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UCLA opens their season Sept. 4 against national champions Maryland.

The Bruins return eight starters from last season's Pac-10 Championship squad including 2008 Pac-10 Player of the Year and U.S. Under-20 National Team player Michael Stephens, U.S. Under-20 National Team starting goalkeeper Brian Perk and 2007 MVP Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates.

The schedule is here.

Pepperdine Coach Tim Ward announced the addition of three more players to his 2009 roster: midfielder Jenny Karson from Frazier Park in the far reaches of Ventura County, striker Kasey Kanada from Oregon and forward Terah Parker of Houston.

The Waves have 10 freshmen and 17 veterans heading into preseason training camp.

The not so surprising news this afternoon was that Galaxy midfielder/defender Sean Franklin, hobbled much of this season by a problematic hamstring, is now done for the next four to six months after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right upper hamstring tendon.

So he's pretty much gone for the season then.

Last year's MLS Rookie of the Year started eight games for the Galaxy this season and frankly looked much better going forward on the right side of midfield in several games than at right back.

In other news:

*ESPN released its Confederations Cup schedule.

ESPN will show four and ESPN2 eight of the 16 games live generally at 7 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. June 14-28 from South Africa.

The U.S. opens against Italy at 11:25 a.m. June 15.

* Cal State Northridge released its men's soccer schedule.

*There was also a UEFA Champions League thingie today. Manchester United played for 10 minutes then stopped when Barcelona scored. Barca won 2-0. Messi scored the second, which must be worth a buck or two. You can read more about it * here.

The big winners locally were the Galaxy, which put tickets on sale today to their * Aug. 1 game in Pasadena against the now reigning European Champions.

Briefly:

* The San Fernando Valley Quakes of the Premier Development League announced today that they are the latest casualty of the economy. The team lasted three years. The 2009 season was scheduled to begin May 1.

* MLS gets its Becks bucks.

* Manhattan Beach resident Amy Massey, a defender with the USC soccer team, will attend Oxford on a NCAA scholarship. Massey played her final season for USC last year.

*The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team, which includes Carlos Martinez of San Pedro, has qualified for the World Cup this fall. The team beat Canada 4-2 Thursday to clinch qualification.

*Sol striker Camille Abily scored in France's 2-0 win over Switzerland Wednesday in Dijon; the teams meet again Saturday.

*First-place Chivas USA (4-1-1) hosts FC Dallas (1-3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center in a game that's live on KAZA and tape-delayed at 9 p.m. on Prime. Kids 16 and under get in free with every adult ticket purchased. The Galaxy are on the road in Colorado Saturday, (the game will be shown on tape-delay at 10 p.m. on Fox Sports West) as are the Sol who face Saint Louis Athletica.

Today's (selected) games
8 a.m. GOLTV Wales-Finland
Noon GOLTV Germany-Liechtenstein
4 p.m. Telemundo Mexico-Costa Rica
4:30 p.m. Fox Socccer Channel New York Red Bulls - New England Revolution
4 p.m. GOLTV Holland-Scotland
6 p.m. ESPN/Telefutura El Salvador-U.S.

World Cup Preview
The Cal State Northridge connection to today's U.S.-El Salvador World Cup qualifier is here.

Deal Of the Week
Apparently in reaction to a crowd of fewer than 20,000 for the home opener, the Galaxy have slashed prices in a promotion they're dubbing March Madness (has a clever ring to it, doesn't it?).

For the five games against Colorado (April 4), Chivas USA (April 11), New York (May 2), Columbus (May 17) and Houston (June 28) the most expensive sideline seats (usually $75) are $14 and $50 corner seats are $24. The catch? There are a "limited number" of tickets at that price. Call 877-3GALAXY.

Long Beach State Sign Nine
Long Beach has signed nine players for the upcoming season including Shannon Bullock (right) of Manhattan Beach's Mira Costa High School. She will join her sister, Lindsay, on the team who earned Big West Midfielder of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2008.

"Shannon is an athletic winger-type player that can also play forward," said Coach Mauricio Ingrassia. "She has a competitive spirit that will push others around her to be better. Her attitude and work rate are traits that will transform her as a player and I am looking forward to seeing her development."

Youth Will Be Served
From the official Galaxy blog:

On Saturday the Galaxy will host Arsenal, one of the top clubs in Southern California, on Field No. 5 at Home Depot Center. The U-16 game begins at 1 p.m. and the U-18 game starting at 3:15.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday, hosting FC Portland from Oregon. Those games be played on Field No. 7 at the HDC, with the U-16 game starting at 11 a.m. and the U-18 game starting at 1 p.m.

The U-16's, who are coached by Steve Myles, go into the weekend with a 5-2-1 record in the SoCal Division and a 10-5-2 mark overall. As it is the Division record that determines the standings in Development Academy play, the Galaxy currently sit in third place with 16 points, two points behind Arsenal and one point behind Nomads.

The U-18's are currently coached by Pomona College head coach Bill Swartz, who recently took over the job from Warren Barton, who left the organization. They enter the weekend with a 4-4-0 mark in the SoCal Division, leaving them with 12 points, eight points behind Division leaders LAFC Chelsea, and a 7-8-2 mark overall.

Sueno MLS
Galaxy forward Edson Buddle, defender Omar González and midfielders Dema Kovalenko and Stefani Miglioranzi kick off the try-outs at 1:45 p.m. Saturday at the San Bernardino Soccer Complex, 2500 E. Pacific St. More than 1,800 would-be soccer pros will take part.

WPS begins Sunday
Finally, the Shannon Boxx WPS commercial:

Find more videos like this on Women's Professional Soccer

Sol Shines
The Sol defeated FC Gold Pride 2-0 today for the second time in four days in a preseason game at Home Depot Center.

Brittany Bock scored both goals, the first in the 54th minute off a dish from Japanese import Aya Miyama and added the second five minutes later.

Sol lineup: Karina LeBlanc, Allison Falk, Stephanie Cox, Camile Abily, Shannon Boxx, Manya Makoski, Aya Miyama, McCall Zerboni, Brittany Bock, Katie Larkin, Christie Welsh.

Boxxy and Canadian goalkeeper LeBlanc are back in camp, you'll note. But no sign of Marta for the second consecutive game who sat out with what was described as a "very minor injury." She should be good to go for the season opener.

Gold Pride, from the Bay Area, featured such familiar names as Rachel Buehler, Tiffeny Milbrett, Brandi Chastain, Nicole Barnhart and Leslie Osborne.

Fox Soccer Channel shows its Women's Professional Soccer preview at 8:30 tonight.

The "24 Hours of Chivas USA" begins.
The promotional event at L.A. Live begins at 6 o'clock tonight and runs through 6 p.m. Wednesday. There's a free breakfast from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday courtesy of ESPN Zone as well as music, pick-up games and other activities. The team shows up at 2 p.m. Wednesday for its official 2009 squad picture.

Name-dropping
*The Seattle Times reports former Galaxy veteran Pete Vagenas will miss the Sounders' home opener Thursday against New York with a knee issue, while former Galaxy defender Nate Sturgis (quad) is "touch-and-go," for the game, said Coach Sigi Schmid.

*Also, defender Mike Randolph, cut from the Galaxy, has failed to hook on with the Sounders as well.

*Soccer America notes San Jose are in the final stages of signing former Galaxy and Crew midfielder Simon Elliott, who has been with the team for most of preseason. Elliott, 34, left the Galaxy in 2005 to sign with English club Fulham (when he was widely perceived to be done anyway). Sure enough, Fulham released him last year after calf and leg injuries limited him to just a dozen games.

"Simon gives us some experience and calmness," said Coach Frank Yallop. But what about work rate and reliability?

*Also, former D.C. United left back and UCLA product Mike Zaher, 23, was signed to a developmental contract. Zaher played 69 games at UCLA and also played for the PDL's San Fernando Valley Quakes during the summers of 2006 and 2007.

*Houston forward (and Lawndale resident) Kei Kamara was suspended for two regular season games and fined $500 by MLS for comments he made to an official after the Dynamo's game against San Jose last month.

*Striker Michelle Manning (Calabasas/Agoura High) was one of seven players signed to national letters of intent by Pepperdine.

Very short:

* Mexico beat Bolivia 5-1 Wednesday in Colorado. Guess Sven-Goran Eriksson saves his job for now.

*The Galaxy's Josh Tudela talks live on the club's official blog at 1 p.m. today.

*The L.A. Sol tied 1-1 with USC Tuesday in the club's first-ever scrimmage, equalizing on a penalty kick late in the game. The club's first official preseason game is 6 p.m. Saturday at the Home Depot Center Track & Field Stadium again FC Gold Pride, the Bay Area's WPS entry. The game isn't being publicized, but fans are welcome to watch.

The Chivas USA injury curse has struck again: likely starting goalkeeper Dan Kennedy will miss the start of the season - and be out for up to six weeks - with a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee sustained in the Saturday scrimmage against the Chicago Fire.

No press release from Chivas USA, who mentioned that injury almost as an afterthought on their official blog today.

They led with word past it former Galaxy bird of paradise Abel Xavier started training with them Monday.

I bumped into the central defender in the HDC parking lot Tuesday in his white convertible Bentley. Chivas USA dumped dependable former Mexican international Claudio Suarez for him?

Also, midfielder Erik Hummel, who was with the Chivas USA U-19's in 2006, joined camp on Tuesday along with former pool goalkeeper Sam Reynolds.

The Division II national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills Men's Team were honored at Tuesday's Torrance City Council meeting. Massive soccer fan and Mayor Frank Scotto jokingly exhorted Coach Joe Flanagan (a West Torrance High alum) on his second national championship with the 21-2-4 Toros last season: "Obviously, we continue to expect great things out of you."

Photo by Bryan Renfrow

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan is apparently too old for Germany's Bayern Munich:

MUNICH (AP) -- Landon Donovan is unlikely to stay with Bayern Munich on a longer contract once his loan expires in mid-March, according to the club's chairman.

Donovan practiced with Bayern in December and then joined the German champions during the Bundesliga's winter break in a loan deal similar to the one his Los Angeles Galaxy teammate David Beckham has with AC Milan. Donovan's loan expires March 15.

"Donovan is an interesting player," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the Munich newspaper TZ in an interview published Tuesday. "But when you have Klose, Toni and Olic already under contract, we think the fourth player (striker) should really be a young player with perspective."

Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni are Bayern's starting strikers, while Hamburg's Ivica Olic has been signed as a free agent for next season. Backup striker Lukas Podolski is returning to FC Cologne at the end of the season.

After arriving at Bayern, Donovan said he would be interested in a longer contract. He scored four goals in practice games and has made four appearances, all as a substitute, in the Bundesliga and the German Cup, without scoring.

Donovan failed to break through in two earlier Bundesliga stints, both with Bayer
Leverkusen.

Donovan, BTW, is all of 26 years old.

So where now for Donovan if Jurgen agrees with his chairman? Does he try somewhere else? And why aren't European clubs lining up to buy America's best-ever player? Thoughts?

In other soccer news today:

*The U.S. Women's National Team squad for the annual Algarve Cup in Portugal in March was named today and included Torrance's Shannon Boxx and Kendall Fletcher of the Sol.

The squad (in parenthesis are the number of Algarve Cups the player has participated in):

Goalkeepers - Nicole Barnhart (3) (FC Gold Pride), Hope Solo (6) (St. Louis Athletica)

Defenders - Rachel Buehler (2) (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (6) (St. Louis Athletica), Kendall Fletcher (1) (Los Angeles Sol), Heather Mitts (5) (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (9) (Sky Blue FC)

Midfielders - Shannon Boxx (6) (Los Angeles Sol), Tina DiMartino (1) (FC Gold Pride), Carli Lloyd (4) (Chicago Red Stars), Heather O'Reilly (7) (Sky Blue FC), Lindsay Tarpley (7) (Chicago Red Stars), Kacey White (1) (Sky Blue FC), Angie Woznuk (2) (St. Louis Athletica)

Forwards - Angela Hucles (5) (Boston Breakers), Natasha Kai (4) (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (1) (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (4) (Boston Breakers).

*Eight players were signed to letters of intent at the UCLA women's program it was announced today including U.S. Youth National Team players Zakiya Bywaters (Las Vegas) and Chelsea Cline (Des Moines, Iowa).

Others include defender-midfielder Sierra Mack (Anaheim/ Fullerton High) and national team pool players Lucretia Lee (Bothell, Wash.) and Ahsha Smith (Oakland).

*in the first Pepperdine's women's soccer game of the year, the program lost 2-1 to UC San Diego and then returned home to defeat UC Riverside by the same score. The Waves return to action at 10 a.m. Saturday against UC Irvine and at 1:30 p.m. against Westmont. Admission is free to all three games.

*The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team is in Madrid, Spain, for a week-long training camp through Sunday, that includes matches against Spain, a Real Madrid youth team and Rayo Majadahonda.

Included on the squad is Carlos Martinez of San Pedro.

Briefly:
* Good Q&A on the career of Cal State Dominguez Hills product Kei Kamara of Lawndale here.

* The UCLA men are reloading.

* And U.S. Soccer wants to see this nation awash in red Wednesday.

The WPS released the schedule for its first season today, including games for the Los Angeles Sol, which becomes the third (!) professional soccer team at Carson's Home Depot Center.

Here are the basics from the league's (edited) press release:

The previously announced home openers that begin Sunday, March 29 with the WPS inaugural match between the Los Angeles Sol and the Washington Freedom and continue during WPS Kick-Off Week with a full slate of league games on April 5 will be followed by regular weekly action over the next five months for a total of 70 league match-ups, three post-season contests and one WPS All-Star Game.

Teams will play a 20-game regular season schedule with 10 home games and 10 away games. Each team will play the other teams in the league three times with a fourth game against two regional rivals to round out the 20-game schedule. Games will be played primarily on weekends with 14 games scheduled for weeknights, primarily on Wednesdays. Weeknight games will not begin until midway through the season on June 3.

Every week, Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast "WPS Sunday on FSC" nationally to over 34 million homes with appointment television. The season culminates with the WPS Playoffs including the First Round, Super Semifinal and WPS Final. The WPS Final on August 22 will reach up to 80 million homes nationally on Fox Sports Net's owned and affiliated regional sports networks.

The WPS regular season culminates the weekend of August 8/9 with three league games. The first round of the playoffs will be played August 15, the WPS Super Semifinal is set for August 18/19 with the WPS Final scheduled for August 22 at the home field of the 2009 WPS Regular Season Champion. The All-Star Game will be played following the conclusion of the season.

The complete WPS schedule is here.

The Sol schedule is here.

In other women's soccer news, U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage today announced an 18-player roster for the annual 12-team Algarve Cup scheduled for March in Portugal.

Striker Abby Wambachis not included; she's not yet considered match-fit, while continuing her comeback from a broken leg.

Here's the roster:
Goalkeepers - Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)

Defenders - Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Kendall Fletcher (Los Angeles Sol), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC)

Midfielders - Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Tina DiMartino (FC Gold Pride), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Heather O'Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars), Kacey White (Sky Blue FC), Angie Woznuk (St. Louis Athletica).

Forwards - Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Natasha Kai (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers).

Here's a roster breakdown from U.S. Soccer:

The U.S. roster features 13 players from the 2008 Olympic gold medal champions, including three-fourths of the starting back line in captain Christie Rampone and flank defenders Heather Mitts and Lori Chalupny. With Kate Markgraf pregnant, Olympian Rachel Buehler and uncapped Kendall Fletcher will compete for playing time, although Torrance's Shannon Boxx also trained at center back during the recently completed camp. Boxx has twice been named the MVP of the Algarve Cup (2004 and 2006).

Sundhage named three relatively inexperienced midfielders to go along with Olympians Boxx, Lindsay Tarpley, Heather O'Reilly and Lloyd. Among midfielders Angie Woznuk (6 caps, 1 goal), Tina DiMartino (1/0) and Kacey White (15/0), only Woznuk has attended the Algarve Cup before, playing in two matches last year.

The U.S. plays Demark, Iceland and Norway in the opening round of the Algarve Cup.

Lastly, Chivas USA midfielder Jorge Flores and UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk are among a 26-player group that will train in Bradenton, Fla., until Feb. 15 as part of final preparations for the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, which takes place in Trinidad and Tobago from March 6-15.

After the camp, U.S. Coach Thomas Rongen will name a 20-player squad for the championship.

Noted:
*The Galaxy play their final preseason game (otherwise known as the "Will David Beckham return from AC Milan lottery?) March 14 in Tempe, Ariz., against the Chicago Fire, the club announced today. The Galaxy opens their season in Carson March 22 against D. C. United.

The game is part of an effort to locate an MLS team in the area, according to the press release:

The PHX Soccer Clasico is the first major event for Phoenix Soccer Development. Founded in 2007, PHX Soccer Development seeks to promote professional soccer in the Valley with the ultimate goal of having an MLS club based locally.

* Landon Donovan has scored two more goals for Bayern Munich.

*Three members of the Los Angeles Sol, the local franchise in the new Women's Professional Soccer league, have been selected as members of the USA's Under-23 Women's National Team when it travels to Europe for matches against Norway Feb. 4 and England two days later in La Manga, Spain.

From the Sol press release:

Sol goalkeeper Val Henderson, selected in the fifth round of last week's 2009 WPS Draft from UCLA, enters the trip with 14 caps at the U-23 level, the most of any of the 18 players on the U.S. roster. She will be joined by two recent draftees, forward Katie Larkin, taken by the Sol in the third round from BYU, who is currently on seven caps and first-round selection, midfielder Brittany Bock (Notre Dame), in search of her first cap with the U-23's.

Also on the roster: uncapped Stanford forward Christen Press of Palos Verdes Estates and Portland goalkeeper Kelsey Davis of Thousand Oaks..

Eleven of the 18-player roster are with pro clubs, a record.

The Sol begins its season noon March 29 at the HDC against the Washington Freedom.

*My apologies to Cal State Dominguez Hills Coach Joe Flanagan for neglecting to mention earlier as I caught up that he had been named on Monday the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Coach of the Year.

He coached CSUDH to its second national title this year.

"It's not only a tribute to our team that performed well on the field, but also a tremendous honor for our staff," Flanagan said.. "It's definitely a 'we' award. It's not about me, it's about us.

"In 2000, I was along for the ride, but now, after 8 years of battling and trying to get back to this promised land, I appreciate it a lot more knowing what it takes to get here."

*Lastly, Fontana's Maurice Edu provides a little perspective on what he and fellow American DaMarcus Beasley face at Glasgow Rangers here.

The game against Fiorentina is live at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

More here.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy has posted a short video introducing their top draft pick, Omar Gonzalez. Not much in the way of highlights, but, hey, he's a defender:

BTW, the Galaxy officially announced they will open training camp Monday with players hitting the field for the first time Wednesday. The club will also announce a series of preseason friendlies.

In other MLS draft left-overs, a reader pointed out that UC Irvine Big West Defender of the Year David Sias (Fountain Valley High) was drafted by the Chicago Fire. He's only the fourth Anteater ever taken in the draft.

As expected, Boston selected speedster striker Amy Rodriguez with the first pick in today's Women's Professional Soccer draft.

UCLA's Christina DiMartino was picked third by Bay Area team FC Gold Pride.

The Los Angeles Sol took Brittany Bock of Notre Dame with the fifth overall pick.

Live draft updates are here.

The seven-team WPS also announced its playoff format. The regular season winner hosts the title game. The No. 3 and No. 4 teams play a game to determine who faces the second-place finisher with a place in the final at stake.

Updated: The Sol's second pick is Stanford defender Allison Falk.

Some quick kicks:
*The drafts aren't done; next up is Women's Professional Soccer at 7:30 a.m. today. Trojan Amy Rodriguez is the consensus No. 1.

*Correcting a bad oversight, Palos Verdes Peninsula native Joy Fawcett was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame Thursday night (with Jeff Agoos). Fawcett won two World Cup and two Olympic gold medals, played 239 internationals in a 15-year national team career. And where is she now? She currently directs the Saddleback United Soccer Club in Mission Viejo. Chivas USA Coach Preki just missed out: he made 60.4% of the ballots cast; he needed 66.7 percent.

*Cal State Dominguez Hills' NCAA Championship trophy will be on display in a secured case in the Holiday Inn Torrance lobby until Wednesday. The hotel is at 19800 South Vermont Ave.

*Finally, Lawndale's Kei Kamara has not forgotten his roots. Check it out. (It's the Dynamo, Tony - singular).

MLS today announced this year's Generation adidas class - nine players considered among the most promising in the country - who have already signed contracts with the league.

Last year's class produced six of the first eight selections in the draft, so with the Galaxy picking third (and Chivas USA ninth) in this year's four-round version scheduled for Jan. 15 (live at 11 a.m. on ESPN2), it's highly likely at least one of these players will end up playing his rookie season at Home Depot Center.

Here's the nine:
*Defender Kevin Alston, a U.S. Under-17 international and first team Big 10 selection out of Indiana.

*Midfielder Danny Cruz, 19, the youngest player in the class and a U.S. Under-20 international from UNLV who didn't start playing soccer until high school.

*Goalkeeper Stefan Frei, a Swiss Under-15 international from Cal.

*Defender Omar Gonzalez, a giant U.S. Under-17 international from Maryland, one of three Terrapins in the class and named top defender at the College Cup.

*Midfielder Jeremy Hall, a U.S. Under-17 international who had 14 goals and seven assists for national champions Maryland.

*Midfielder Baggio Husidic, who scored nine goals for the University of Illinois - Chicago.

*Forward Peri Marosevic, a U.S. Under-17 international who scored 13 goals at Michigan last season.

*Midfielder Rodney Wallace, who had 25 starts for Maryland last season.

*Forward Steve Zakuani, whose 20 goals for the University of Akron led the nation. He's a finalist for the Hermann trophy, the award given to the nation's top college player that will be announced Friday.

So who do you like?

The Galaxy don't need another young goalkeeper, so Frei is out.

I saw UCLA's Kyle Nakazawa completely take Gonzalez to the cleaners when he scored at the HDC this fall, so I'm not sure the Galaxy need another big, slow defender nimble attackers can exploit.

Given the Galaxy's problems all over the park perhaps striker Zakuani (if he's still around by the time the Galaxy pick) could solve some issues in front of goal.

But frankly, such is the depth of the Galaxy's problems virtually any help is welcome. And Chivas USA would probably like to sign an uninjured player or two.

MLS also released the initial list of 65 players invited to the combine that starts Friday in Florida.

The list and more details are here.

Who do you think could do a job for the Galaxy or Chivas USA?