SuperLiga: July 2008 Archives

It will be an all MLS SuperLiga final with the New England Revolution, 2-0 winners over bad losers Atlante tonight, playing the Houston Dynamo Tuesday in Boston.

I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game (work intervened), but that was enough to see some ugly scenes at game's end for the second consecutive SuperLiga semifinal.

Five red cards (!) were brandished at Atlante players (several after the game) in what was a nasty conclusion.

And it was clear in the waning moments of the game Atlante were simply trying to get in some lumps with behind the legs two-footed tackles, late challenges and body checks.

(BTW, for those who don't know things got rambunctious at the end of Tuesday's Pachuca-Houston Dynamo game, too).

The silver lining for Chivas USA? They got knocked out by a team in the final of the tournament.

Well-moderated discussion of the game here.

Full disclosure: I'm Anglokixx in this thread.

Highlights

Also:
*USC striker Amy Rodriguez, essentially Abby Wambach's replacement, was profiled here.

*Galaxy rookie Bryan Jordan is going on loan to the USL Portland Timbers for the third time this season - until the end of the season. Will he be missed? From the Galaxy:

Jordan leads the Galaxy Reserve Team in goals this season, scoring four times in five games, including one in Monday's 2-2 draw with FC Dallas.

*And for those with nothing better to do at 8 p.m. Monday tune to Fox 11 to see whether the winner of the "Choice Male Athlete" award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards is David Beckham, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Eli Manning or Tiger Woods.for the award. Woo hoo!

Well, let's hope there's no repeat of Tuesday's temblor, but it seemed an apt headline in more ways than one as you'll find out if you keep reading.

*The U.S. Men's Olympic Team drew 0-0 with the Ivory Coast in Hong Kong in what was the wee hours of the morning our time. Cameroon is up Saturday in the final tune-up before the games begin.

*The Galaxy have finally confirmed their interest in Nolberto Solano (noteworthy in that Galaxy officials usually never confirm that sort of thing).

*Meanwhile, ultimate Soccer Insider Steven Goff reports on "rumblings" (told ya) that Galaxy owner Uncle Phil Anschutz is "none too pleased" with the performance of his team.

One would think General Manager Alexi Lalas might be on the hot seat, so why has Coach Ruud Gullit put his home up for sale? Especially considering the crummy housing market right now and the fact he presumably hasn't owned it long. Take a peek.

*The winner of tonight's second SuperLiga semifinal between the New England Revolution and Atlante (live 5 p.m. on Telefutura) will face Houston in next week's final after the Dynamo Tuesday dispatched cup holders Pachuca, 2-0.

*Lastly, AYSO has come home.

Mark your calendar. Set your TiVo. Here's your soccer week in Southern California.

Sunday:
*Real So Cal Boys Under-16 Team lost 2-0 to Dallas Texans Red at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.

*Also, the Galaxy Reserves drew 2-2 with Dallas through goals by Alan Gordon and Bryan Jordan.

Today:
*Chivas USA midfielder Jorge "Sueno" Flores played 90 minutes in the U.S. Under-20 National Team loss to hosts Northern Ireland in the Milk Cup. Next on Wednesday: Wales.

Tuesday:
*SuperLiga resumes tonight with the Houston Dynamo and Pachuca clashing at 7 on Telefutura in the first semifinal; Wednesday it's Atlante-New England.

No LA teams involved now that Chivas USA is out so why am I mentioning this? See Tuesday's column.

Wednesday;
*Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan and the rest of the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team plays at 2:30 a.m. our time against the Ivory Coast in the ING Cup, a warm-up for the Olympics.

Thursday:
*The W-League Pali Blues play at the Washington Freedom in the semifinals; in the other game the FC Indiana Lionesses play the Seattle Sounders. The final is Saturday.

Saturday:
*Chivas USA (6-6-4) visits Chicago (7-5-5) and Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Chivas USA is two points behind Real Salt Lake for the Western Conference lead.

*Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women play in the Women's Premier League Final Four as the Pacific champion against Arizona (Big Sky), New England (East) and the winner today of the match between Midwest champion MYSC Lady Blues and Sunshine Conference champion Brevard County Cocoa Expos for the final berth.

Ajax beat West Coast FC 2-0 Sunday to qualify.

Sunday:
The Galaxy plays at San Jose at noon on Telefutura.

Chivas USA plunged out of SuperLiga Sunday when Pachuca and Santos Laguna tied 1-1 in San Jose in the night's second game. Chivas USA needed Santos Laguna to beat Pachuca to stay alive in the competition.

It was difficult to conduct interviews with Chivas USA players after the 1-1 tie with the Revs simply because they couldn't really say much considering their future in the tournament was being decided hundreds of miles away as they spoke.

But here's Assistant Coach Mike Matkovich (subbing for Preki who is tending to a family emergency back home in Europe) on giving up the equalizer:

"Obviously we are disappointed. We're 12 minutes away (from winning), we lose a mark on a dead ball, we give up a soft goal. We've got a guy on the post and the goalkeeper gets his hands on it and then it squeaks in. ... I thought we were the better side, I thought we created better chances, no disrespect for them, but things didn't go our way today."

Jesse Marsch wasn't too happy about it either: "

That was a terrible goal to give up," he said "One of the worst goals we've given up in a really big game."

On the other hand:

"I think this was one of our best games of the year," (Gawd, I hope he's kidding because it wasn't pretty to watch). "If we played like that more often I feel like we can win a lot of games."

But not this one. Or SuperLiga.

A common complaint was the atrocious field, which was dry, had huge bare spots and generally looked like those Budweiser horses had been filming a few commercials on it lately. A Soccer United Marketing official observed the pitch was fine two months ago, but looked even worse two weeks ago than it did Sunday. He had no idea what happened in between.

"The field was terrible," said Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis. "We put a bid in to get (the game) and I don't know why we didn't. We may as well have played it in the parking lot."

New England Coach Steve Nicol agreed:

"To play a game like this on this field I think was a disgrace. ... There is no way you can play football on that field. It's meant to be a big tournament, an important tournament and there's no way it should have been played on this field."

Complete game story.

Highlights here.

A picture gallery of the action is here.

So the semifinals are set:
MLS champion Houston Dynamo hosts defending SuperLiga champion Pachuca at Robertson Stadium July 29.

The Revolution hosts Atlante at Gillette Stadium July 30.

If you're a Chivas USA fan, you're not pulling for Pachuca in the night's second SuperLiga game up in San Jose.

The 1-1 draw between the Revs and Chivas USA at Cal State Fullerton this evening means a Pachuca tie or win against Santos Laguna puts the Red and White out of the tournament.

Not the most scintillating game it must be said and for a while it looked like Ante Razov's sixth goal in six straight games in the 52nd minute would be the difference. Daniel Paladini had split the defense with a prescient through ball, Razov got on the end of it, shot straight at goalkeeper Matt Reis with his first shot, but scored with a second effort.

The Revs equalized in the 79th minute from a Steve Ralston corner kick, Shalrie Joseph getting the header in that beat goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and Daniel Paladini, who was standing on the line.

New England, by the way, are through to the next round.

Back later with post-game comments.

Horrible field (and you thought Home Depot Center was bad), horrible half.

It would be an understatement to say scoring chances were few and far between - they were virtually non-existent.

The best scoring chance came just before half time, Jesse Marsch blasting a shot from about 20 yards that required the hands of a diving Matt Reis to push around the post.

Apart from that Ante Razov had a shot that went wide, while Chris Albright sent a header wide at the other end.

Five changes to the Chivas USA starting lineup from the team that faced Santos Laguna Wednesday (or as one press box observer said, the A team is back).

Dan Kennedy is in goal, while Claudio Suarez and Bobby Burling return in central defense, Cary Talley is at right back and Pancho Mendoza at left back (although he and left half Jonathan Bornstein have been switching off in recent games and presumably could again).

Also in midfield: Sacha Kljestan, in what is his last start until he returns from the Olympics; while Dan Paladini gets a rare start (Paulo Nagamura is suspended) and Jesse Marsch returns.

Up front is Atiba Harris and Ante Razov.

Among the options on the bench: new Mexican striker Roberto Nurse (frankly awful against Santos Laguna) and Jorge Flores.

The Revs are without the injured Taylor Twellman, while Pat Phelan (concussion) and Mauricio Castro (groin strain) didn't make the trip either.

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Matt Reis is in goal, behind a back four of Chris Albright, Amaechi Igwe, Michael Parkhurst and Jay Heaps.

Midfield: Sainey Nyassi, Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz.

Attackers: Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally.

Looks to be a tiny crowd here at Titan Stadium in Fullerton for this one.

The game is on Telefutura.

Chivas USA is calling today's third and final SuperLiga group game against the New England Revolution the biggest in club history, which isn't saying much when the team is three years old, but sounds good, I guess. Tickets start at $15 for the 5 p.m. game (live on Telefutura) at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

It's a Preki-less Chivas USA today.

How many permutations are there to think about when wondering who will advance from the group?

Too many.

Here's the short version from reporter Phil Collin:

None of the four teams in Group B has clinched a spot, and none have been eliminated. And how about this? Chivas can lose tomorrow and still advance. Don't ask.

Um, I won't.

Here's the long version from the SuperLiga Web site:
Group B Scenarios
Next Group Matches:
Chivas USA vs. NE Revolution
Santos vs. Pachuca CF (7 p.m. Pizza Hut Park - Frisco)

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (6 points, +2 goal differential)

• Revolution clinches 1st place with a win or tie.
• Revolution clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Pachuca loss or tie.
• Revolution clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Pachuca win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Revolution is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.

Note: If New England wins or draws its last group game, it would host every match it plays moving forward as neither Houston nor D.C. United could obtain 7 or 9 points. See note below on Semifinals.

PACHUCA (3 points, even goal differential)

• Pachuca clinches 1st place with a win AND a Chivas USA win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a win or tie AND a Chivas USA loss or tie.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF both teams lose by one-goal margin and identical score lines.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF both teams lose by a one-goal margin with Pachuca scoring more goals than Chivas USA.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA win or tie.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF Pachuca loses by two goals or more.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF Chivas USA loses by more goals than Pachuca.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a tie AND a Chivas USA win.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.

CHIVAS USA (3 points, even goal differential)

• Chivas USA clinches 1st place with a win AND a Pachuca loss or tie.
• Chivas USA clinches 1st place with a win AND a Pachuca win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Chivas USA clinches 2nd place with a win AND a Pachuca win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Chivas USA clinches 2nd place with a tie AND a Pachuca loss.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca win or tie.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a tie AND a Pachuca win or tie.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Santos win IF Santos wins by two or more goals.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF both results are identical and by a one-goal margin.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF both teams lose are by a one-goal margin with Pachuca scoring more goals than Chivas USA.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF Chivas USA loses by more goals than Pachuca.

SANTOS (0 points, -2 goal differential)

• Santos clinches 2nd place with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF Santos wins by two or more goals.
• Santos clinch 2nd place with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF Chivas USA finishes with the worst goal differential in three-way tie.
• Santos is eliminated with a loss or tie.
• Santos is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA tie or win.
• Santos is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF both results are by one-goal margins.

Jonathan Bornstein will play today, as Phil observes:

Jonathan Bornstein showed up as suspended for yellow card accumulation on some press release, but that was a mistake from the Chivas PR machine. Or, as Bornstein put it: "How can I be suspended when I didn't even get a yellow in the second game?" He's right, although the scoring summary on mlsnet.com lists Bornstein as being booked in the 88th minute vs. Santos. That card actually went to Bobby Burling. Bornstein did pick up a card against Pachuca.

Just answer this trivia question: Which Chivas USA player is nicknamed Sueno?

The first three e-mails I receive with the correct answer wins a pair of tickets courtesy of the Daily Breeze to the crucial Chivas USA-New England Revolution SuperLiga game on Sunday at Titan Stadium in Fullerton.

I will notify the three winners via e-mail how they can claim their prize.

To get caught up on SuperLiga, click here.

I'll post the winners here.

Updated: 11:08 a.m. Saturday
We have three winners:
Far Farshad, Pacific Palisades
Laura Camp, San Juan Capistrano
Diana Torralvo, Playa del Rey

Diana provided the correct answer in a comment, BTW, so look below for the answer.

For those of you visiting the blog for the first time, look around and kick the tires.

I'll have a preview of today's Galaxy-Red Bulls game up shortly. And I'll be blogging from the Chivas USA SuperLiga game Sunday as well, so even if you didn't win tickets you can check back in for updates.

Thanks for visiting.

Sounds like the New England Revolution had a strange flight to Southern California today for Sunday's SuperLiga game against Chivas USA:

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped, put his clothes back on and then tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a pro soccer team and others, the FBI said.

American Flight 725, a Boeing 757 with 151 passengers and seven crew on board, arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:35 p.m. CDT and was back in the air an hour later on the way to Los Angeles, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines.

The passenger was removed from the plane in Oklahoma City and was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.

Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, Johnson said.

Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released, he said.

Stacey James, a spokesman for the New England Patriots, which shares a common owner with the Revolution, said three Revolution staff members helped restrain the unruly passenger: former U.S. international Mike Burns, vice president of player personnel; assistant coach Gwynne Williams; and general manager Craig Tornberg.

According to Johnson, the passenger emerged from a bathroom without his clothes on.

"He was asked to go back to the bathroom to put his clothes on and he did and went back to his seat and then allegedly attempted to open an aircraft emergency exit door," Johnson said.

"Members of the Major League Soccer team, the New England Revolution, were on the flight. They were able to subdue him," he said.

The New England Revolution plays Chivas USA at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.

Another soccer-filled weekend is on tap, so let's get to it.

*The Galaxy are out of town in New York where Claudio Reyna retired this week and the Red Bulls signed two South American midfielders who could make their debuts Saturday.

The game airs live at 3:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel and a crowd of more than 45,000 is expected to turn out largely to see David Beckham who continues to prove why he's nicknamed Golden Balls.

Need a reminder why so many people want to see the game? Check out the highlights from last year.

*Meanwhile, they're expecting a similarly large boost in attendance in Kansas City on Sept. 13 when Becks and the Galaxy visit so the Wizards announced Thursday they are moving the game from the 10,000-capacity CommunityAmerica Ballpark to vast Arrowhead Stadium.

*Chivas USA are at home at 5 p.m. Sunday playing at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium in the third and final SuperLiga game (live on Telefutura) where three teams in Group B could finish tied with six points by the end of the weekend.

How complicated is the picture for qualification for the next round? Here it is broken down from a New England perspective courtesy of the Revolution, but it also tells you what Chivas USA need to do:

A win or a draw on Sunday would assure the Revolution first place in the group, while a Pachuca loss to Santos Laguna in the group's other game would also secure New England's passage to the next round. Even if the Revs lose to Chivas USA and Pachuca defeats Santos, the possibility still exists that the Revolution could advance to the competition's final four, because in that case, New England, Chivas USA and Pachuca would all be tied atop the group with six points. If that happens, the group would be decided on goal difference, and the Revs (+2) currently have a better goal difference than both Chivas USA (0) and Pachuca (0).

*Meanwhile, Chivas USA defender/midfielder/forward Jonathan Bornstein of Los Alamitos was named as a replacement for Olympics-bound players in the MLS All-Star Game even though he's missed plenty of games this season and has not quite found the form he did last year (yet).

Plenty of other players are more deserving of course, such as D.C. United's Luciano Emilio (third in the league in scoring) or the Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto (the MLS assist-leader who had another two plus a goal Thursday in Columbus' 3-3 draw with Kansas City). Yet another reason to question the game's credibility.

*Also, Chivas USA has had Amber Hernandez, a 15-year-old member of the South Valley Chivas Academy in Porterville called up to the Mexican Under-17 National Team for the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship that began Thursday in Trinidad & Tobago.

*In other youth soccer news, the Los Angeles FC Under-18 boys team (led by U-17/18 Coach of the Year Rafa Moran) plays for the U.S. Development Academy championship at Home Depot Center live at 8 on ESPN2 tonight. Full details here.

*Over in the PDL, the San Fernando Valley Earthquakes are still in with a chance of making the playoffs after defeating the Ventura County Fusion Thursday.

The Quakes need a win Sunday against the Fresno Fuego in a 7:05 p.m. game at Calabasas High to make the playoffs.

Here's why from the Quakes Web site:

The Fuego overwhelmed the Southern California Seahorses 5-2 Thursday to move into first place on 29 points; the San Francisco Seals, in second place, take on Bakersfield Brigade today, and will move to the top of the league on 30 points if they win. The Quakes now lie third, on 27 points, with Fusion in fourth, their playoff hopes virtually over.

*In the W-League tonight it's Pali Blues at Los Angeles Legends in a 6 p.m. game at Esperanza High.

*U.S. striker Abby Wambach had surgery Thursday on
her broken leg.

*Finally, at least one Mexican club apparently does not know what the new national team coach looks like (exactly).

And if you liked that, then return later today for some Friday Football Funnies, true and strange soccer stories from around the world in the last week or so.

Enjoy your weekend.

Ante Razov's deciding goal.

Photo by Scott Varley

Before we get started, take a deep breathe and read this fine piece of journalism on Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan and his father.

I'll wait.

But then we figured Kljestan would be going to the Olympics, didn't we? The squad will officially be announced at 10 a.m. today (Thursday).

Other nuggets:
*Midfielder Paulo Nagamura, who suffered a mild concussion during the match, and defender Jonathan Bornstein will be suspended for Sunday's game against New England because of yellow-card accumulation (2 apiece).

*We were discussing in the press box about the tie-breakers in SuperLiga given the possibility Chivas USA, the Revolution and Pachuca could end up tied on six points at the end of the games Sunday.

Colleague Phil Collin kindly researched the issue (based on last year's rules):
1. points
2. head-head
3. point differential
4. goals scored
5. drawing of lots

Now here's the catch: if after the first four criteria, a team qualifies, that team advances. Then the process is repeated. For instance, if Pachuca wins 2-0 and Chivas USA wins 1-0, Pachuca advances on goal differential. Then you go back to the top and play the string out with the two remaining teams.

Got that?

Curiously though, Sunday's pair of games aren't played at the same time: the Revs and Chivas USA game is later than Pachuca-Santos Laguna. Not that I'm suggesting anything.

The game story is here.

And (for those of you who read until the end of the game story) it looks like yet another foreign veteran (Wicky) is a total bust in MLS, doesn't it?

On to the quotes:

*Preki on the economy of shots for Chivas USA:

"We got one shot on goal tonight - we scored. We're going to take that. We're not going to complain about that. Sometimes things don't go your way, you lose. Tonight, I thought the ball bounced our way. Sometimes in this game you have to be lucky. You've got to get a bounce."

*Ante Razov on the ball Kljestan served him that led to the goal:

"It was good work out on the wing with Sacha and we've developed pretty good chemistry as of late, especially. I just wanted to try to set my guy up and get to the near post, and fortunately I was able to get a piece of it, I also think the defender got a piece of it too. Great ball."

*Did Santos Laguna Coach Daniel Guzman think the 90th minute goal his team scored was offside?

"It was a goal. There was no-one offside on that play. That's when we started the whole debate with the referee, but it's over now."

On the loss:

"They had a goal-scoring opportunity. They put it in. Sometimes soccer is that way. You play well. You don't win. You play badly, you win."

*Preki on how the team came out:

"I didn't feel like we got a grip of the game in the first 10-15 minutes. I thought they were the better team, I thought they were moving the ball a bit better than us, I thought we were nervous, but I was expecting that given the fact that we've changed quite a few players from the other night to tonight."

Finally, here's the first half sitter Christian Benitez of Santos Laguna missed in the first half with Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and the net at his mercy.

Photo by Scott Varley

A common theme for Chivas USA Coach Preki this season has been his grousing that his team doesn't capitalize on their chances.

Well, they did tonight, substitute Ante Razov scoring with an eight-yard header from a nice Sacha Kljestan cross in the 73rd minute for the only goal of the game.

It was the first shot Chivas USA had on target all night long. In fact it was the only shot Chivas USA had on target all night long. It was also Razov's fifth goal in five straight games.

Santos Laguna redoubled their attacks after that and Dan Kennedy came up big in the 83rd minute, denying Vicente Vuoso a goal with a diving save.

Santos actually had the ball in the net in the 89th minute, which was disallowed for offside (but not by the player who scored I believe, which is why Santos' players and fans were so irate).

Razov and Jesse Marsch had come on at half time for the impotent Roberto Nurse and Atiba Harris.

A win (or a tie if Pachuca fails to beat Santos Laguna Sunday) over New England will put Chivas USA through to the next round.

More from the zoo that is the mixed zone a little later.

Lots of shots on goal from the two teams (a dozen), but only three from Santos Laguna on target so the score is 0-0 after the opening 45 minutes.

The Mexican champions have looked fast and smooth when they transition into attack and gave some idea of their potency with a goal only 60 seconds or so into the game that was called back for offside.

Santos broke quickly in the 12th minute too, Christian Benitez geting behind the defense, rounding goalkeeper Dan Kennedy - and then hitting the bar instead of the open net from eight yards.

Chivas USA have looked considerably less dangerous, frankly.

Their most lively attack in the 23rd minute saw Sacha Kljestan intelligently spray the ball wide to Jonathan Bornstein. Debutante Roberto Nurse completely whiffed on his cross though and hasn't shown much else.

Quite a few Santos fans here tonight - lots more than Pachuca drew on the weekend - and they're often overwhelming the home fans in terms of noise.

New England beat Pachuca 1-0 in the early game, by the way, going through to the next round and doing Chivas USA a huge favor, who play the Revolution Sunday.

All sorts of changes tonight for Chivas USA including Dan Kennedy in goal, Claudio Suarez on the bench, Mexican Roberto Nurse making his debut up front and young Kraig Chiles getting a rare start (likely as a withdrawn forward).

The Chivas USA lineup: Kennedy, Jim Curtin, Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein, Francisco Mendoza, Sacha Kljestan, Paulo Nagamura, Chiles, Nurse and Atiba Harris.

Ante Razov is on the bench, as is Jesse Marsch and Jorge Flores.

Mexican international Oswaldo Sanchez is in goal for Santos Laguna and fellow El Tri international defender Fernando Arce starts in defense with Ecuador's World Cup 2006 striker Christian Benitez and former Manchester City forward Vicente Vuoso the players to watch up front.

Chivas USA plays the second game of its SuperLiga campaign at 7 tonight (live on Telefutua) at Home Depot Center in a must-win situation against Mexican champions Santos Laguna.

I'll blog from Carson as usual.

Pachuca plays New England at 5 p.m. on Telefutura.

Down the coast from us, the U.S. Women's National Team plays its final pre-Olympic tune-up at 7 p.m. in San Diego against Brazil (live on Fox Soccer Channel).

Lastly, the U.S. Women's Under-23 National Team won its Nordic Cup opener Tuesday 1-0 against Switzerland. The UCLA pair of Valerie Henderson and Tina DiMartino went the full 90 for the U.S.

Not wanting to repeat last year's lack of depth at forward that cost Chivas USA a half-decent playoff run, Preki has signed 24-year-old Mexican forward Roberto Nurse, who has played three (on and off) years in the Mexican first division.

And of course, Chivas USA has been a Mexican-oriented team with few Mexicans lately.

Chivas USA has the likes strikers Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian out injured.

From the (edited) Chivas USA press release:

"Roberto is a strong, powerful center forward who we've been taking a close look at for the past few weeks," Preki said. "He's good in the air, good with his feet, and will add another dimension to our attack."

Nurse made his top-flight debut with Cuernavaca in 2003 at age of 19. He also played for Zacatepec and Querétaro for two years and returned to the first division in 2005 playing 13 games with Atlante. Then it was back to just-promoted Querétaro the next year where he scored 17 goals between the Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 seasons.

Chivas USA play their second SuperLiga game against Mexican champion Santos Laguna Wednesday.

An Internet special has tickets on sale starting at just $10, with the highest-priced tickets (usually $45) $10 off. More info here.

SuperLiga scores tonight: Atlante 3 D.C. United 1

While it was Chivas 1 Houston Dynamo 0

But United isn't necessarily out.

Today:
Palos Verdes' John Thorrington was named MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters after his stoppage time winner against Toronto FC for the Chicago Fire.

Tuesday
As the MLS transfer window opens the Galaxy could announce who gets cut today to make room for new signing Eduardo Dominguez, the Argentine defender. Pete Vagenas? Abel Xavier? Or does he have a guranteed contract? Greg Vanney?

MLS All-Star coach Steve Nicol will announce his five All-Star picks while MLS Commissioner Don Garber will announce his two to complete the 18-player roster for the July 24 game against West Ham United.

Wednesday
Chivas USA plays the second SuperLiga group game against Mexican champions Santos Laguna at 7 p.m. live on Telefutura. The Mexicans lost 1-0 to the New England Revolution on the weekend, which plays Pachuca at 5 p.m.

On Tuesday it's D.C. United vs. Atlante in the early game followed by Houston Dynamo vs. CD Guadalajara.

Thursday
The 18-player U.S. Men's Olympic Team roster is announced.

Friday
The U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team plays the first game of World Cup qualifying against Costa Rica in Trinidad. Forward Samantha Johnson of Palmdale is on the roster.

Saturday
The 6-6-4 Galaxy, who haven't won in four games, plays at 3:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel against the 5-6-5 Red Bulls in a rematch of last year's 5-4 New York win before more than 66,000.

Notes:
Galaxy goalkeeper Vito Higgins is out four to six weeks after suffering a fracture of his right foot that was discovered before Friday's reserve game against Chivas USA.

Results Sunday:
PDL
Lancaster Rattlers 2 San Francisco Seals 3
Orange County Blue Star 1 Ventura County Fusion 0

Standings.

W-League
Real Colorado Cougars 2 Ventura County Fusion 0
Standings.

WPSL
Claremont Stars 1 Ajax America Women 4
SD United 4 Los Angeles Rampage 0

Standings.

Suarez' miss from the penalty spot.

Photo by Scott Varley

Game story.

Box score.

Here's Claudio Suarez on missing the first half penalty kick:

"I feel bad for having missed it because it influenced the result. If I'd put it in it would have changed the game."

Preki thought the "silly free kick" in the 23rd minute against Panchito Mendoza (it looked like a dangerous two-footed tackle on replays to me) that resulted in the tying goal was the "changing point" of the game:

"They are a very good team. You give a team like that a moment or two they're going to punish you."

Suarez clearly wasn't used to the speed a team like Pachuca can play at:

"The match was played at a high rate," he said. "I hadn't played Mexican soccer for a while. Pachuca can pass ball around."

Jonathan Bornstein, who switched positions with Panchito Mendoza and played left half much of the game rather than left back, said Pachuca's speed on counter attacks was a handful:

If you turn the ball over they were very quick to transition and get down the flanks. They had those two full backs who were kind of playing high all the time. It worked for them I thought the game opened up a lot."

Preki conceded his team looked a "step slower" after Thursday's game against the Galaxy and couldn't quite match the speed and polish of Pachuca's possession-oriented game:

They are a very good passing team. Against teams like that you have to be patient. It's different than MLS. Not too many teams in our league base everything on passing like this team does."

He also observed that goalkeeper Lance Parker was drafted in after Guzan backup Dan Kennedy sustained a "knock" in Friday's reserve team game against the Galaxy. Preki on Parker's first ever start as a pro: "pretty decent."

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley was at the game, by the way, as was Mexico's new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Sacha Kljestan: grounded.

Photo by Scott Varley

The second half was as tepid as the first half was smoking hot, Pachuca running out winners, 2-1.

An Ante Razov header from 12 yards that almost slipped in the corner of the net and required the fingertips of Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero to keep out was the offensive highlight five minutes into the half.

And that was about it.

From the hour mark on Pachuca essentially managed the game, keeping possession and wearing Chivas USA down. Pachuca's rearguard held (not that it was tested much) and with New England beating Santos Laguna 1-0 in the early game, Chivas USA find themselves in a tie at the basement of the group.

Back later with post-game reaction.

An event-filled opening 45 minutes saw Chivas USA blow a lead, squander a penalty kick and come in at the half trailing 2-1.

Chivas could and probably should have been up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, with Sacha Klejstan hitting the bar from 16 yards, wasting a fine Jonathan Bornstein run, who split the Pachuca defense after intercepting a lazy clearance.

In the 10th minute Claudio Suarez hit the post from the penalty spot, after Pachuca defender Fausto Pinto had handled the ball in the area.

Chivas USA took the lead in the 16th minute when a poor Leobardo Lopez clearance only got as far as Klejstan, lurking in the penalty area. He quickly slipped the ball to Ante Razov who had a simple task in tapping it home.

Pachuca drew level from a free kick seven minutes later, a hard kick from Gerardo Rodriguez slamming off Bruno Marioni into the net.

Pachuca took the lead just before half time when a Rodriguez cross was headed in by Gabriel Caballero.

Chivas USA plays its first ever competitive international game tonight against SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions Cup title holders Pachuca.

So it's a hell of a time for goalkeeper Lance Parker (Missouri State) to make his professional debut. Parker is favored over presumed starter Dan Kennedy with Brad Guzan headed to England's Aston Villa.

The rest of the team is virtually the same as the starting XI Chivas USA fielded against the Galaxy Thursday with the exception of Claudio Suarez, who's contractually obligated to play in the competition. That's why he was held out of Thursday's Galaxy game, with Shavar Thomas deputizing.

The Chivas USA line-up: Parker, Bobby Burling, Suarez, Carey Talley, Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo nagamura, Panchito Mendoza, Ante Razov and Atiba Harris.

Jorge Flores is on the bench.

The Pachuca team:
GK Miguel Calero
D Leobardo Lopez
D Julio Manzur
D Bruno Marioni
D Fausto Pinto
M Damian Alvarez
M Paul Aguilar
M Jaime Correa
M Gerardo Rodriguez
M Gabriel Caballero
F Christian Gimenez

Brazilian Christian Correra is on the bench.

Manzur is a Paraguyan international who played in the 2006 World Cup.

Marioni, an attacking midfielder-striker, is the major new addition to Pachuca's squad; he's played for the likes of Spain's Villareal and Newell's Old Boys in Argentina.

Pinto, a speedy winger, is a Mexican international, while Argentine Alvarez has played for Italy's Reggina and River Plate in Argentina. Caballero is a naturalized Mexican citizen who played in the 2002 World Cup.

Gimenez, who oozes class, has played for Argentine power Boca Juniors and Club America.

The game is on Telefutura.

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

The second edition of SuperLiga begins today with a 5 p.m. game on TeleFutura between CD Guadalajara and D.C. United.

The Houston Dynamo-Atlante game follows at 7 p.m. on the same channel.

The MLS Players Union is apparently not pleased with that alleged $1 million in SuperLiga prize money figure the league throws around.

Which might explain statements like this from New England's Matt Reis: "We're somewhat looking forward to the upcoming games."

Still, Pachuca midfielder Gabriel Caballero (left) and Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura look pretty happy with the cash though.

Pachuca and Chivas USA - likely without goalkeeper Brad Guzan - play Sunday at Home Depot Center.

In USL games locally, the W-League Pali Blues, having already clinched the Western Conference, pounded Real Colorado 6-0 Thursday.

The Los Angeles Legends play Real Colorado today at 5 p.m. in Chino Hills. Admission is free.

In the PDL Friday, the San Fernando Valley Quakes beat the Legends' male counterparts
3-1.

In other PDL games Friday it was:
San Jose Frogs 0 Orange County Blue Star 1
Ventura County Fusion 4 Lancaster Rattlers 0

Today's local games:
Bakersfield Brigade at Orange County Blue Star 5 p.m. Concordia University.
San Jose Frogs at Southern California Seahorses 7 p.m. La Mirada High.

Lastly, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy finals began today at Home Depot Center. Details and a game schedule is here.

Chivas USA coach Preki said today he hopes to have midfielder Sacha Kljestan for the entire first round of SuperLiga play, which means all three matches through July 20.

Chivas coach Preki said goalkeeper Brad Guzan is engaged in talks with European teams but he does not know if Guzan will sign with another club.
He also said he threw his hand in the air toward the linesman during Thursday night's game against the Galaxy, which resulted in his sending off.
``I never said a word,'' Preki said.
Regarding the lack of depth entering SuperLiga play, Preki said, ``That's a concern. We only have a small squad. We're pretty concerned how we manage the game, who gets how many minutes and the formations we play.
``At the end of the day, we don't want it to be an excuse.''

Here's some quotes from Pachuca ahead of Sunday's SuperLiga match with Chivas USA.

``What you're going to see here is a team taking the tournament very seriously,'' Pachuca coach Enrique Meza said. ``The test comes on Sunday. We'll see how it comes together.''

Pachuca midfielder Gabriel Caballero: ``We see that the MLS year after year is better and better. More games are being broadcast and we're able to see the level of competition. Chivas is obviously in the middle of their season but our team is in very good shape.''

I was skeptical when SuperLiga was first announced last year.

Did we really need yet another tournament clogging up the schedule?

Well, the quality of the soccer won me over last year, especially after it became clear the Mexican teams involved were motivated and not just here on vacation.

So mark your calendars and check out the tournament preview.

A complete schedule is here (although curiously much of the rest of the Web site hasn't been updated).

Video highlights of last year's tournament (including Chris Klein's great bicycle kick) and a look at this year's participants are in this promo clip.

And a tip of the hat to those readers who e-mailed to point out it's SANTOS Laguna, not the name I used in the column.

I knew that. I just didn't write it!

Tied for first place in the Western Conference, the Galaxy and Chivas USA resume hostilities 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2 before the Red & White play Sunday in their opening SuperLiga game against last year's winner Pachuca. (That game is live at 7 p.m. on TeleFutura). I'll have a preview of the tournament in Tuesday's column.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan talks about the derby at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.com.

On Friday the two teams' reserve squads face off at 10 a.m. on University Field #1. The Galaxy reserves are currently winless so far this season.

On Saturday at Home Depot Center, 16 elite teams aged 15-18 will begin competing in the 2008 Development Academy Finals. The final eight round-robin games will be aired on ESPNU and ESPN2 July 18-19.

LAFC is the local representative in the Under 15/16 and Under-17/18 divisions.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Under-20 Galaxy Rios host Lancaster and Riverside respectively, the bottom two teams in the league, at Home Depot Center (both games kick-off at 5 p.m. on Field #5). With two wins the Rios (which currently sit third in the standings) could win the league, depending on the results of other games.

The Rios beat the Bakersfield Brigade over the weekend to move to 4-2-1.

And catching up on the rest of the weekend:
*The Galaxy made the New England Revolution's Adam Cristman look good: he was named MLS Player of the Week Monday by the North American Soccer Reporters after his two-goal effort led his team to a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy.

*In the W-League Sunday, the Seattle Sounders beat the Los Angeles Legends 4-2, although the first-year Pali Blues wrapped up the Western Conference title earlier in the weekend.

*In the PDL Sunday, it was the Southern California Seahorses 2 Los Angeles Legends 2 and Lancaster Rattlers 1 San Jose Frogs 4.

Standings.

*Scores in the WPSL Saturday:
Ajax America Women 4 Sonoma County FC Sol 0
Los Angeles Rampage 0 California Storm 0
West Coast FC 5 FC Sacramento Pride 0
Claremont Stars 3 Walnut Creek Power 3

*And Sunday:
Ajax America Women 3 California Storm 2
Los Angeles Rampage 10 FC Sacramento Pride 0
West Coast FC 8 Walnut Creek Power 0
Claremont Stars 1 Sonoma County FC Sol 2

Standings.