Chivas USA youth soccer update: April 17, 2008

Welcome to this week's Chivas USA Youth Development Update, a roundup of Chivas USA's pioneering youth development program, including the Chivas USA Under-18 and U-16 teams - where the region's best talent compete, funded fully by the club and free of cost to the players, in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy - and the Chivas and Chivas USA Soccer Academies. For more information on Chivas USA's youth development program, please visit www.cdchivasusa.com.

CHIVAS USA'S JORGE FLORES AND GERSON MAYEN WITH US U-20 TEAM:
Chivas USA midfielders Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayen both started and played the full 90 minutes of the United States Under-20 National Team's opening match of the Campos Verdes International Tournament in Portugal. The team fell 3-1 to the Cape Verde Islands on Tuesday, with Mayen earning an assist on the United States' only goal of the match. The U-20's fared better in their second match of the tournament, beating Northern Ireland 3-0 on Wednesday, with Flores playing the second half. The round-robin tournament wraps up on Friday, when the United States squares off against the hosts, Portugal.

DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY TEAMS TO SQUARE OFF AGAINST REAL SO CAL:
The Chivas USA U-18 and U-16 Teams will play an important match against division rival Real So Cal this Saturday, April 19 at Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, Calif. The matches take place at 1:00 p.m. for the U-16's, and 3:00 p.m. for the U-18's, and the clubs will face off again in less than a month, on May 17. The Chivas USA U-18's trail Real So Cal by just one point in the standings, and will be looking to move into third place in the league standings with a win.

CHIVAS USA U-18 TEAM SPLITS A PAIR OF MATCHES IN COLORADO:
The Chivas USA U-18 Team took a win and a loss from its two matches in Colorado this weekend. In its opening match of the weekend, on Saturday, April 12, the U-18's squared off against the Colorado Rush U-18, and lost a tight 1-0 match. The next day, the Red-and-White were able to earn a better result against a fellow MLS youth team, beating the Colorado Rapids U-18 by a 2-1 score. The team went into halftime losing 1-0, but Mario Ledezma tied the game for Chivas USA when he fired home a rebound from Hector Molina's well-struck shot. Armando Rocha slotted home a penalty in the 70th minute to earn the 2-1 victory for Chivas USA.

A DRAW AND A LOSS FOR CHIVAS USA U-16 TEAM:
Playing matches in Colorado immediately before the Chivas USA U-18 Team, the U-16's were able to come away with a draw and a loss in their two games. The first match was against the Colorado Rush U-16's, and despite coming back from 1-0 down to take a lead, the Red-and-White ultimately fell by a 3-2 scoreline. Carlo Chueca and Jorge Ramirez scored the two goals for Chivas USA. In the team's next game, on Sunday, Chivas USA tied the Rapids' U-16 Team 0-0, earning a point before returning to Los Angeles.

CURRENT CHIVAS USA U-18 AND U-16 ROSTERS:
The rosters for Chivas USA's U-18 and U-16 Teams in the Development Academy were fixed on April 1 and will not undergo changes until after the end of the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy's 2007-08 season. The U-18 Team currently sits in fifth place in Southern California, while the U-16 Team is in seventh. Both teams have nine games left to play in the league. Full team rosters are listed below:

Head Coach: Sacha van der Most van Spijk


Assistant Coach: Refugio Mancilla

Head Coach: Samuel Rivas


Assistant Coach: Miguel Ramos