CHIVAS USA TO FACE RSL IN HOME OPENER THIS SATURDAY:
Chivas USA will celebrate its Home Opener this Saturday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. PT against Real Salt Lake in The Home Depot Center. The match, to be broadcast live on HDNet and FSN Prime-Ticket, will see Chivas USA take on fellow 2005 expansion team Real Salt Lake, against whom the Red-and-White own a 6-2-3 (W-L-T) record all-time, winning all three matches against RSL last season. Chivas USA will debut their 2008 striped jerseys after wearing blue in Dallas this past weekend, and the match will be the first for Atiba Harris and Alecko Eskandarian against their old team, as both players arrived in trades with RSL in the offseason. Chivas USA will be looking to continue its fine home record from 2007, when the team went 10-1-4 (W-L-T) in its 15 home games en route to capturing the regular season Western Conference crown. Tickets for the game, starting at just $10, are available by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or by visiting www.cdchivasusa.com, and fans buying two tickets or more will receive a free Chivas USA scarf for each ticket.
OPENING WEEKEND RECAP: Chivas USA came away from an Opening Day match-up against FC Dallas with a 1-1 draw in Frisco, Tex., on Sunday. Maykel Galindo scored the tying goal in the 84th minute for Chivas USA, when a long ball from Raphaël Wicky deflected off Dallas' defender Duilio Davino right to the Cuban striker, whose shot slipped between goalkeeper Dario Sala's legs and into the net. Juan Toja had given the hosts the lead in the 21st minute when his close-range shot beat Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan. The Red-and-White outshot Dallas 22-8 on the day, including an 18-4 margin in the second half. Justin Braun came close to winning the match in second half injury time, but the substitute's header from a Sacha Kljestan cross went just wide of the post. The Red-and-White's reserve team also made its debut on Sunday, playing at Pizza Hut Park immediately after the first team's match, also earning a 1-1 draw, with midfielder Jorge Flores scoring Chivas USA's only goal.
REAL SALT LAKE UPDATE: Both Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake earned 1-1 ties on the opening weekend of the 2008 MLS season, but did so in opposite fashion; Chivas USA scored a late goal on the road to earn the tie, whereas RSL gave up a 90th minute equalizer to Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire at home. Salt Lake has several new players on its roster, including a trio of Argentines, Matias Mantilla, Javier Morales, and Fabian Espindola, who all started this past Saturday against Chicago. The goal that RSL scored against the Fire came through a Chicago own goal, though Salt Lake outshot the visitors 17-8 in the game. Chivas USA owns the all-time series edge against RSL, with a 6-2-3 (W-L-T) record, including a 5-0-1 record in The Home Depot Center.
CHIVAS USA PLAYERS TO GIVE FANS 'THE SHIRTS OFF THEIR BACKS' IN 2008: Starting with Saturday's Opening Day at The Home Depot Center and continuing all season, Chivas USA players will give eleven lucky soccer fans the shirts of their backs. After the final whistle of each of Chivas USA's 15 MLS home games at The Home Depot Center, all players on the field - win, lose or draw - will present Chivas USA fans with their game-worn jerseys, as a special souvenir of appreciation. "Chivas USA's fans are vital to our success," said Chivas USA President and CEO Shawn Hunter. "By giving them the shirts off our backs, literally, we show our appreciation to those who matter most to our club, while creating a new tradition which we feel is unique in professional sports." Chivas USA's 'Shirts of Their Backs' initiative is brought to fans by Frazee Paint, the club's presenting sponsor.
THIS WEEK ON 'PASIÓN CHIVAS USA': Join Hipólito Gamboa and Rigoberto Cervantez this Thursday on W Radio 690 AM, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. PT on 'Pasión Chivas USA', the team's official weekly radio program. Broadcast live from Paseo Cantina, on 260 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, this Thursday's show will celebrate the opening of the season for Chivas USA and W Radio, the official station of the team. The show will also give listeners the chance to win tickets for the much-anticipated Home Opener for Chivas USA, this Saturday against Real Salt Lake. There will also be an interview with Briant Reyes, who has just been named the winner of Chivas USA's 'Sueño MLS' competition. All this and more on this week's 'Pasión Chivas USA'.
'KICK-IT' THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 5 AT HARVARD RECREATION CENTER: 'Kick-it at the Park L.A. with Chivas USA' continues this coming Saturday, April 5, with a clinic at the Harvard Recreation Center at 1535 W. 62nd Street in Los Angeles. Run in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, 'Kick-it' is a series of clinics that emphasize physical fitness, sports, and education for as many as 400 children at each of 40 locations throughout the year. A five-dollar fee gets participants 90 minutes of instruction, a voucher for a free ticket to a Chivas USA game, a t-shirt, soccer ball, and Certificate of Completion. Most recently, Chivas USA held a clinic at Granada Hills Recreation Center at 16730 Chatsworth Street in Granada Hills on March 29. For more information on the program, or to register for a clinic, visit www.kickitatthepark.com.
CHIVAS USA'S OFFICIAL BILINGUAL BLOG UP AND RUNNING: Chivas USA has launched its official bilingual team blog, 'Dentro del Rebaño' ('Inside the Flock'). A reference to Chivas' nickname, 'Dentro del Rebaño' will provide insider access to Chivas USA and its players, and is designed to be a source of the latest information for both fans and media. Be sure to check out 'Dentro del Rebaño' at chivas-usa.blogspot.com today!
CHIVAS USA TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL DEBUT IN 2008 SUPERLIGA: Chivas USA is one of four MLS teams participating in the 2008 SuperLiga, the second annual tournament between MLS teams and Mexican First Division squads, and could face sister team Chivas Guadalajara in a tournament semifinal or final. The Red-and-White are in a group alongside the New England Revolution (MLS), Pachuca (Mex.) and Santos Laguna (Mex.), while the other group consists of MLS teams D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo, and Mexican teams Chivas Guadalajara and Atlante. All of Chivas USA's group stage games will take place in Los Angeles, with the team facing Pachuca on July 13 at 7:00 p.m. PT, and Santos on July 16, also at 7:00 p.m. PT, both in The Home Depot Center, before playing New England on July 20 in Los Angeles at a stadium to be determined. The tournament runs from July 12-August 5, and the winning team earns a $1 million prize.
CHRIS POZNIAK ARRIVES TO CHIVAS USA IN TRADE: In a trade made with San Jose on Friday, midfielder Chris Pozniak joined Chivas USA in exchange for forward John Cunliffe, and the Canadian international joined the team in time to play all 90 minutes of the Chivas USA Reserves' 1-1 draw with the FC Dallas Reserves. Pozniak spent the 2007 MLS season with Toronto FC, playing 22 games (starting 16) and registering 3 assists before being selected by San Jose with the tenth pick in the 2007 Expansion Draft during the offseason. A versatile player, Pozniak can be used on the right side of defense or midfield, as well as in a holding midfield role. Born in Krakow, Poland, Pozniak and his family emigrated to Canada in 1990 and Pozniak has played with every level of the Canadian national teams. Prior to joining Toronto FC, Pozniak had played for FK Haugesund of Norway, Örebro SK of Sweden, and he started his professional career with the Toronto Lynx of the United Soccer Leagues as an 18-year-old in 1999.
INJURY UPDATE: A pair of players coming off injuries, and entering the game as substitutes, made an impact in Chivas USA's MLS debut on Sunday at Dallas, as Raphaël Wicky combined with Maykel Galindo to score the Red-and-White's only goal of the match. Alecko Eskandarian did not make the trip, as he continues to rehabilitate a strained groin, and Alex Zotinca is starting his rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction surgery. Ante Razov is listed as probable for Saturday's match after suffering a calf strain in the match against FC Dallas.
BRIANT REYES WINS CHIVAS USA'S SUEÑO MLS: Briant Reyes, a 16-year-old Salvadoran-American midfielder from Downey, Calif., was selected as the winner of 'Sueño MLS 2008: The Dream Continues' by Chivas USA on Sunday before the Red-and-White's season opener against FC Dallas. The announcement was made in front of a live national TV audience, during Univision's popular weekly sports show, República Deportiva, which has followed the six-week search process in a unique "reality show within a show" format. Born to parents from El Salvador, Reyes is a junior at Downey High School. He stood out by scoring a goal in a crucial Sueño MLS trial match, played by the five Los Angeles Finalists and Chivas USA's U-16 Team, against the Chivas USA's U-15's on Friday, March 21, and has been invited to play for Chivas USA's U-16 Team - coached by Chivas de Guadalajara legends Samuel Rivas and Miguel Ramos - where the region's top talent compete, free of cost to players, in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Development Academy. For more information on Sueño MLS please visit www.SuenoMLS.com.
JUST $50 GETS YOU CHIVAS USA'S TOP FIVE GAMES OF 2008! Fans looking to see Chivas USA in 2008 have an opportunity to watch the five biggest games of the season with the Chivas USA Five-Game Plan, Southern California's best sports entertainment value, with packages starting at just $50. The five matches included in the set are the opening home match of the season on April 5 against Real Salt Lake, June 19 against the Chicago Fire, July 5 versus the San Jose Earthquakes, August 14 against the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the closing game of the season, which doubles as Fan Appreciation night, October 25 against the Houston Dynamo. For more information please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit www.cdchivasusa.com.
CHIVAS USA SCHEDULE: APRIL 1-7*
Following is Chivas USA's latest preseason schedule of travel, events, matches and practice sessions:
Tuesday, April 1: [Day off]
Wednesday, April 2: Training, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 6
Thursday, April 3: Training, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 6
Friday, April 4: Training, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 6
Saturday, April 5: Chivas USA vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m. PT, The Home Depot Center, Carson Calif.
(TV: HDNet, FSN Prime Ticket; Pregame show starts @ 7:30 p.m. PT on FSN; Tickets: www.cdchivasusa.com, 1-877-CHIVAS-1)
Sunday, April 6: Chivas USA Reserves vs. Real Salt Lake Reserves, 10:00 a.m. PT, Field 6
Monday, April 7: [Day off]
*Subject to change. Unless otherwise noted, all times Pacific, all events scheduled for The Home Depot Center, with media access provided after games and training sessions. For latest information, please contact Chivas USA's Communications Department.
