a few here and there, too, that were long overdue for inclusion (such as the official Chivas USA blog) and Luis Bueno's new offering The Touchline (the successor to Sideline Views minus Andrea Canales). The list still needs to be worked on a bit, so if you have suggestions for links (especially those with a Southern California flavor) don't hesitate to jump in.

Thanks to Web master supreme Chris Berry for the (very) quick work updating those.

The fall housecleaning gave me the opportunity to look at blogs and sites I don't always have time to check out and so with that in mind (and the absence of much actual news this morning), here's a look at what folks are chatting about around the Web:

*First off, Mexico plays Ecuador in Arizona tonight (live at 7 on Telemundo) in a friendly that could nevertheless have a bearing on the future of Sven-Goran Eriksson, according to one writer.

*While we're on the subject of coaches and job security, although conventional wisdom has held this season that Chivas USA Coach Preki was largely helpless to do much in the playoffs given the team's crushing number of injuries, there are dissenters out there who believe otherwise and are calling for his head (or at least ouster).

Some valid points there.

Chivas USA likes to point out just how many enforced changes there were over the course of the season (the team fielded 30 different line-ups in 32 games) because of a "total of 183 man-matches (lost) due solely to injuries, averaging nearly six players per game."

True enough, but Preki also made some alterations to his line-up (or failed to in a few cases) that had more than a few observers scratching heir heads.

The tubby and past it Zach Thornton starting ahead of fan favorite Dan Kennedy in goal for the final playoff game? Jonathan Bornstein playing center back in the first playoff game for the first time in his entire life? And the signing of a clearly out of his depth Roberto Nurse from the Mexican second division that had panic written all over it.

I could go on (and probably will in a future column), but add it all up and it's not surprising some hard-core Chivas USA fans are questioning Preki's future.

Preki won't get fired, but the fact fans are discussing the possibility is healthy for a team that still needs to cultivate a larger base of support. And it's fun reading, too.

Meanwhile, there are already rumblings of potential problems for Women's Professional Soccer, while Brazilian star (and would-be L.A. Sol player) Marta is apparently demanding big bucks.

Finally, let's end with a couple of minor news items:

*The always suspect FIFA rankings are out today with the U.S. dropping three places to 24th (just above Mexico) and England rising four places to 10th. Seven nations, including American Samoa are tied for 201st and last in the table, BTW. Complete rankings here.

*Fox Soccer Channel will air live at 10 a.m. Monday the sixth-annual Match Against Poverty from Morocco.

From today's (edited) FSC press release:

Captains Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo will lead teams that will include Victor Valdes and Seydou Keita (FC Barcelona), Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Zenit St. Petersburg), Joseba Etxeberria (Athletico Bilbao), Ivan Leko (Club Brugge) and Lauren (Portsmouth).

Not a whole lot to set the pulse racing, but hey, it's for a good cause.

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan was named the Honda Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in the last seven years at a ceremony today in downtown L.A.

Donovan accumulated 297 points in the balloting by 213 journalists, ahead of goalkeeper Tim Howard, (249 points) and Clint Dempsey (176 points). A player receives three points for each first-place vote, two points for second-place vote and so on.

Full disclosure: I voted for Donovan.

His accomplishments this year included becoming the all-time U.S. leading scorer with 37 goals.

His reward: a Honda Civic Hybrid and a (likely) transfer to Europe.

Also today, U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley named a 19-man training squad for a four-day camp that begins Wednesday. Invitees include the Galaxy's Sean Franklin and Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan.

The full squad: goalkeepers Brian Edwards (Toronto FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract); defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution); midfielders Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Nick LaBrocca (Colorado Rapids), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids); forwards Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Chad Barrett (Toronto FC), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas).

Bradley names the U.S. squad to face Guatemala in Colorado Nov. 19 in the meaningless final World Cup qualifier at the conclusion of the camp.

No blogging today since I spent the day at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A. for the 11th annual Hollywood Symposium (the precursor to Tuesday's Honda Player of the Year announcement).

A mostly tedious event was saved (in part - the muffins helped, too) by the presence of a rumpled and relaxed-looking Alexi Lalas who I chatted with for Tuesday's column about the shaky performance of the Mexican National Team (ever-politic Justino Compeán, president of the Mexican Football Federation, was one of the three speakers) so far in World Cup qualifying. (The FIFA guy droned on in Spanish for over an hour reading - I kid you not - from slides he was displaying. You could actually feel the audience tense up when a slide was particularly wordy).

Column done (check back for that Tuesday morning), let's catch-up on the news of the day:

*Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz is reportedly in the running to buy troubled Newcastle United of the EPL. That would fit Anschutz' bottom-feeder mentality, excuse me, shrewd strategy of buying undervalued properties, and might actually give the Galaxy its first partnership producing tangible results in terms of player loans and the like (no, we don't want Joey Barton). DuNord has a comprehensive round-up of which (mostly) English newspapers are saying what here (you have to scroll down to England news).

The NCAA announced its women's Division 1 and men's Division II post-season tournament match-ups late this afternnoon.

UCLA (18-0-2) hosts Fresno State (11-8-2) 5:30 p.m. Friday at Drake Stadium and Long Beach State (14-4-4) plays the University of San Diego (14-4-2) at the same site in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance with the two victors meeting Sunday. USD beat Long Beach State in October so revenge is a factor here.

USC (15-4-1) plays Boston University (15-5-1) in Utah Thursday.

For the fourth consecutive year the No. 4 Cal State Domnguez Hills men will host the NCAA Far West Regional in Carson beginning Thursday. Action begins with CCAA Champion Sonoma State facing Cal State L.A. at 4:00 pm followed by CSUDH-Notre Dame de Namur in the Track and Field Stadium at Home Depot Center.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women play San Francisco State Friday in Bellingham, Wash., in the NCAA Far West Regional.

The Galaxy's Tristan Bowen of Van Nuys and Chivas USA's Jorge Flores of Anaheim were named to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team Roster for a eight-day training camp in Spain that begins Saturday.

Finally, the Galaxy Under-16's beat their Chivas USA counterparts 1-0 last weekend, while the Galaxy Under-18's downed Chivas USA 3-0.

Photos by Sean Hiller

It was a glorious draw, um, defeat.

Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake drew 2-2 Saturday, but the Goats lost 3-2 on aggregate to go down to another first round playoff exit.

Still, Preki and his team threw everything they had at RSL, including removing defenders Jim Curtin and Cary Talley in the second half for attackers Alecko Eskandarian and Justin Braun and going with a three-man back line. But even being urged on by a frantic crowd of 19,265 wasn't enough and Preki still doesn't have a post-season win on his resume, despite his team pouring forward in a desperate attempt to get the third goal that would have tied the aggregate score.

Striker Ante Razov, who is out of contract and may not return next season, said the team gave everything they had:

"I think every guy walked off that field exhausted tonight. It just wasn't meant to be. We pushed and we pushed and we pushed. We left ourselves open and that's how they got that second goal. This is soccer.

"We went down swinging," he added. "We threw it all out there, gave it our best shot and sometimes things don't bounce your way. I thought we pressured them well. They countered well, give them credit. You've got to gamble when you need a goal, they punished us on that second goal. But these guys never gave up and we should be proud of what we accomplished in an unbelievably difficult year."

Game story.

Highlights:

Bonus quotes:
*RSL Coach Jason Kreis on the Chivas USA attacks in the second half:

"We were under an extreme amount of pressure. There were a lot of balls cleared out of our box. (Goalkeeper) Nick Rimando was an absolute monster for us.

"If this game had happened earlier in the season I think we would have been in some real big trouble."

At right: Justin Braun gives Chivas USA hope.

*Preki, on why he went with goalkeeper Zach Thornton instead of Dan Kennedy, who had impressed in the veteran's absence and had returned from suspension:

"Before he got injured Zach was the number one. Kennedy had a good spell. Then he gets a red card. Zach, we thought, he had a good game in Salt Lake, was sharp and we always feel it's not a good thing for the group to change the goalkeeper every week. He played the last game, he was solid, so we keep him in."

*Kreis, on the impressive play and late season goal scoring exploits of Pasadena's Yura Movsisyan who had grabbed seven goals in nine games, including two consecutive 90 minute goals, coming into the game:

"He's just coming into his game. The coaching staff looked at each other in preseason and said 'this guy can score 10 goals for us.' We really thought he was going to be our goalscorer and then at the beginning of the season he picked up a little bit of an issue with his knee. ... He just didn't look 100 percent for a long time (and had surgery). In hindsight, I think that was a fantastic decision. It got him away from the game, away from some of the frustrations he was feeling and then he came back very, very strong. He's a guy who works extremely hard, he's a player who wants to stay after training every time and you have to like that. As a former forward I think I have a few things to offer him and he's taking the messages and really working on them and putting them into his game."

*Razov, on what Chivas USA needs to do in the off-season:

"I think everything needs to be assessed from training methods from guys' professionalism maybe, to our workout programs. Everything has to be looked at. Each and every guy has to look at themselves and see where their breakdowns were and what caused that. A lot of times injuries happen - you can't really prevent some of them - but I think all of that has to be looked at and see why this was going on, what particular type of injuries we were having. That's all to be assessed at a later date."

*Razov on whether he'll return next year with Chivas USA:

"I'm not retiring. My contract is up with Chivas. There's some other things out there, so I'm going to have to look and see maybe whether it's time to move on. I'm proud of what I've done here. I've been in the playoffs every year with a team that had one of two games before that. I feel good with my run with Chivas. We'll sit down and see how things work out."

BTW: Overheard in the Chivas USA locker room was this comment by the classy Jesse Marsch: "Ante, if this is the last time we played together, it's been a pleasure."

Ante was pretty choked up at that moment, but to his credit returned to continue with interviews. One observer called it "a pretty awesome moment you don't always get to see between such veteran achievers."

My wife is just upset one of the hunks of the team is apparently leaving.

Sacha Kljestan sums up the night of Chivas USA after missing an opportunity in the 89th minute.

Final score 2-2, 3-2 on aggregate to give RSL the win.

It appeared this game - and Chivas USA's season - was over in the 77th minute when a Real Salt Lake counter attack saw Javier Morales beat Sacha Kljestan, thread the ball through Shavar Thomas' legs and send a shot wide into the net past the immobile Zach Thornton.

That made the score 2-1, 3-1 on aggregate and surely a deficit that couldn't be overcome.

But self-confessed RSL fan Justin Braun gave Chivas USA hope with a lovely 83rd minute goal that made it 2-2.

Chivas USA valiantly went in search of an equalizer, buoyed by five minutes of overtime but failed to break RSL down.

Chivas USA's season is really over now.

More later.

It's 1-1 at the half (although 2-1 to RSL on aggregate).

This is a tense, but open game being played at breakneck speed - a great ad for MLS.

Chivas USA had taken the lead after a half hour from the penalty spot, Javier Morales pushing Ante Razov from the back and Sacha Klejstan confidently punching the ball past Nick Rimando into the right top corner of the net. Wonder what that RSL player said to Kljestan before the spot kick was taken in an effort to psyche him out before he was pushed away?

Real Salt Lake replied nine minutes later, a superbly threaded ball by Robbie Russell splitting a square Chivas USA defense. Morales ran onto it and sent a hard cross over that was met by a diving Dema Kovalenko for the equalizer.

Plenty of passion so far in this one - RSL has three yellow cards, Chivas USA one.

The match-up between Chivas USA's Atiba Harris and Jamison Olave is one to watch. At one point the pair clashed, Harris objected to the challenge and Olave could be seen on TV saying "You want a piece of me?" Harris got a piece of him a couple of minutes later - and Olave had to leave the field for treatment.

The shot count stands at seven for RSL, six for Chivas USA.

Plenty of passion off the field, too.

Legion 1908 unfurled their huge flag that covers the entire north end of the stadium below the grass berm for the first time since the fourth SuperClassico against the Galaxy in 2007. Chivas USA won that game - and the series, BTW.

There was also a delay of game immediately after kickoff when Legion 1908 hurled a torrent of red and white rolls of paper that literally papered Nick Rimando's goal. It required the efforts of a small squadron of staff (and several RSL players) to remove the stuff.

I bumped into Greg Vanney before the game, too. Did he quickly turn into a Chivas USA fan upon his Galaxy retirement?

Plenty more to come tonight.

Chivas USA retains Zach Thornton in goal for the second successive game tonight.

Jonathan Bornstein resumes his more familiar position at left back after playing in central defense last weekend in Salt Lake City, with Jim Curtin moving from the subs bench last game into the starting lineup alongside Shavar Thomas in central defense. Cary Talley is at right back.

Panchito Mendoza moves into midfield for the first time in a while out wide on the left, Sacha Kljestan is his counterpart on the right. In the middle it's Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura.

Atiba Harris returns from injury up front in place of Justin Braun alongside Ante Razov.

Alecko Eskandarian is on the bench.

The Real Salt Lake starting XI: goalkeeper Nick Rimando; defenders Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Robbie Russell, Chris Wingert; midfielders Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson; at forward are Clint Mathis and Yura Movsisyan.

Andy Williams and ex-Galaxy striker Robbie Findley are among the options Coach Jason Kreis has off the bench.

Do I need to say this?

Chivas USA must win; RSL, with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg, don't even have to score to advance.

Looks to be a relatively large, noisy, playoff-oriented crowd tonight.

It has come down to this for injury-ravaged Chivas USA: they must beat Real Salt Lake, which holds a 1-0 edge from the first game of the two-game Western Conference semifinal, tonight at 7:30 at Home Depot Center in Carson or their season is done.

It's exactly the same scenario as last year, when an injury-riddled Chivas USA failed to overcome a 1-0 deficit and were knocked out.

Notable stats: Chivas USA is winless in their last three outings; RSL hasn't lost in its last six games.

Game preview.

The RSL perspective.

Chivas USA defender Alex Zotinca speaks.

And, in case you missed it, from earlier in the week:
* Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein speaks.

Finally, this little nugget from Chivas USA beat writer Phil Collin: I was downstairs interviewing Preki just outside his office earlier in the week and we were just wrapping up when a shirtless Becks was being escorted into the room across the hall from Preki's office.

Said Becks: "Good luck in your game."
Said Preki: "We need some."

The game is live on Fox Soccer Channel, but really, with tickets starting at just $14 shouldn't you be there?

Those who can't make it can follow along here: I plan to blog from the game as usual.

Friday's college scores:
No. 9 USC 1 Oregon 0 women's (Amy Rodriguez' first half goal bumps the Trojans' overall record to 14-4-1 and improves their conference standing to 4-3-1 with just one game remaining in Pac-10 play.)

LMU men 0 (5-7-5, 3-5-1 WCC) Portland 1

Both the Cal State Dominguez Hills' men's and women's programs advanced to their respective title games on Sunday.

Photo by Juan Miranda/Chivas USA

Chivas USA striker Justin Braun has had an amazing rise within a year from rec league player in Utah to MLS pro. He could play a major role in Saturday's 7:30 p.m. must-win Chivas USA-Real Salt Lake playoff decider (for tickets call 1-877-CHIVAS-1) that follows last weekend's 1-0 loss in Utah.

Q: Reflect on the last year going from recreational soccer to professional player. Are you still pinching yourself?
A: This time last year I was working in a soccer shop, working probably 20 hours a week, going to school, having fun with that. As far as where I came from to where I'm at, it's been a crazy ride. I'm kind of settled in now, I'm starting to realize that I'm here, and I'm looking forward to keeping to play. It's kind of crazy how I got started; I'm trying to take it and run with it now.

Q: Were you a Real Salt Lake fan before signing for Chivas USA? What's it like facing the pro team from your home state here?
A: I was a fan. My parents had season tickets and I was at most of the games, in the crowd cheering for them. As far as playing against them now, I always want to get the chance to be on the field, and it's been fun. But it's just another team, as for me right now, and I kind of take it like it's another game.

Q: How was your first playoff game as a pro in your home state? And were your family and friends cheering for Real Salt Lake or Chivas USA?
A: It was a great experience. I probably had around 20 close friends and family, there was a group of them. They were definitely cheering for Chivas - had all their Chivas gear on, I had gotten most of them jerseys. So it was good to have them there, and get their support. As far as the first game, it was an amazing experience, something I never thought I'd get to experience and it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.

Q: Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a player. What are your best
attributes? What do you need to work on?
A: I think my best attribute is my willingness to work hard. I think I have some speed that can be used, and I'm willing to fight. As far as what I need to improve, I think I can work on a little bit on technique and my touch. If I can get that a little better I'd be much more of a threat.

Q: How do you like the Southern California lifestyle compared to Utah or do you miss the skiing (which I think they may just be starting up there). What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I'm enjoying living down here. I'd rather live in Utah; I grew up there and it's kind of my comfort zone. I enjoy the weather a bit more in Utah, the change of seasons. I live here with a few of the other guys from the team, and as far as free time, all of us just hang out all the time, go to the beach, and try to stay busy.

Q: What are your goals with Chivas USA for the remainder of the season/next year? Or are you just taking things as they come?
A:The ultimate goal [for me] right now is I'm trying to get a spot on the senior roster, earn a spot on there. I'm just trying to do my thing, and hopefully I'll get rewarded for the progress I've made this year.