Galaxy to Face Seattle in Open Cup Quarterfinals

The Galaxy will face Seattle Sounders FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 7 at the Starfire Sports Complex near Seattle.

The Galaxy will host the Sounders at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, July 4 and then fly to Seattle two days later for the Open Cup game. After that game, the Galaxy will fly to the East Coast for a game against the Revolution on Saturday, July 10.

A Deserved Day Off

While he was not on the field for the Galaxy in last night's 2-0 win over St. Louis in the U.S. Open Cup Third Round, Landon Donovan was everywhere on your television screens, popping up on Letterman, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, MTV and much more.

In case you missed any of those, we were able to compile most of the interviews and posted them here at lagalaxy.com.

In other news...

•The Galaxy will discover the identity and location of their Open Cup Quarterfinal tonight when Portland hosts Seattle, the defending Open Cup champions. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. from PGE Park in Portland and will be shown live on Fox Sports Northwest so check your cable provider to see if you get that station. If not, you can listen to the game live here or follow it through either of the club's websites.

If Portland wins, the Galaxy will host them at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7 at The Home Depot Center. But if the Sounders win, the Galaxy will have to fly to Seattle for a game at the Starfire Sports Complex on July 7, with that game also kicking off at 7:30.

•In last night’s game, Chris Klein scored the first Open Cup goal of his Galaxy career while Juninho scored the first goal of his Galaxy career.

•The Galaxy are now in the Open Cup Quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. LA has entered the Open Cup in each of the last 12 years and have now reached the Quarterfinals eight times. The Galaxy are 6-1 all-time in the Open Cup Quarterfinals and have won their last six in the round.

•With 14 regular season games, one Open Cup game and three international friendlies, the Galaxy have played 1,620 minutes in 18 games this year. In that time, the club has allowed just four goals (one every 405 minutes) and have trailed for just 10 minutes all season long.

•Be sure to check out tomorrow’s USA Today for a feature on Donovan Ricketts and the Galaxy’s impressive defensive start to the season.

•The team had the day off from training today but will return to the field tomorrow ahead of Sunday’s game.

•Happy Birthday to the club’s Brazilian left sided player Alex Cazumba, who turns 22 today.

•Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan will return to training later this week and will be available for selection against Seattle on Sunday. Don’t miss your chance to welcome the guys back to Los Angeles by getting your tickets to the game now at lagalaxy.com.

Bruce Arena Named 2010 MLS All-Star Game Head Coach

Major League Soccer today announced that LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will lead the MLS All-Stars against 2009 English Premier League champion Manchester United in the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game due to the Galaxy’s exceptional record in the first half of the MLS regular season. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and TeleFutura from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, July 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The honor of coaching the MLS All-Stars goes to the coach whose team has the best points-per-game average in League play through June 27. With a record of 10-1-3, for 33 points (2.36 points-per-game), the LA Galaxy secured the MLS All-Star Coach position for Arena.

Arena is in his third season as head coach of the Galaxy. A two-time MLS Cup winning coach, Arena is one of just four coaches ever to win MLS Cup on more than one occasion. As the all-time leader in wins among coaches in U.S. National Team history, Arena led the U.S. to the FIFA World Cup twice, including a historic quarterfinal berth in 2002 in Japan/Korea.

Because the LA Galaxy are scheduled to host the Puerto Rico Islanders in a 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League match on Tuesday, July 27, Arena has asked host city head coach, Dominic Kinnear of the Houston Dynamo, to lead the All-Star training sessions on Monday, July 26 and Tuesday, July 27, as well as serve as his assistant coach on gameday.

Fans and media may continue to vote for the MLS All-Star First XI through July 6. One-fourth of the total vote for the First XI will come from each of the following groups: fans, players, coaches and general managers, and media members. The MLS All-Star First XI will be announced on Tuesday, July 13.

Arena and Kinnear will collaborate to select five additional All-Stars who will join the two Commissioner’s selections to complete the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game roster. The entire 18-man roster, including those five coaches’ selections and two Commissioner’s picks, will be announced on Monday, July 19.

Postgame Reaction to 2-0 Win Over St. Louis

After the game, LAGalaxy.com interviewed midfielder Chris Klein about his goal and the Galaxy's 2-0 win over AC St. Louis in the Third Round of tonight's U.S. Open Cup match.

We also caught up with a few players and coaches from both sides to see what they had to say after the game...

LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
His overall thoughts on the game and the team’s performance:
“These games are never easy. The teams from the lower division, in this case the USSF Pro Division 2, they came with a great attitude and played hard and our guys responded back equally, if not better. I am real pleased not only with the result but the attitude our team takes in the way we approach all of these games because we have worked real hard to rebuild this club and these games are important. If you want to win you don’t take it lightly and every time we step on the field, we are not going to win every game but we have to play to win. Tonight, we did that and I am real pleased.”

On the team’s cohesion:
“I thought (the team) did a good job tonight. St Louis was hard to breakdown and at times they had nine players behind the ball. They weren’t easy. We started creating chances toward the end of the first half and certainly throughout the second half.”

On the team’s difficulties in the first half and if he thought the players had a hard time handling St. Louis’ five-man midfield:
“No, the eleven players wearing white were giving me problems. We just needed to play a little bit better, pass better and be a little bit quicker. Certainly, it was expected that (St. Louis) would tire because you can not run faster then the ball. We moved the ball a little bit better in the second half, a little bit quicker then I think we would have had a better chance of breaking them down.”

On the performance of Tristan Bowen:
“He has to learn to be a real striker. You play high and wide at times, at times you have to be punished a little bit and draw some fouls. He is learning and getting better, the experience is good for him.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder Chris Klein
On Tonight’s Starting Lineup:
“Clint, Eddie and Jovan, I think we’ve played together at one time or another since we were 16 and 17 years old so we definitely knew each other— but then you look at our back four and I don’t think we had a guy that was over 22. Like I’ve said before, they have structured this team so that we have 24 guys that can play. We have a lot of competition (for places), so it’s good to have a lot of games, and we want to win everything we’re in this year.”

On the play of AC St. Louis:
“A team like St. Louis, you know, they did a good job. We knew they were going to sit on it a little bit and they fought. These games are always difficult.”

On what was said in the locker room at halftime:
“Even though we had the ball a lot in the first half, we didn’t create that many opportunities. We talked at halftime about being patient and that the opportunities would come. The worse thing you can do is start to press in these games and start to think that they’re a league below and we should be killing them, because that’s never the case.”

LA Galaxy Forward Tristan Bowen
On his assist on Chris Klein’s goal:
“I think Birchy (Chris Birchall) played a good ball up to the line. I took a touch and initially I was thinking of taking a shot, but I just kind of just waited for support and saw Chris open so I gave it to him. I thought he was going to play it back but he took a great shot. The keep couldn’t do anything about it. It was a great goal.”

On Sunday’s game against Seattle:
“We had to get through this game first. It was tough, we had a quick turn around, but Sunday we’re going to be ready to play and hopefully we’ll get three points.”

AC St. Louis Head Coach Dale Schilly
On tonight’s game:
“I thought that in the first half we played pretty well. We knew obviously that we were going to be outmanned, that we would have to defend for long periods of time and I thought we did alright. But there is a difference between their fitness level and our fitness level and a few other things that was difficult for us to keep our game plan in place for 90 minutes. It was difficult.”

On his team’s performance:
“I think the guys fought hard and they communicated well and they tried to keep themselves organized which they did. We got out on the break a couple of times and missed a couple of chances but I thought our guys did very well and I am happy with them.”

AC St. Louis Midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer
On tonight’s game:
“I thought we fought really hard. I thought we had a good first half but in the end, the more quality ended up winning. “

On his team’s performance:
“We had a good game plan. We knew that they were a quality team and they we going to have a lot of possession and we were just going to try and withstand that possession and create some chances on the break. I thought we did that well for the first 60 or 70 minutes but they put in a nice goal and after that we kind of fell apart.”

Galaxy Beat St. Louis 2-0 to Advance to U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals

LA Galaxy 2, AC St. Louis 0
Tuesday, June 28, 2010
The Home Depot Ceter - Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Chris Klein 1 (Tristan Bowen 1) 69’
LA – Juninho 1 (Eddie Lewis 1) 80’

Misconduct Summary:
LA – Jovan Kirovski (Yellow Card) 55’
STL – Chris Salvaggione (Yellow Card) 72’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders, Bryan Jordan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Leonardo, Alex Cazumba, Chris Klein, Jovan Kirovski, Clint Mathis (Chris Birchall 80’), Eddie Lewis, Alan Gordon, Tristan Bowen (Juninho 73’).

Subs Not Used: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Stepehens.

AC St. Louis: Alec Duffy, Mark Bloom, Dillon Barna, Tim Velten, Jack Traynor, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Jeff Cosgriff (Ryan Moore 85’), Gauchino, Troy Cole (Elvir Kafedic 76’), Brad Stisser (Chris Salvaggione 72’), Mike Ambersley.

Subs Not Used: Chad Becker, John Lesko.

Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy are now 5-1 all-time in the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup. This was their first Third Round win since 2002. The club entered the Open Cup in the Fourth Round from 2003-2006.
• The Galaxy will face the winner of tomorrow night’s match between the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers in the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on July 7. If Portland wins, the Galaxy will host the Timbers at The Home Depot Center. If Seattle wins, the Galaxy would travel to Seattle to take on the Sounders at Starfire Sports Complex.
• Chris Klein’s goal, a curling volley from outside the box that was just outside the reach of goalkeeper Alec Dufty, was his first with the club since May 2008.
• Juninho’s tally in the 80th minute was his first career goal with LA. The Brazilian midfielder, who came on for Tristan Bowen in the 73rd minute, was set up by Eddie Lewis to give the Galaxy a 2-0 lead.
• Bruce Arena made eight changes to the starting lineup used this past Saturday in a 0-0 draw in Toronto. Goalkeeper Josh Saunders and defenders Alex Cazumba, A.J. DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan and Leonardo represented a new back line. Jovan Kirovski, Chris Klein, Eddie Lewis and Clint Mathis got the nod at midfield while Alan Gordon and Tristan Bowen started up top. Cazumba, Kirvoski and Bowen were holdovers from Saturday's lineup to this one.
• Eddie Lewis wore the captain’s armband for a second time this year, he also wore the armband on May 23 in the friendly against Boca Juniors.
• For the first time all season, defender Omar Gonzalez did not figure in the starting lineup or play in the game. The 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year was on the bench and available for selection but did not play.
• The Galaxy were without Mike Magee through injury while Dema Kovalenko was suspended. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan were not available for selection either having just finished their participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with the U.S. National Team.
• Leonardo was making his first appearance in a Galaxy lineup since straining his right quad in training in mid-April. The Brazilian defender started and played the full 90 minutes. Prior to tonight, his last appearance in a Galaxy game had come on April 10 in Houston, when the Galaxy beat the Dynamo 2-0 to start the season with three consecutive wins.
• The attendance for today’s game was 2,179.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Sunday, July 4 when they host the Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza match against the Seattle Sounders FC, presented by Chelada by Budweiser, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center. Following the match, which can be seen live on FS West, all fans in attendance will be able to enjoy a postgame fireworks extravaganza, powered by 104.3 MYfm.
• In MLS play, the Galaxy are now 10-1-3 on the season, leaving them with 33 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 24 points.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.

Set for St. Louis

It's been a busy day here in Carson as the Galaxy finalized our friendly against Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl on August 7 and also announced that Landon Donovan will be doing national TV interviews over the course of the next couple of days, starting tonight with the "Late Show with David Letterman."

Additionally, the club will begin its quest for a third U.S. Open Cup title tonight at The Home Depot Center against AC St. Louis of the USSF Division 2 Pro League.

Bruce Arena will ring in the changes tonight with a host of new faces from Saturday's 0-0 draw in Toronto. Here is the team that he will put on the field tonight, led by captain Eddie Lewis...

--------------Bowen----------Gordon-------------

Lewis----------------Mathis-----------------Klein

---------------------Kirovski----------------------

Cazumba-----Leonardo----DeLaGarza-----Jordan

---------------------Saunders--------------------

Subs: Ricketts, Dunivant, Franklin, Gonzalez, Birchall, Stephens, Juninho.

And here is how new AC St. Louis head coach Dale Schilly will line up his team in his second game in charge as he sends his troops out in a 4-5-1 formation led by captain Jack Traynor...

----------------------Ambersley--------------------

----------------------Gauchinho--------------------

Stisser-------------------------------Kreamalmeyer

---------------Cole------------Cosgriff--------------

Traynor-------Velten--------Barna----------Bloom

----------------------Dufty-------------------------

Subs: Becker, Lesko, Moore, Salvaggione, Kafedzic

Be sure to follow all the action through Cover it Live over on lagalaxy.com.

US Open Cup Preview - AC St. Louis

We're eight hours and thirty minutes away from kickoff here at The Home Depot Center, but preparations are already underway for tonight's US Open Cup Third Round match against AC St. Louis.

On Monday, the club was out on the training fields preparing for a St. Louis club that underwent a coaching change last week-- bringing in Dale Schilly to replace Claude Anelka, the older brother of Chelsea and French National Team forward Nicolas Anelka. Even though St. Louis is in last place of the USSF Division 2 league, the club is currently on a four-game unbeaten streak.

After the training session, Larry Morgan and the LAGalaxy.com staff talked to Bruce Arena and Alan Gordon about the match.

Here's a link to Larry's preview. And learn more about tonight's opposition here.

Because there is no TV or English radio for this game, we will be doing play-by-play on LAGalaxy.com using Cover It Live. All tickets are $10 and parking is free, but if you can't make it out to the game we hope you can join us there.

Postgame Locker Room Reaction

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTESHEET
SATURDAY JUNE 26, 2010 -- TORONTO FC 0–0 LA GALAXY

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the return of Donovan and Buddle…
“Well Landon is in the middle of his MLS season he should be fine, Edson will be fine. Landon may need a couple more days because he played so many minutes but he’s going to be fine. He’s very fit and he’s very motivated and I think he’ll be ready to go.”

LA GALAXY CHRIS BIRCHALL
Thoughts overall on game…
“I think the overall performance was improved. We played well and moved the ball around and in the first 20 minutes. We went off the ball for the last 10-15 of the half and they got into it, but I think overall we were solid and we created chances, just unfortunate we didn’t put any away.”

On strong first half…
“That’s what Bruce wanted us to do. I mean, sometimes on the road we come out and we are a bit lazy in the first 20 minutes and fortunate enough to not concede goals. Today we came out really well, we created chances and it gives people confidence when they get on the ball straight away and make good passes. We were just unfortunate to not get a goal.”

LA GALAXY FORWARD TRISTAN BOWEN
Thoughts…
“I thought we could have played better, moved the ball a little bit faster, we were a little bit slow on that. We didn’t finish the chances with our opportunities and it was disappointing to not come out of here with a win, but we’ll take a tie.”

On having the break if it affected him…
“No, not really we needed it. There was a couple of guys that were playing a significant amount of minutes but we just have to come back a little bit sharper and start off the next game better.”

TORONTO FC HEAD COACH PREKI
Thoughts on game….
“It was a difficult game after 3 weeks of not playing. I didn’t think either of the teams was very sharp. It was a tough fight and if someone makes a mistake that is how the game was going to be decided. Neither team really made any big mistakes and it ended zero-zero.

Was asked if players were affected by what’s going on in the city… “I’m sure it was in the back of their minds, everybody was following what was going on in the city. That can’t be the excuse though, once you step onto the field, once you step into the locker room actually, you've got to focus on your job and what’s ahead of you for the next couple of hours. I thought we worked hard but we’ve got to find a way to have a little bit more soccer in us and little more creativity. We didn’t create enough.”

TORONTO FC DEFENDER NANA ATTAKORA
Asked if the goings on in the city affected the team… “No… not at all. We knew we had a job here to do today. We saw it on TV and we just focused on the game - and just did what we could do.”

Was asked if they noticed the decent crowd considering what was going on in city… “To be honest we did notice, me and a few of the other guys were talking about how many people would show up today and there was 18,000 – that was shocking. We were thinking like 11 (thousand) might show up but it shows the support we have here in Toronto.”

TORONTO MIDFIELDER DAN GARGAN
On playing after the lay-off…
“You’re antsy to get back onto the field, and that makes your play kind of antsy. Defense on both sides definitely stepped up a bit because they were trying to pressure as much as possible, as they haven’t played in a couple of weeks. I think that makes it tough to settle in and get going. I think the later stages in the first half we were a lot better. We moved the ball around a bit cleaner and in the second half kind of the same thing, but we had a few chances at the end, maybe a bit unlucky but that’s the way it works sometimes.”

“Anytime you keep a clean sheet you got to be happy about that. They are sitting on top of the league with the best record so to get a draw isn’t a bad result by any means. We’re still undefeated at home and that’s the way we want to keep it. We want to be tough to play against.”

LA Earns Draw in Toronto

LA Galaxy 0, Toronto FC 0
Saturday, June 26, 2010
BMO Field - Toronto, Canada

Scoring Summary:
LA – None
TFC – None

Misconduct Summary:
LA – None
TFC – None

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter©, Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin; Alex Cazumba (Clint Mathis 76’), Chris Birchall, Juninho, Michael Stephens; Tristan Bowen (Eddie Lewis 84’), Jovan Kirovski (Alan Gordon 66’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan, Chris Klein.

Toronto FC: Stefan Frei; Raivis Hscanovics, Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Dan Gargan; Jacob Peterson (Gabe Gala 71'), Amadou Sanyang, Martin Saric (Julian de Guzman 59'), Nick LaBrocca; Dwayne De Rosario, O'Brian White (Chad Barrett 46').

Subs Not Used: Jon Conway, Ty Harden, Maksim Usanov, Faud Ibrahim, Julian de Guzman, Gabe Gala.

Notes:
• With the tie, the Galaxy are now 10-1-3 on the season, leaving them with 33 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 24 points.
• Bruce Arena named the same starting XI with six of seven substitutes remaining the same as Leonardo replaced Bryan Jordan on the bench as he did on June 9 in Salt Lake.
• Leonardo made the trip to Toronto and for the first time since his injury dressed for the game. He has been out since mid-April with a right quad strain.
• In addition to Leonardo, the Galaxy were also without Dema Kovalenko and Mike Magee, who each remained in Los Angeles because of injury. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan remain unavailable for selection while in South Africa with the U.S. National Team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• This was just the first time this season that the Galaxy had used the same lineup in three consecutive games.
• With Landon Donovan in South Africa with the National Team, Gregg Berhalter wore the captain’s armband for the fifth consecutive game.
• Since MLS discontinued the shootout to decide games before the 2000 season, the Galaxy are 6-2-4 following their first defeat of the season. In the last six years, LA is 4-0-3 after their first loss of the season, outscoring opponents 12-4.
• The Galaxy remain unbeaten against the Eastern Conference this season. In six games against teams from the East, the Galaxy are 3-0-3 for 12 of their league-best 33 points. Dating back to the start of last season, the Galaxy have lost just once in 19 regular season games against the East, going 11-1-8, with the only loss coming at Columbus on September 26, 2009. LA have recorded 11 clean sheets in those 20 games and allowed more than one goal just twice.
• The Galaxy are 1-1-2 all-time in MLS games in Canada, after winning at BMO Field for
the first time ever last season, defeating TFC 2-1. Alan Gordon and Edson Buddle scored the goals in that game for the Galaxy’s first ever goals north of the border.
• The attendance for today’s game was 18,809.
The Galaxy’s quest for a third Open Cup title will begin on Tuesday, June 29 when they host AC St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center.
• In MLS action, the Los Angeles will host their annual postgame fireworks show on the Fourth of July when they take on the Seattle Sounders FC at The Home Depot Center. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on FS West.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.

Ready for Kickoff in Toronto

Finally! Following a two-week break for the opening round games of the World Cup, the Galaxy are back in action and will look to return to their winning ways tonight against Toronto FC at BMO Field. With a 10-1-2 record, LA will look to rebound from the first loss of the season at Real Salt Lake on a goal that was later reviewed by US Soccer referees as having been offside.

Kickoff is just around the corner and Bruce Arena has stood pat over the break and returns with the same starting lineup from the last two matches including the 1-0 loss at Real Salt Lake. Jovan Kirovski and Tristan Bowen will be paired up top with Michael Stephens, Juninho and Alex Cazumba will lineup behind them be expected to help drive the offense tonight. Meanwhile the defense will look for the clean sheet after allowing it first road goal of the season two weeks ago.

Here is the complete Galaxy lineup...

--------------Kirovski------------Bowen-----------------

Cazumba-------------Juninho---------------Stephens

-------------------------Birchall----------------------------

Dunivant-----Berhalter-----Gonzalez-----Franklin

-------------------------Ricketts---------------------------

Subs: Saunders, Leonardo, DeLaGarza, Lewis, Klein, Mathis, Gordon

And here is how the host Toronto FC lineup...

--------------White------------De Rosario---------------

Peterson-----Sanyang------La Brocca--------Saric

Gargan--------Cann--------Attakora----Hscanovics

--------------------------Frei---------------------------------

Subs: Conway, Harden, Usanov, de Guzman, Ibrahim, Gala, Barrett

Final Preparations in Toronto

Greetings from Toronto, it was a hot and humid day in this truly multi-cultural city as the G20 summit is about to begin with dignitaries from around the world converging here. But, we decided a quick stop at Cherry Beach was needed as opposed to showing you shots of all the police throughout the city.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy went through their final training session late Friday afternoon prior to tomorrow's return to MLS action against Toronto FC. It has been more then two weeks since the team's last game and the players are ready to get back on the field.

Despite the G20 Summit being held in Toronto and increased security throughout the city, it was a short bus ride with very few cars on the road and police at almost every intersection on the ride to the training field at Cherry Beach. Although tomorrow's game will be played on grass, the team practiced on a local turf field as options were very limited.

It was a typical training session for the day before a game as the players began with a long warm up run led by strength and conditioning coach Ben Yauss, who made the trip. Then, it was on to a little 5v2 with a little running tossed in to get the players moving a bit more.

Following a run through the set plays for Saturday, the players got some time on their own to finish out the session.

However, the team would make one stop on the way back to the hotel for a quick walk through at BMO Field. With the change from Field Turf to grass, coaches and players wanted to get a feel for the surface before tomorrow's game. A few guys even kept their cleats on to get a better feel for the field in studs as opposed to runners.

After training, we caught up with Chris Birchall and Sean Franklin to get their thoughts on final prepartions, tomorrow's game and the grass surface at BMO Field.

Birchall...

Franklin...


Here are a few more photos from today's training session. Enjoy!

Ready to Go

The team went through their final training session of the week earlier today in Toronto before heading over to BMO Field for a quick walk through at the stadium. And before we bring you all the latest from Canada, here is Sean Franklin and Michael Stephens discussing this weekend's challenge in Toronto.


Additionally, Chris Klein joined Dave Denholm on his World Cup Soccer Podcast over at ESPNLosAngeles.com

and Cobi Jones joined Martinez and Long, as well as Jay Mariotti, as they were filling in for Mason and Ireland on ESPN 710.

Troy Checks in Again

Live from South Africa where he is trying to secure a ticket to tomorrow's game against Ghana, lagalaxy.com's Troy Bardy checked in with this report from his experience watching the U.S. beat Algeria and the celebratory atmosphere after the game.

Say all you want about the England match, but the game against Algeria clearly had the most significance so far for the U.S. That’s the beauty of the finals, every game means more than the last and in this case, U.S. had to win in order to advance to the round of 16.This time around I was able to get a category one ticket to the game. I knew the seats would be good but I wasn’t sure how good. When I arrived at the stadium (wearing my Donovan Everton jersey) and found my section, I asked the usher where to go, when she pointed me down towards the field I knew I was in for a real treat. 15 rows up, center circle, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The Algerian fans clearly outnumbered the U.S. fans but that was expected considering they’re from North Africa.When Algeria hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, I thought ‘here we go again’. But after that, the U.S. settled in and created several scoring chances of their own. Yet again they were victims of another tough call when Dempsey’s goal was disallowed. But that only seemed to motivate them more as they kept pressing and pressing and unfortunately, they kept missing and missing.

With every blown opportunity I thought Algeria’s chances were only improving. When the 90 minutes were up, I prayed out loud for the fourth official to hold up four minutes of stoppage time. Once he did, I truly felt that one someone was walking out of Loftus Versfeld with three points.Luckily for our country, it was Landon Donovan who came through yet again for the most dramatic goal of all-time just a minute later. When the final whistle blew and Landon ran over in front of my section and celebrated, I sobbed tears of joy for the team and for Landon himself as I could feel his emotions pouring out to all of us fans. After taping a couple segments with Yahoo! Sports’ Marcelo Balboa and Charissa Thompson we had the chance to enjoy the win a little ourselves. I can’t tell you how many hugs and high-fives I received for wearing my Donovan shirt and just how proud I was to be wearing it!The following day I had a chance to catch up with Landon and asked him what was going through his mind when the fourth official raised four minutes and if he ever thought to himself that their World Cup was coming to an end as I’m sure many of us did. Here’s what he had to say.

Open Cup Update

If you're a Galaxy fan and you're not burnt out on soccer (and really, how could you be?) by the end of Saturday when the U.S. plays Ghana and the Galaxy take on Toronto FC, be sure to make your way over to The Home Depot Center at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night for the Open Cup Third Round game between the Galaxy and AC St. Louis.

All tickets for this game will cost just $10, including the club seats between sections 110-112. Additionally, if you've ever wanted to know what it is like postgame in the Stadium Club, this is your chance as the Club will be open to all fans after the game.

Making things even better, all parking for the game will be free.

Click here to get your tickets and help cheer the Galaxy onto the Open Cup Quarterfinals.

Speaking of the Quarterfinals, if the Galaxy do advance past St. Louis, they will face the winner of the Portland/Seattle game on Tuesday, July 7. If the Timbers win that game, they will play the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center, while if Seattle wins, LA will have to fly north to Seattle for the game.

What a Day

Let's just say it was a bit hard to stay focused on work here in the Galaxy offices yesterday.

The swing of emotions, going from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in a span of mere minutes was something that few get to experience. And given the Slovenia game last Friday, we've all been able to do so twice in the last five days...with both coming before 9 a.m.!

Bruce and Co. pushed training back to 11 a.m. today so that the guys could all watch the game in peace, but as soon as the final whistle blew, the guys had to start getting ready for today's training session, which happened to be the last in Carson before the team flies north to Canada.

The guys were on the field for just about 90 minutes, working through a number of technical and tactical movements as they preparred for the rematch with TFC, who were the first and only team to take a point from the Galaxy at home this season with a 0-0 draw between the two sides back on May 15.

In addition to their work on the field, a number of guys were busy with the press, talking about Saturday's game in Toronto as well as the U.S. win over Algeria. Tristan and Kleiner were on hand at the ESPN Zones at LA Live and in Anaheim, Gregg went on the Jim Rome Show, Cobi was a guest of Petros and Money and offered this analysis on ESPNLosAngeles.com and even Alecko popped up over on NorthJersey.com with this analysis to name just a few. Of course, the Man of the Hour was all over the TV screens throughout the night as Landon popped up postgame on Sportcenter and a host over other locales, including MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show.

Galaxy to Host AC St. Louis in Open Cup Third Round on June 29

The Galaxy will host AC St. Louis in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, June 29 at The Home Depot Center. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with tickets starting at just $10. St. Louis qualified for the game by defeating the NSC Minnesota Stars 1-0 earlier this evening in Blaine, Minn.

Tickets for this game will go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or through the Galaxy by calling 1-877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or by visiting the club’s official website, www.lagalaxy.com. All sections on the West side of the stadium will be open for this game. Sections 107-109 and 113-115 will be General Admission with tickets costing $10 with Reserved Seating in Sections 110-112 for $50.

This will be the first-ever game between the Galaxy and AC St. Louis and LA’s first Open Cup Third Round game since 2007. The Galaxy, who won the Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, have played in the Third Round of the tournament five times, going 4-1 in those games, winning in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 but falling in 2007. From 2003-2006, the Galaxy entered the Open Cup in the Fourth Round.

Berhalter to be Guest on Todd Wright Tonight at 9:05 pm

Tonight, Gregg Berhalter will join host Todd Wright on the appropriately named Todd Wright Tonight show at 9:05 p.m. PT on Sporting News Radio. You can simply click here to listen to the interview via SNR’s online player or tune your Sirius Satellite Radio receiver to SNR on Channel 127. Click here to check out the Todd Wright Tonight home page, and check out his Twitter feed at www.Twitter.com/Todd_Wright.

Todd and Troy Share Their Thoughts on the World Cup

Before our focus fully shifts to tonight's Open Cup game between St. Louis and Minnesota, two final U.S.-Slovenia notes with a hometown touch to pass along to all Galaxy fans out there.

Be sure to check out the latest from Todd Dunivant in partnership with Flo TV over at Goal.com.
Additionally, lagalaxy.com's Troy Bardy checked in with his latest from South Africa where he was able to take some time off from his work with Yahoo! to take in Friday's dramatic U.S. game against Slovenia. Here's what he had to say...

Before leaving for South Africa, the one game I wanted to see above any other was the U.S.A. vs. Slovenia match at Ellis Park. Simply for the fact of what this stadium meant to the people of South Africa.

I’m guessing that most fans who made the journey over here watched the movie Invictus ahead of time, to get an understanding of what this country was all about. I know that I did.

Once I saw the U.S. were to play at this historic stadium, I knew making it to this game would be something I would remember forever. I secured a ticket a few days before the game, assuring that win lose or draw, I would be there to cheer on the U.S. Add to that the fact that it was my first chance to see my home country play in the World Cup in person; I knew that this was going to be a special experience.

My second level seat could not have been better as it was at the same end of the field that, after surrendering two first half goals, the U.S. mounted one of the most memorable comebacks in our nation’s soccer history.
The first 45 minutes was a humbling experience. Going down 2-0, I couldn’t help but think that the last four years of their hard work could all be washed away in this one game. But to witness Landon lead the charge after the break with his brilliant goal, was something I’m not sure I can put into words. Once he scored, I knew this team had result left in them. Once they got the equalizer, you could feel that they were not content to simply take a point, but instead wanted to claim all three. Unfortunately, as you’re all well aware by this point, the referee snatched the full three points away from the guys and they had to settle for a draw.

But while Koman Coulibaly was able to steal the points from our team, he will never be able to take away the feeling I had being there in person when Bob Bradley’s men made all of us so proud to wear the red, white and blue.

Mike Magee to Miss 4-6 Weeks

The Galaxy will be without forward Mike Magee for approximately 4-6 weeks after he was forced to undergo surgery to repair a bilateral sports hernia. Famed German surgeon Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck performed the surgery late last week, with Magee returning to Los Angeles a few days later to begin his rehab.

Magee has one goal and an assist in eight games this season, though he has missed five games, including each of the final two before the World Cup break because of injury.

Turning The Page On World Cup Weekend #2

Much like the players on the squad did, the blog staff had the weekend off as well-- and we took full advantage of the time off and caught on some great games, like Cameroon-Denmark and Ivory Coast-Brazil.

But it's back to work now, for everybody

The squad returns to the training grounds later today to resume their preparations for its first game in two weeks. The Galaxy's upcoming road trip to Canada to take on Toronto FC could be extended depending on tomorrow's Second Round games of the U.S. Open Cup. If Minnesota beats AC St. Louis, the Stars will host the Galaxy at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. on Tuesday, June 29. However, if AC St. Louis win that game, the Galaxy will host them on Tuesday, June 29.

But, before we truly turn the page on the weekend, check out the images captured by Robert Mora and German Alegria last Friday at the ESPN Zone viewing parties.

ESPN Zone at L.A. Live Viewing Party (Photos by Robert Mora)

ESPN Zone Anaheim (Photos by German Alegria)

Fans inside the sky box at ESPN Zone Anaheim react to Michael Bradley's game-tying goal.

Clint Mathis gave one fan a special surprise autograph. The fan to the left on the photo was involved in a car accident on her way to the U.S.-England viewing party at the Hermosa Beach Pier two weeks ago.

Eddie Lewis was at ESPN Zone at L.A. Live giving out autographs and posing for photos at halftime.

Fox 11 reporter Susan Hirasuna at ESPN Zone at L.A. Live during a live report for Fox's Good Day LA Live show.

Finally, if you get a minute, take a look at how you can help the LA Galaxy Foundation win $250,000 through the Chase Community Giving Program via Facebook.

Birchall and Ricketts Return to Training; Dema Closing in On Return

Donovan Ricketts and Chris Birchall were each back in training with the Galaxy on Thursday after being given two extra days off during the club's World Cup break. Ricketts returned to Jamaica while Birchall flew back to England to spend their time off with their respective families. Larry Morgan caught up with each after training yesterday do talk about their first day back in with the club.
Morgan also chatted briefly with Dema Kovalenko (pictured in the white vest above) about his ongoing battle to get back on the field. Dema was back on the field taking part in training this week for the first time since a hamstring injury forced him out during warmups against Houston.

Be sure to read the complete article, which has these stories and more, right here.

U.S. Soccer Referee Report Confirms Morales Goal Should Not Have Been Allowed

U.S. Soccer just released their Referee Week in Review, which looks at any tight or controversial moments having do to with officials in MLS during the previous week.

Not surprisingly, one of the moments that they look at in this week's Review is Javier Morales' game-winner for Real Salt Lake against the Galaxy last Wednesday night. And not surprisingly (at least based on the comments we have received) it was judged that referee Edvin Jurisevic and his assistant Frank Anderson erred in not flagging Morales for offside.

Click here to see what they had to say about the goal, to see what the correct interpretation of the play should have been and (if you can stomach it) to see the goal once again.

Meet Eddie Lewis or Clint Mathis at the ESPN Zone Friday Morning

Don't have a place to watch tomorrow's game between the U.S. and Slovenia yet? Want to watch it alongside someone who knows exactly what it means to represent their country at the World Cup?

Well now you're in luck.

A member of the 2002 and 2006 U.S. World Cup squads, Eddie Lewis will be at the ESPN Zone at LA Live for the game, while Clint Mathis, who scored in the U.S.'s 1-1 draw with Korea at the 2002 World Cup, will be at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim. Both Galaxy players will be signing autographs during halftime of the game and helping to cheer the Red, White and Blue on to victory.

So make your way over to either location and join in the festivities as the U.S. looks to move one step close to a berth in the Second Round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

And if you can't make it out to the ESPN Zone, be sure to check out the Galaxy's complete World Cup Headquarters to see a complete list of the club's official viewing parties.

Potential Open Cup Opponents Drawn

For the first time since 2007, the Galaxy will play in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Following last night's First Round results, U.S. Soccer set the pairing for the Second and Third Round games. All Third Round games, including the Galaxy's will all be played on Tuesday, June 29.

The Galaxy will not find out the identity of their Third Round opponent until next week, with the club scheduled to face the winner of the game between AC St. Louis and NSC Minnesota Stars. That game, which pits two USSF Division 2 Pro League teams against one another, will be played in Blaine, Minn. on Tuesday, June 22 at 5 p.m. (PT). Those two teams first met in Minnesota on May 29, with the Stars coming out on top 3-2.

If the Stars win again in their Second Round matchup, they will host the Galaxy at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. on Tuesday, June 29. However, if AC St. Louis win that game, the Galaxy will host them on Tuesday, June 29.

The Galaxy have never faced AC St. Louis, who began play this season, while they are 2-1-0 against Minnesota in the Open Cup. The Galaxy defeated Minnesota (who were previously called the Thunder) 4-0 in the Third Round of the 2002 Open Cup and 5-2 in the 2005 Open Cup Semifinals, but lost to them 1-0 in the Fourth Round of the 2004 Open Cup.

LA also played the Thunder in November 2007 in a friendly at the Metrodome, with the game finishing 0-0 after 90 minutes before the Galaxy came out victorious on penalties to claim the inaugural Copa Minnesota.

Running Out the Rust

The two-week World Cup break officially came to a close for most of the Galaxy players this afternoon as they joined up for the club's first training session since last week's loss to Real Salt Lake. Despite seeing their mid-season break come to an end, the guys seemed to be in good spirits as they went through a 90 minute session at The Home Depot Center.The day saw a lot of work on attacking and defending as a unit as well as some possession work. And of course, coming on the heels five days off, there was plenty of fitness work for the guys at the end. We are happy to report that everyone was able to make it through their runs without any overt huffing and puffing.One person that would have been given a pass for being a bit short on breath after the session was Leonardo, pictured below on the ball and defending Omar, who worked alongside his fellow defenders all day long before joining in on the runs as well. The big center back has missed the last 10 games since injuring his quad in training in mid-April, but he will be looking to get back into the team for the second half of the season as the schedule starts to become a bit more congested.Speaking of Leonardo, despite all the work he just put in, he was one of the first players to race inside at the conclusion of today's session, along with fellow Brazilians Juninho and Alex Cazumba, to grab the best seats in the player's lounge to watch the game between Brazil and North Korea. The guys are not allowed to wear their sweaty training gear inside the lounge, so we think that the three guys all asked Raul for some extra gear in their lockers so that they could change as soon as they reached the locker room and see as much of the game as possible.We'll say that the boys left satisfied with the result, but would have appreciated a slightly bigger margin of victory heading into the final two group games against the Ivory Coast and Portugal.

Back to Work Tuesday

The Galaxy players, who have been off since Wednesday's loss to RSL, will return to training on Tuesday afternoon as they begin their preparations for the trip to Toronto on June 26. The players spread to all corners of the U.S. during their time off, visiting friends, families and loved ones wherever they may be. Chris Birchall and Donovan Ricketts even flew back to England and Jamaica respectively, taking advantage of the rare chance to head home during the season. In fact, both players have been given a few extra days off this week before returning to training later in the week.

One person who stayed here in Southern California was Cobi Jones, who was at the ESPN Zone at L.A. Live on Saturday morning before the U.S. game and helped break down all the action with Rob Fukuzaki on ABC 7's Sports Zone. Additionally, Cobi checked in at ESPN Los Angeles with his analysis from the 1-1 draw between the U.S. and England.

Finally, while most of us were watching that game and the rest of the World Cup here in the Southland, LAGalaxy.com's Troy Bardy is on the ground in South Africa as part of Yahoo! Sports coverage of the tournament. He sent along the following message and photos from the first week of his experience in South Africa.

Hello from Johannesburg and the 2010 FIFA World Cup!

I left for South Africa a week ago to the day, though it already feels like I’ve been here a month. I’m staying at a beautiful B&B in the city of Sandton near Mandela Square while helping Yahoo! Sports with their coverage of the tournament. (Make sure to get all your World Cup info there!)

In the past seven days, I’ve been heading out to U.S. camp and visiting the Fan Fests in the Johannesburg area. One of the highlights for me thus far was seeing Landon’s reaction when he came across me sitting in the press conference. He looked happy to see a familiar face from the HDC.

The atmosphere here in South Africa compares to Germany in 2006, maybe even exceeds it. However, while traveling around Germany was very easy, so far South Africa has been anything but. With that said, the hospitality here has been great and the people are ecstatic the world has come to their home. Traveling around the city to cover stories has been an eye-opening experience that has already taught me a lot about this country and about this beautiful game.

Here are a few pictures from the past week I wanted to share with all of you back home.

Even in the dark of night, South African fans packed the Fan Fest in Soweto...
...cheering on their squad throughout, and of course playing their famed vuvuzelas.
When not in the field shooting pieces at the area Fan Fests, Troy has been part of the international media that has followed the U.S. National Team at all of their training and media sessions.

Cobi Jones Previews USA-England

In case you are not able to attend today's Q and A with Cobi Jones at 10:15am at ESPN Zone at LA Live, you can find out his thoughts on the World Cup and today's U.S game against England at ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Click here to read his first article and be sure to check back for his reaction to the game as well as each of the U.S.' group matches.

Today Is Unofficial Landon Donovan Day

It sounds a little funny to say this weekend is Landon Donovan's coming out party, because we all know him so well and are fully aware of his skills on the pitch. But, the majority of sports fans in the U.S. are unaware of soccer's existence. However, that's about to change.

The next four weeks will include an unprecedented amount of sight and sounds of the LA Galaxy Captain and U.S. National Team forward at the World Cup. Making this weekend, his coming out party.

Or, as we prefer to see it, his homecoming. Because who are we kidding, this is where he belongs. This is the stage and the recognition you should be getting.


So, with that in mind. Around these parts, we're calling today unofficial Landon Donovan Day. However, why stop at just one day or week, why not make it Unofficial Landon Donovan Month?

This is how his weekend started.

Earlier this morning, Donovan called in to the Ryan Seacrest show from South Africa. The almost eight-minute long interview touches on "conjugal visits", the pros and cons of sex during the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo, Saturday's game against England, the atmosphere in South Africa and the premier of tonight's Homecoming with Rick Reilly on ESPN.



Speaking of that ESPN show, here are two previews that serve as mere appetizers for tonight's main entrée.





In case you missed it, yesterday Landon called in to The Dan Patrick Show and last week we went Behind the Scenes on This Week Inside the Galaxy for the taping of the show.

So, to recap...

Unofficial Landon Donovan Weekend Schedule is:

Thursday morning - Interview with Ryan Seacrest
Thursday evening - Premier of Homecoming with Rick Relly
Friday all day - Start of World Cup and countdown to USA vs. England
Saturday morning - USA vs. England

Of course all of this comes on the heels of being featured in Sports Illustrated, ESPN CBS News, GQ, Vanity Fair and Time magazine to name a few.


If you haven't selected a location yet to watch the U.S.-England game, head on down to the Hermosa Beach Pier. We'll have a 13-foot by 20-foot screen next to the beach on the pier plaza. It's going to be the biggest outdoor viewing party for the game in LA. The event is free, but plan to arrive early as a huge turnout is expected.

If you are coming out, tell your friends to look for you on the Hermosa Beach Pier webcam.

Postgame Reaction to 1-0 Loss to Real Salt Lake

REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JASON KREIS

On the goal:

“We keep telling our guys that good things happen when we defend well. We’re in their attacking third and things break down a little bit. I am not sure if it was Pablo (Campos) or Alvaro (Saborio) who got their foot to that ball, but they made a block on their defender, it hits off another defender and goes straight to Javier (Morales). Good things happen when we are alert defensively. The play got broken for Pablo or Alvaro, so to get their foot in there is a good thing.”

On the Galaxy’s play:

“I just think they’re a really mature, composed, compact, and organized team defensively. They make things extremely difficult to break down. As I saw tonight, it was extremely difficult to get that goal. Interesting that it comes off a bit of a misplay.”

On the non-offside call on the goal:

“What I saw, our player struck the ball off their defender and it goes straight to Javier. The ball has come from their player to our player, who is an offside position, but he can’t be ruled offside if it comes from their defender.”

On RSL’s mood at halftime:

“It was good. It’s one of those times when you just say, ‘Congratulations, it’s a fantastic half of soccer. I’m so proud and it’s just fun to watch.’ As a spectator, that’s how you begin to feel at times because things are going so well. You need to remind the players to be alert because it really still felt like LA was going to be dangerous on a counterattacking opportunity, so I just wanted the guys to be alert and keep going. I thought things would turn our way and they ended up doing that.”

On earning three points going into the break in MLS play:

“We end up on a really positive note. I am really pleased with where we are right now. We can take a little bit of a breather now and relax and enjoy some time off.”

REAL SALT LAKE DEFENDER NAT BORCHERS

On RSL’s defensive performance:

“We just wanted to be patient tonight because we knew it was going to take something special to break them down and get a goal.”

On gaining the full three points:

“It’s really special because they’re undefeated and they were playing with a lot of confidence.”

REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER JAVIER MORALES

On his game-winning goal:

“I was thinking I was offside, but it looked like the last person to touch it was on Los Angeles and that’s why I pursued it and got the goal.”

On the atmosphere at Rio Tinto Stadium:

“Unbelievable. I don’t know how many fans there were, but it was unbelievable!”

REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER NED GRABAVOY

On the result vs. Los Angeles:

“We were fortunate enough to get a goal. We knew it was going to be a one-goal game, we just didn’t want to give it up.”

On Javier Morales’ tally:

“When he put it away everyone looked at the linesman and he didn’t show at all that he was going to put his flag up. We were all super excited and knew there were only 10 minutes left so we could just try to keep the ball.”

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On the Javier Morales goal:

“It wasn’t a pass. There wasn’t a pass on the whole play. Who passed the ball on that play? It was originally a deflection off of a Salt Lake player and a Galaxy player, then it deflected off of Gonzalez and Morales was standing there. It would be hard for me to believe … it was a missed play. Let’s be fair. Over the season you’re going to get some in your favor and some are going to go against you.”

On whether the altitude factor played a role in the match:

“We realize that the last 15 minutes of each half, due to the elevation, it becomes a little bit of a factor. And the home team is a little more acclimated to the altitude. At the end of each half we were a little bit tired. It impacted us and that’s that.”

On the Galaxy’s effort:

“I think it was a good effort. I think it was a game that could have gone either way. It probably should have been a draw at the end of the day. The delay with the lightning made for an awkward night. We started the game about three hours ago. It was a long night.”

LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ

On the match:

“It’s just tough to play here in Salt Lake. They haven’t lost in 16 games. We were just trying to sit back a little bit and plan out our chances. I thought it was a pretty good game. They scored a goal, but it happens.”

On the difference between tonight and LA’s win over RSL back in April:

“I think that they just had more intensity this time than last time. That’s about it.”

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JUNINHO

On the match:

“It was a tough game. I was hoping to come out with a victory, and we wanted the victory from the first minute. Unfortunately we couldn’t because there was a mistake on the referee.”

On the strengthening of his game:

“Yes, Bruce has asked me to be more aggressive. And so I have been more aggressive and that will help us to come away with more results and victories.”

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER CLINT MATHIS

On his comfort with changing styles of play from RSL to L.A.:

“I think we still play in that wide open style sometimes. It just depends on what situation presents itself with how teams are playing and how players are playing. It is a bit different style [with L.A.], but it’s working for us so far with the record that we have.”

On returning to Rio Tinto Stadium:

“For sure I like coming back. It’s good to see all the people you know. It’s good to see the guys on the team. Some of the fans I know and some of the people that work at the stadium I know so I enjoyed seeing everybody and seeing the stadium and had a good time.”

Galaxy Fall for the First Time in 2010, Lose 1-0 to RSL

LA Galaxy 0, Real Salt Lake 1
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy, Utah

Scoring Summary:
RSL – Javier Morales 4 (Unassisted) 80’

Misconduct Summary:
LA – Juninho (Yellow Card) 20’
RSL – Andy Williams (Yellow Card) 63’
RSL – Javier Morales (Yellow Card) 80’
LA – Omar Gonzalez (Yellow Card) 85’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter©, Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin; Chris Birchall, Alex Cazumba (Eddie Lewis 78’), Juninho, Michael Stephens; Tristan Bowen (Alan Gordon 72’), Jovan Kirovski (Clint Mathis 63’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan, Chris Klein.

Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran (Chris Wingert 61’), Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave©, Robbie Russell; Ned Grabavoy, Will Johnson, Andy Williams (Collen Warner 78’), Javier Morales; Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola (Pablo Campos 64’).

Subs Not Used: Kyle Reynish, Rauwshan McKenzie, Jean Alexandre, Luis Gil.

Notes:
• With the loss, the Galaxy are now 10-1-2 on the season, leaving them with 32 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who now have 23 points.
• Bruce Arena named the same starting XI and the same seven substitutes as he did on Saturday in the 4-1 win over Houston.
• Leonardo made the trip to Salt Lake but did not dress for the game. He has been out since mid-April with a right quad strain.
• In addition to Leonardo, the Galaxy were also without Dema Kovalenko and Mike Magee, who each remained in Los Angeles because of injury. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan remain unavailable for selection while in South Africa with the U.S. National Team ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• This was just the second time this season that the Galaxy had used the same lineup in consecutive games. They first accomplished the feat in the May 1 win over Philadelphia and the May 5 win at Colorado.
• Javier Morales’ goal in the 80th minute gave RSL a 1-0 lead. That was the first time this season that the Galaxy trailed.
• The game was delayed for 38 minutes in the 13th minute of play because of a lightning storm in the area. The players were allowed to warmup on the field for eight minutes before play was restarted.
• The game was scoreless at the half, making it just the third game this season that LA did not score in the opening 45 minutes. Each of the first two games had ended 0-0.
• With Landon Donovan in South Africa with the National Team, Gregg Berhalter wore the captain’s armband for the fourth consecutive game.
• Juninho was booked in the 20th minute of the game for his fourth yellow card of the season. Juninho is now on official warning from MLS, meaning that he will have to serve a mandatory one-game suspension with his next yellow card.
• Eddie Lewis entered the game in the 78th minute, making his first appearance since the season opening win over New England on March 27. He missed the last two months with a left foot contusion, though he returned to the lineup to play 72 minutes against Boca Juniors on May 23.
• Prior to the game, Clint Mathis was presented with his MLS Cup championship ring, which he won in 2009 as a member of Real Salt Lake. Tonight’s game was his first game back in Utah since the club traded him to LA in January. Mathis, who was injured the first time the two sides met in April entered in the 63rd minute, replacing Jovan Kirovski.
• With the loss, the Galaxy’s 15-game unbeaten streak came to an end. That tied the longest unbeaten streak in club history. Prior to this game, LA had not lost since September 26, 2009 at Columbus.
• The attendance for today’s game was 19,513.
• Following the two-week World Cup break, the Galaxy are back in action on Saturday, June 26 when they head north to Canada to take on Toronto FC at BMO Field. That game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.

Set for Salt Lake

The Galaxy are in Utah tonight for their second and final meeting of the year with the defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake. This is just the second time the Galaxy have played at Rio Tinto Stadium and tonight's game will be something special if it is anytihng like last year's game between the two sides here, which saw three goals, including two by the Galaxy, scored in second half stoppage time of a 2-2 draw.

Bruce Arena will use the same 18 man squad, including the same starting XI that defeated Houston 4-1 on Saturday.

Here is what that team will look like for the club's final game before the World Cup break...

------------Kirovski--------Bowen--------------

Alex Cazumba---------Juninho------------Stephens

---------------------Birchall--------------------

Dunivant-----Berhalter-------Gonzalez----Franklin

--------------------Ricketts---------------------

Subs: Saunders, DeLaGarza, Jordan, Lewis, Klein, Mathis, Gordon

And here is what Real Salt Lake's lineup looks like...

--------------Espindola-----Saborio--------------

-----------------------Morales-------------------

-------Williams-------------------Johnson--------

-----------------------Grabavoy------------------

Beltran--------Borchers-------Olave-------Russell

------------------------Rimando------------------

Subs: Reynish, McKenzie, Wingert, Alexandre, Warner, Gil, Campos

LA Departs for Salt Lake

On Tuesday, the LA Galaxy completed their preparations for tomorrow’s match against Real Salt Lake with a training session at The Home Depot Center. It was a light training session with an extended session of 5v2, which saw several players get stuck in the middle. Then, it was on to tactics as the team went through their set plays. Following training the players and coaches enjoyed lunch at the stadium before heading to the airport for their flight to Utah.

As you prepare for tomorrow’s game be sure the check out these stories…

View From the Booth -- Rogondino Breaks Down Showdown In Salt Lake
Welcome Break -- Players In High Spirits As They Prepare For Final Game Before WC Break
Veteran Influence -- Two-goal Performance Highlights Kirovski's Impact

After today’s training session we caught up with Bruce Arena and Donovan Ricketts…

Arena answered questions about Salt Lake, RSL forward Alvaro Saborio and the upcoming break…


Ricketts touched on the team's performance, his play and the upcoming break…

Look Back at 4-1 Win Over Houston

Led by two goals from forward Jovan Kirovski, the LA Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo, 4-1, to extended their regular season unbeaten streak to 15 games - 12 to start the 2010 season. Youngsters Tristan Bowen and Alex Cazumba each scored a goal as well as the club improved their record to an MLS-best 10-0-2, 32 points.

Re-live the game on this post with reaction from Bowen and Cazumba (with assist from Bowen), Kirvoski, Bruce Arena and Gregg Berhalter.





Also, here's a link to reaction from Mark Rogondino and Jim Watson on FSWest.com here.

Postgame Reaction from 4-1 Win Over Houston

LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the result:
“We’re certainly pleased to get the three points. Houston played real hard and physical in the first half. In all fairness to them, their schedule over the past week with three games and a travel, they hit the wall in the second half, but that’s not to take away from our team and the way they came in the second half. We really ended the game with those two quick goals in the second half. We came out and did what we needed to do in the second half.”

On Tristan Bowen’s performance:
“Tristan took his chance real well, and had couple of other great goal scoring opportunities. He’s got these fabulous physical tools. He needs these games for the experience, but with all things being equal, the way we’ve thrown him in there the last couple of weeks, he’s responded in a tremendous manner.”

On Michael Stephens’ form:
“Michael Stephens continues to play well. He’s a very good player and versatile. He can play hard for 90 minutes, and he’s really helped make a difference in our midfield with his quickness and endurance.”

On Jovan Kirovski:
“He was excellent. Obviously, the two goals were big. He held the ball well. He’s a good partner with Tristan. He could be a little more permanent in the center part of the field, which allows Tristan run into space, which is obviously one of his strengthens.”

On Alex Cazumba:
“It was a great goal. We’ve been looking for him to do that since he arrived here. He’s been a little bit hesitant. It was great to see him to come out of his shell a little bit tonight. He was a little bit more explosive than we’ve seen during the season. That was a real positive. It was a great goal, a great finish.”


LA Galaxy Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts
On the disappointment of having his shutout streak snapped:
“I’m not disappointed at all. Once we get three points I’m happy. My focus is on winning games, not just keeping clean sheets and that’s what we did tonight.”

On the play of the back four:
“As usual, they were solid. That’s been a hallmark of the team last season and into this one.”

On Wednesday’s game against Real Salt Lake:
“It’s just another game. It’s another game toward our goal of getting points and qualifying for the playoffs. Nothing new if it is the Red Bulls or Salt Lake or anyone else, we just want another three points.”

LA Galaxy Forward Jovan Kirovski
On his two goals:
“The first one, we wanted to get off to a quick start. Sean [Franklin] breaking down the right. He played a great ball in. I made a little move, found a little space. It was a great ball in, and all I had to do was put it in. The second one we had a good build up to it. Sean, again, looked up and picked me out, and fortunately the ball went in.”

On the depth of the Galaxy:
“We have a good team. We have a good group of first years. Landon and Edson are gone. We’ve had guys come in and step up, and we’ve done well. We have a deep squad. Look at our bench; we had Eddie Lewis, Chris Klein, guys that have played in international games and in Europe. We have good quality players.”

LA Galaxy Defender Gregg Berhalter
On the Galaxy defense:
“I think it was a good effort. Obviously, giving up the goal, we aren’t happy about that, so we’ll look at that. We strive to get shutouts, and we didn’t get that. So it was a good game, but not a great game.”

LA Galaxy Forward Tristan Bowen
On why the Galaxy’s depth has been so successful :
“The competition in practice. Bruce did a great job in getting a bunch of competitors on the team that every game when we go into practice we have to fight for our spot— and obviously when you hear your number called everybody wants to go out there and compete and show why they should be on the field. That’s the secret.”

On scoring early:
“I think we’re playing well the first 20 minutes of the game. We go out there with a lot of intensity and the guys are coming out sharp. (The goals) are just the end product of us being at our best in the first 20 minutes of the game.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder Michael Stephens
On the team’s performance of the game:
“Giving up that goal early in the game wasn’t a good thing, but overall we put the pressure on them and had a great game offensively.”

On his three assists:
“I’m pleased. I found myself in good spots, high up the field in good attacking positions and I was able to contribute offensively, which is something that I want to continue to do the rest of the season.”

Houston Dynamo Head Coach Dominic Kinnear
On his team’s performance:
“I think we were doing okay in the first half and in the second half we ran out of gas. It’s disappointing we are all disappointed because this is a proud group and this is the first time we have lost three in a row ever and a lot of question marks about the way we are playing. How our guys are playing individually and collectively so it’s a very disappointing time.”

Houston Dynamo Midfielder Lovel Palmer
On the game:
“It was a tough game. Every time you play obviously it is going to be hard especially every time a team plays against the Houston Dynamo because they expect us to come out and play well. They know that we are a good team so they’re going to come out with their A game. The New York game was a tough one and then a long flight out here so I think the guys are a little bit tired but we can’t find excuses, we need to find ways to win games. It’s tough but we are going to have to bounce back for the Colorado game.”

On the team’s three-game losing streak:
“It’s the first time in Dynamo history that we’ve lost three games on the trot so we just have to look ourselves in the mirror, evaluate our performance and work on it as individuals and as a team. We have to refocus over the next couple of weeks.”

Houston Dynamo Forward Brian Ching
On the game:
“There’s not much to say about that one. Disappointing. I can’t remember the last time this team lost three games in a row, so things aren’t going good. Tough week.”

Galaxy Remain Undefeated with 4-1 Win Over Houston

LA Galaxy 4, Houston Dynamo 1
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Home Depot Center — Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Jovan Kirovski 2 (Sean Franklin 3, Michael Stephens 4) 1’
HOU – Cam Weaver 1 (Unassisted) 7’
LA – Jovan Kirovski 3 (Sean Franklin 4, Michael Stephens 5) 21’
LA – Tristan Bowen 2 (Unassisted) 48’
LA – Alex Cazumba 1 (Michael Stephens 6) 56’

Misconduct Summary:
LA – Gregg Berhalter (Yellow Card) 60’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter© (A.J. DeLaGarza 78’), Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin; Chris Birchall, Alex Cazumba, Juninho (Chris Klein 61’), Michael Stephens, Tristan Bowen, Jovan Kirovski (Clint Mathis 70’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Eddie Lewis, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan.

Houston Dynamo: Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel (Brian Mullan 60’), Eddie Robinson, Bobby Boswell, Andrew Hainault, Danny Cruz (Dominic Oduro 60’), Brad Davis (Richard Mulrooney 67’), Lovel Palmer, Corey Ashe, Brian Ching©, Cam Weaver.

Subs Not Used: Tally Hall, Ryan Cochrane, Francisco Navas Cobo, Joseph Ngwenya,

Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy are now 10-0-2 on the season, giving them 32 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference and are now 12 points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 20 points. The Galaxy face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
• Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that defeated Columbus 2-0 in Ohio last weekend. Alex Cazumba and Juninho each returned to the starting lineup, replacing Mike Magee, who missed the game with right hip soreness and A.J. DeLaGarza, who started the game on the bench.
• In addition to Magee, the Galaxy were also without Dema Kovalenko and Leonardo who missed the game through injury, while Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan were in South Africa with the U.S. National Team ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• Alex Cazumba was making his first start for the club since the 2-0 win over Chivas USA on April 1.
• Jovan Kirovski gave the Galaxy a 1-0 lead 47 seconds into the game with his second goal of the season. The goal was the third fastest in club history behind Clint Mathis who scored 33 seconds into LA’s 2-1 win over Kansas City on July 25, 1999 and Brian Mullan, who scored 39 seconds into a 4-4 draw at Tampa Bay on May 9, 2001. The goal is Galaxy fastest goal in 2010, surpassing A.J. DeLaGarza’s 53-second goal against Philadelphia on May 1.
• Cam Weaver tied the game at 1-all with his first goal of the season in the seventh minute. The goal snapped the club’s streak of minutes without allowing a goal at 463 minutes. The streak, which was the longest in MLS this year, started on the 84th minute of a 3-1 win over Philadelphia on May 1.
• Kirovski gave the lead back to the Galaxy in the 21st minute with his second goal of the game, his first multi-goal performance with the club since October 9, 2004 and fourth overall. Kirovski moves into a three-way tie with forwards Carlos Hermosillo and Welton for sixth place on the club’s all-time list for most-goal games.
• Tristan Bowen scored his second goal in as many games early in the second half, giving LA a 3-1 lead. He has now recorded a goal or an assist in all three MLS games that he has started this season.
• Alex Cazumba gave the Galaxy a 4-1 lead with his first career goal in MLS in the 56th minute. Cazumba, who will turn 22 later this month, played the full 90 minutes.
• Rookie Michael Stephens recorded a career-high three assists on the evening, doubling his season total to six. He is now just three assists shy of MLS and team leader, Landon Donovan.
• Sean Franklin recorded two assists on the day to bring up his season total to four.
• Donovan Ricketts improves his season record to 10-0-1. He recorded one save in the game and now has an MLS best 0.28 goals against average.
• When Gregg Berhalter left the field, he handed the captain’s armband to Chris Klein, who came in for Juninho in the 61sth minute of the game.
• LA is now 12 points ahead of the Eastern Conference leading Columbus Crew, who lost 1-0 at Colorado tonight, for the best record in MLS. The Crew are 6-1-3 for 21 points this season.
• The attendance for today’s game was 20,826.
• The Galaxy are back in action this Wednesday, June 9 when they travel to Sandy, Utah to take on Western Conference Second-Place Real Salt Lake. That game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. (PT) and can be seen delayed on Fox Sports West at 11 p.m. (PT).
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.