including a pair of remarkable stops, robbing Sebastian Le Toux in the first half and Fredy Montero in the second by somehow getting back acorss his goal.
• Chivas ended the game a man down after Marcelo Saragosa was sent off in the 71st minute with a straight red card from referee Terry Vaughn, but the Red-and-White were able to see out the game. For Sounders FC, it was a third consecutive attacking shutout on their home field, having last scored in Seattle in a league game on July 11.
• Chivas USA coach Preki made two changes to the team that defeated the New England Revolution 2-0 at The Home Depot Center. Ante Jazic and Marcelo Saragosa came in at the fullback positions in place of Jorge Flores and the suspended Carey Talley.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Zach Thornton - Marcelo Saragosa, Yamith Cuesta (Claudio Suarez 66), Jonathan Bornstein, Ante Jazic - Jesus Padilla (Maykel Galindo 59), Michael Lahoud (Mariano Trujillo 58), Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan - Justin Braun, Maicon Santos. Substitutes Not Used: Chukwudi Chijindu, Jon Conway, Bojan Stepanovic, Shavar Thomas
TEAM NEWS
• It was a second consecutive shutout for Chivas and the 10th of the season for Zach Thornton, the league leader ahead of Kasey Keller (SEA) and Pat Onstad (HOU) who each have nine.
• "We thought it was a hard-fought game on both sides and Seattle had a bit more going forward. Seattle had the home crowd going for them and we had to be sure to play solid defense and not give too much away. There were a couple of moments we broke down and Zach came up big for us," Preki said. "Given all the facts I don't think they did too much, it was more about the crowd. They only had one or two chances all game."
• Forced into a change on the backline because of suspension, Preki will need to make another for the visit by New York after Marcelo Saragosa was sent off.
• "Of course, every game we have shuffled the lineup because injuries, penalties, suspensions and we have to stop that. We have to stick to the game plan," Preki said.
• Chivas have just two of their final six games remaining away from The Home Depot Center, facing trips to both D.C. United and Chicago. Their eight home victories are tied with Houston, Columbus and Colorado as most in the league heading into the weekend.
• "We knew it was going to be a tough game here. We knew that they were desperate for points like we are. We knew defensively we had to be very strong and not allow them to get behind us," Preki said. "I thought we worked really hard and Zach [Thornton] made a couple saves for us and we got the point."
• On Wednesday, Chivas fell 2-0 to sister Chivas de Guadalajara in the first-ever ChivaClásico, played at the Rose Bowl. Substitute Omar Arellano scored two late goals in a five-minute span to give the Mexican Primera Division side the victory.
• "It was a fun night," said Chivas USA head coach Preki. "Obviously we didn't get the result that we wanted, but at the end of the day, I'm just glad that we finally got to have this game. ... I got to see some of the players that haven't played a lot of minutes. That's one thing we were looking at tonight. We really tried to share the minutes because hopefully, if necessary and when necessary, we'll be able to use those guys."
• Here's Preki's team: Jon Conway, Carey Talley (Mariano Trujillo 46), Shavar Thomas, Claudio Suárez, Bojan Stepanovic (Michael Lahoud 44), Jesús Padilla (Yamith Cuesta 53), Marcelo Saragosa, Paulo Nagamura (Cesar Zamora 46), Sacha Kljestan (Justin Braun 46), Maicon Santos (Chukwudi Chijindu 46), Maykel Galindo
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls came back for a late equalizer but still couldn't overcome the New England Revolution, playing to a 1-1 draw Friday evening at Giants Stadium. The Red Bulls have 17 points from 26 matches on the season, sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 26 points off the pace of Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew.
LAST MATCH
• The Revolution had seen the good feeling from their three-game winning streak come to an end after back-to-back losses to Kansas City and Chivas, while the Red Bulls had their first two-game winning streak come to an end, also at the hands of Kansas City.
• The Revolution took the lead after just 13 minutes. Collecting a pass on the right flank, Sainey Nyassi was able to stride forward into the area before letting loose with a rasping drive that cannoned into the upper left corner for his second goal.
• But New York pulled even in the 69th minute. Dane Richards was set free down the right flank and sent in a rolling ball that John Wolyniec was able to turn home just before a heavy collision with Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. Still, the Red Bulls weren't able to find a winner, now winless in their last 13 games against New England (0-7-6), an MLS record for futility against a single opponent.
• Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards the weekend before. Mike Petke and Jeremy Hall came into the back four for Leo Krupnik and the suspended Carlos Johnson, and Luke Sassano replaced Ernst Oebster in the midfield.
• Here's Williams' team (4-3-1-2): Bouna Coundoul - Jeremy Hall, Andrew Boyens, Mike Petke, Danleigh Borman (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 91+) - Dane Richards, Seth Stammler, Luke Sassano - Jorge Rojas (Albert Celades 46) - John Wolyniec (Matthew Mbuta 73), Macoumba Kandji. Substitutes Not Used: Danny Cepero, Walter Garcia, Leo Krupnik, Ernst Oebster
• "Have to give credit to the guys -- better play, better second half. We had some chances and I was happy with the way the game went," Williams said. "We will regroup and get ready for Chivas next week."
TEAM NEWS
• The Red Bulls are 2-1-1 since Williams took over as interim head coach. Among the things he has done is set his team out in a 4-4-2 system, though they changed to a 3-5-2 for the second half against New England.
• "I think he's defined people's roles a little bit better," Seth Stammler said. "Playing with the 4-4-2 has given the forwards a little bit of help and it takes the pressure off of (us). We're getting more goals than we were getting earlier in the season and that has translated into a few wins. Hopefully, it will continue to go that way."
• "I think we're more organized, the guys have a good idea of what they need to be doing," Williams said. "We have got four games left and we're going to try and get three points from all the games."
• Juan Pablo Angel missed his second consecutive game, and while one-half of the strike tandem, John Wolyniec, scored for the second time on the season, the other, Mac Kandji, left a glorious opportunity begging in the final minute when he raced in alone on Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis.
• "When you have opportunities, you have to take those opportunities, and with Juan [Pablo Angel] out, our main goal scorer, we rely on John [Wolyniec] and Mac [Kandji]," said Williams. "You have to take those opportunities and take your chances if you want to consistently do well and win games."
• After going 2-2-1 over a five-game homestand, the Red Bulls now hit the road for three consecutive games before returning for their 2009 season finale against Toronto FC. The Red Bulls are 0-11-1 away from Giants Stadium this season.
• "To win two of our last four and tie a third is obviously progress for this season. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum onto the road trip, and then we have one more home game on October 24th, so hopefully we come out with as many points as possible," Williams said.
