Following their first season opening victory in six years, the LA Galaxy will look to make it a perfect two for two on Thursday night when they host Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center in the year’s first installment of the Honda SuperClasico. The game, which is presented by Pechanga Resort and Casino, kicks off at 8 p.m. with the first 15,000 fans to enter the stadium receiving a pair of CheerStix courtesy of Pechanga and the Galaxy.
For fans that cannot make it out to The Home Depot Center, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will televise the game live nationally beginning at 8 p.m. Additionally, the game can be heard locally in Spanish on ESPN Deportes Radio 1330 AM and online around the world on the all new lagalaxy.com. Both broadcasts start at 7:30 p.m. with their respective pregame shows.
INJURY
REPORT
Galaxy
Injury Report
OUT – None
DOUBTFUL – None
QUESTIONABLE – Gregg Berhalter (Left Knee – Soreness), Alan Gordon (Left Knee – Bruise), Bryan Jordan (Left Upper Leg – Soreness), Jovan Kirovski (Left Knee – Sprain), Eddie Lewis (Left Foot – Contusion), Clint Mathis (Left Knee – Surgery)
PROBABLE – None
TEAM
NOTES
SET FOR THE START OF SUPERCLASICO: Thursday night’s game between the Galaxy and Chivas USA will be the first of two legs of the Honda SuperClasico in 2010. The Galaxy are once again the defending SuperClasico champions, going 2-0-1 against Chivas USA last season, winning a pair of 1-0 games in addition to a 0-0 draw for their fourth SuperClasico title in five years.
All-time LA is 4-0-1 in their first meeting of the season with Chivas USA, winning every year from 2005-08 before playing to a 0-0 draw in the first leg last season. In those four wins, LA outscored their in-stadium rivals 13-5, winning 3-1 in 2005, 2-1 in 2006, 3-1 in 2007 and 5-2 in 2008 – a game that still ranks as the highest scoring game in the history of the Honda SuperClasico.
A SHORTER SUPERCLASICO: For the first time since the debut of the Honda SuperClasico in 2005, the Galaxy and Chivas USA will play one another just twice this season, with each club hosting one of the two games. Each of the first three years the trophy was fought for, the two teams met in the regular season four times, while they met three times in each of the past two seasons.
The Galaxy have won the SuperClasico Trophy four times in five years, winning in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
The second leg of this year’s SuperClasico, in which Chivas USA will be the home team, will be played on Sunday, October 3.
OFF TO A GOOD START: The Galaxy’s win on Saturday night was their first in a season opener dating back to the 2004 season. In that game, Andreas Herzog, Jovan Kirovski and Carlos Ruiz all scored as the Galaxy defeated New England 3-2. However, since then, the Galaxy had been 0-3-2 in their season openers before Saturday’s win.
LA is now 7-6-2 all-time in their 15 regular season openers and 10-4-1 all-time in home openers.
BUDDLE’S FAST START: Edson Buddle’s goal in the sixth minute of Saturday night’s win over New England was the Galaxy’s fastest-ever goal in a season opener. Prior to that goal, the Galaxy’s earliest goal in a season opener was in 1999 when Clint Mathis scored the 14th minute of LA’s 2-1 shootout win over Colorado at the Rose Bowl.
DONOVAN ON THE SCORESHEET: With his assist on Edson Buddle’s first half goal on Saturday night, Landon Donovan now has five goals and four assists in the Galaxy’s five home openers since he joined the club. Donovan had two goals and an assist in his first ever home game as a member of the Galaxy in 2005 and then added two goals in last year’s season opening 2-2 draw with D.C. United on March 22.
He also added a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over San Jose in the 2008 home opener and an assist in the home opening defeat to FC Dallas in 2007.
In 2008 and 2009, Donovan either scored or assisted on each of the Galaxy’s first eight goals of the season and in 2007 he scored or assisted on each of their first seven goals.
A SHUTOUT TO START THE SEASON: Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was only called upon to make one save on Saturday night as the Galaxy opened the season with a shutout for just the third time in club history.
The last time the Galaxy opened the season with a clean sheet was in 2007 when the club earned a 0-0 draw with the defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. Prior to that, the only other time that the Galaxy did not allow a goal in their season opener was in 1997 when they lost 1-0 in a shootout to the defending MLS Cup champion D.C. United after finishing tied 0-0 after 90 minutes of regulation.
If LA can shutout Chivas USA on Thursday night, it would give the Galaxy consecutive shutouts to open the season for the first time in club history.
HALFWAY THERE: With their win over New England, the Galaxy are now halfway to rewarding fans through a special Win Two, Get One promotion. Any fan who purchased tickets to each of the Galaxy’s first two games through this promotion, will receive a free ticket to the rematch of MLS Cup 2009 when LA hosts Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Center on April 17 if the Galaxy defeat Chivas USA on Thursday night.
BRITNIGHT RETURNS TO THE HOME DEPOT CENTER: For the third straight season, BritNight returns to The Home Depot Center on Saturday, April 17 as part of BritWeek 2010. Prior to the Galaxy’s MLS Cup 2009 rematch with Real Salt Lake, fans will be able to watch a celebrity soccer game featuring a host of British celebrities from the worlds of film, music sports and television taking on a collection of celebrities from around the world.
Some of the celebrities who are scheduled to appear at the game include actor Michael Sheen, celebrity chef and TV star Gordon Ramsey and many more.
BritNight is one event of many that make up BritWeek 2010, a month-long celebration of British culture and influences to Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco. To learn more about BritWeek and the various events, please visit www.britweek.org.
COMMUNITY
GALAXY FOUNDATION TO HOST ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT: On Friday, April 2, the LA Galaxy Foundation and The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation will host the Fourth Annual Easter Egg Hunt at The Home Depot Center's Track & Field Stadium. LA Galaxy forward Edson Buddle, defenders Todd Dunivant and Omar Gonzalez will be on hand for the event, which features a series of fun and interactive activities for children, including the Easter Egg Hunt, Radio Disney, Farmer John and The Home Depot. The Easter Egg Hunt will feature 450 children, ages 1-10, who registered online.
YOUTH ACADEMY
GALAXY ACADEMY TEAMS FIND SUCCESS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: The LA Galaxy Youth Academy teams were back in action last weekend as both the U-16 and U-18 squads made their way to Northern California for a pair of games against the De Anza Force and California Development Academy.
On Saturday, both Galaxy teams were victorious against De Anza, with the U-16’s claiming a come from behind 3-2 win and the U-18’s winning 5-2. The U-16’s trailed 2-0 after just 20 minutes, but two goals from Juan Mendoza and one from Drew Murphy gave the squad the victory. For the U-18’s, Eric Verso recorded a hat trick while Christian Alvarado and Riley Wolfe added solo tallies in their victory
The following day, the U-16’s suffered a 3-0 defeat to the California Development Academy, again falling behind 2-0 early, this time inside the game’s opening 10 minutes. But this time, there would be no comeback and the hosts sealed the win with a third goal 10 minutes before the final whistle. Later in the day, the U-18’s grabbed their second win of the weekend, reversing the U-16’s score in a 3-0 victory, with Christian Alvarado scoring twice and Trent Clifton adding a third.
NEED TO
KNOW
MEDIA PARKING AT TRAINING: All media members are asked to enter through Gate A, off Avalon Blvd., and to park in Lot 18 when attending Galaxy training sessions at The Home Depot Center. Members of the media who park in Lot 6, across from University Fields 1 and 2, during training sessions may be ticketed by California State University – Dominguez Hills.
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.
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