CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, March 16, 2011) – The LA Galaxy returned to Los Angeles this morning following the club’s 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC last night at Qwest Field. They will be back on the training field on Thursday for the first of three sessions before the club’s home opener against the New England Revolution on Sunday, March 20. That game, which is presented by Pechanga Resort and Casino, kicks off at 5 p.m. with the first 15,000 fans entering the stadium receiving a complimentary LA Galaxy 2011 MLS schedule magnet. BUY NOW
Sunday evening’s game will be shown live on Galavision and on tape delay on FOX Sports West starting at 8 p.m. with Jim Watson, Mark Rogondino and Jackie Pickering having the call from The Home Depot Center. Following the game, fans will be able to stick around and watch a special postgame edition of Galaxy Live that starts as soon as the match ends. The game will also be available on the radio in English and Spanish on KTLK 1150 AM and KWKU 1220 AM, respectively.
INJURY REPORT
Galaxy Injury Report
OUT – Adam Cristman (Left Knee – Inflammation), Dan Keat (Left Heel – Fracture)
DOUBTFUL – Gregg Berhalter (Left MCL – Sprain)
QUESTIONABLE – Donovan Ricketts (Right Hamstring – Strain)
PROBABLE – Juan Pablo Angel (Illness), Omar Gonzalez (Right Shoulder – Sprain)
TEAM NOTES
SET FOR HOME OPENER: After dispatching the Seattle Sounders FC in their season opener at Qwest Field on Tuesday, the Galaxy will now prepare for their home opener on Sunday evening against the New England Revolution. LA are 10-4-1 in their previous 15 home openers, with two of those games coming against the Revolution. In 2006, following their second MLS Cup title, the Galaxy opened their season with a 1-0 home loss to the Revs before reversing that scoreline in their 2010 home opener, when Edson Buddle scored early in the first half to give the Galaxy a 1-0 win.
Including last season’s win over New England, the Galaxy have outscored their opponents 27-18 in their home opener.
ALVARADO SIGNED: On Monday, the Galaxy completed the signing of defender Sean Alvarado. A 23-year-old native of West Orange, N.J., Alvarado played four years at UCLA before graduating in 2009. A center back who helped the Bruins reach the College Cup Final in 2006, Alvarado spent part of 2010 training in England with Tottenham Hotspur and here in the Southland with Chivas USA.
Originally born in Beverly Hills, Calif., Alvarado appeared in 43 games during his four years at UCLA, scoring twice and adding one assist, all of which came during his senior year when the Bruins reached the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. He scored the game-winning goal in the Bruins’ 2-0 season opening win over the defending National Champion University of Maryland and then added his second goal in a 2-0 win over Stanford later that season.
Alvarado, who will wear the #33 shirt, becomes the ninth defender on the LA roster and gives the club 29 players on their roster, one less than the league maximum of 30.
DONOVAN GETS NATIONAL TEAM CALL-UP: Galaxy captain Landon Donovan has been included in Bob Bradley’s 24-man squad for the U.S. National Team’s upcoming friendlies against Argentina and Paraguay. Donovan, who played 90 minutes in LA’s season opening win over Seattle on Tuesday night, will be available for the Galaxy in Sunday’s home opener against New England before joining the National Team in North Carolina on Monday.
The first game for the U.S., against Argentina at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, is on Saturday, March 26, meaning that Donovan will miss the Galaxy’s game against Real Salt Lake that night at Rio Tinto Stadium. After the game against Argentina, the U.S. will name a roster for the second game of the trip, against Paraguay, which will be played at LP Field in Nashville on Tuesday, March 29. If Donovan is a part of that group, he would return to Los Angeles after that game, ahead of the Galaxy’s home game against Philadelphia on April 2.
TIME CHANGE FOR PURO GALAXY: This week, “Puro Galaxy” will start one hour earlier than the show’s typical air time due to the 5 p.m. kickoff, starting at 3:30 p.m. on KWKW 1330 AM before programming switches to KWKU 1220 AM in Pomona at 4:30 p.m. for the start of the pre-game show.
LA GALAXY YOUTH ACADEMY
U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY TEAMS RETURN TO ACTION: Nearly four months removed from their last competitive game, the LA Galaxy Youth Academy U-16 and U-18 teams return to action in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this weekend. Both teams will be on the road for a pair of games, first travelling to Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. to take on Pateadores on Saturday and then heading to Concordia University in Irvine on Sunday to take on the Irvine Strikers.
Both U-18 games start at 10 a.m., with the U-16’s following at 12:30 p.m.
The Galaxy Academy will play their first home games of 2011 on Sunday, April 10 when they host Arsenal FC at The Home Depot Center.
MENDEZ INVITED TO U-15 NATIONAL TEAM CAMP: Galaxy U-16 midfielder Axel Mendez has been invited to train with the U.S. Under-15 National Team for their week-long camp at The Home Depot Center. The camp opened on Sunday, and on Tuesday a collection of the Galaxy’s U-15 team and a number of the younger U-16 players defeated the U.S.
Following the game, Mendez, who is from Montebello, Calif., was invited to train with the U.S. U-15’s for the remainder of the camp, which ends on Sunday.
FOUR PLAYERS TRAIN WITH THE FIRST TEAM: While the Galaxy were in Seattle at the start of this week, four members of the Galaxy’s Academy teams were invited to train with the players that did not travel north. Goalkeepers Josh McNeely and Adam Zepeda and midfielders Alan Rovira and Riley Wolfe took part in three days of training at The Home Depot Center, working with Gregg Berhalter and the rest of the Galaxy players that did not travel to Seattle, including their former Academy teammate Jack McBean, who was signed by the Galaxy as a Home Grown Player in January.
IN THE COMMUNITY
GALAXY TROPHY TOUR CONTINUES: The LA Galaxy Trophy Tour makes its last two stops before Sunday’s home opener on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 at the Alpine Village (833 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA) from 6-8 p.m. and Bier Academy (18511 Soledad Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA) 7-9 p.m., respectively. Fans are encouraged to come and take photos with the 2010 MLS Supporters’ Shield and 2009 Western Conference Championship trophies, meet members of the 2011 Miss LA Galaxy court and enter to win tickets to Sunday’s match, Galaxy jerseys and other Galaxy items. For more information, visit www.lagalaxy.com/pubs.
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. The Galaxy can also be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lagalaxy and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lagalaxy.
