In the midst of a two-week break for the First Round of the FIFA World Cup, the LA Galaxy will return to training on Tuesday for the first of three sessions this week at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy lost for the first time this season in their final game before the break, falling 1-0 on the road to Real Salt Lake and will look to get back to their winning ways on June 26 when they travel north to Canada to take on Toronto FC.
THE
WEEK THAT WAS
Wednesday,
June 9, 2010; Galaxy 0 – Real
Salt Lake 1 – Rio Tinto
Stadium – Attendance: 19,513
The Galaxy’s club record 15-game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Javier Morales scored the game’s only goal in the 80th minute, beating Donovan Ricketts from close range despite claims of offside from Ricketts and the rest of the Galaxy defense. Even with the loss, the Galaxy remain nine points clear of second place RSL in the Western Conference heading into the two-week World Cup break, which began on Friday.
Wednesday,
June 9, 2010; Galaxy U-20’s 1 – Chivas USA U-20’s 3 – Bell
Gardens
Friday,
June 11, 2010; Galaxy U-20’s 3 – SUSA – Everton
U-20’s 0 – The Home Depot
Center
Saturday,
June 12, 2010; Galaxy U-20’s 6 – Lancaster
Rattlers U-20’s 0 – The Home Depot
Center
TEAM
NOTES
UNBEATEN STREAK SNAPPED: The Galaxy’s 15-game unbeaten run came to an end on Wednesday night when they fell 1-0 at Real Salt Lake. That loss was the Galaxy’s first in a regular season game since September 26, 2009 when they lost 2-0 at Columbus. The 15 games without a loss tied the Galaxy’s club record for longest unbeaten streak and were the second most in MLS history. Only the Columbus Crew played more than 15 straight games without a loss, going 19 straight games without a defeat from July 2004 until April 2005.
Additionally, the Galaxy tied an MLS record that they set in 1996 and that the Kansas City Wizards matched in 2000, opening the season without a loss in 12 consecutive games.
During the 15-game unbeaten run, the Galaxy went 12-0-3 and outscored their opponents 25-3 and keeping 12 clean sheets. In 1,350 minutes of play during those 15 games, the Galaxy never trailed and got goals from 11 different players as well as an own goal. Edson Buddle led the way with nine goals while Landon Donovan and Jovan Kirovski each added three.
The team that the Galaxy faced the most during the run was Houston, who met LA three times in those 15 games. The Galaxy were 2-0-1 against the Dynamo, playing to a 0-0 draw at Houston on October 18, 2009 before beating them twice this season, first a 2-0 win at Houston on April 10 and then a 4-1 home win at The Home Depot Center on June 5, the Galaxy’s final game before losing to RSL.
FOLLOWING THE FIRST LOSS: Since MLS discontinued the shootout to decide games before the 2000 season, the Galaxy are 6-2-3 following their first defeat of the season. In the last six years, LA is 4-0-2 after their first loss of the season, outscoring opponents 12-4.
In 2009, the Galaxy lost a total of six regular season games and only lost consecutive games once, falling 2-0 to Real Salt Lake at home on June 13 and then losing 2-1 at San Jose a week later. Only one other time in Bruce Arena’s tenure with the Galaxy has the club lost two consecutive games.
PLENTY OF TIME OFF: Between Wednesday’s game at Salt Lake and the game at Toronto on June 26, the Galaxy will go 15 days between regular season games. This will be their longest in-season stretch without a game since midway through the 2007 season. That year, the Galaxy did not play a regular season MLS game between a 2-2 home draw with Kansas City on July 7 and a 0-0 draw at Toronto FC on August 5. In between those games, the Galaxy lost a U.S. Open Cup Third Round game to the Richmond Kickers (USL – 2nd Division), played against Tigres UANL and Chelsea FC in the World Series of Football at The Home Depot Center and played three group stage games at the inaugural SuperLiga tournament, defeating Pachuca 2-1 at The Home Depot Center, losing 2-1 to Chivas at the L.A. Coliseum and beating FC Dallas 6-5 at Pizza Hut Park.
BUDDLE AND DONOVAN PLAY IN DRAW WITH ENGLAND: Galaxy forwards Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan were in the lineup for the United States as they opened their 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw with England on Saturday. Donovan started and played the full 90 minutes for the U.S., collecting his 124th cap for the U.S. and appearing in his ninth World Cup game, tying Eddie Pope for the fifth most in U.S. history.
Buddle made his World Cup debut in the 77th minute of that game, replacing Robbie Findley. Buddle earned his fourth cap in that game.
Both players will be looking to be back on the field on Friday when the U.S. takes on Group C leaders Slovenia. That game kicks off at 7 a.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN. For viewing party information, visit www.lagalaxy.com/worldcupviewingparties.
CUP OF JOE WITH CLINT MATHIS: Tune-in to the Galaxy's weekly live web show, Cup of Joe, with radio play-by-play announcer Joe Tutino. On Thursday afternoon at halftime of the World Cup game between Mexico and France (approximately 12:15 p.m.), Clint Mathis will joining Tutino to discuss the first half of the Galaxy’s season, his return to the club the World Cup and much more. The show will air live on the Galaxy’s website, www.lagalaxy.com/cupofjoe, where it will also be archived for future viewing.
Fans can participate asking by questions either beforehand or live during the chat. Start submitting questions for Clint now to socialmedia@lagalaxy.com.
YOUTH ACADEMY
GALAXY U-20’S MOVE UP TO THIRD PLACE WITH PAIR OF WINS: After dropping their season opener against Chivas USA on Wednesday night, the LA Galaxy U-20’s recovered to claim wins on Friday and Saturday to improve to 2-1-0 on the season. The Galaxy opened their season with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chivas USA, but rebounded to defeat the previously undefeated SUSA – Everton, 3-0 at The Home Depot Center. The following day, the Galaxy made it two home wins in as many days, beating the Lancaster Rattlers 6-0.
Chivas USA and SUSA – Everton remain in first place in the USL Super-20 League, Pacific Southern California standings with nine points, while the Galaxy are close behind with six points and a game in hand on each of those two clubs. All six teams in the division will play each other twice, meaning that each team will play 10 games before the season ends in mid-July, with the Division champion being invited to the North American Finals, which will be held from July 30-August 2.
The U-20’s are back in action on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. when they host the Southern California Seahorses at The Home Depot Center.
GALAXY U-18 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE SET: The LA Galaxy U-18 team will travel to North Carolina next week for the Development Academy Playoffs, which will be held in Browns Summit, N.C. from June 25-29. A total of 32 teams qualified for the U-18 Academy Playoffs, with the Galaxy garnering the #15 seed in the tournament.
They will open postseason play against FC Greater Boston (#22 seed) on Saturday, June 26 at 9 a.m. (PT). They are back in action the next day, Sunday, June 27 at 2 p.m. (PT) when they take on the Clearwater Chargers (#27 seed) before rounding out group play on Tuesday, June 29 when they play FC Dallas (#7 seed) at 8 a.m. (PT).
The 32 playoff teams are divided into eight groups of four, with all eight group winners moving on to the Development Academy Finals, which will be held at The Home Depot Center from July 10-17.
IN THE
COMMUNITY
GALAXY HOST VIEWING PARTIES FOR U.S.-SLOVENIA WORLD CUP MATCH AT ESPN ZONES AT LA LIVE AND ANAHEIM ON FRIDAY: Fans looking to see the U.S. National Team play their second game in Group C action of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Slovenia on Friday morning are invited to free viewing parties that will be held at ESPN Zones at LA Live and Anaheim. For more information and the complete list of the club’s Official Viewing Locations for every game throughout the World Cup, go to www.lagalaxy.com/worldcupviewingparties.
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.
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 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lagalaxy.
