but they are hoping to use the energy that the crowd will bring to their advantage.
"We're really excited that there's going to be a great environment," said Galaxy head coach Steve Sampson. "When we go down there we're going to use that to our benefit. We look forward to it being a hostile environment. We look forward to the excitement of the event."
The Galaxy lineup will be aided by the return defender Chris Albright, who missed the first leg with an injury. In addition, defender Brian Dunseth will be available for the match after the Galaxy acquired him early last week in a deal with Chivas USA. Both players have international experience and will help prepare some of the younger players on the squad for what will be an intimidating crowd.
Estadio Saprissa also plays host to the Costa Rican national team's home games. As a result, several of the Galaxy players know what to expect. Albright, Cobi Jones, Landon Donovan, Tyrone Marshall and Dunseth have all played against Costa Rica on the road.
"I've played in Saprissa Stadium against the national team in a friendly," Dunseth said. "I know what it's like. The fans are right on top of you."
The Galaxy are going to have to find a way to feed off of that energy and earn a win. The two-leg series will be decided by total goals, and unlike similar European competitions where away goals is the first tiebreaker, in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup extra-time will be played if the tie is still level after 90 minutes on Wednesday, with a penalty shootout then awaiting if no winner is yet decided.
The Galaxy really aren't thinking about that, though. All they have on their minds is a win, no matter what form it comes in.
"We're right where we want to be. It would have been nice to score some goals (at home), but it was the first time a lot of us had gotten together in a long time," said Galaxy captain Pete Vagenas. "We're going to have to win on other fields at some point (in this tournament) -- we might as well start in the first round."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
