CARSON, Calif.– On the heels of their first home win since July 4, the LA Galaxy will look to make it two in a row on Saturday night when they host D.C. United at The Home Depot Center. That game, which is brought to you by The Home Depot, kicks off at 7:30 p.m., with the first 5,000 fans in attendance receiving a Home Depot Mystery Gift Card.
The Galaxy enter Saturday’s game with the best record in MLS, while United have the worst, collecting just 18 points from their 24 games compared to the Galaxy’s 47. LA won 2-1 at RFK Stadium on July 18 behind goals from Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan and more goals can be expected this weekend, with the two sides combining for a total of nine goals in their last two meetings at The Home Depot Center.
Saturday’s game against United will be broadcast live in English on Fox Soccer Channel, with the MLS Saturday on FSC pregame show at 7 p.m. and in Spanish on Fox Sports en Español, starting at 7:30 p.m. Additionally, the game will be live on the radio in English on KTLK 1150 AM and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes Radio 1330 AM KWKW.
THE
WEEK THAT WAS
Sat.,
September 11, 2010: Galaxy 3 – Columbus Crew 1 –
The Home
Depot Center – Attendance:
19,482
Edson Buddle, Dema Kovalenko and Jovan Kirovski each scored as the Galaxy won 3-1 over the Crew. The victory was the first home win for LA in the league since July 4 and snapped a three game winless streak. Buddle opened the scoring with his 14th goal in the 13th minute, before Kovalenko tallied the first goal of his Galaxy career 10 minutes before halftime, making the score 2-0. Kirovski added LA’s third early in the second half, with David Beckham coming on for the final 20 minutes to make his 2010 debut for the club.
INJURY
REPORT
OUT – None
DOUBTFUL – None
QUESTIONABLE – David Beckham (Left Achilles tendon), Gregg Berhalter (neck), Edson Buddle (hamstring tightness), A.J. DeLaGarza (Left knee)
PROBABLE – None
TEAM
NOTES
KOVALENKO MAKES 13: Dema Kovalenko scored the first goal of his Galaxy career in Saturday’s win over Columbus, beating William Hesmer with the eventual game-winner in the 35th minute. That goal was Kovalenko’s first in the regular season since May 31, 2008 when he was a member of Real Salt Lake.
Kovalenko, who has appeared in six games for the club this season, is the 13th different player to score for the Galaxy, and the second to do so while wearing the #21 shirt. Alan Gordon, who wore #21 before Kovalenko, also scored for LA, tallying against Colorado on May 5, before being traded to Chivas USA last month. Of the 24 players currently on the Galaxy roster, only six field players and the three goalkeepers have not scored a goal for LA in an MLS, CONCACAF Champions League or Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game, or one of the club’s four international friendlies.
BUDDLE EXTENDS LEAD: Just as the Galaxy were extending their lead at the top of the MLS standings, forward Edson Buddle was extending his lead at the top of the MLS scoring charts with his 14th goal of the season. Now in his 10th MLS season, Buddle is now one goal shy of tying his personal career-high of 15 goals, which he set with LA in 2008.
Buddle’s 14 goals in 19 games are two more than New York’s Juan Pablo Angel, who has 12 goals in 24 games. He now has 39 goals in 81 career games with the Galaxy and is one goal shy of becoming the first player in MLS history to score 40 or more goals for two different teams. He also scored 42 goals in 106 games with the Columbus Crew from 2001-2005. Buddle’s 87 career goals are the eighth most in MLS history, just one shy of Roy Lassiter, who is seventh in league history with 88 career goals.
NEW CAREER HIGH FOR DONOVAN: Landon Donovan assisted on each of the Galaxy’s first two goals on Saturday night, remaining the MLS leader in assists and extending his lead over Philadelphia’s Sebastian Le Toux. Donovan now has 14 assists on the season, setting a new career high for him, breaking his former mark of 13 which was set in 2007. His 14 assists tie Martin Machon in 1999 for the second most in a single season in club history, just two shy of the club record of 16 assists, which was set by Mauricio Cienfuegos in 1999.
Since joining the Galaxy in 2005, Donovan now has 60 assists to go along with 69 goals in 139 regular season games for the club. Only current Galaxy assistant coach Cobi Jones (91 assists) and Cienfuegos (80 assists) have more assists in a Galaxy uniform than Donovan.
MARSHALL RETURNS: On Monday, the Galaxy welcomed defender Yohance Marshall back to the club after spending more than five months on loan with the Austin Aztex of the USSF Division 2 Pro League. Now in his second year with the Galaxy, Marshall appeared in 24 games for Austin this season, scoring three goals and collecting two bookings while helping the club to the second best record in the league and their first ever postseason berth.
After being loaned to Austin in early April, Marshall did rejoin the Galaxy briefly in late May, taking a spot in the 18-man squad at FC Dallas on May 20 and playing the second half of the friendly win over Boca Juniors at The Home Depot Center on May 23.
The 24-year-old central defender has not appeared in a regular season game for the club, though he did appear in a U.S. Open Cup Play-In Game against Colorado in April 2009. He was signed by the Galaxy as an undrafted free agent in March 2009 after playing four years at the University of South Florida.
ONLY TWO REMAIN: With David Beckham making his 2010 Galaxy debut on Saturday night against the Crew, replacing Juninho in the 70th minute, he became the 24th different player to appear in a regular season game for the club this season. Two of those 24, midfielder Clint Mathis and forward Alan Gordon, are no longer with the team, meaning that only two of the club’s current 24 players have not played in a game for the club this season. Those two are goalkeeper Brian Perk, who was claimed off waivers from Philadelphia in early August and defender Yohance Marshall, who was recalled by the club on Monday after spending much of the season on loan to the Austin Aztex.
GALAXY TO HONOR MLS LEGEND JAIME MORENO PRIOR TO KICKOFF ON SATURDAY: On Saturday night, the LA Galaxy will honor D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno in a pregame presentation just before kickoff in recognition of the MLS original’s contributions to MLS and the game in the United States. A member of all 12 of United’s major domestic and international titles, Moreno is the all-time leading goal scorer in MLS history. The 1997 MLS Golden Boot award winner, Moreno was also named to the MLS Best XI four times, seven MLS All-Star teams and was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI in 2005.
IN THE
COMMUNITY
VOTE FOR GALAXY TO RECEIVE A $50,000 PEPSI REFRESH GRANT: The LA Galaxy are asking fans to vote for the club’s Pepsi Refresh Project idea in order to help receive a $50,000 grant. Edson Buddle is the Galaxy’s Pepsi Refresh Project Ambassador and fans can view his video online at http://www.mlssoccer.com/pepsirefresh/la to learn more about the club’s Pepsi Refresh Project idea to build bridges and bring hope through soccer. They can then cast their vote for the Galaxy’s idea up to 25 times per day at the above link. The Galaxy is striving to hit 1000 votes per day every day this week and is encouraging fans to vote 25 times and send a screen shot to socialmedia@lagalaxy.com for a chance to win great prizes every day. Voting is open now and runs until Monday, September 20 at 8:59 p.m. For more information on prizes, fans can visit the Galaxy facebook page at www.facebook.com/lagalaxy
GALAXY TO HOST FOOD DRIVE ON SEPT. 18: Prior to the to LA Galaxy’s game against the D.C. United on Saturday, September 18, the Galaxy will be hosting a Food Drive as part of the club’s annual Drive Series. September is Hunger Action Month and the Galaxy are asking fans to join in the fight by donating five (5) canned food items or $5. All donations will benefit the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. Fans are encouraged to give the gift of food by donating non-perishable, food items such as canned vegetables, peanut butter, canned meats (i.e. tuna, chicken, spam), canned fruits and spaghetti. The donated food items can be dropped off outside of each entrance at The Home Depot Center on the day of the match. Fans who donate will all receive a coupon for $5 off select upcoming Galaxy games as well as have their name entered into a drawing to win a 2010 team autographed Galaxy soccer ball.
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.
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.
