Defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo suffered their first loss of the 2007 preseason on Thursday, falling to the Los Angeles Galaxy by a 1-0 score at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Three other MLS clubs have also been in action recently, Toronto FC earning a victory against the University of Connecticut while both Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas were defeated by foreign clubs in overseas encounters.
Landon Donovan scored the only goal for the Galaxy on Thursday to lift his club to a win against Dynamo. The U.S. international found the net in the 35th minute through an assist from Gavin Glinton. The loss for Houston sent its preseason record to 3-1-1, but they'll have a chance to rebound quickly when they face the Galaxy's rivals, Chivas USA, on Saturday.
Across the country in Florida, Toronto opened its second camp in the Sunshine State with a 4-0 win against UConn. Former D.C. United striker Alecko Eskandarian started the scoring in the 27th minute, though the 2004 MLS Cup MVP was forced to the sidelines just five minutes later, injuring his calf in a vicious tackle at midfield.
Abbe Ibrahim came on as Eskandarian's replacement and it was the Togolese forward who was the next to hit the target for the expansion side. Mo Johnston's squad extended its lead even further when Andrea Lombardo finished a long pass from trialist Ivan Cadavieco. The result was sealed by Cadavieco 10 minutes later when he put away a cross from Canadian U-20 product A.J. Gray.
Real Salt Lake completed their Spanish excursion on Thursday by falling to Segunda B (third tier) side San Sebastian at Ciudad Real Madrid in the capital city. Despite dominating much of the proceedings, John Ellinger's team had trouble clicking offensively and San Sebastian's two first-half goals were the difference.
"We weren't able to connect on the final pass today, and our combination play wasn't as strong as it had been for the last week," said Ellinger. "However, this is certainly the highest quality of competition we have seen in the preseason in any of our three years, and this loss should remind us of all the things we need to do to succeed. This has been a very successful trip; results don't matter until April 7."
On Wednesday, FC Dallas fell to Atletico Paranaense 3-1 in the first leg of the USA-Brazil Challenge at Kyocera Arena in Curitiba, Brazil. Ramon Nunez was the lone goal scorer for the Hoops, finishing a passing sequence that included touches from Carlos Ruiz and Juan Carlos Toja. FCD has now returned to the U.S. will have a chance to exact revenge on March 31 in the return leg at Pizza Hut Park.
"I thought for the most part it was a great experience for us," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "It's been a great trip and it was a good game to round off our trip. ... It's still early in our preseason - we're only halfway through our training program."
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
