CARSON, Calif. - When Chivas USA hit the training field this week, it was a refreshing change of pace from the previous two weeks.
The club actually had a league match waiting to prepare for.
"We've kind of been preparing ourselves, working really hard and trying to stay fit," defender Jonathan Bornstein said. "I think the mentality has been really great. Everyone was very excited to know that we had a game on the weekend."
After a four-day stretch with games in New York and Kansas City to close out July, Chivas USA has been silent save for training sessions. The club, though, will return to action on Saturday as the Red-and-White visit Canada for the first time for a match against expansion side Toronto FC.
Chivas USA enter the match in good standing in the Western Conference table. With an 8-6-3 mark, Chivas USA sits in third place in the West. Though the club has 27 points to FC Dallas' 36 and Houston's 34, Chivas USA has four games in hand over Houston and three over FC Dallas.
With no match to train for, the club used the break to set up what will be a challenging and taxing last stretch of the season.
"We had two good weeks of hard training, fitness and trying to build a base for the second half of the season. It was almost like another preseason," Marsch said. "It went well and now we're just kind of preparing ourselves for a push here at the end of the year and more specifically the trip to Toronto."
Chivas USA coach Preki said the club used the down time wisely.
"We have something to prepare for. We haven't played for two weeks and we've been trying to give the guys a little bit of rest but also we were trying to get the guys a little bit of fitness in and we've done a pretty decent job," he said.
Though the club did what it could over the last few weeks, how those efforts pay off remain to be seen.
Preki, though, was hopeful the down time would pay off with positive results. The club was able to boost its roster when it acquired Ramon Nunez from FC Dallas on Wednesday. Also, Paulo Nagamura trained with the team this week and showed no ill effects from his knee injury.
"I would hope it helps because we have been having all these injuries and we're trying to get some guys back," Preki said. "I'm hoping that was going to be enough time but we'll see what happens on Friday and Saturday and make some decisions."
Marsch said he couldn't pinpoint whether the time was a plus or a minus.
"We'll find out. It's hard to say. You can make the argument that it could help or you could make the argument that it could hurt," he said. "Our fitness level is now good so we've got to be ready for a lot of games coming at us in a little bit of time."
After having no games in 18 days, Chivas USA will play three in the next nine days. Also, the club will play four Thursday matches over the season's last two months, with a Sunday match following each midweek game.
It's just another challenge the club must overcome, Marsch said.
"I don't know who worked the schedule for this whole thing but it really kind of put us in a tough spot," he said. "Some of our older guys are our key players and so when we start having these games back to back to back to back it's going to test some of us. That's why it was important for us that we take care of our fitness these last couple of weeks."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
