but only as far as Donovan, standing on the edge of the area. He settled and drove a low shot inside the left-hand post past an unsighted Guzan.
• In stoppage time, a Santino Quaranta chip found Kyle Martino, and he headed the ball on to the back post, where Donovan came in seemingly certain to once again give the Galaxy a win against their in-stadium rivals. But Guzan quickly came off his line to block the effort with his legs. Chivas USA has won just one of the 10 league meetings between the teams; Guzan's stop secured just the second draw.
• Chivas USA head coach Preki made one change to the team that drew 1-1 with the Columbus Crew the previous weekend in Ohio. Maykel Galindo came back into the team, in attack in place of Laurent Merlin.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Brad Guzan - Lawson Vaughn, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein - Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza (Orlando Perez 88) - Maykel Galindo (Laurent Merlin 85), Ante Razov (Matt Taylor 80). Substitutes Not Used: Jorge Barrera, Preston Burpo, Anthony Hamilton, Jason Hernandez
• "Both teams played hard," Preki said. "If you watch big-city derbies - AC Milan-Inter Milan, Liverpool-Everton, whatever - all those games are tight. Today was another example. We knew it was going to be a hard game. They were coming off a loss. We were coming off a tough trip. We knew not too many things would be given up easily. In all fairness, I thought the game was even."
TEAM NEWS
• The draw was somewhat positive. The club gained one point and as well as some respect from Galaxy players. But overall, Chivas USA players felt that they let two points slip away. They generated some offense - they had 10 shots and four shots on goal. But the finishing let the team down.
• "It seemed that the team got tired in the second half and maybe that was it and we let three important points go away," Chivas midfielder Francisco Mendoza said. "We were superior but couldn't finish and that bothers me. But give them credit. They have a good team and do things well."
• For Galindo, the goal was his team-high fourth goal of the season. He also became the third Chivas player to score against the Galaxy in a regular-season game.
• "I was looking for the right moment because I could beat them with my speed," Galindo said. "Thankfully I got that opportunity and was able to get past the goalkeeper and finish."
• Since the start of the season, one area of concern for Chivas has become the midfield. Amado Guevara - touted to be the playmaker in the center of the park - has moved on, and Sacha Kljestan was out for two matches through suspension. Paulo Nagamura, acquired from Toronto FC, has slotted into the center of the engine room, but is still finding his way within the rojiblancos.
• "He's a guy who works real hard in the middle, he covers the goal pretty good but he can play soccer too," Preki said. "He's not afraid to get forward. The last game he got forward a couple of times and had a few crosses." Said Jesse Marsch: "He fits our team really well. He's got a great attitude. His work ethic is fantastic. The way he plays. I have respect him from playing against him but playing with him I respect him even more."
• But Chivas has seen just one goal from the midfield - from Kljestan in the opening game - and only six assists. "They are getting off to a slow start," Preki said. "If you base it on stats, nobody on the field is contributing stat-wise but they are working hard and hopefully the plays they need to make, they will make them again."
• In each of the last four games, Chivas USA has scored just one goal after having scored six goals in the first three games. The lack of dangerous plays is evident in their games, Marsch said.
• "I don't think we get very good movement or sharp play around the goal. Period," Marsch said. "Everybody gets in the act. It's not one or two guys. Either it's a good pass and there are no runs or it's a good run and a bad pass. It's very seldom that you see us put a lot of good plays together on the offensive end."
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas won for the third consecutive match - all by a 2-1 scoreline - getting a tremendous late goal to defeat Real Salt Lake last Sunday at Pizza Hut Park. FCD sits atop the Western Conference with 16 points from nine matches, four ahead of the Colorado Rapids and a point behind the New England Revolution in the race for the best overall record.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas had answered back-to-back 1-0 shutouts at home with a pair of 2-1 victories on the road, but were facing their third game in eight days. Real Salt Lake were looking to claim their first win on the season in Jason Kreis' coaching debut at the place he called home for a large part of his playing career.
• The home side had the early run of play and took the lead in the 26th minute through a wonderful goal. Arturo Alvarez, put into the starting lineup along with Carlos Ruiz and Dominic Oduro in a new-look strike trio, took the ball on the left and set off on a mazy dribbling run past a couple of RSL defenders and into the penalty area before lashing a left-footed blast inside the far post.
• But Real regained the advantage and pulled level at the three-quarter mark of the match. Referee Jozef Batko ruled FCD defender Alex Yi pulled back Salt Lake striker Atiba Harris in the area, and Freddy Adu converted from the spot for his first goal with RSL.
• Yet eight minutes from the end, an equally stunning goal gave the Hoops the victory. Chris Gbandi was picked out in space on the left and set forward to the upper corner of the area before launching a wicked drive that bounced off the inside of the angle of crossbar and far post before settling into the net. It was his first goal for nearly two years -- since July 2, 2005, the final FC Dallas goal scored at the Cotton Bowl.
• FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow made three changes from the team that defeated the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park three days earlier - completely swapping out his entire strike force. Out went Kenny Cooper, Abe Thompson and Ramon Nuñez, and in came Dominic Oduro, Arturo Alvarez and Carlos Ruiz.
• Here's Morrow's team (4-3-3): Dario Sala - Drew Moor, Clarence Goodson, Alex Yi, Chris Gbandi - Juan Toja, Pablo Ricchetti, Dax McCarty (Ramon Nunez 58) - Dominic Oduro (Kenny Cooper 67), Carlos Ruiz, Arturo Alvarez (Abe Thompson 82). Substitutes Not Used: Shaka Hislop, Bobby Rhine, Marcelo Saragosa, Blake Wagner
• "I spoke to the guys at halftime to keep doing the same things that we were doing in the first half. I think it took us a while to get going in the second half. I think that was the period were we really felt it (three games in a week), in terms of trying to get our legs going," Morrow said "A little bit of tiredness crept in in the second half. And that's why I wanted to have some strength on the bench as well. I knew we were going to need it. A lot of credit to the boys because I thought we finished the game strong."
TEAM NEWS
• With Ruiz returning to the first XI for the first time in three games, Morrow employed a three-forward system for the first time this season. Along each side of Ruiz, he put Alvarez and speedy Dominic Oduro.
• "I thought it worked well in the first half. We've played more games than any other team in the league. It's been another three games in a week and two games in four days and I wanted to be able to freshen things up, give it that bit of life and that bit of energy by making a few changes and getting some fresh legs out there," Morrow said. "We're a very deep team, very deep roster and we're going to need everyone throughout the season. I think it's important that, as much as possible, to try and keep everyone fit and sharp. I looked at Salt Lake and what they had to offer and playing Carlos up top and Dominic on one side of him and Arturo on the other side, I thought it worked very, very well in the first half and we were able to create a lot of chances."
• Even though it has now been 16 games since FCD kept their last clean sheet, Morrow was quick to commend his back line. "I think we have looked solid defensively, especially in the last two games. If you win two straight on the road, there can't be too much wrong defensively. I think we put ourselves under pressure on set plays. We conceded a lot of corners against Chicago and a lot more today," he said.
• Said Gbandi: "I thought we did all all right. Obviously this whole shutout thing - we try not to talk about it but it's still not helping so we might as well just talk about it now. But we need a good one. It was a good defensive performance and obviously giving up a sloppy penalty like that doesn't help us. I think the guys in the back are gelling and we're starting to play well together and hopefully if we stay healthy we can continue to do a good job."
• Still, FCD conceded 10 corner kicks to RSL after giving up 14 in the win at Chicago. "We have to cut back on that because goals come from the kinds of opportunities that we're giving up now," Moor said. "You can't have shutouts if you're giving up 14 corner kicks a game. I think that's probably where we're at for the last three games. It's another good result in our third game this week and we'll take the three points."
• A year ago, the Hoops won just four times away from Pizza Hut Park. The 2007 version of the club has already played on the road five times and have an impressive 3-1-1 mark, heading into this weekend's encounter. "I think everyone is acting differently than last year. Everyone supports each other and helps each other out both on and off the field and the atmosphere is different," said Alvarez. "[Morrow is] putting into our minds that we need to have a winning mentality all the time. The guys have done a good job on that and you can tell by the results that we have gotten."
• Not only does the current run represent the Hoops' longest winning streak of 2007, but it also sets them up to finish with a 4-0 record in the month of May for only the second time in club history. "It's been a tough stretch, going away to Kansas City and Chicago, which were both tough games," Morrow said. "Full credit to the boys because three wins out of three is a tremendous average. Three games in a week is a tough stretch. We needed the whole roster. Credit to everyone involved."
