CARSON, Calif. -- The LA Galaxy were back in the office on Thursday after a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Monterrey in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal.
Most of the players that took part in Wednesday's defeat participated in a regeneration session while others were back on the training field to prepare for the decisive second leg in Mexico.
The odds will be stacked against the Galaxy when they travel down to Estadio Tecnológico in Monterrey as a 1-0 LA win, any loss and any draw will send Los Rayados to the final for the third consecutive year. Although the trip to Mexico will be a challenge, LA head coach Bruce Arena took note of the upbeat nature of his veteran team on Thursday.
"We're upbeat," said Arena. "We know that we obviously made some mistakes and we have to give our opponent a lot of credit, but it was a game in it's entirety, it didn't end the way that we like, but I think there were large segments of the game that we played quite well and that's a positive. We're going to lick our wounds a little bit and get ready for the return leg."
Arena did not have an update on the status of Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who was forced to exit on Wednesday in the 61st minute with an apparent injury. But even if he is unable to suit up next Wednesday, the Galaxy are confident that they can cope if he is unable to go in Monterrey.
"We have guys more than capable of stepping up," said forward Mike Magee. "It wasn't just one guy leaving [that led to Wednesday's loss], as a whole, we took our foot off the gas, which isn't something that we tend to do."
