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*If, like me, you took advantage of the holiday break and headed for areas of the state less traveled this weekend, here's a quick look at local soccer happenings over the long weekend:

*First off, the MLS Supplemental Draft gets under way at 11 a.m. today.

*The Galaxy's Landon Donovan got an assist in an otherwise dreary 2-0 win Everton-Aston Villa 1-1 draw this weekend, in a game that also saw teammate Robbie Keane make his loan debut fo Villa as a sub. Former Galaxy striker Edson Buddle is also joining Donovan at Everton, albeit on a week-long trial.

*The Galaxy also confirmed Friday that defender Omar Gonzalez will miss seven to nine months after undergoing ACL surgery Friday in Santa Monica, an injury sustained in his first training session on loan in Germany.

*Meanwhile, fellow Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza is in camp with the U.S. National Team, which played the senior squqad in a Home Depot center scrimmage this weekend:

*USWNT Coach Pia Sundhage named 19 players from the World Cup squad to the 20-player Olympic qualifying roster announced this weekend, adding WPS top draft pick Sydney Leroux of UCLA to the mix.

*Chivas USA, which begain pre-season training Monday, announced the rest of their pre-season match schedule before heading to Portland for a previously announced tournament Feb. 27 through March 4:

*Friday, Jan. 27 vs. Ventura Fusion, Time TBD, Oxnard.

*Friday, Feb. 3 vs. FC Hasental, Time TBD, Home Depot Center.

*Tuesday, Feb. 7 vs. Colorado Rapids, Time TBD, Location TBD

*Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Chicago Fire, Time TBD, Location TBD

*Thursday, Feb.16 vs. Galaxy, Time TBD, HDC.

*Wednesday, Feb. 22 vs. Club Tijuana Xolos, Time TBD, San Diego.

*Lastly, apologies to those of you who follow me at Twitter.com@LAsoccerblog and were subjected to spam this weekend after my account was hacked. Hopefully that has now subsided.

*Post updated

MLS Commish Don Garber welcomes Chivas USA SuperDraft pick Casey Townsend out of Maryland to MLS today at the SuperDraft in Kansas City, Mo (AP Photo).

You can follow the MLS SuperDraft here.

The highlights so far:

*Chivas USA, picking fifth, need a goalscorer or two in addition to Juan Pablo Angel, so they picked up a striker who had 17 goals in 22 games last year, Casey Townsend. That's the entire draft for the Goats - they're done.

"The kid is unbelievably competitive," said Chivas USA Coach Robin Fraser in a club stattement. "We watched him in the combine, we watched him in college, he's the kind of kid who wins literally every challenge he has, and it's all about his attitude. He is a very good finisher, has a good nose for the goal and he completely fits into what it is we are trying to do here. We want to get winners here and we got ourselves a winner today."

The Terrapin product reports to Carson for his physical this weekend and will start preseason camp Monday with the club at Home Depot Center.

*New England took UCLA's Kelyn Rowe, who is currently training with the U.S. Under-23 team in Carson, with the third pick.

From UCLA:

Rowe, a midfielder from Federal Way, Wash., had six goals and a Pac-12 leading 10 assists during his sophomore campaign and is the highest UCLA draft pick since Tony Beltran was taken third overall by Real Salt Lake in 2008. Rowe was also named Pac-12 Player of the Year for 2011.

*Los Angeles' Luis Silva of UCSB went fourth to Toronto FC.

*The Montreal Impact chose Hermann Trophy winner Andrew Wenger with the first pick.

Update

Chandler Hoffman of UCLA will join former Bruin Kyle Nakazawa at the Philadelphia Union, which held the 13th overall pick.

Update

The Galaxy take Indiana's Tommy Meyer with the 19th and final pick of the first round; they need depth on defense, as Coach Bruce Arena said earlier this week.

"He's a player that has a good profile to be a center back in this league," Arena said today in a statement released by the Galaxy. "He has physical size. He's a good header of the ball. A good defender and a decent passer out of the back. Once we get him into our setting we can learn a little bit more and work with him and try to make him better."

The Galaxy also have the last pick of the draft today.

Update

And with that pick the club took Louisville's Kenney Walker.

"I thought that he had a very good Combine," Arena said. "He is a defensive midfielder, a holding midfielder, an aggressive type of player and a good passer of the ball. I felt over the three days of the Combine he may have been a first round pick so when he was available in the second round we jumped on it and we're hopeful that he will turn into a good player."

Update

Here's a summary of today's MLS SuperDraft from the Associated Press:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Andrew Wenger looked a bit sheepish the moment he was asked what teams and players he followed growing up. He knew his reply wasn't all that daring.

"Well, Manchester United," he said. "And, of course, David Beckham."

Now, Wenger may have a chance to play against him.

The expansion Montreal Impact selected the Duke forward with the first overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, choosing the most complete player available in the two-round draft.

The Hermann Trophy winner as the top NCAA player, Wenger was the ACC defensive player of the year last season and offensive player of the year this season, finishing with 17 goals and eight assists.

"We have a lot of potential," said Wenger, who plans to join the new MLS club in a couple weeks, once his responsibilities with the U.S. men's national under-23 team in Carson are through. "It's exciting."

Just as exciting is the chance to potentially play against Beckham. The midfielder's contract with the Galaxy has expired, but negotiations are ongoing and Beckham reportedly has said he'd rather remain in Los Angeles than return to playing in Europe.

Montreal plays the MLS champion Galaxy May 12.

Akron forward Darren Mattocks was selected second by the Vancouver Whitecaps. UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe went third to New England, followed by UC Santa Barbara's Luis Silva to Toronto FC and Maryland forward Casey Townsend to Chivas USA.

The Impact were expected to choose between Wenger and Mattocks, who many believe has greater long-term potential. Club officials wavered between the two until a couple days ago, ultimately going with Wenger's versatility over Mattocks' scoring punch.

"It's going to be awesome," Wenger said. "I've never lived in a big city. I've been watching a lot of the Travel Channel lately, so at least I know of some nice places to eat."

Montreal coach Jesse Marsch, a longtime MLS star, said he doesn't know where Wenger will fit on the field. He's shown ability at forward and midfielder and as a lockdown defender.

"I think he was the best soccer player available," Marsch said. "We followed him very closely, and we just felt he had the best future, short term and long term, in the draft."

Mattocks is a speedy Jamaican who wound up at powerhouse Akron because he wanted to acclimate himself to playing in colder weather. He'll certainly get that opportunity in Vancouver.

"I knew from the get-go that it would be between me and Wenger. They picked Wenger first and that's OK with me," said Mattocks, a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and Mid-American Conference player of the year, who scored 39 goals in 47 games during his two years with the Zips.

Vancouver President Bob Lenarduzzi said his decision was easy once Montreal made its pick.

"It's been the consensus that the top two were Wenger and Mattocks," Lenarduzzi said. "We just needed Montreal to make up their minds. All along you sort of jokingly ask what they're going to do, but they never were going to tell me anything."

Sam Garza became the second player from UC Santa Barbara to be drafted when he went sixth to San Jose. Garza began his career at Denver before scoring 17 goals in two seasons for the Gauchos, helping them to a 15-7-1 record and the third round of the NCAA tournament this season.

Garza's grandfather, Bill Cross, was a running back for the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL.

Louisville midfielder Nick DeLeon was drafted seventh by D.C. United. His teammate, Austin Berry, went two spots later to Chicago. Connecticut defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste went eighth to Portland and Ethan Finlay of Creighton was chosen by Columbus with the 10th overall pick.

North Carolina's Matt Hedges went 11th to FC Dallas. Notre Dame defender Aaron Maund went next to Toronto FC, followed by UCLA's Chandler Hoffman to Philadelphia, UConn's Tony Cascio to Colorado and Creighton defender Andrew Duran to Seattle.

The biggest roar at the Kansas City Convention Center came when hometown club Sporting Kansas City made South Florida forward Dom Dwyer the No. 16 overall pick. Several hundred fans dressed in blue that had congregated to the side of the expansive ballroom burst into applause.

Dwyer, who is originally from London, began his career at Tyler Junior College in Texas. He was the Big East offensive player of the year after scoring 16 goals in 21 games for the Bulls.

"You hear rumors about teams and where you might go, but I didn't know anything about Kansas City," Dwyer said. "I'm excited to be here."

University of Redlands Coach Ralph Perez, a former Galaxy assistant coach, is a class act.

He (gently) coached me when I participated in a Galaxy fantasy camp for a column.

He is often an analyst on Galaxy radio broadcasts with Joe Tutino.

And he has assumed numerous coaching roles - arguably at more levels than anyone else - over decades of service to the sport.

Now he will receive the 2012 Walt Chyzowych Memorial Fund Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America Foundation-Walt Chyzowych Awards Ceremony Jan. 14 at the 2012 NSCAA Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

I've known Perez for a long time now dating back to his tenure with the Galaxy as an assistant coach.

He's one of the good guys of American soccer: Selfless, dedicated and an ambassador for the sport.

Sister paper the Redlands Daily Facts has more.

Clearing up a few odds and ends before the weekend (that would have posted hours sooner had our soon-to-be-replaced blogging software not freaked out):

*Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens, Chivas USA's Jorge Villafaña (formerly Flores) and UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe were named today to the U-23 camp set for Sunday through Jan. 25 at Carson's Home Depot Center and in Costa Rica. All but four of the 22-player roster, including Rowe, were in the December U-23 camp in Florida. Full roster, camp details here.

*The increasingly unimportant MLS Combine, a precursor to the increasingly unimportant MLS Draft, is under way in Florida.

There are several Southern California-based players involved from the likes of UCLA and Cal State Northridge. The complete roster of combine participants is here. You can watch the combine here.

*Chivas USA President Jose Domene tweeted this morning that a new player signing was imminent.

The club has also released four players who won't be missed: starting midfielder midfielder Marcos Mondaini; defender Michael Umana, a second time wash-out in MLS after featuring for Steve Sampson's Galaxy back in 2005; striker and noted braggart Victor Estupiñán, who boasted he would score 25-plus MLS goals and ended up with one; and third choice goalkeeper Sergio Arias.

*Former Chivas USA coach Thomas Rongen has joined Toronto as Academy director, the club announced today.

*Toronto also announced today that tickets for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against the Galaxy will go on sale next Friday. Tickets start at $29. Anyone making the trek from LA?

*Hermosa Beach native Dan Tobias has joined the South Bay Force as director of coaching for the club's girls program. The Mira Costa High grad and was a two-time PAC-10 Coach of the Year at the University of Arizona during a seven-year tenure at the school.

*Glasgow Rangers manager Ally McCoist said the club turned down an inadequate offer from French club Sochaux for midfielder Maurice Edu of Fontana.

McCoist was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the bid, which he didn't disclose, "was so far away that I would be very surprised if they came back in."

Sochaux is already home to American forward Charlie Davies, who spent last year on loan with D.C. United.

"I can tell you that I want Maurice Edu to sign a new contract rather than go anywhere," McCoist said.

*There's yet more on the scandals involving FIFA and CONCACAF today:

ZURICH (AP) -- FIFA says former vice president Jack Warner peddled "inaccuracies and falsehoods" when he claimed last month that he got World Cup television rights for $1 in exchange for supporting Sepp Blatter's presidential campaigns.

FIFA confirms that Warner received Caribbean broadcasting rights for $1, though from 1986 and not -- as Warner claimed -- from 1998 when Blatter was first electe d.

FIFA says the deals had "nothing to do" with Blatter's election campaigns.

FIFA says World Cup rights were often sold until 1998 for nominal sums to maximize coverage in developing nations, and provide soccer bodies with extra revenue from selling on rights to broadcasters.

The governing body says Warner was expected to raise money for the Caribbean Football Union.

*Finally, if you only watch one game this weekend, I recommend the Manchester derby in the FA Cup third round that's set to air locally at 5 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer.

Enjoy what is shaping up to be another stunning winter weekend in Southern California.

*The Galaxy announced this morning that the club has re-signed starting defender/midfielder Sean Franklin as well as Bryan Jordan of Temple City and reserve striker Adam Cristman for the 2012 season.

The Galaxy also announced they have signed MLS veteran Pat Noonan and goalkeeper Nick Noble.

Here's more on the new acquisitions from the Galaxy press release:

Noble, who was originally drafted in 2007 by Galaxy Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan, who was then the head coach of the Chicago Fire, has spent the last two seasons with Ljungskile SK of the Swedish Second Division.

Noonan, 31, joins the Galaxy after being selected by the club in the third round of Stage Two of the MLS Re-Entry Process earlier this month.

A nine-year MLS veteran, Noonan has scored 41 goals and added 33 assists in 173 career regular season games with the New England Revolution, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders FC, who he played nine games for in the 2011 MLS season.

In his two years with LJungskile, Noble appeared in 59 league games, keeping 21 clean sheets; the former Big East Goalkeeper of the Year didn't play for the Fire.

Of the three returning players, Franklin, 27, a Palmdale native and 2008 first round pick, is the most important; he made a career-high 28 appearances for the club last year scoring four goals and notching another three assists.

An attacking right back or right half, Franklin played a big role in the almost impenetrable Galaxy defense that equaled an MLS record with 17 shutouts.

Jordan made five starts for the Galaxy last year, while Cristman made 20 apperances in all competitions.

*I neglected to note earlier this week that while there will be no January national team game in Carson in 2012, Home Depot Center will host the first ever "Doble Clásico Centroamericano" at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 featuring games between Guatemala's Comunicaciones and Municipal and El Salvador's FAS vs. Club Deportivo Águila. Tickets start at $25.

*Lastly, Cal State Northridge has set up a scholarship in the name of San Pedro's Ryan Rossi and re-named their annual Soccer invitational after him.

Rossi, 27, who died Dec. 11 of cancer, was a forward for the Matadors between 2002 and 2006 and later played in Spain, according to his father, Leo Rossi.

"Ryan was one of my favorite players and he had a way of making everyone feel special," said head coach Terry Davila. "His gift was how he affected people in a positive way through his soccer, music and love of people. He was a tremendous competitor and teammate and we will greatly miss him."

Rossi had 21 goals and had 10 assists for Cal State Northridge in 74 games, 21 of those starts. His high school, Mary Star of the Sea, also retired his number, his father said.

Rossi outlined his philosophy about life here.

*CHICAGO (AP) -- Borussia Dortmund forward Terrence Boyd and UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe have been added to the U.S. under-23 roster for a training camp ahead of men's Olympic soccer qualifying.

Thirty players will gather for the camp with new coach Caleb Porter. It will be held from
Thursday through Dec. 23 at Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

The U.S. opens qualifying against Cuba on March 22, then plays Canada two days later and El Salvador on March 26, with all three games at Nashville, Tenn. The top two teams in the group advance to the semifinals of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, and the two semifinal winners qualify for the London Olympics.

The updated roster -

Goalkeepers: David Bingham (San Jose), Bill Hamid (D.C.), Sean Johnson (Chicago), Zac MacMath (Philadelphia)

Defenders: Gale Agbossoumonde (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Royal-Dominique Fennell (Stuttgarter Kickers), Sebastien Ibeagha (Duke), Kofi Sarkodie (Houston), Zarek Valentin (Montreal), Jorge Villafana (Chivas USA), Andrew Wenger (Duke), Sheanon Williams (Philadelphia)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Philadelphia), Bryan Arguez (Montreal), Joe Corona (Tijuana, Mexico), Danny Cruz (Houston, Mixx Diskerud (Stabaek, Norway), Dilly Duka (Columbus), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz, Germany), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham, England), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia), Kelyn Rowe (UCLA), Michael Stephens (Los Angeles)

Forwards: Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Will Bruin (Houston), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City, Jann George (Nuremberg, Germany), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim, Germany), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia), Andrew Wooten (Kaiserslautern, Germany)

*The team from Torrance's Japanese sister city, Kashiwa, was bounced from the Club World Cup today.

The lovely Neymar goal is worth watching:

Lastly, here's a video update from the USWNT camp going on out at Carson's Home Depot Center right now:

Blushing Rose: UCLA midfielder Andy Rose missed UCLA's first penalty kick in a shootout Friday and North Carolina marched into the College Cup final Sunday (AP Photo).

*It was a noble effort, but after twice taking the lead against top-ranked North Carolina Friday UCLA lost their nerve and the semifinal, yielding to the Tar Heels in the crap shoot of penalty kicks and denying them the chance to meet similar underdogs Charlotte Sunday in the championship game.

UCLA never really gave themselves a chance in the shootout, missing their first two PK's and sealing their fate.

I watched the game in my local watering hole with a couple of fellow soccer fans (there's something to be said for sitting there watching a game with an excellent porter in your hand rather than a laptop in a press box) and I'll say this much: I agree with UCLA Coach Jorge Salcedo that it was an fun game to see, even if the result wasn't what he wanted.

And I very much doubt we've seen the last of UCLA goalkeeper Brian Rowe who kept the Bruins in the game on several occasions with supurb stops. He was credited with nine saves.

*The other must-see game this weekend is the biggest one of the European season so far: Real Madrid-Barcelona at 1 p.m. on ESPND, ESPN Deportes and GolTV. There's a nasty subtext to this game.

A preview of the final four is here.

UCLA-North Carolina airs at 5:30 p.m. live on ESPNU; the Creighton-Charlotte semi is on at 3 p.m.

Still in catch-up mode as the blog returns:

*Mexico will play their Olympic qualifiers in March in Carson at Home Depot Center. I bet they will draw better than the U.S. would have done. Full details here.

*Four UCLA players - Eder Arreola, Andy Rose, Brian Rowe and Shawn Singh - were invited today to the MLS Combine set to begin Jan. 6 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Also among the 52 invited players (so far): Cal State Northridge midfielder Rafael Garcia.

*Thirteenth-seeded UCLA (18-4-1), the Pac-12 champions, will make a 13th NCAA College Cup appearance at 5:30 p.m. Friday live on ESPNU in Birmingham, Ala., against top-seeded North Carolina (20-2-2). The other semifinal between Creighton-Charlotte will precede the game at 3 p.m.

*Former Galaxy midfielder Santino Quaranta has announced his retirement at the tender age of just 29 27 after D.C. United declined to pick up his option. Quaranta, who was the youngest player ever to sign with MLS in 2001 at age 16, played 18 times and scored three goals with the Galaxy in 2006, a period of his life that he later admitted was consumed with an addiction to prescription drugs.

The former U.S. international - he collected 15 caps and played for the USMNT as recently as 2009 - said he intends to help recovering addicts in retirement and coach youth soccer. It must be a bittersweet ending to a career that never quite lived up to its youthful potential.

*Palos Verdes Peninsula's John Thorrington (Chadwick School) has re-signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps, extending what has largely been an injury-prone MLS career.

David Beckham apparently occupied this pose for much of AC Milan's 3-2 win over Udinese today, coming on as a late sub. And he didn't perform well at all in front of old boss Alex Ferguson, by all accounts (AP Photo).

Game story here.

In other soccer news today:

*The Galaxy beat UCLA 4-0 in its first preseason scrimmage today. The club also announced today they will leave next Friday for a 10-day camp in Tempe, Ariz., where they will play four scrimmages against other MLS clubs.

*With the Kansas City Wizards saying they have no plans to bring out-of-contract goalkeeper Kevin Hartman into camp, the former Galaxy goalkeeper has instead arrived at the USMNT camp in Carson. Why? Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton is out with an injury for now. No word on its severity just yet.

*UCLA announced today it has landed the nation's No. 1 overall recruit Jenna Richmond of Centreville, Va., a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team. Also among the seven future Bruins signing national letters of intent on Friday: U.S. Under-18 standouts Natalia Ledezma (La Mirada High) and Ariana Martinez (Moorpark High).

*Click the link at top right for a full listing of games this weekend, My picks? A pair of FA Cup games Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel - Bolton Wanderers-Tottenham Hotspur at 5:30 a.m., immediately followed by Crystal Palace-Aston Villa.

*Finally, is a major rule change in soccer afoot?

LONDON (AP) -- Soccer's lawmaking body will reconsider whether players who concede penalties should also be sent off.

The current triple-punishment means a player who denies the opposing team a goal-scoring opportunity is red-carded, handed a suspension and the opposition is awarded a penalty kick.

FIFA has put the issue on the agenda for the annual International Football Association Board meeting, which takes place in Zurich next month. England's outgoing refereeing chief Keith Hackett recently urged IFAB members to change the rule.

"Why are you sending a player off when you have already reinstated that goal-scoring
opportunity as a penalty kick?" Hackett said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If you take the logic of that, the penalty kick is actually reinstating the opportunity. Just
award the penalty kick if it is inside the penalty area and caution the player."

IFAB -- the custodians of the laws of soccer -- is made up of the four United Kingdom soccer associations and FIFA, which holds the other four votes. Motions must be passed by at least six votes.

Also on the agenda, the Scottish Football Association has proposed allowing players to be treated on the pitch for injuries inflicted by an opponent to prevent giving teams a numerical advantage.

The meeting will also hear updates on the Europa League's trial of using an extra official
behind each goal and developments in goal-line technology.