In their brief existence, Chivas USA have stockpiled young talent to help form a strong foundation.
Now that the talent is blossoming, the club will pay a price for it.
United States national team coach Bob Bradley called up three of his former Chivas USA players for Copa America, and now the club must prepare for a critical stretch of games without their absent trio, beginning with Saturday's home contest against Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution.
Chivas USA coach Preki is taking the business-as-usual approach.
"We've got to go with what we have," Preki said. "There's no point to talk about those things. We just have to see what we have here."
And what does the club have at its disposal?
"We have good players right here. We have players who can step in and play and we'll show that on Saturday," Preki said.
For the next week, Chivas USA will have to make do without left back Jonathan Bornstein, midfielder Sacha Kljestan and goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Bornstein last played with Chivas USA on May 26 as he was part of the U.S. CONCACAF Gold Cup squad.
Bornstein has been joined by Kljestan and Guzan for Copa America. Bornstein went the distance in a 4-1 loss to Argentina on Thursday but Guzan and Kljestan did not play. The U.S. will play against Paraguay on Monday and Colombia on Thursday.
Chivas USA, meanwhile, will play host to New England on Saturday, travel to FC Dallas for a Fourth of July match Wednesday, then head to the East Coast for a July 7 return match at New England.
Midfielder Jesse Marsch said there are able players waiting for a chance.
"In terms of losing guys, Jonny is a great player but Orlando (Perez) has stepped in. He's a veteran player. Preston (Burpo) had a great year last year and even though Brad's done great this year, Preston is excited about his chance and we're excited about him. With Lawson (Vaughn) coming back and Alex (Zotinca) potentially moving forward, I think we can cover for Sacha too," Marsch said. "It's not to say we're not going to miss those guys but I think we have good cover for them."
While it remains to be seen how Preki handles the losses of Bornstein and Kljestan -- and defender Shavar Thomas, who is suspended for Saturday's match against the Revs -- one backup has already been penciled into the starting lineup. With Burpo starting in goal, the club compiled a 7-3-9 record in 19 games last year. He had five shutouts and helped the club rise from a struggling side when he took over in late May to a playoff contender when Guzan regained the starting spot in early September.
Burpo said the understanding he has with the players in front of him would help against the Revs.
"You hope you don't get some fluky thing in the beginning and hope you settle down early," Burpo said. "You like to play well and hopefully the team plays well but look I've been playing with these guys all year. I played with these guys most of last year. As far as an adjustment period, I don't think that's any big deal."
However, one thing Burpo said the match would not be is a chance for him to take the starting spot away from Guzan.
"The deal is Brad is the 'keeper and Brad has been the 'keeper since the beginning. He's gone on national team duty. That's why I'm here right now," Burpo said. "No, it's not an audition. It's to be in and that's it. I'm trying to help the team win. It's not an audition for anything. A player goes in when needed and that's the story."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
