Following an unforgettable night at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night, the LA Galaxy will return their focus to Major League Soccer as they head east to take on the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. This is the second and final meeting of the year between the two sides, with the Galaxy claiming a 1-0 win at The Home Depot Center on July 4 behind an Alecko Eskandarian goal. The Galaxy are unbeaten in their last five league games and will look to make it six straight on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, where they played to a 2-2 draw last season behind a pair of Landon Donovan goals.
This game will be broadcast live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel, starting with the MLS Pregame Show at 2:30 p.m. Fans locally will be able to catch the game live on the radio in English on AM 570 and in Spanish on KWKW 1330 AM ESPN Deportes Radio.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Saturday, August 1
LA Galaxy 1 - FC Barcelona 2 - Rose Bowl - Attendance: 93,137
INJURY REPORT
Galaxy Injury Report
OUT - Sean Franklin (Right Hamstring - Surgery - Disabled List), Julian Valentin (Right Foot - Fracture - Disabled List)
DOUBTFUL - None
QUESTIONABLE - Edson Buddle (Right Foot - Sprain), Alecko Eskandarian (Broken Nose), Dema Kovalenko (Left Calf - Contusion), Donovan Ricketts (Hip Pointer)
PROBABLE - None
TEAM NOTES
RECORD CROWD FOR FRIENDLY:
The crowd of more than 93,000 for Saturday night's friendly between the Galaxy and FC Barcelona set a number of records in terms of the biggest crowds to see a soccer game in the United States.
The capacity crowd of 93,137 was the biggest crowd for a soccer game in the United States since the 1994 World Cup and was bigger than every game played during that tournament except for the four games played at the Rose Bowl in the group stages and the Final between Brazil and Italy.
Additionally, it was the biggest crowd ever to see a soccer game involving an MLS team, breaking the previous record of 92,650 fans who were in attendance at the Los Angeles Coliseum to see a double header between Chivas USA and New England and Barcelona and Chivas de Guadalajara.
TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY:
The Galaxy travel to New England this weekend looking to do something that they have never done in a regular season game; win at Gillette Stadium. Since the stadium opened in 2002, the Galaxy are 0-5-2 there and have been outscored 13-6. In the 630 minutes that the two teams have played in those seven games, the Galaxy have led for just 26 minutes.
The only other currently used stadiums in MLS that the Galaxy have never won at are CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Qwest Field in Seattle and Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah, though they have only played one league game at each.
The Galaxy have won once at Gillette Stadium, lifting the first MLS Cup in club history with a 1-0 win over the Revolution on October 20, 2002.
GONZALEZ ON WARNING:
With his yellow card in the second half of the 1-1 draw at Kansas City on July 25, Galaxy defender Omar González has been placed on warning for caution accumulation by MLS. The yellow card was the fourth of the season for González, leaving him one card away from a mandatory one game suspension. González, who is the only Galaxy player to start every one of the club's games this season, is the only Galaxy player to have been booked four times this season.
González can still avoid a one game suspension if he plays the next three games without being booked. If González is able to do that, the 20-year old rookie center back will have one card expunged from his record, leaving him two cards away from a suspension.
STREAK STILL GOING:
While the Galaxy did lose to Barcelona on Saturday, their unbeaten streak in the league is still going strong. LA is 4-0-1 in MLS play since June 20, including a 2-0-1 mark on the road in that time. Since their last defeat, a 2-1 loss at San Jose on June 20, the Galaxy have outscored opponents 7-2, earning wins over Houston, New England, Chivas USA and New York while playing to a 1-1 draw at Kansas City in their last league game.
This is the Galaxy's second five-game unbeaten streak this season. From April 11 until June 6, the Galaxy went 10 straight games without a loss, compiling a 2-0-8 mark.
TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY THERE:
Saturday's game will be the Galaxy's 20th of the season, leaving them two-thirds of the way through the 2009 season. This is the third straight season in which MLS has played a 30-game season and August 8 will be the earliest on the calendar that the Galaxy will have played their 20th game. In 2007, the Galaxy did not play their 20th game until September 8 and last season they did not play their 20th game until August 14.
Additionally, even with a loss on Saturday, the Galaxy have more points at this stage of the season than in either of the last two years. Last year LA recorded 24 points through their first 20 games, while in 2007, they had just 17 points in their first 20 games.
FOR THE FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION TO HOST HOW SUITE IT IS! ON AUGUST 15:
Prior to the Galaxy's next home game, against Seattle on August 15, the LA Galaxy Foundation will host their annual How Suite It Is! event on the East Terrace of the American Express Stadium Club. The evening will feature a private performance from Bryan McKnight & Sons BJ and Niko, as well as a wine and champagne tasting, a Marani Galaxy Blue Martini Bar, music from DJ Spinderella and much more. To learn more about this event, or to sign up for it, please
click here
.
DAY ON THE LINKS TEES OFF SEPTEMBER 14:
The LA Galaxy Foundation will host their annual Day on the Links Golf Tournament on Monday, September 14 at Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton. Fans will have the chance to golf with their favorite Galaxy players while receiving a number of great gifts just for signing up. Additionally, all participants are invite to a special post-tournament awards dinner, as well as a silent auction and raffle that annually features an amazing collection of memorabilia from across the sports universe. To learn more about this event, or to sign up for it, please
click here
.
NEED TO KNOW
GALAXY DEPORTIVO IS BACK:
Galaxy Deportivo, the Galaxy's official half hour show in Spanish, is back for sixth season with hosts Alejandro Navarro and Elmer Polanco on KWHY-22. Catch the show this week and every other Saturday, at 6 p.m.
On top of behind-the-scenes footages, exclusive interviews and features and in-depth profiles, Galaxy Deportivo also recaps the club's latest activity within the community. Similar to how the fan's passion for the Galaxy is not limited to game day, neither is Galaxy Deportivo's coverage.
Past shows can be viewed on archive at www.LAGalaxyFutbol.com.
PURO GALAXY HITS ESPN DEPORTES RADIO:
ESPN Deportes Radio KWKW 1330 AM, the Galaxy's official Spanish language radio partner, is the place for all of your Galaxy news and information en español. The best place to get that information is on Puro Galaxy, the network's weekly, hour-long show that airs every Saturday from noon-1 p.m.
Galaxy color analyst Armando Aguayo and Galaxy sideline reporter Mario Amaya are joined on a weekly basis by the players, coaches and a series of special guests that allow the fan to get excited for match day. So tune in each and every week and stay up to date with everything that is going on in the Galaxy.
Fans can also listen to free podcasts of previous episodes at www.LAGalaxyFutbol.com.
LOOKING FOR MORE UPDATES?:
If you are looking for continuous updates from the Galaxy all week long, be sure to visit the club's official websites
www.lagalaxy.com
and
www.LAGalaxyFutbol.com
, or the club's official blog at
www.thelagalaxy.blogspot.com
for all the latest news from the club.
