All Galaxy fans know just how well Donovan Ricketts has done in goal for the Galaxy this season and if you ask any of them (and many others) they would say that he deserves to represent MLS at the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.
Cobi Jones thought so as well and has offered to give Donovan a hand with his campaigning. Check it out...
Voting closes on Monday, July 6 so be sure to vote early and often and send Donovan to the All-Star Game!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Help Send Donovan to Salt Lake City
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Galaxy Snap Two-Game Losing Streak; Defeat Houston 1-0
LA Galaxy 1, Houston Dynamo 0
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Todd Dunivant 1 (Mike Magee 4) 24’
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Mike Chabala (Yellow Card) 54’
HOU – Bobby Bosewell (Yellow Card) 56’
LA – Edson Buddle (Yellow Card) 56’
HOU – Geoff Cameron (Yellow Card) 81’
LA – Mike Magee (Yellow Card) 89’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez (Tony Sanneh 62’), Todd Dunivant, Stefani Miglioranzi, Eddie Lewis© (Chris Klein 84’), Jovan Kirovski, Mike Magee, Alan Gordon (Bryan Jordan 72’), Edson Buddle.
Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Leonard Griffin, Josh Tudela, Kyle Patterson.
Houston Dynamo: Pat Onstad, Richard Mulrooney, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Mike Chabala, Corey Ashe, Brad Davis, Stuart Holden, Brian Mullan (Dominic Oduro 75’), Kei Kamara (Cam Weaver 73’), Brian Ching©.
Subs Not Used: Tally Hall, Julius James, Craig Waibel, John Michael Hayden, Ade Akinbiyi.
Notes:
• With the win the Galaxy are now 3-3-9 on the season, giving them 18 points. LA remains in sixth place in the Western Conference, one point behind fifth place Real Salt Lake and three points behind fourth place Colorado for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
• Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Oakland Alameda Coliseum last weekend. Alan Gordon and Eddie Lewis returned to the starting XI, replacing Chris Klein and Kyle Patterson, each of who started the game on the bench.
• Joining Klein and Patterson on the bench was goalkeeper Josh Saunders who had not been in the 18-man squad for either of the last two games as a result of a right ankle injury. Kevin Guppy had served as the back-up goalkeeper in each of the last two games.
• The Galaxy were also without the injured Sean Franklin and Julian Valentin who are both on the Disabled List with hamstring and knee injuries respectively. Dema Kovalenko was also out for the second straight game with a left calf contusion.
• Yohance Marshall missed the game after joining the USL-1’s Austin Aztex on loan. He played 90 minutes on Saturday in their 2-2 draw at Cleveland, a game that Israel Sesay had two assists in.
• Landon Donovan also missed the game while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He scored in the 27th minute of the 3-2 loss to Brazil in the Final of that tournament. He will return to Los Angeles next week ahead of the game against New England on July 4.
• Todd Dunivant’s goal in the 24th minute gave the Galaxy a 1-0 lead. It was his first-ever goal as a member of the Galaxy and his first goal in MLS since August 30, 2006 when he was a member of the New York Red Bulls.
• The goal was the second game-winning goal of Dunivant’s MLS career and his first since his MLS debut on April 13, 2003 as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes in a 2-1 win over Colorado.
• Mike Magee assisted on Dunivant’s goal, tying him with Landon Donovan for the team-lead with four assists on the season.
• Omar Gonzalez left the game in the 62nd minute with cramping in both hamstrings and was replaced by Tony Sanneh. His departure marked the first time this season that Gonzalez had not played the full 90 minutes in a regular season game.
• Donovan Ricketts kept a clean sheet for the third time this season and improving his record on the season to 3-2-8. His three clean sheets are more than the Galaxy kept in all of 2008.
• Chris Klein entered the game in the 84th minute, stretching his MLS record consecutive games played streak to 130.
• The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Galaxy and gave them their first win since June 6 at Toronto. Prior to tonight, their last win at home was a 1-0 win over New York on May 2.
• Before tonight, the Dynamo had been the only MLS team that the Galaxy had never beaten in a regular season game at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy had been 0-2-2 all-time at home against the Dynamo.
• The win was the Galaxy’s first of the season against a team from the Western Conference. LA is now 1-3-6 on the season against the West.
• The Galaxy win snapped the Dynamo’s 11-game unbeaten streak, giving them their first loss since April 4.
• The Galaxy wore their all-blue uniforms for just the second time this season and for just the second time at home in an MLS game since the uniform debuted in July 2007. LA is now 1-0-1 in the blue’s this season and 1-1-0 in them at home all-time.
• The attendance for today’s game was 17,938.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Saturday, July 4 when they welcome Landon Donovan back to the squad for a game against the New England Revolution. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. and can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel with a fireworks extravaganza to follow the game.
• For more about this afternoon’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Match Day 15 - vs. Houston Dynamo
We're trying something new today. Using Cover it Live, we're going to provide a live Twitter feed here on the blog. Read what people are saying about the Galaxy on Twitter or participate on the discussion by tagging your tweets #lag or #lagalaxy.
Keep it here throughout the day for update. Lineups will be posted shortly.
Doing Battle with the Dynamo
Pregame warmups are nearing an end as the Galaxy look to end a two-game losing streak and end the Dynamo's 11-game unbeaten streak tonight under clear skies at The Home Depot Center.
Bruce Arena makes two changes to his team from the 2-1 loss to San Jose last weekend, with Alan Gordon and Eddie Lewis returning to the lineup in place of Chris Klein and Kyle Patterson. Here is how the Galaxy will look this evening.
------------Buddle-------Gordon--------------
Lewis----Miglioranzi-----Magee-------Kirovski
Dunivant---Berhalter----Gonzalez-----DeLaGarza
----------------------Ricketts--------------------
Subs: Saunders, Sanneh, Griffin, Tudela, Klein, Patterson, Jordan
And here is how Dominic Kinnear's squad will look.
----------------Ching-------Kamara---------------
Ashe----------Davis--------Holden-----------Mullan
Chabala-------Cameron-----Boswell----------Mulrooney
-----------------------Onstad-------------------------
Subs: Hall, James, Waibel, Hayden, Oduro, Weaver, Akinbiyi
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ready For Houston
The Galaxy are ready for Sunday's match against the Houston Dynamo, but are you prepared for the game? If not, then here is some required reading.
To get you ready for this game, be sure to read all of Larry Morgan's stories from this week, including the sense of urgency heading into Sunday, a familiar foe in Pat Onstad, as well as making an All-Star case for Donovan Ricketts.
Don't miss Mark Rogondino's latest "View From The Booth" column either where he touches on the issue of timing.
Also be sure to read the league preview and check out the game guide.
Be sure not to miss the Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo at The Home Depot Center this Sunday evening. The first 10,000 fans who enter The Home Depot Center for Sunday evening’s game against the Dynamo will receive a free Galaxy Sinch Sack. Coverage of the match will start at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. Additionally, fans can listen to all the action live on the radio in English on AM 570 and in Spanish on KWKW 1330 AM ESPN Deportes Radio.
Final Preparations Complete
Today’s final training session at The Home Depot Center prior to tomorrow’s clash against the Houston Dynamo was a fairly light training session in comparison to earlier training sessions this week as the coaches and players went over formations, shape, tactics and set pieces for most of the session.
After a warmup, the guys went to a full field 11v11 with the players moving at ¾ speed. Arena and the coaching staff went over both the tactical plans on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball often stopping play to emphasize a point to the players. In addition, the coaches encouraged the players to ask questions about their assignments or how best certain situations the Dynamo will present for the team on both sides of the ball. Following that the guys moved on to set pieces working on both freekicks and cornerkicks.
Next, the players broke up into small groups with small-sided games with the small goals, while other played 5v2 one-touch possession games. There was plenty of energy and shouts of victory as the guys competitive spirit took over in the matches.
At the conclusion, Arena brought the entire team together on the bench and address them for a few minutes. Unfortunately, we were not close enough to listen in to the talk but the players came out of with even more determination in their eyes.
After training, we caught up with Alan Gordon and Mike Magee to get their take on tomorrow’s match against the Dynamo.
Alan…
Mike…
USA-Brazil Predictions:
We decided to poll a few guys after training in regards to the USA-Brazil final in the 2009 Confederations Cup, which will be played at 11am PT on ESPN. However, we noticed after a while that no one was going to pick against the USA. We are guessing that if we had continued through the entire team and coaches it would have been 35-0 in favor of the USA, whether it might be in regulation or penalty kicks. Call it patriotism or just superstition, but we certainly understand that no one was willing to go against home team. Go USA!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
This Week Inside the Galaxy - Episode 7
The latest episode of This Week Inside the Galaxy is up and we think that you'll enjoy it.
We catch up with the injured Sean Franklin as he drops in on the team, follow along as Ian Feuer puts the goalkeepers through a typical training session and look ahead to Sunday's game against Houston.
Hope you enjoy and be sure to check this space all weekend long as we lead up to the Dynamo game and we'll have a look at the other side of Donovan Ricketts.
Back to Basics
That's been the theme all week in training as the Galaxy look to snap their two-game losing streak and round out the month of June with a win. However, standing in the way of that endeavor is the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo, who have an MLS-best 28 points from their 14 games this season.
In order to knock off the Dynamo, who have not lost in their last 11 league games, dating back to early April when they lost away to D.C. United, the Galaxy have talked about returning to the hard work, intestinal fortitude and spirit that became the club's MO during the 10-game unbeaten streak earlier this season.
That was evident this afternoon as the team went through a spirited training session that featured a fast-paced full field scrimmage with a prospective starting XI playing against a series of reserves.
Following the scrimmage, a larger than normal group of players got together in front of one of the goals for an extended finishing session, with Cobi firing balls into players from all sorts of angles. The shooting segment of training wrapped up with a game called "Knockout", which meant that if you scored, you advanced to the next round, but if you missed, and the guy behind you scored, you were out.
Needless to say, there were more than a few nervous faces after guys saw their shots flash wide of the goal or saved by whoever was in goal at the time, be it Ricketts, Saunders or Guppy. You could definitely see the guy's competitivness with every shot as nobody wanted to be knocked out, especially knowing that their fate was in a teammates hands.
In an impressive showing that saw them scoring goals from all sorts of angles, Bryan Jordan reached the final along with Kyle Patterson who eventually eliminated BJ to earn bragging rights for the day.
We talked to Gregg, Edson and Stefani after the session to get their thoughts on the Dynamo and getting back to their winning ways. Here's what they had to say...
Gregg...
Edson...
Stefani... (in two parts)
In team news ahead of Sunday's game, Eddie Lewis returns from suspension for this game and is expected to feature, while Dema Kovalenko has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday's game after training for part of the week.
Marshall would have been playing against Valentin (as well as Israel Sesay and Troy Roberts), but Valentin has returned to Los Angeles after suffering a right foot fracture in the City Stars recent loss to Miami. Valentin flew back to Southern California earlier this week and underwent surgery on Friday.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Talking USA
Eddie Lewis went on The Scott and BR Show this morning to talk USA Soccer. If you didn't listen to Jozy's call in German, then click on the link. Phenomenal. Eddie's interview wasn't bad either. Just kidding.
Eddie, a prominent player in some of the best moments in recent U.S. Men's National Team, put the win in perspective.
"In the U.S. we don't get many opportunities to play the big team in big proper tournaments. We really only have the World Cup. For us this is a big opportunity and, I think, in a big stage to beat, arguably, one of the best teams in the world is a big moment. Certainly something we can take forward from there."
To listen to the entire interview, click here.
Eddie wasn't the only one to call in to a radio show.
Calling in from South African was Landon Donovan, who was on the Dan Patrick radio show. First thing Landon says is, "I'm tired." Tired of what? "Of chasing Spaniards."
In case you missed it, listen to the entire interview here.
Honors Keep Rolling In for LD
Fresh off his starring performance against Spain, Landon Donovan received more good news this afternoon as he was officially nominated as the "Best MLS Player" for the 2009 ESPY Awards. He is joined by Juan Pablo Angel, Jon Busch, Kenny Cooper and Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Landon has been nominated for the award every year since its inception in 2006, winning it in 2006 and 2007 while missing out to teammate David Beckham in 2008. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 Landon was nominated in the “Best Male Soccer Player” category, winning the ESPY in 2002. In 2005, he was nominated in the “Best Soccer Player” category.
Click here to vote or visit www.espn.mobi on your mobile device.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Congratulations Landon
Once the U.S. advanced past the group stages of the Confederations Cup, we knew that Landon would not be available for Sunday's game against Houston.
So we told him that he might as well just help the U.S. win and reach the final of a FIFA tournament for the first-time in the nation's history.
Looks like he and the rest of the Red, White and Blue took our advice.
The Galaxy captain set up the second goal for the U.S. as they upset Spain to reach the final of the Confederations Cup on Sunday.
The whole Galaxy front office was watching the game, as were the players whose training session ended right around the time the game kicked off in Bloemfontein.
So once again, congratulations to Landon et all and why not do it again on Sunday against either Brazil or South Africa.
A Quick One
Knowing that the U.S.-Spain game was set to air at 11:30 a.m., the guys went through a quick training session this morning at The Home Depot Center, continuing their preparations for Sunday's game against the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo.
The session was quick, like many of the club's practices this year, but intense as the guys went through a number of different movements before heading off the field about 90 minutes after the session began.
Dave and Cobi worked with some of the attacking players while Trevor and Richard Gough spent time with the defenders before the two groups joined up for some full team drills and instruction, with Bruce overseeing the whole process.
After missing the last two games with a sprained ankle, Josh Saunders returned to training this week and made his way through the full session with no recurrence of his injury.
Dema Kovalenko also returned to the field Tuesday after missing Saturday's game in Oakland with a calf contusion.
However, there was some negative news on the injury front as Julian Valentin has returned to the club after breaking a bone in his foot while on loan with the Cleveland City Stars. We'll have more updates on this later in the week, but Jules has returned to LA and will be evaluated by the club's medical staff.
In brighter news, there was also a welcomed face on the field yesterday as Sean Franklin dropped by after meeting with the training staff. Franklin, who underwent surgery to repair a torn right upper hamstring tendon late last month, caught up with a few guys and took some stick for his bright blue Nike high tops.
Franklin is currently on the Disabled List and will start his rehabilitation process early next month.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Ricketts Up for Save of the Week
The MLS Save of the Week award is a new feature on MLSnet.com and Donovan Ricketts is up for the award this week for his first half save off of Ryan Johnson. Check it out...
You can help make Donovan the first Galaxy goalkeeper ever to win this award by voting for him here. Remember to vote early and often before the polls close at 11 a.m. (PT) on Thursday.
Monday, June 22, 2009
UPDATED: Time to Have a Chat
With Sunday's game against the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo being shown on ESPN2 on Sunday, we thought that it would be the perfect time to have a chat with ESPN's SportsNation.
But they said that they didn't want to talk to The LA Galaxy blog staff and while we could understand their point of view, we were hurt nonetheless.
Thankfully, Gregg Berhalter was there to bail us out, as all good center backs are, and step in.
UPDATED: Thanks to everyone who asked a question or followed today's chat. For those who did not get a chance check out all of Gregg's answers here.
Locker Room Reactions
With the team off today, here are a few reactions from both teams after Saturday afternoon's game.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER – QUOTE SHEET
Saturday, June 20, 2009
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the game:
“Give San Jose credit. They made a couple plays and we weren’t as alert as we needed to be. We were a little suspect in defending in the box today and it cost us the game. I thought besides that, our team played well.”
On the team’s offensive play:
“I think they did a good job. We had a lot of possession of the ball but our crossing was poor today. Our play in the box wasn’t good enough to create more chances.”
On the absent players:
“(Dema Kovalenko) should be back hopefully next week. But you can’t say ‘it would have been nice to have Landon Donovan today.’ You can’t use that as an excuse.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER TODD DUNIVANT:
On loss:
“We let ourselves go down early and dug a hole; they didn’t have many chances but I felt as if we had the majority of the play. They made a couple big plays and we didn’t and that’s what it came down to.”
On missing players:
“Without those guys we did fine. We will be missing guys all year for different reasons and guys stepped up today. The frustrating part is we played so well and did not reward our efforts.
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JOVAN KIROVSKI:
On goal:
“We were 2 nil down and trying to catch up. (Alan) Gordon came in and he is very good in the air. The ball was played to him and he hit it back across the goal. I took a gamble and fortunately it went in the back of the net.”
On second half:
“We did start well in second half and to concede a goal again was a hit to us, but we came back again and kept going. We put a lot of pressure on them but we have to give them credit, their defense played very well today.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On the game:
“Today’s main objective was to get three points, and getting that result was great for us. We had a good game, unfortunately the field was not at its best and some winds here and there, but the three points was all that mattered.”
On Campos’ performance:
“I thought Pablo (Campos) played very well against Los Angeles on April 18, he had a great goal as well. Today Pablo (Campos) came in with a stronger and renewed aggression and played very well. He did terrific on the play for the penalty kick and got a good goal off of the penalty as well.”
On previous games:
“Looking at the last four games we’ve won two, lost one and tied one, but we should have really won in Dallas. I feel we’re on the right path, we work very had in sticking our head in, making it difficult for our opponents when the ball is played into the box. (Ryan) Johnson stuck his right foot in to get that second goal. Our guys were very brave and I’m very proud of them on today’s performance.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD PABLO CAMPOS
On his goal:
“I got past the two defenders and at the last minute, both of them caught up to me and pulled me down which set up the penalty. It feels good to be back in the lineup and to contribute by scoring a goal.”
On the importance of scoring early:
“It is very good to score early and get the confidence for the team. We play much better and because we have very good players on this team, it helps to get an early lead and then we can protect it.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD RYAN JOHNSON
On scoring the game-winner:
“It just comes down to being hungry. I was hungry out there and I want it bad. I have set goals for myself and this team and it is important to achieve them. Every team in this league has good players and anyone can beat you and that is why it was so big to put them away.”
On raising the team’s level:
“This is huge for the guys that haven’t been getting a ton of playing time out there to have this kind of success. Guys like Brandon (McDonald) and Mike (Zaher) have been playing extremely well and that creates a lot more competition in practice. No one is guaranteed to start every week, and that is what will help raise our level of play.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER MIKE ZAHER
On getting the win:
“I thought we came out with a very good mentality in the first half and it continued the rest of the game. We worked very hard in practice this week at getting ourselves strong in the back and being tight and compact. We were hungry out there, fighting for every single ball, people putting themselves in front of the ball, and it was really good for us to get the three points.”
On the game’s significance:
“This was absolutely a crucial game for us. If we are going to turn the season around at any point, this had to be it. If you look at the results in the last four games, we have been better. We now have seven points in our last four games, which is significantly better than we had been doing earlier in the season, so this is really big for us.”
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Galaxy Fall to Quakes, 2-1
LA Galaxy 1, San Jose Earthquakes 2
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum – Oakland, CA
Scoring Summary:
SJ -- Pablo Campos 2 (penalty kick) 6'
SJ -- Ryan Johnson 6 (Pablo Campos 1, Chris Leitch 5) 54'
LA -- Jovan Kirovski 1 (Alan Gordon 2, Mike Magee 3) 65'
Misconduct Summary:
SJ -- Aaron Pitchkolan (caution; Delaying a Restart) 24'
LA -- Jovan Kirovski (caution; Reckless Tackle) 28'
SJ -- Ryan Johnson (caution; Verbal Distraction) 48'
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza (Bryan Jordan 76'), Kyle Patterson (Alan Gordon 55'), Jovan Kirovski, Stefani Miglioranzi, Chris Klein© (Tristan Bowen 91+), Mike Magee, Edson Buddle.
Subs Not Used: Kevin Guppy, Leonard Griffin, Tony Sanneh, Josh Tudela.
San Jose Earthquakes: Joe Cannon, Chris Leitch, Brandon McDonald, Aaron Pitchkolan, Michael Zaher, Bobby Convey (Eric Denton 83'), Ramiro Corrales, Antonio Ribeiro, Darren Huckerby, Pablo Campos (Chris Wondolowski 73’), Ryan Johnson (Quincy Amarikwa 85').
Subs Not Used: Andrew Weber, Kelly Gray, Shea Salinas.
Notes:
With the loss the Galaxy are now 2-3-9 on the season, leaving them tied for fifth place with Real Salt Lake. Both teams are two points behind fourth place Colorado and five points ahead of seventh place FC Dallas.
• Bruce Arena made four changes to the team that lost to Real Salt Lake 2-0 at The Home Depot Center last weekend. With Eddie Lewis out due to a one game suspension and Dema Kovalenko unavailable due to a left calf contusion, Arena brought in Kyle Patterson to play on the left and Chris Klein on the right. Replacing Alan Gordon and Josh Tudela in the lineup are Stefani Miglioranzi and Edson Buddle, who returns for his second start of the season.
• Josh Saunders was not in the lineup for the second time this season after suffering a sprained right ankle in training last week. Taking his place on the bench was MLS League Pool goalkeeper Kevin Guppy. Guppy was on the bench for the Galaxy two weeks ago in their friendly win over CS Herediano on Tuesday and was in the 18-man squad for an official MLS game for the second straight week.
• The Galaxy were also without the injured Sean Franklin and Yohance Marshall who are both on the Disabled List with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
• Landon Donovan also missed the game while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
• Wearing the captain’s armband for the first time this season will be someone other than captain Landon Donovan or vice-captain Eddie Lewis. With both players unavailable due to national team duty and suspension respectively, Chris Klein will be donned the armband today against the Quakes.
• With the start, Klein extended his MLS record consecutive games played streak to 127games.
• Pablo Campos’ 6th minute penalty kick goal for San Jose put the Galaxy behind 1-0. With Gregg Berhalter’s foul on Campos in the box, the Galaxy have now given up three penalty kicks this season, all were converted for goals.
• LA have now allowed the first goal in ten of their 14 games this season, going 0-3-7 in those ten games.
• The 1-0 halftime deficit for the Galaxy meant that the club has now trailed at the half five times, going 0-2-3 in those games and have failed to score in the opening 45 minutes in nine of their 14 games.
• San Jose’s Ryan Johnson gave the Earthquakes a 2-0 advantage in the 54th minute. Johnson’s sixth goal of the season was assisted on by Campos and Chris Leitch.
• Jovan Kirovski’s 65th minute goal pulled the Galaxy to within one of the Earthquakes 2-1 lead. The goal marked Kirovski’s first since October 7, 2007 against Toronto FC.
• Donovan Ricketts has now allowed more than one goal in a game for the third time this season, with both occurrences previously coming against Real Salt Lake.
• With his second loss, Ricketts is now 2-2-8 in goal on the season.
• The loss today was the Galaxy’s second in their all-white uniforms. LA had opened the season 2-0-8 in their white shirt and white shorts before losing the last two matches.
Today’s game was the Galaxy's second game on the Deuce this season, the first ended in a 1-1 draw against Chivas USA on April 11. In the last three seasons, the Galaxy's record on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 is 2-8-5 overall, 1-5-2 on the road.
• The attendance for today’s game was 17,128.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Sunday, June 28 when they host the Houston Dynamo at The Home Depot Center. That game kicks off at 7 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2.
• For more about this afternoon’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Galaxy-Quakes: Rivalry Renewed
The lineups are in at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and the Galaxy are just finishing warm-ups. There are a number of changes to the starting lineup, including four players returning in Kirovski, Klein, Miglioranzi, and Patterson. It's the second meeting this season at San Jose; the teams played to a 1-1 draw in April.
Here is the full team...
----------------Buddle-------Magee------------------
Patterson-----------------------------------------Klein
---------------Kirovski-------Miglioranzi-------------
Dunivant---Berhalter---Gonzalez---DeLaGarza
-----------------------Ricketts---------------------------
Subs: Guppy, Griffin, Sanneh, Tudela, Bowen, Jordan, Gordon.
And here is how the opposition, San Jose Earthquakes, will line up...
-------------Campos----------Johnson------------
-----------------------Ribeiro------------------------
Huckerby-----------------------------------Convey
------------------------Corrales------------------------
Zaher------Pitchkolan-----McDonald-----Leitch
----------------------Cannon---------------------------
Subs: Weber, Amarikwa, Denton, Gray, Salinas, Wondolowski.
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's Assistants: Frank Anderson; Emiliano Monje
4th Official: Yader Reyes
Weather: Clear -and- 62 degrees
Friday, June 19, 2009
This Week Inside the Galaxy - Episode 6
Everyone's favorite weekly show is back as This Week Inside the Galaxy returns. This week we go along with Troy as he looks back, not only at the loss to Real Salt Lake, but also his loss in the World Spicy Topokki Eating Contest, and looks ahead to San Jose and Father's Day. Take a look...
Now that you've seen that, we'll continue to get you ready for tomorrow afternoon's game, which 18 players and a number of coaches and staff departed for this afternoon. The flight from LA to Oakland is the Galaxy's shortest of the season so the team was able to get in a full day of training before heading to the airport.
It was a typical pre-gameday practice with plenty of attention spent looking at set pieces and what not. After the session, many of the non-roster players and the guys that have not played much as of late or are not heading to Oakland played a quick, small-sided game, using about a 20-yard field with the small goals.
That game ended in a draw meaning that the game would have to go to penalties. But seeing that they were using small goals, there were no goalkeepers and these guys are pros, the penalties were length of the field shots, with the players having to use their non-preferred foot. That means that we got to see Eddie Lewis strike the ball with his right peg, Cobi hitting it with his left and much more.
But like we said, these guys are pros and many were able to successfully convert their "penalty".
Take a look at a few other shots from today's session and be sure to read the league preview of Saturday's game, Mark Rogondino's View from the Booth Larry Morgan's preview, his look at Galaxy iron man Chris Klein and supersub Bryan Jordan, who scored his first goal of the year on his last trip to Northern California. Also for news from inside the Earthquakes camp, be sure to check out Jeff Carlisle's preview, which says that both Arturo Alvarez and Jason Hernandez are unlikely to play as a result of injury.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Getting Ready for the California Clasico
TLAG EXCLUSIVE BELOW
The intensity picked up a notch today. The session was more focused on San Jose, saturday's rival in Oakland, and geared toward preparing a potential Starting XI.
After starting the day with some drills, the squad split into two for an 11v11 match. Ball distribution was particularly fluid and the tackles were not soft.
Looking to bounce back from Saturday's 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake, Bruce outlined some of the challenges San Jose poses for the Galaxy.
"Just playing on the road, regardless of who it is in this league," is always tough, said Arena, who is 5-3-1 all-time against San Jose. "(Darren) Huckerby is back and healthy, he's a very good player, they've gotten some very good play out of their two strikers, (Ryan) Johnson and (Chris) Wondolowski, and we know that (Arturo) Alvarez and (Ramiro) Corrales are good players, possibly (Bobby) Convey will be back, so they have an array of players that can hurt you going forward.
"And defensively, they've made some changes over the past month to strengthen their backline, so I think they would believe they have a better group in the back as well."
Listen to more of our chat with Bruce below.
Before we get to the audio and photo portions of our recap, we have a TLAG exclusive that neither The Insider, SBI or MLSR has posted yet: Photo of Djibril Cissé at today's training session with Heroes star Jimmy Jean-Louis and Cobi Jones.
Cissé, pictured on the left, is in L.A. this week checking out the sights with Jean-Louis, who just returned from Europe to start production on Season 4 of Heroes. Jean-Louis has some hook ups with the club and asked if it was OK to bring Cissé out to The Home Depot Center to check out a Galaxy training session. The media that was here couldn't help but ask the 27-year-old striker if they could take a picture with him. In case you are wondering, and we know you are, Cissé is under contract with French Ligue 1 side Marseille.
The Hollywood factor was in full effect today as Chris Vance, the star of Fox's new hit drama Mental stopped by after training. A big soccer fan, Vance was joined by Josh Tudela and fellow Englishman Kyle Patterson for an interview and kickaround as part of an interview with the TV Guide Network.
Back to the on the field matters, here are our interviews with Arena and Alan Gordon as well as a couple of pictures, one of Omar taping a segment of MLSnet.com's "Rookie Life" with Troy Bardy and another from an upcoming Telemundo feature on Bryan Jordan and his new car, a 2005 electric blue BMW M3.
Here's the audio...
Bruce...
Alan...
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Back at Work
After getting Monday off, the guys returned to the field today. The session began at 10 a.m. with a review of Saturday's game tape. After about 30 minutes, they hit University Field #1 at The Home Depot Center to stretch.
Following a light jog around the field, Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan divided the the players into four groups. The drills focused on dribbling, first touch passing and communication.
After that, players did went through a possession drill for about 20 minutes before pulling the goals out to play a small-sided game.
During the game, the intensity and the willingness to do things right for this week’s game started to show. Players were supporting, yelling, congratulating and criticizing each other.
The players ended today's training session by doing some sprints before leaving to go to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to deliver toys that were donated through the Summer Santa program during Saturday's match.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Donovan Scores, USA Falls in South Africa
The U.S. Men’s National Team fell 3-1 to defending world champion Italy to open the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Galaxy forward Landon Donovan scored a penalty kick for the USA just before the half to give them a 1-0 advantage, despite being down a man since Ricardo Clark's 33rd minute red card. However, the Azzurri would not be denied in the second half with two goals from New Jesery native Giuseppe Rossi (58' and 94'+) and one from Daniele De Rossi (72'). Click here for the full report from U.S. Soccer
From the Locker Room
With the team off today, here are a few reactions from both teams after Saturday night's game.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER – QUOTE SHEET
Saturday, June 13, 2009
LA GALAXY
LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On team’s performance..
“We didn’t play well tonight. We did three critical mistakes. One, Yura Movsisyan, Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman dominated us. Second, we didn’t take our opportunities that came on our way. And thirdly, we just lacked discipline.”
On some of the improvements to be made in the future...
“Having Landon Donovan and David Beckham back, they will be at least part of the solution for us.”
Galaxy Defender Omar Gonzalez
On first half…
“I think first half they really dominated us. I think we came out slow and I think a lot of our players didn’t come out the way we usually do and that really hurt us.”
Galaxy Midfielder Eddie Lewis
On red card…
“I just tossed the ball at the player and said, come on, get up. That was it. I’ve seen guys smash balls at players when they are down and haven’t seen someone sent off for that yet.”
On if he regrets his actions…
“Certainly. You never want to subject your team to playing a man down. It’s very difficult to get back into the game when you are down two goals but when you are down to 10 men it’s almost the final nail.”
Galaxy Defender Gregg Berhalter
On Yura Movsisyan’s goal…
“I thought he was going to shoot it with his left, but I also thought we had some cover there. I thought that even if he cut it back that would be another defender coming and there wasn’t. He made a nice move and an even better finish. It was a good goal by Yura.”
Galaxy Forward Edson Buddle
On overall mood…
“A little disappointed. I give them credit, they did a good job and we just have to look at next week’s game.”
On Nick Rimando…
“He had a good night overall. It’s just wasn’t our night tonight.”
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis
On team’s performance…
“I am very pleased. It’s a big win. It is our first road victory in the season, and it’s our first win after a long time. I am glad that we took a win after many disappointments. To see your players putting a lot of effort and dedication is great.”
“We put the effort together, we had the possession, and we took our chances.”
“Everything came up together for us tonight, and that’s a solid sign. I told my players in the locker room…Welcome back.”
On Yura Movsisyan’s performance…
“Watching Yura day in and day out, I said during all this disappointment that it was going to take just one special play for him to spark. And, he did a fantastic job today.”
On Nick Rimando’s performance…
“[Rimando] made some monster saves tonight. He had a fantastic save in the second half on [Jovan Kirovski’s shot]. He came up big for us. This is the situation where you need your players to make big plays, tonight a lot of our players made big plays.”
On Eddie Lewis’ red card…
“From where I was sitting, [Lewis] threw the ball to Javier Morales while he was in the floor. There is not much to argue in that.”
Real Salt Lake Forward Yura Movsisyan
On coming back home…
“Coming back home is always special for me, it is the place where everything started. So it is a special feeling to come back and to succeed.”
On his goal…
“It’s huge for us. It’s huge not just for myself, but for the team. Obviously, my job is to score goals and give the team a spark. And I think at the moment we are doing that, and as a team, we are playing very confident now.”
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Streak Snapped; Galaxy Fall 2-0 to Real Salt Lake
LA Galaxy 0, Real Salt Lake 2
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
RSL – Yura Movsisyan 3 (Clint Mathis 5) 13’
RSL – Nat Borchers 1 (Unassisted) 51’
Misconduct Summary:
LA – Alan Gordon (Yellow Card) 46’
RSL – Will Johnson (Yellow Card) 59’
RSL – Clint Mathis (Yellow Card) 59’
LA – Jovan Kirovski (Yellow Card) 65’
LA – Eddie Lewis (Red Card) 65’
LA – Omar Gonzalez (Yellow Card) 91+
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant (Bryan Jordan 78’), Josh Tudela (Chris Klein 46’), Dema Kovalenko, Eddie Lewis©, Mike Magee (Jovan Kirovski 65’), Alan Gordon, Edson Buddle.
Subs Not Used: Kevin Guppy, Tony Sanneh, Leonard Griffin, Stefani Miglioranzi.
Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando, Chris Wingert, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Tony Beltran, Kyle Beckerman©, Will Johnson, Javier Morales, Clint Mathis (Ned Grabavoy 79’), Yura Movsisyan, Fabian Espindola (Tino Nunez 87’).
Subs Not Used: Chris Seitz, David Horst, Raphael Cox, Ian Joy, Luis Miguel Escalada.
Notes:
• With the loss the Galaxy are now 2-2-9 on the season, leaving them tied for fifth place with Real Salt Lake. Both teams are two points behind fourth place Colorado and five points ahead of seventh place FC Dallas who lost 3-1 to Houston earlier tonight.
• Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that beat Toronto FC 2-1 at BMO Field last weekend. Gregg Berhalter, who missed that game through suspension returned to central defense in place of Tony Sanneh while Edson Buddle, who scored the game-winning goal in that game started in place of Chris Klein.
• Josh Saunders was not in the lineup fro the first time this season after suffering a sprained right ankle in training on Wednesday. Taking his place on the bench was MLS League Pool goalkeeper Kevin Guppy. Guppy was on the bench for the Galaxy in their friendly win over CS Herediano on Tuesday but was in the 18-man squad for an official MLS game for the first-time ever.
• The Galaxy were also without the injured Sean Franklin and Yohance Marshall who are both on the Disabled List with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
• Landon Donovan also missed the game while with the U.S. National Team at the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
• The loss snaps the Galaxy’s 10-game unbeaten streak, which was the second longest in MLS this season. The Galaxy were 2-0-8 during the streak, with only the Chicago Fire’s 11-game unbeaten streak besting the Galaxy’s.
• Yura Movsisyan’s 13th minute goal for Real Salt Lake put the Galaxy behind 1-0. They have now allowed the first goal in nine of their 13 goals this season, going 0-2-7 in those nine games.
• The 1-0 halftime deficit for the Galaxy meant that the club has now trailed at the half four times, going 0-1-3 in those games and have failed to score in the opening 45 minutes of eight if their 13 games.
• Chris Klein entered the game at halftime in place of Josh Tudela, extending his MLS record consecutive games played streak to 127 games.
• Eddie Lewis was sent off in the 65th minute of the game, becoming the fifth Galaxy player to be sent off this season. All five of the red cards have come at home. It was the third red card of Lewis’ MLS career and his first since 1997.
• LA’s five red cards this season are their most since being shown five red cards in 2007. Only in 1998, when seven Galaxy players were sent off, has the club had more players sent off in a season.
• Donovan Ricketts has now allowed more than one goal in a game for the second time this season, with both occurrences coming against Real Salt Lake.
• With the loss, Ricketts is no longer undefeated as an MLS goalkeeper. He is now 2-1-8 in goal on the season.
• Prior to tonight’s game, the last time that the Galaxy allowed more than one goal at home was on April 4 when they lost 3-2 to the Colorado Rapids. Before tonight that was the Galaxy’s only loss of the season.
• The last time the Galaxy were shutout before tonight’s game was the 0-0 draw with Chivas USA on April 11.
• With their two goals against the Galaxy tonight, Real Salt Lake has now scored two goals in each of their last seven games against the Galaxy.
• The loss tonight was the Galaxy’s first in their all-white uniforms. LA had opened the season 2-0-8 in their white shirt and white shorts.
• The attendance for today’s game was 19,718.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Saturday, June 20 when they travel to Northern California to take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Oakland Alameda Coliseum. C That game kicks off at 1 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2.
• For more about this afternoon’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Gunning for Two in a Row
The Galaxy go in search of their second straight win tonight and a sweep of the season series against Real Salt Lake.
Here is the lineup that Bruce Arena will put out on the field tonight as LA looks to move into third place in the Western Conference.
----------------Buddle------Gordon-----------
Lewis---------Tudela------Kovalenko-----Magee
Dunivant-----Berhalter----Gonzalez------DeLaGarza
-----------------------Ricketts--------------------
Subs: Guppy, Sanneh, Griffin, Miglioranzi, Klein, Jordan, Kirovski
And here is how RSL look...
----------------------Movsisyan----------------
Espindola------------Morales--------------Mathis
---------------Johnson------Beckerman--------
Beltran-------Borchers------Olave---------Wingert
-----------------------Rimando-------------------
Subs: Seitz, Horst, Cox, Joy, Grabavoy, Nunez, Escalada
Saturday Morning Notes
To get you ready for tonight's game, here are a couple of notes to think about as you prepare for kickoff.
Since joining the Galaxy in June 2007, Edson Buddle has played in 10 games for the Galaxy in which Landon Donovan was not available for selection. In those 10 games, Buddle has nine goals and two assists, including two goals and an assist in two games against RSL, both at The Home Depot Center. Buddle now has 70 goals in his MLS career, tying him for 15th place in league history along with Cobi Jones.
Buddle's fellow forward Alan Gordon now has 15 goals and 10 assists in his Galaxy career, making him the 13th player in club history to reach both 10 goals and 10 assists as a member of the Galaxy.
One day after keeping a clean sheet against CS Herediano, goalkeeper Josh Saunders sprained his right ankle in training on Wednesday and may be unavailable for the game against RSL. As a result of his injury, and one to MLS League Pool goalkeeper Miguel Benitez, the Galaxy have called up Kevin Guppy for Saturday's game. A League Pool keeper himself, Guppy was a four-year starter at Cal State-Northridge where he was a teammate of Sean Franklin. He was on the bench for LA in the Herediano game and has trained with the club for much of the season.
Julian Valentin will not be in the lineup for LA on Saturday as he has returned to the USL's Cleveland City Stars for a temporary extension to the loan agreement that saw him play five games for the club earlier this year. The City Stars have five games coming up in a two week span that begins on Saturday with a U.S. Open Cup game against Rochester. Valentin will be joined in Cleveland by Israel Sesay who joined up with the club earlier this week.
Friday, June 12, 2009
This Week Inside the Galaxy - Episode 5
It's all about the games This Week Inside the Galaxy as we look back at the 2-1 win in Toronto last weekend, go in depth with the 1-0 win over CS Herediano on Tuesday and look ahead to the visit of Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
And if you want to see yourself on the next installment of This Week Inside the Galaxy, be sure to stop by the World Spicy Topokki Eating Contest at 6:30 p.m. on the South Concourse of The HDC on Saturday night. Troy and the rest of the TWIG staff will be filming a segment of the show then so stop by and tell him how much you enjoy the show.
Preparations Complete; Galaxy Ready for Real
We'll have the next installment of This Week Inside the Galaxy up in a few hours, but we'll start to get you ready for Saturday's game with some notes, facts and figures. Real Salt Lake get into town tonight aboard their new RSL inspired JetBlue aircraft, but while they were getting ready to travel, the Galaxy were training here at The Home Depot Center.
As is usually the case the day before a game, Bruce and the coaches ran the players through their set pieces, what they expect from RSL and how they will matchup against that at both ends of the field.
After everyone took their penalties, the group divided up with some doing some finishing drills and others passing and juggling before heading inside for their daily post-training video session.
While that was going on at one end of the field, there was a highly entertaining 5v5 game going on with the small goals. In that game, Cobi (seen below with Yohance Marshall) and a few of the senior players took on Tristan (seen with his former Galaxy U-20 teammate Michael Stephens)and many of the young guns. We didn't get a final score on the game (if there even was one) but you could tell that bragging rights were on the line for both sides. The old guys definitely did not want to lose to the kids and the kids clearly wanted to show the old guard that they were ready to take them on!
Be sure to read the latest View from the Booth by Mark Rogondino where he discusses the dangerous RSL attack as well as the importance of Donovan Ricketts, who Rogondino believes should be an All-Star this season.
Larry Morgan also checks in with the guys as they look for wins and try to complete the season sweep of Real Salt Lake.
The MLSnet.com staff also breaks down all the numbers and all the matchups in the game preview with even more nuggets of information in the game guide.
Here is what A.J., Eddie and Edson had to say about Saturday's game.
A.J.
Eddie
Edson
Lastly, here is what a few of the guys back in Salt Lake had to say about this game.
Also, don't forget to arrive early for tomorrow's Alumni Game at 5 p.m. and the World Spicy Topokki Eating Contest at 6:30 p.m. where you will be able to see This Week Inside the Galaxy's own Troy Bardy attempt to win a fantastic cash prize and other goodies from our friends at the Korean Ministry of Food. The club is also collecting new, unwrapped toys as part of the Summer Santa Program, which you can learn more about here.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Calling All South Bay Galaxy Fans
Are you between the ages of 6-15? Or do you have a child, neighbor, paperboy, or just know somebody in that age bracket?
If you answered yes to any or all of those questions than you have the chance to not only meet some of your Galaxy heroes, but also learn The Beautiful Game from them first hand.
On Wednesday, June 17, Edson Buddle, Yohance Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi and Kyle Patterson will be on hand at the Campus Field on E. Mariposa Avenue in El Segundo, helping teach kids the sport of soccer.
This event is open to the public with all of the clinic's participants receiving professional instruction from the four players mentioned above, autographs from all of the players, a soccer ball and two tickets to the Galaxy's game against Houston on June 28, all for just $40. Additionally, all clinic participants can purchase additional tickets for as little as $20.
Clinic participants will be divided up into groups based on age and skill level, meaning that players of all ages will be able to improve their game with hands on help from the players themselves!
Click here to see the entire flyer and call Galaxy Account Executive Gary Gomez at the number on the flyer to guarantee your spot in the clinic.
This is a great chance to meet some of your favorite Galaxy players and more importantly, learn the game of soccer from them.
Readying for Real
The Galaxy finish their season series against Real Salt Lake at home on Saturday night. LA will be looking to stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games and get their second home win of the year. Gregg Berhalter returns from suspension and will be available, as will be everyone else except for Landon (National Team), Sean (Disabled List) and Yohance (Disabled List).
Despite the game on Tuesday, the week has been fairly standard for most of the team. Shortly before that game, Dave Sarachan ran the players who did not dress through a training session so that they would stay on schedule for Saturday's game.
Those guys were joined on Wednesday by the rest of the team, with some doing some light re-generation work and the rest going through a standard training session. Then, on Thursday the full team, minus the three trialists who played for the club on Tuesday, was going at it with even the aforementioned Yohance Marshall participating in the full session. Jamil Fearrington, Mark Haskins and Fred Murray have all returned home with any decisions that get made to come at a future time.
Also stopping by training this week was the club's former midfield general Mauricio Cienfuegos. Cien will be on the field again on Saturday for the Galaxy Alumni Game, which kicks off at 5 p.m. Cien and a number of Galaxy legends like Cobi, Dan Calichman, Robin Fraser, Paul Caligiuri and more will be on hand to take on a collection of past MLS stars like Richard Gough, Thomas Dooley and more.
Be sure to show up early so that you can see all the action and catch up with some of your favorite Galaxy stars of the past.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Locker Room Reaction
Edson Buddle's 12th minute goal proved to be all the offense LA Galaxy needed to beat Club Sport Herediano, 1-0, at The Home Depot Center on Tuesday night. Replay the Cover It Live match blog here.
Bruce Arena...
Edson Buddle...
Leo Griffin...
Galaxy vs. Herediano Running Blog
LA Galaxy take on CS Herediano tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Home Depot Center. There's no live broadcast for this match. If you can't make it to the stadium, follow the match live here on the blog.
From Milan - Part II: Martino chats with DB
Check out Part II of former teammate now broadcaster Kyle Martino’s interview with David Beckham in Milan as they discusses his plans for the future and upcoming friendlies against AC Milan (7/19) and FC Barcelona (8/1). Click here for the complete interview.
Monday, June 8, 2009
We Are Going to Be Friends
The guys are ready for tomorrow night's friendly against Club Sport Herediano of Costa Rica. LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan spoke with Tristan Bowen and Julian Valentin about the game and chance to get on the field and show the coaching staff, and the Galaxy fans, what they're capable of.
A few notes about the game...
- Julian Valentin has returned from his month long loan spell with the Cleveland City Stars of the USL First Division. Valentin played in five games during his time in Cleveland, scoring one goal and getting sent off once. He trained with the team on Monday.
- Also at training today was South African midfielder Mark Haskins, Irish defender Fred Murray and Danish defender Jamil Fearrington. Haskins has been in LA since last week, while Farrington and Murray trained with the club for the first time today. Murray last played with Exeter City in England while Fearrington plays in Denmark for Boldklubben Frem. All three are expected to be in uniform for tomorrow's game.
- Herediano arrived in Los Angeles this evening and will go through a short training session at The HDC tonight ahead of tomorrow's game. Following the game, Herediano will fly to Dallas for a game against FC Dallas on Wednesday.
- Herediano, who were awarded a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League today, bring a complete roster with them to Los Angeles, including Costa Rican internationals Andy Herron, Dennis Marshal and Ricardo González who were all involved in both of Costa Rica's wins against the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup Qualifying last week.
- Herron and Gerland McDonald are the only two players in the squad who have played in MLS, with Herron spending time with Chicago and Columbus and McDonald spending time with the Colorado Rapids.
Highlights From Galaxy's Trip To Canada
LA Galaxy got their second win of the season, Edson Buddle scored for a second consecutive week and Alan Gordon had one goal and one assist. Not bad.
Edson's goal is even up for Goal of the Week. Vote here, vote often!
In case you didn't catch them, here are Alan and Edson's goals, with Joe Tutino providing the play-by-play. Enjoy.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
From the Locker Room
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTESHEET
Saturday, June 6, 2009
LA Galaxy 2-1 Toronto FC
GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
Comments on play of goalkeeper…
“Donavon was outstanding, he’s a great goalkeeper, its part of the reason we don’t lose games, it’s largely or partly due to Donovan I think he’s an excellent goal keeper and it showed again today. When he needed big saves he was there he had a fantastic game I also thought Allan (Gordon) and Edson had a fabulous game and Kovalenko played quite well. Overall it was a good win, it’s a hard field to play on, difficult for both teams obviously but to get out of here with 3 points is pretty impressive.”
Talks about all the draws they’ve had this season…
“I think our team refuses to lose, and that’s a positive sign. Certainly we need to win more games…I mean, how many teams in the league have only won one game? Nobody. So it’s one of those glass is half empty and half full some times and the habit of not losing is good now we need to have a habit of winning.”
GALAXY DEFENDER TODD DUNIVANT
On his return back to Toronto….
“You know it was great to be back, this kind of environment is incredible to play in front of these fans. A little strange being on the other side of it but we obviously got a good result and did the job we wanted to do so that was good.”
On their season so far…..
“We’ve been playing real well, we kind of crept up on the league a little bit with all these ties it’s kind of a strange record but we’ve only lost one game in 12 I think and have a great unbeaten streak and unbeaten on the road so we’re doing something right and all these points we’re getting now are going to pay dividends down the road so those ties are going to be real big for us.”
GALAXY FORWARD EDSON BUDDLE
Talks about scoring the game winning goal against former team…
“It feels good, I wanted to get a win here I haven’t won in Toronto yet and to get the game winner is even more special. I had a rough time when I was here and to finally get a goal here feels even better.”
TORONTO FC INTERIM HEAD COACH CHRIS CUMMINS
Thoughts on the game…
“I thought we showed great character to come back after going 1-nil down, I think it was a game where we had a lot of possession, I’m starting to sound like a broken record aren’t I? A lot of chances again – I just looked out of 18, 11 (shots) on target and we haven’t finished our chances. Then we give two awful goals away, no doubt about it. Set plays, I hate conceding on set plays, everybody does because you’re given a job on a set play and you’re there to do your job that’s what you’re in the team for – you do your job and that’s everybody.”
Asked about putting in other players for next week…
“Jimmy’s come off with an ankle injury we’ll assess how he is. I’ll have a look at it (the game) again, watch the DVD we’re limited with the numbers that I’ve got to be honest with you we’re tight on the bench, we’ve got two goalkeepers on the bench and obviously young Gomez came on to make his debut there. I’ll have a look at what we’ve got, see how players are, Barrett came off with an ankle as well.”
TORONTO FC CAPTAIN JIM BRENNAN
Talks about his injury…
“I went over on my ankle, the last bit there with Chris Klein – the ball went up in the air and I tried to win it again and then I went over on my ankle by the black piece of mat that’s beside the pitch. I tried to run it off I knew it wasn’t right, but as soon as I came off and took my sock off it (ankle) was huge.”
TORONTO FC MIDFIELDER ROHAN RICKETTS
On the way the team played….
“I don’t know, the boys we’ve had chances today, unfortunately we didn’t put them away. They didn’t try to miss so it’s unfortunate. I think there’s big players in the world that probably go through such goal droughts but all you can do is remain positive and do what you can do and hopefully next game those chances go in.”
TORONTO FC FORWARD DANNY DICHIO
Comments on the slump they’re in…
“We are obviously disappointed its hard we have to pick ourselves up, and it’s only going to come from us. We’ve had some words in the change room, you know it’s not going to come from Chris the manager, it’s not going to come from the fans, and it’s got to come from us as individuals. We’ve got to do that.”
Galaxy Defeat Toronto, 2-1
LA Galaxy 2, Toronto FC 1
June 6, 2009
BMO Field – Toronto, Ontario - Canada
Scoring Summary:
LA -- Alan Gordon 3 (Eddie Lewis 2) 5'
TOR -- Danny Dichio 2 (unassisted) 64'
LA -- Edson Buddle 2 (Alan Gordon 1) 77'
Misconduct Summary:
LA -- Omar Gonzalez (Yellow Card) 9'
LA -- Tony Sanneh (Yellow Card) 31'
TOR -- Kevin Harmse (Yellow Card) 44'
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez, Tony Sanneh (Leonard Griffin 74', A.J. DeLaGarza, Eddie Lewis, Dema Kovalenko, Josh Tudela, Chris Klein (Edson Buddle 66'), Mike Magee (Stefani Miglioranzi 64'), Alan Gordon.
Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Kyle Patterson, Jovan Kirovski, Bryan Jordan.
Toronto FC: Stefan Frei, Jim Brennan (Rohan Ricketts 56'), Marco Velez, Adrian Serioux, Kevin Harmse, Sam Cronin, Carl Robinson, Pablo Vitti (Johann Smith 82'), Dewayne De Rosario, Danny Dichio, Chad Barrett (Emmanuel Gomez 86').
Subs Not Used: Greg Sutton, Brian Edwards, Gabe Gala.
Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy are now 2-1-9 on the season, leaving them in fifth place in the Western Conference with 15 points. They are now four points ahead of sixth place Real Salt Lake, who play against Colorado later tonight, and one point behind fourth place Colorado.
• The Galaxy used a new starting lineup from the previous two weekends. Tony Sanneh is back in the center of defense replacing the suspended Gregg Berhalter. While Chris Klein returns to the starting lineup for the first time since May 6 versus Real Salt Lake. He has now played in 125 consecutive games, an MLS record.
• The Galaxy were without the injured Sean Franklin and Yohance Marshall who are both on the Disabled List with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
• Tonight’s game was the first without Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, who is in Chicago with the U.S. National Team for their World Cup Qualifier versus Honduras. He will miss as many as the next three games as he has been included in the U.S. team that will to South Africa for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
• The Galaxy scored for only the fourth time in the first half.
• Alan Gordon’s goal in the 6th minute was his third of the season, maintaining his spot as the second leading scorer on the squad. In addition, the strike was only the second cornerkick goal this season for the Galaxy.
• Eddie Lewis earned the assist on Gordon’s header, marking his second assist of the season, tying him with Dema Kovalenko and Mike Magee for second on the club.
• Edson Buddle second goal of the season in the 77th minute to move up to third place on the Galaxy leader board behind Gordon (3) and Donovan (6). He has also now notched a goal in the last two consecutive matches.
• With the assist, Gordon earns his first of the season.
• With the win, the Galaxy’s unbeaten streak extends to ten games, the longest unbeaten streak for the club since a 12-game streak that began late in the 1999 season and ended early in the 2000 campaign. LA is 1-0-8 during the run.
• Donovan Ricketts made ten saves for the Galaxy and remains undefeated as an MLS goalkeeper, improving his record to 2-0-8.
• The Galaxy wore their all-white uniforms tonight and remain unbeaten in them, going 2-0-8 when wearing all-white.
• The attendance for today’s game was 20,753.
• The Galaxy will play two games this coming week. On Tuesday, June 9, LA host CS Herediano in an international friendly before returning to MLS action on Saturday, June 13 when they will take on Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Center. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. (PT).
• For more about this afternoon’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Table is Set in Toronto
The lineups are in at BMO Field. Only two changes to the starting lineup from a week ago as Tony Sanneh replaces the suspended Gregg Berhalter and Chris Klein steps in for Landon Donovan, who is with the U.S. National Team in Chicago for their World Cup Qualifier against Honduras. Toronto FC have won the last two meetings between the teams, claiming both matches in the series a year ago. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Ontario in their first-ever meeting, then TFC took a 2-0 victory at home last year. The teams have split their two lifetime meetings at The Home Depot Center.
Here is the full team...
------------Gordon----------Magee---------------
Lewis©------------------------------------------Klein
----------Tudela---------Kovalenko------------
Dunivant--Sanneh--Gonzalez--DeLaGarza
--------------------Ricketts---------------------
Subs: Saunders, Griffin, Miglioranzi, Patterson, Kirovski, Buddle, Jordan.
And here is how the opposition, Toronto FC, will line up...
-------------Dichio-----------Barrett---------------
----------------------Vitti----------------------------
Cronin----------------------------------De Rosario
---------------------Robinson------------------------
Brennan©-----Velez-----Serioux-----Harmse
----------------------Frei-----------------------------
Subs: Sutton, Edwards, Smith, Gala, Gomez, Ricketts.
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: TOR: Marvell Wynne (USA; June 6 vs. Honduras); Amado Guevara (Honduras; June 6 vs. USA) ... LA: Landon Donovan (USA; June 6 vs. Honduras)
SUSPENDED: LA: Gregg Berhalter (through June 7)
REFEREE: Alex Prus. MLS Career: 145 games; FC/gm: 29.0; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 33; pens: 41
SAR (bench): Daniel Belleau;
JAR (opposite): Philippe Briere;
4th: Silviu Petrescu
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