The LA Galaxy will look to build on their 3-1 win over Colorado Rapids on Saturday night as they face off against a pair of Western Conference frontrunners. LA returns to action on Thursday night when they take on Chivas USA in the fourth and final installment of the Honda SuperClásico at The Home Depot Center.
Both sides have a win, loss and draw through the first three meetings leaving everything to play for in Thursday's game, which can be seen live on ESPN2 starting at 8 p.m. A win for the Galaxy will see the club win the SuperClásico for the third consecutive season.
The Galaxy will have little time to rest after taking on their rivals as they will be back in action on Sunday evening, hosting the defending MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo. Houston currently leads the Western Conference with 42 points while the Galaxy will look to record their first-ever home win over the Dynamo. The game, which is presented by Gatorade, kicks off at 5 p.m. and can be seen live on FSN West. The first 5,000 fans entering the stadium receive a water bottle courtesy of Gatorade.
Galaxy Training Schedule (All times Pacific)
Tuesday, Sept. 11:
CLOSED TRAINING SESSION
Wednesday, Sept. 12:
10:30 a.m. - Galaxy Training (University Field #1); Training is open to the media starting at 10:45 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 13:
8 p.m. - LA Galaxy (4-11-5) at Chivas USA (12-6-4) at The Home Depot Center. This game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and can be heard live on the radio on CA$H 1700 (English) and KLAA 830 AM (Spanish).
Friday, Sept. 14: CLOSED TRAINING SESSION
Saturday, Sept. 15:
10:30 a.m. - Galaxy Training (University Field #1); Training is open to the media starting at 10:45 a.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16:
5 p.m. - LA Galaxy (4-11-5) vs. Houston Dynamo (12-7-6) at The Home Depot Center. This game will be broadcast live on FSN West and can be heard live on the radio on CA$H 1700 (English) and KLAA 830 AM (Spanish).
Monday, Sept. 17:
DAY OFF
Galaxy Injury Report
OUT - Chris Albright (R-Hamstring), David Beckham (R-Knee)
DOUBTFUL - Kelly Gray (R-Calf)
QUESTIONABLE - Edson Buddle (L-Hamstring), Alan Gordon (L-Foot), Ty Harden (R-Hip), Ante Jazic (R-Ankle), Cobi Jones (R-Hip), Quavas Kirk (L-Foot), Kyle Veris (R-Hip), Abel Xavier (L-Knee)
PROBABLE - Troy Roberts (R-Ankle), Peter Vagenas (R-Quad)
Galaxy Team Notes
SCORELESS STREAK SNAPPED: Alan Gordon's goal in the 46th minute of the 3-1 win over Colorado on Saturday snapped the club's streak of 589 consecutive minutes without a goal against the Rapids in the regular season, dating back to September 10, 2005. The Rapids had shutout LA in six consecutive regular season games, including twice this season at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, before LA broke out with three goals in the second half on Saturday night. Before that scoreless streak against the Rapids, the Galaxy had never been shutout by the same opponent more than three times in a row.
BACK TO BACK FOR GORDON: Alan Gordon scored the Galaxy's opening goal on Saturday, marking the second straight game in which he had scored the club's first goal of the game. This is the first time in his MLS career that Gordon, who now has six career regular season goals, has scored in back-to-back games. The 25-year old forward now has two goals in league play this season and five in all competitions despite missing the first three and a half months of the year after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.
HARMSE DEPARTS ON WARNING: Galaxy midfielder Kevin Harmse flew to Toronto on Sunday to join up with the Canadian National Team ahead of their game against Costa Rica on Wednesday at BMO Field. Harmse, who has five caps for Canada since making his debut in March, has appeared in 13 regular season games for the Galaxy this season, scoring once, while also adding a goal in four SuperLiga appearances.
The 22-year old was booked in the 16th minute of Saturday's game against the Rapids, giving him five on the season and one away from a mandatory one-game suspension. Harmse picked up his fourth caution of the year on August 5 in Toronto but then played three straight games (8/9 @ DC, 8/12 @ NE and 8/18 @ NY) without being shown a yellow card, meaning that he had one card rescinded from his record. But after being booked on Saturday, Harmse is back on official warning meaning that his next card will result in a mandatory one match ban.
DONOVAN BREAKS NATIONAL TEAM RECORD: Galaxy forward Landon Donovan wrote his name in the U.S. Soccer history books when he collected his 22nd point of 2007 on Sunday against Brazil. Donovan assisted on Carlos Bocanegra's 21st minute goal in the 4-2 loss to Brazil, giving him nine goals and four assists on the year for 22 points, breaking the previous record of 21 points in a year that was set by Donovan's Galaxy teammate Cobi Jones in 2000.
THREE FROM 300: Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones is now just three games shy of the 300th regular season game of his MLS career. Since the inaugural 1996 season, Jones has appeared in 297 games for the Galaxy, scoring 70 goals and adding 89 assists, including two against the Rapids on Saturday night. If Jones, who has said that he will retire after the 2007 season, appears in three more games this season, he will join Steve Ralston, Chris Henderson and Jason Kreis as the only players in league history to have appeared in 300 or more regular season games in MLS history.
RECORD YOUR VIDEO MESSAGE AT COBI'S CORNER: Galaxy fans are encouraged to record a "video message" to retiring Galaxy star midfielder Cobi Jones from 4-5 p.m. this Sunday, September 16 before the Galaxy-Dynamo match at The Home Depot Center. Feel free to wish him well in retirement, recount your favorite Cobi Jones moment, or even plead your case for him to stay one more year. In addition at Cobi's Corner, fans can see each of the different jerseys that Jones has worn over the last 12 seasons in MLS with the Galaxy.
MARTINO UP FOR GOAL OF THE WEEK: Kyle Martino's 70th minute goal against Colorado on Saturday was nominated for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week award on Monday. Martino snuck in at the back post and headed a Chris Klein cross past Rapids' keeper Zach Thornton, giving LA a 3-0 advantage. The goal was the second of the year for Martino, with both now having been nominated for the Goal of the Week award.
FEUER ADDED TO COACHING STAFF: The Galaxy have added former MLS and U.S. National Team goalkeeper Ian Feuer to the coaching staff as the club's new goalkeeper coach. Feuer comes to the Galaxy following a two-year MLS career that saw him keep 13 clean sheets in 45 appearances with New England and Colorado.
The Las Vegas native began his professional career in 1993 with Belgian side Club Brugge before briefly returning to the United States later that year to play for the L.A. Salsa of the APSL. After a short stint with the Salsa, the 36-year old, who earned his first and only cap with the U.S. National Team against Morocco on March 18, 1992, returned to Europe in April 1994 when he signed with West Ham United of the English Premier League. Loan spells at Peterborough and Luton Town would follow before he was sold outright to Luton in December 1995. He remained at the club, winning the Fans' Player of the Year Award in the 1995-96 season, until March 1998 when he again returned to the U.S., signing with the New England Revolution.
Feuer appeared in and started 26 games for New England that season before being traded to Colorado in February 1999. Feuer started 19 games for the Rapids that season, as well as each of the club's two postseason matches, keeping eight clean sheets while compiling a 1.22 goals against average. He returned to West Ham after the 1999 MLS season and spent the next three years in England with West Ham, Wimbledon and Derby County.
SAVE THE DATE: The LA Galaxy will host their annual "Day on the Links" Golf Tournament on Monday, October 15 at Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton, Calif. More details about this event will be released shortly. Please contact Gloria King at 310-630-2222 for more information about this fantastic event or visit: http://web.mlsnet.com/t106/community/golf_outing/.
MEDIA PARKING AT TRAINING: All media members are asked to enter through Gate D, off Victoria Blvd., and to park in Lot 17 when attending Galaxy training sessions. Members of the media who park in Lot 6 during training sessions may be ticketed now that school is back in session at California State University - Dominguez Hills.
DON'T MISS GALAXY DEPORTIVO AT A NEW TIME EVERY SATURDAY: Galaxy Deportivo, the Galaxy's official weekly half hour show, is back live every Saturday on KWHY Channel 22. Galaxy Deportivo can now be seen at 6:30 p.m. on every Saturday night, three hours later than its former 3:30 p.m. start time. Catch Galaxy Deportivo and see Elmer Polanco and Alejandro Navarro present the latest news surrounding the club with special features and interviews, as well interacting with Galaxy fans throughout the Los Angeles area.
MAS GALAXY RETURNS ON KLAA AM 830: Mas Galaxy, the Galaxy's weekly Spanish language radio show can be found every Saturday at 1 p.m. on KLAA AM 830. Hosted by Francisco Rivera and Jose "Pepe" Mantilla, the Spanish language radio voices of the Galaxy, Mas Galaxy gets you up to date with all the latest news surrounding the club through interviews, player profiles and expert analysis.
