The LA Galaxy returned to their winning ways on Sunday with a 2-1 win at D.C. United and will now look to make it two in a row when they host San Jose on Thursday night at The Home Depot Center. Because of the short turnaround from Sunday’s game to Thursday’s, the Galaxy will train just twice before taking on the Earthquakes who are 0-2-0 against LA in Carson since returning to MLS in 2008.
Thursday night’s game will be the first meeting of the season between the Galaxy and Earthquakes, who have met six times since the start of the 2008 season, with LA going 3-2-1 in those contests, including a season-ending 2-0 win at The Home Depot Center last October to clinch a first place regular season finish in the Western Conference.
ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will broadcast Thursday night’s game live nationally, with ESPN Deportes Radio 1330 AM covering the match locally on the radio in Spanish. Fans can also listen to all the action in English at lagalaxy.com.
Following the game against San Jose, the Galaxy will quickly shift their focus to the CONCACAF Champions League, where they will host the Puerto Rico Islanders in the First Leg of their Preliminary Round series. The return leg of the series will be played in San Juan Puerto Rico on Wednesday, August 4. Click here for more information on CONCACAF Champions League.
THE
WEEK THAT WAS
Tuesday,
July 13, 2010; Galaxy U-20’s 2 – Southern California Seahorses 2 – Biola
University
The Galaxy U-20’s clinched the Pacific Southern California Division title with a season-ending 2-2 draw with the Southern California Seahorses. LA finished the season with a 6-1-3 record, going unbeaten in their last nine games to finish one point ahead of SUSA – Everton and win their second division title in three years.
Sunday,
July 18, 2010; Galaxy 2 – D.C. United 1 – RFK Stadium – Attendance:
17,688
Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan scored on either side of halftime as the Galaxy stretched their lead at the top of the Western Conference to nine points over Real Salt Lake with a 2-1 win over D.C. United. Buddle scored seven minutes before the break and Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 58th minute to break a 1-1 draw and give LA their 12th win of the season, matching last year’s total.
INJURY
REPORT
OUT – Mike Magee (Bilateral Sports Hernia – Disabled List)
DOUBTFUL – None
QUESTIONABLE – None
PROBABLE - None
TEAM
NOTES
DYNAMIC DUO: The Galaxy’s leading goal scorer and leading assist man, Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan, each scored in the 2-1 win at D.C. United on Sunday. This was the first time that both Buddle and Donovan scored in the same regular season game for the Galaxy since October 26, 2008 in a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas to end the 2008 season. The last time both players scored in a Galaxy win was on May 24, 2008 in a 3-1 home win over the Kansas City Wizards.
BUSY WEEK: Following Sunday night’s game in D.C., the Galaxy returned to the West Coast on Monday and will hold two days of training before Thursday night’s game against the Earthquakes. Five days later, the Galaxy are back at home when they host the Puerto Rico Islanders in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series. (7:30 p.m. PT, FSC)
Following that game Bruce Arena and the Galaxy’s four All-Stars; Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts, will head to Houston for Wednesday night’s 2010 MLS All-Star Game against Manchester United at Reliant Stadium. (5:30 p.m. PT, ESPN2, Telefutra) Those five will then fly back to Los Angeles on Thursday ahead of a league game against Chicago on Sunday, August 1 at 4:30 p.m.
HEADING HOME: In the weeks prior to Sunday’s game against D.C. United, the Galaxy faced a similarly congested schedule, playing a total of five games in 15 days, including three in seven days at one point. But while two of those three games were on the road, first in Seattle on July 7 and then at New England a few days later on July 10, the Galaxy will not have to leave Southern California during the upcoming three-game homestand.
The only players who will have to leave the region are those that were selected for the MLS All-Star Game in Houston.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURNS: The Galaxy will begin their quest for a CONCACAF Champions League title on Tuesday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Puerto Rico Islanders in the first leg of their Preliminary Round series at The Home Depot Center. The return leg of the series will be played eight days later in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the aggregate goal winner of the series moving on to the Champions League Group Stage.
This is the Galaxy’s first berth in the current version of the Champions League, having last played in the tournament in 2006 when it was called the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
LA lost a two-game, aggregate goal series to Saprissa of Costa Rica that year, playing to a 0-0 draw at home before falling 3-2 in extra time in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Galaxy have also played in the Champions Cup in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2003, reaching the final before losing to Mexico’s Cruz Azul in 1997 and then winning the title in 2000 over CD Olimpia of Honduras.
In 2008, CONCACAF changed the tournament’s format, adopting the current structure, which sees the eight teams which advance past the Preliminary Round join eight other teams that have been directly seeded into the Group Stage. Those 16 teams are divided into four groups of four that will play round robin style, giving each team a total of six games. After those games are played, the top two teams in each group will advance to the Champions League Quarterfinals, which will begin in March 2011. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are all two-leg, aggregate goal series, with the finals being held in April 2011.
The winner of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League will then advance to the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held in Japan in December of that year.
If the Galaxy advance past Puerto Rico, who qualified for the tournament by winning the 2010 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship, they will be placed into Group D along with Mexican champion Toluca, Honduran side CD Olimpia and the winner of the series between FAS of El Salvador and Xelaju of Guatemala.
MORE CONCACAF
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE INFO
YOUTH ACADEMY
GALAXY U-20’S CLINCH DIVISION TITLE: The LA Galaxy U-20’s won their second division title in three years this week thanks to a season-ending 2-2 draw with the Southern California Seahorses. The Galaxy finished the season with a 6-1-3 record for 21 points and ended the year on a nine-game unbeaten streak, outscoring opponents 26-4 in those games and only allowing more than one goal once. LA finished one point ahead of second place SUSA – Everton to take the USL Super-20 Pacific Southern California Division.
By winning the division, the Galaxy will advance to the USL Super-20 Finals, which will be held in Rockford, Ill. from July 29 until August 1.
RILEY WOLFE NAMED TO U-18 WEST CONFERENCE STARTING XI: On Sunday, LA Galaxy U-18 midfielder Riley Wolfe was named to the U-18 West Conference Starting XI, which honors the best players in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s West Conference. A midfielder from Manhattan Beach, Calif., Wolfe had five goals in 23 games for the Galaxy U-18’s this season, despite missing part of the season while with the U.S. U-18 National Team at the Lisbon International Tournament in Portugal. Wolfe helped the Galaxy U-18’s reach the Development Academy Playoffs for the first time ever, where they narrowly missed out on a spot in the Development Academy Finals, which were held at The Home Depot Center last weekend.
IN THE
COMMUNITY
GALAXY TO HOST EQUIPMENT DRIVE ON JULY 22: Prior to the to LA Galaxy’s game against the San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday, July 22, the Galaxy will be hosting an Equipment Drive as part of the club’s annual Drive Series. Fans are encouraged to give the gift of soccer by donating new or gently used soccer gear. The donated soccer gear – jerseys, shorts, shoes, balls and shin guards are all acceptable - can be dropped off outside of each entrance at The Home Depot Center on the day of the match. The Galaxy Drive Series is a community initiative where the Galaxy's Community Development department conducts equipment, food, clothing, and school supplies drives aimed at assisting Los Angeles area youth and local non-profit organizations. For more information on the Galaxy Drive Series, please visit the Community section of the website at www.lagalaxy.com.
GALAXY FOUNDATION SHOT OF THE WEEK: At each LA Galaxy home game, fans are invited to visit the Galaxy Foundation Booth to place your bid on the Galaxy Foundation's Shot of the Week presented by MoraPhotography.com. Each photo will be signed by the player or players featured. All proceeds benefit the Los Angeles Galaxy Foundation.
FOR THE
FANS
GALAXY HELP ARRANGE TRIPS FOR FANS TO SAN JOSE AND NEW YORK: Galaxy fans wishing to see their team play live in New York on August 14 or San Jose on August 21 are in luck as the club has paired with Bixby Travel Company to put together a pair of exciting travel packages. Visit www.lagalaxy.com/roadtrips for more information!
NEED TO
KNOW
LOOKING FOR MORE UPDATES?: If you are looking for continuous updates from the Galaxy all week long, be sure to visit the club’s official websites www.lagalaxy.com and www.lagalaxyfutbol.com, or the club’s official blog at www.thelagalaxy.blogspot.com for all the latest news from the club. The Galaxy can also be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lagalaxy, Facebook at www.facebook.com/lagalaxy and YouTube at www.youtube.com/TheLAGalaxy.
