After Chivas USA's 2-0 win against Colorado on Saturday, the Red-and-White vaulted into second place in the Western Conference table.
Yet despite the presence of scoring stars such as Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo, it's been the club's defense that has put the team near the league leaders.
Through 11 weeks of the Major League Soccer season, Chivas USA have yielded a league-low eight goals. Players and coaches said the club has been successful defensively because the entire team gets involved in the process.
"We pay a lot of attention as a group to how we defend. We work on it every week," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "It's good to see that the fruits of our labor are coming out."
Chivas USA's defense has undergone some changes forced by injuries and international duty. Newcomer Alex Zotinca started the season at right back but injuries forced Lawson Vaughn to move from central defense to the right side. Shavar Thomas, acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy, was thrust into the starting lineup but has responded admirably and has played well alongside Claudio Suarez.
Jonathan Bornstein had been a fixture in the club until the U.S. called him up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Orlando Perez, though, has started a pair of games in his place and done well.
"The guys have done great. Bringing in Shavar and Alex and Orlando stepping in for Jonny, and Claudio kind of anchors that backline; the four guys have been doing a tremendous job," Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "A perfect example is Orlando stepping in. He got injured during the preseason or whatever and stepping in now for Jonny, he's doing a great job shutting down our left side."
After Saturday's match, however, the defense was a little banged up. Suarez left with an ankle injury and his status for Thursday's match in Houston is uncertain. Thomas also left with tightness in his hamstring.
Jason Hernandez stepped in for Suarez and helped slow Colorado. If Hernandez is called upon Thursday or in the future, Marsch said he feels confident in him.
"I think we have some options back there," Marsch said. "We know we've got some good players. He was very reliable last year and gave us a lot of minutes last year. Seeing him come off the bench was a relief because you know he's going to give you good plays and you know he's a good thinker."
Chivas USA have three consecutive shutout victories and have allowed five goals in the last five games overall. Perhaps not coincidentally, Chivas USA are 3-0-2 in that span. The club went through a bit of a rough spell that began in late April. The Galaxy scored two goals in 17 minutes and beat Chivas USA 3-1 on April 28 and one week later D.C. United beat Chivas USA 2-1 in Washington, D.C.
But the club has shaken off any ill effects of those losses, players said.
"It was a matter of fighting for the team, putting everything out there on the field as a team and I think it's showing now the last few games," Perez said. "We've got to keep building on them."
Strong defending has not been limited to the backline, however. From the start, coach Preki has preached defense and expects as much from all 11 players on the field.
"Defense has been playing hard but that all starts on top," Preki said. "It's not four guys in the back with Brad; it's everyone starting up top all the way back to Brad. They have to play good defense for us to play successful."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
