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Donovan's goal came in the Aug. 8 game against New England and was one of 12 he scored during the regular season.

His stunning left-footed volley beat out an Alecko Eskandarian effort and eight other finalists. It's the first time a Donovan goal has received the award.

Compare the 10 best strikes (as voted by fans) here:

8 p.m. Western Conference Final Galaxy-Houston Dynamo Home Depot Center or ESPN2.

Tickets are still available and the Galaxy are selling the upper deck and "hoping for another sellout", according to a club official who e-mailed me this morning. Call 1-877-3GALAXY for tickets.

Actual kickoff is 8:25 p.m., BTW, so fans have a little extra time to get to the game and those who use 190th Street in Torrance should be aware of a possible road closure (although hopefully things will be fixed by tonight)..

Required reading:

* Game preview.

* How the Galaxy got here.

* How the teams match up.

* The dynamic Dominic Kinnear.

* The Galaxy counter with the MLS Coach of the Year.

* The Galaxy also boast the MLS Rookie of the Year.

* The Galaxy strike back.

Required viewing:

Let's hope the Galaxy have a superior performance tonight than the last time these teams met last month.

I plan to blog from the HDC as usual tonight, so join me then.

And if that's what you came here for, scroll down.

With just over 24 hours to go until the Galaxy-Chivas USA Western Conference semifinal second leg (4:30 p.m. Sunday ESPN2) and the teams deadlocked at 2-2 halfway through what is essentially a 180 minute game (although, of course, it could go longer) here's press box colleague Luis Bueno on the pressure on Chivas USA.

Ives Galarcep reaches a similar conclusion here.

Oh, and happy birthday to Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein (who turns 25 today).

Friday's women's college games
Washington 1 UCLA 2

Friday's men's college games
UCLA 1 Oregon 1

Loyola Marymount 2 Gonzaga 1

Cal State Dominguez Hills 2 Cal State San Bernardino 1

Washington State 0 USC 0

And finally, they throw you out of the soccer bloggers club if you don't post this video. If you're one of the three people in the country who have yet to see this check it out:

For perspective, here's the view of Los Angeles feminist soccer blogger Jennifer Doyle.

Two days until the Galaxy-Chivas USA Western Conference semifinal from Carson's Home Depot Center (4:30 p.m. ESPN2) and the Galaxy blog reports tickets are going fast and the club is considering opening up the grass berm.

Don't have yours yet? Click here.

Suggested reading/listening/viewing:
*Reporter Phil Collin has more on the game here.

*The Galaxy's Chris Birchall, a mid-season signing, is fast becoming a regular on the starting XI. Did he expect that?

*Former Chicago Fire player Jared Montz talks to Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch in a podcast on his blog.

*Can the Galaxy get a goal or two past the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year?

I'll have more on the game Saturday.

Plenty of other soccer to watch this weekend on TV (click to the right for a full listing).

Saturday's games
6:54 a.m. ESPN2 Tottenham Hotspur-Sunderland
7 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel Aston Villa-Bolton Wanderers
9:30 a.m. FSC Wolverhampton Wanderers-Arsenal
12:45 p.m. ESPND Athletico Madrid-Real Madrid
5:30 p.m. FSC Chicago Fire-New England Revolution
7 p.m. KVEA Atlas-CD Guadalajara

Sunday's games
6 a.m. FSC Lazio-AC Milan
8 a.m. FSC Chelsea-Manchester United
11:30 a.m. FSC Inter Milan-Roma
Noon TeleFutura Houston Dynamo-Seattle Sounders
2 p.m. KMEX Club America-Monterrey

In local college action:
*Cal State Dominguez Hills (stars and all) is in action today.

*But the season is over for the Cal State Northridge women's team after dropping a 2-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara Thursday. Still, the Matadors finish the year with a 10-10 overall mark and a 6-2 league record that's tied for the best conference result in school history.

*The Matador men end the regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday at UC Irvine. Cal State Northridge (9-7-2, 4-4-1, BWC) won 1-0 Wednesday at home against Cal State Fullerton in OT, keeping their playoff aspirations alive going into Saturday's game. From the Matadors press release:

A Northridge victory will give the team enough points to clinch the fourth spot while an Anteater victory will bump Cal Poly from their current position as the second seed and drop them to third place in the standings, giving Irvine an opportunity to host a first-round game.

*The UCLA men UCLA (9-3-2, 4-1-2 Pac-10) return home for a three-game homestand to close the regular season. First up is a 7 o'clock game tonight against Oregon State at Drake Stadium. At 1 p.m. Sunday the Bruins face Washington at Drake Stadium in a game that is free for all veterans and active military personnel (who receive four free admissions with proper ID). In addition, Sunday is AYSO/Youth Soccer Day. Youth soccer team members and their coaches will be admitted free if they're wearing their team jerseys. Moreover, UCLA Alumni Association card holders will receive four free admissions with alumni association card. Team posters will be given away Friday, team photo cards Sunday.

*The Loyola Marymount men (7-8-1, 2-5-1 WCC) close out their season this weekend with games at 2:30 p.m. today against Gonzaga and 2 p.m. Sunday against Portland at Sullivan Field.

Enjoy the weekend.

Briefly:

*Don't forget, the second MLS playoff game between the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake is scheduled for 5 o'clock today on ESPN2.

*The Cal State Northridge men closed in on a post-season berth Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton with the goal coming in the sixth minute of OT and now hold the tiebreaker over the Titans going into the final game of the regular season Saturday against UC Irvine.

*Riverside's Chad Marshall was named MLS Defender of the Year today (for the second straight year), while referee Alex Prus took the award for MLS officials. The Crew defender is a worthy choice, but I can't help wondering if MLS would benefit from officials like this one:

Well, OK, maybe not.

The big Zach attack. (AP Photo)

Readers of this blog didn't agree, but Chivas USA's Zach Thornton was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year today, 11 years after first taking the honor with the Chicago Fire.

That time span between awards was undoubtedly one of the reasons the 36-year-old took the honor, beating out the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts and Seattle Sounders veteran Kasey Keller (both in their first MLS seasons). Thornton equals the feats of Joe Cannon and Pat Onstad in becoming one of only three MLS goalkeepers to win the award twice.

"Whenever you're mentioned in that class of goalkeeper, with [Joe and Pat], you have to feel good about yourself," said Thornton. "To wait this long and to have gone through what I've been through and to be able to win the award again is outstanding."

At one time Thornton was seen as a fading, aging, washed up goalkeeper with youngster Dan Kennedy eagerly waiting in the wings to seize his opportunity.

But Kennedy got injured, Thornton dropped 15-20 pounds at the urging of Chivas USA Coach Preki and all of a sudden Zach was back helped by a very good back four in front of him.

From the Chivas USA press release:

In 2009, Thornton led Chivas USA to a 13-11-6 record and posted a career-best 12 shutouts and 0.87 goals against average, both of which were the top marks in MLS.

Thornton's goals against average this season ranks second all-time in league history behind Pat Onstad's 0.82 in 2007, and his 12 shutouts were one shy of the club record, set by Brad Guzan in 2007.

Thornton became the second Chivas USA goalkeeper to win the award, following Guzan's record-setting campaign in 2007.

Thornton ranks second all-time in MLS in shutouts (70) and wins (125), behind only former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

So this seems as good as any segue to mention that Thornton's efforts between the posts are among the 32 nominees (he has two of them) for MLS Save of the Year. The top 10 saves will be announced a week from today, with the winner announced Nov. 18.

Watch the video:

Vote here.

The backers of Torrance's planned state of the art Futsal facility in a former warehouse on Maple Avenue have signed a lease for the 73,000-square-foot building and are projecting a December opening.

Dubbed South Coast Soccer City, the refurbished building will accommodate five Futsal fields with modular flooring and two artificial turf fields, a 4,000-square-foot training center, four party rooms, a homework room, cafe/lounge and store selling Futsal equipment.

Paul Higgins, president of South Coast Soccer City, said it will be the largest facility in the U.S. dedicated to the fast-growing sport.

"Soccer City will not only help address the lack of fields and playing opportunities for players of all ages in the region, but will help redefine the way young players develop their soccer skills by introducing them to a version of the game that emphasizes creativity, skills and ball control," he said.

Full eight-week leagues should begin Jan. 3, 2010.

"We can provide playing and training time for not only young players and adults, but also create innovative toddler programs, Mommy and me programs and other programs that enhance the soccer experience," said Kevin Gilmore, president of parent company Socal Soccer City Holdings, which eventually hopes to open additional locations in the region. "The fact that we found a location in Torrance is an added bonus given the city's strong soccer tradition and high youth participation levels."

Torrance is the birthplace of AYSO.

For updates on Soccer City, check out their Twitter feed.

And if you haven't experienced Futsal before, take a look at this video:

Happy Halloween!:

Honduras 2 U.S. 3

Game story.

Former Galaxy striker Carlos Pavon proved once again why he failed so abysmally in MLS, missing a crucial penalty in the 87th minute for Honduras that sealed the U.S. win. And then he missed another sitter two minutes later.

Still, it looked to me a legitimate Honduras goal was called offside.

An exciting game that had me bouncing between tweeters Beau Dure of USA Today, Steven Goff of The Washington Post, SI's Grant Wahl and US Soccer in the first half and then three pirate Internet TV channels (I found out about one of them on Facebook) in the second half. US Soccer's MatchTracker went down early on so that wasn't much help. One of the more interesting US qualifiers from a technological point of view.

Conor Casey had two goals and the Galaxy's Landon Donovan nailed the other from a set piece. Check it out below.

More game highlights (for now) are here.

What was he thinking?

Last night's U.S. Open Cup final had plenty of Southern California interest what with the likes of former Galaxy team members Sigi Schmid, Pete Vagenas and Ezra Hendrickson (as an assistant coach) involved for Seattle and Josh Wicks starting for D.C. United.

Wicks, who seems to have learned from his traumatic experience last year in L.A., kept United in the game early, but then came his rush of blood to the head (the second in successive games after a confrontation with a teammate in the previous game for United).

And no, it doesn't matter whether Wicks actually made contact. The intent, whether to injure or intimidate, was there. Check out the highlights here:

Taking a break for a few days.

But since I'm sitting in an Old Town Pasadena Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf right now, it's appropriate to point out that the Galaxy has an MLS All-Star game viewing party scheduled nearby from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Redwhite + Bluezz, 70 S. Raymond Ave.

I'll return before the Barcelona game at the Rose Bowl.

Bowling for Becks in KC (AP Photo)

The Galaxy failed to win a fifth consecutive game Saturday, drawing with the Wizards 1-1 in Kansas City. Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Peninsula High) kept his former team at bay with a superb performance. But a stunning goal of the season contending strike by the Wizards Claudio Lopez that left Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts injured was the high point of the game.

Quotable:

"I thought (Hartman) was outstanding," said Wizards Coach Curt Onalfo. "He did what he's done most of the year, which is make saves when he's called upon. We had some missed clearances in the first half that led to chances for them and he made some real good saves."

Game story.

The Kansas City perspective.

MLS standings.

Highlights:

Also:
*Despite taking the lead on a goal from San Pedro's Peter Hazdovac, the Hollywood United Hitmen fell to the Ventura County Fusion in the PDL playoffs.

*The Pali Blues came from behind to win in the W-League playoffs.

* And don't forget this game that kicks off at noon today on Fox Soccer Channel.

New York Red Bulls 1 Galaxy 3

Highlights:

Red Bulls Coach Juan Carlos Osorio should be fired for that wretched performance.

Does he feel embarrassed?

"Yes I do. Yes. I feel sorry. I apologize to the fans. Certainly the scoreline says that. Three-nil. We could at least have scored a goal (in the first half). At that particular time, my responsibilities are more than that. It's just not feeling embarrassed. It's trying to get back in the game and compete. And see if we can score and we did. And, we could have scored a second and it would have looked better that it was."

On the other hand, the Galaxy (6-3-9) did exactly what they should do: quash the worst team (2-14-4) in MLS with their most emphatic victory of the season at a time when criticism of David Beckham hasn't been this intense since he was sent off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. The first goal came in just the third minute; all came before the break. This was only half a game, but then, that was all the Galaxy needed.

The Galaxy have now pulled even with Chivas USA in the Western Conference..

Galaxy lineup - Donovan Ricketts, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Eddie Lewis (Chris Klein 85), David Beckham (Christopher Birchall 70), Stefani Miglioranzi, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian (Mike Magee 74).

AP Photos

Random observations:
*Three MLS Goal of the Week candidates from Alecko Eskandarian, (that's two goals in three Galaxy games now and it was done in front of family and friends; the big grin on the bench after he was subbed said it all) Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis. You kids at home should note the strength of each shot came not from how hard it was hit, but the way it was hit. Sweet touches all.

*David Beckham had a quietly effective game. Good to see him getting booed. For one thing, it will motivate him; for another he deserves it. And was that Beckham clapping in the Red Bulls fans' direction as he was subbed while they chanted a farewell with a naughty word and collectively extending their middle fingers? Good for him.

*Donovan Ricketts turned in yet another sparkling performance, notably on the stoppage time penalty kick. He is not just perceptive in his positioning, but intelligent and judicious in the balls he attempts to play (covering, yet not making an unnecessarily spectacular save on a shot that would have conceded a corner in the first half, was an example of his excellent decision-making).

*The Galaxy have depth! New signing Chris Burchall, Chris Klein and Mike Magee all came on as subs.

"This is a good squad of players," a shirtless David Beckham told Fox Soccer Channel as a (similarly jerseyless) Landon Donovan looked on after the game. "Not just the starting XI, but there's players that can come on and make an impact. When you've got players like that and when you've got players like Landon and Edson up front and other players we've got that can break through it makes a difference."

Landon Donovan was making nice, too:

"I said last week not many teams get back a world-class player like that in the middle of the season. We knew David was going to help us. We got away from what we weren't good at doing, which was talking and what we are good at doing, which is playing - so it was nice to be playing."

*Omar Gonzalez continues to grow as a defender; did you notice his play during the game? Me neither. That's the mark of an effective defender.

Tweeted Jozy Altidore at around 8:45 p.m.

"Finally back in florida about to home and sleep...what's wrong with my red bulls??? Thanks for the love and support people! Night."

Last word to Beckham:

"I've had a lot more boos before in games, a few tonight, but it's to be expected. It's sometimes nice to get the boos. It gives you some inspiration, especially when we play like we did and win like we did. Then the boos start to go away after a while."

Game story.

Here are some of Grant Wahl's post-game thoughts on his blog.

What are yours?

Without kicking a ball Thursday night thanks to the chaotic Mexico-Panama game.

Check out the "action" here including the stupidity of Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre at the end of the highlights:

Canada also went through as did Guadeloupe, which beat Nicaragua 2-0 in the first game of the night.

The U.S. plays Haiti at 4 p.m. Saturday on Fox Soccer Channel.

Washington Freedom 0 Sol 1

Game story.

Sol XI: Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox, Brittany Bock, Christie Shaner (Manya Makoski, 52'), Shannon Boxx ©, Camille Abily, Aya Miyama, Katie Larkin, McCall Zerboni, Han Duan, Marta.

Highlights: