Reminiscing About Saturday Night at the OCP

For those of you who were lucky enough to make it in in time (sorry Nick) Saturday night at the Off Campus Pub in Carson was a night that will be remembered for a long time to come.

While this member of the blog staff was not there, Galaxy Account Executive Chris Thomas was there and has agreed to share his story with you guys.

Enjoy...

With the Galaxy off for the weekend, I made my way to watch Landon Donovan and the U.S. National Team take on Honduras in a crucial World Cup Qualifier at the Off Campus Pub in Carson. Even though I arrived two hours before the match, the pub was already full of eager U.S. supporters.

This was the only English language venue to watch the game in the area and I met people who had bested my measly half hour drive by commuting from the far reaches of Los Angeles County. Even the back patio was rocking and with an hour before kickoff the pub was literally packed to capacity with fellow USA fans.

Sweaty and eager, standing shoulder to shoulder, we greeted kickoff with a rousing chant of "USA! USA! USA!" I even noticed the family members of two certain national team players in attendance especially caught up in the moment. The first half was eventful more for our playful displeasure at the choppiness of the closed circuit TV feed than the match itself. Although Charlie Davies' two missed chances whooped the bar into a frenzy, no one seemed as excited as the poor fan whose misguided attempt at crowd surfing landed him on the floor in a puddle of spilled beer.

After half time the match really began to pick up. The room quickly went from shocked silence at the opening goal from Honduras to a combination of joy and surprise at Conor Casey's equalizer shortly thereafter.

Following Casey's second goal and Landon's majestic free kick everyone in the pub, myself included, was jumping up and down uncontrollably like sugared up kids on pogo sticks. That wasn't enough so I burst into song and lead the room in a full-voiced and heartfelt rendition of our fine country's national anthem.

The final whistle whipped the place into a frenzy. Beers were spilt and hugs were shared. All the while, I couldn't help but calculate in my head how many more air miles it would take to get to South Africa.

Every one of us relished the joy of our country's national team's thrilling upset and qualification for the World Cup. It was an absolutely unforgettable night as the fortunate few who shared the experience with fellow U.S. fans would attest to.

We also made sure to send Troy down to the OCP to capture some of the action, including this scene following Landon's eventual game-winning goal.

Getting Ready for Houston

After not playing a game this weekend, the guys got their competitive fix in on Monday by having a four-team, 6v6 tournament.

It didn't take long for the players to get into it.
As the tournament was going on, the goalkeepers were working off to the side by themselves.
As the teams entered the last round of games, the tournament was wide open still and up for grabs. The blue team jumped ahead in its game and seemed to be headed to a championship victory until Dema Kovalenko got one in with with time winding down. Kovalenko's goal (pictured below) was enough to give the yellow team the championship. Or so he thought...
Since both the blue and yellow teams finished with identical record, there was some confusion as to which tiebreaker would be implemented to determined the winner-- head-to-head or goal differential. At first, Bruce said head-to-head, which would have given the win to the blue team.

But Dema, not one to give up without a fight, in all its simplicity asked Bruce, what tiebreaker is used int he World Cup. And with that, the yellow team was declared the winner and a second celebration ensued.

The guys are back on the field tomorrow. To find out more about Dema's rehab, and if he's any closer to being match fit, read http://www.lagalaxy.com/ tomorrow morning and look for Larry Morgan interview with the Ukrainian midfielder.

Landon Scores Game-Winner to Send the U.S. to South Africa

The United States erased a 1-0 deficit with three straight goals to earn a 3-2 win in Honduras tonight, sealing a berth in the 2010 World Cup.

Landon Donovan played in Conor Casey to put the U.S. up 2-1 with 25 minutes left and the Galaxy captain then scored the eventual game-winner four minutes later with a freekick from just outside the box.

The home side pulled one back 12 minutes from time to make it 3-2 and set the stage for a nerve-wracking final minutes.

Donovan's former Galaxy teammate Carlos Pavon had a pair of chances to equalize late on, including an 87th minute penalty kick which he missed high, but it was not to be and the U.S. is bound for South Africa.

The Waiting Game

The Galaxy finished off their week of training this afternoon at The Home Depot Center and will now enjoy two days off before getting back to business next week.

LA goes into the weekend tied for first place with Houston on 44 points and that two-way tie could be a three-way scrum come Sunday morning as Chivas USA, who are currently tied for third place with 41 points, host Kansas City on Saturday.

Regardless of what happens in that game, the Galaxy are in the postseason and tickets are on sale now at http://www.lagalaxy.com/.

If you need to get your soccer fix before the postseason, make sure to make your way to the Off Campus Pub on Saturday night to watch the U.S. National Team take on Honduras. The game is only available on closed circuit TV, but for just $15 you can watch all the action, get a free drink and get a a supporter's section ticket to the Galaxy's regular season finale against San Jose on October 24. Even better, by the time the U.S. game is over, Galaxy fans can walk across the street to cheer on the Wizards for the final 30 minutes of their game against Chivas USA.

Now that's a deal!!

Finally, enjoy these photos from the past couple of days of practice.
Edson Buddle gets himself ready for the day's session.
Sean Franklin leading his team out in for a small-sided game.
Magee and Jovan have a joke with Josh Saunders.
Omar continues to put in the work as he aims to be the Galaxy's second Rookie of the Year in as many years.
Always happy to be on the field, Dema Kovalenko is closing in on a return to the field after training at close to full speed all week long.
Chris Birchall showed his finishing ability, beating Kevin Guppy just inside the far post.
Tristan shows off his finishing form.

Postgame Reaction from Friday

The team was off today so we thought we'd share a bit of the locker room reaction (and a cameo from Chris Klein's daughter) from the 1-0 win over Chicago on Friday night.

Help Cheer the U.S. on to Victory Saturday Night at the Off Campus Pub in Carson

The LA Galaxy and The Off Campus Pub in Carson have joined forces to offer all soccer fans a great deal to see Landon Donovan and the rest of the U.S. Men's National Team take on Honduras live from San Pedro Sula on Saturday night. The all important World Cup Qualifier is only is only available on closed circuit television. With the U.S. National Team on the verge of clinching a berth in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we know fans won't want to miss out on watching this one live.

Located directly across the street from The Home Depot Center on Avalon Blvd., The Off Campus Pub is the only local venue to watch the game in English-- and one of only two in Southern California. For just $15 fans will get to watch the U.S. game, while also receiving a coupon good for a complementary beverage of your choice and a supporter’s section ticket to the Galaxy’s regular season finale against San Jose on Saturday, October 24.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night and fans are asked to arrive early to ensure their spot for what is sure to be a festive occasion as the Red, White and Blue look to clinch a berth in their sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup.

Line Em Up

The Galaxy were back on the training field this morning as they continued preparations for next weekend's all-important game against the Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy and Dynamo are currently tied at the top of the Western Conference standings with 44 points with two games remaining each.

However, the standings may look decidedly different come next Sunday afternoon when the Galaxy and Dynamo face off at Robertson Stadium. Seattle and Chivas USA are each three points behind the Galaxy and Dynamo but could pull into a four-way tie for the conference top spot with wins. In fact, with Chivas USA playing this Saturday at home against Kansas City and next Saturday at home against San Jose, they could claim sole possession of first place in the West ahead of Sunday's game between LA and Houston.

With that in mind, Bruce Arena and the coaching staff put the players through a second straight full squad training session at The Home Depot Center today. A playoff spot has been sealed, but there is still a lot to play for in terms of playoff seeding and positioning.

Unlike most days, the finishing drills and other small group stuff happened at the start of the session as opposed to at the end like it normally does.After all the guys had done a bit of finishing, a bit of passing and some defending, the group got together for the day's main event, a series of small-sided games that lasted about 6-8 minutes each. Two of the three teams would play one another with the players that were not on the field doing fitness work on the side of the field with the training staff.
After 6-8 minutes, the whistle would blow to signal the end, with one team exiting the field and the team that was off, coming on. This went on until all teams had played six times, with a winner being declared in the winner.
But even if you won, you were still required to join the rest of the guys for a bit of running to round out the session, leaving everyone to head off at the end of the day significantly more tired than they were when they stepped onto the field.