GALAXY RETURN TO ACTION WITH TWO-GAME ROAD TRIP:
After a weekend off, the Los Angeles Galaxy return to MLS action on Wednesday, May 31 with a rematch against the Colorado Rapids at 6:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on FSN Primeticket, CA$H 1700 AM (English) and KMXE 830 AM (Spanish). Los Angeles is looking to return to its winning ways following four straight losses. The Galaxy currently sits in a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with a 2-6-1 record and seven points.
On Saturday, the Galaxy travel to Houston, TX for their first match against the new Houston Dynamo on June 3 at 5:30 pm PT at Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus. The game will broadcast tape delayed to 8 pm on FSN West, but can be heard live on CA $H 1700 AM (English) and KMXE 830 AM (Spanish).
Galaxy Weekly Training Schedule
Date: Time/Location
Tues. May 30: 9:00 a.m. - Depart for COL
Wed. May 31: 6:30 p.m. - Galaxy at Rapids
Thurs. June 1: 9:00 a.m. - Depart for HOU; 4:30 p.m. - Training in HOU
Fri. June 2: 4:30 p.m. - Training in HOU
Sat. June 3: 5:30 p.m. - Galaxy at Dynamo
Sun. June 4: 6:00 p.m. - Galaxy at Select Stars of Iran - UCLA's Drake Stadium
Mon. June 5: OFF
NOTE TO MEDIA: All practice times are listed in Pacific Time and are subject to change without notice.
Galaxy Injury/National Team Report
OUT - Cornell Glen (Trinidad & Tobago National Team); Landon Donovan (U.S. National Team); Chris Albright (U.S. National Team), Cobi Jones (Sprained Right Foot), Memo Gonzalez (Strained Left Hamstring)
DOUBTFUL - NONE
QUESTIONABLE - Peter Vagenas (Strained Right Quadricep)
PROBABLE - NONE
GALAXY TO HOST VIEWING PARTY AND FAN SUMMIT ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 31: The Los Angeles Galaxy will hold a Fan Summit with President and General Manager Alexi Lalas on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 8:30 pm at Smooth's Sports Grille at 144 Pine Ave in Long Beach, California. Galaxy Deportivo co-host Elmer Polanco will act as the moderator for the event. For more info on Smooth's go to http://www.smoothssportsgrille.com/.
Before the Fan Summit, the Galaxy will have a viewing party of the club's match against the Colorado Rapids at INVESCO Field at Mile High, which will air at 6:30 pm, PT on FSN Primeticket. The Fan Summit is scheduled to run for 45 minutes and fans will have the opportunity to ask Lalas questions pertaining to any and every aspect of the Galaxy's organization. Galaxy Deportivo will broadcast highlights the following Saturday at 3:30 pm on KWHY channel 22, so fans who did not have a chance to attend can see the event first-hand.
GET READY FOR PART TWO OF THE 2006 HONDA SUPERCLASICO: Following two straight road games, the Galaxy return home on Thursday, June 8 when it hosts L.A. rival Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2, and fans are offered a special ESPNZone Package, which includes four reserved seats in camera view, cheer sticks and entry into a raffle to win a free trip to the 2006 MLS Cup, and more. Fans interested in tickets for round two of this budding rivalry should contact the Galaxy ticket office at 1-877-3GALAXY or by visiting www.lagalaxy.com.
GALAXY TO PLAY SELECT STARS OF IRAN ON JUNE 4 IN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION: The L.A. Galaxy will play the Select Stars of Iran in an international exhibition on Sunday, June 4 (6:00 pm) at Drake Stadium on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Tickets for the Galaxy-Select Stars of Iran match are available now through Ticketmaster and at Iranian outlets throughout Southern California with pricing as follows: $25 General Admission and $10 for children under 15-years-old.
The match marks the first-ever game between the MLS club and a selection of international players from Iran. Four members of Iran's 1998 World Cup squad will be on hand, including midfielder Hamid Estili and the teams' captain, goalkeeper Ahmadreza Abedzadeh. Defender Mehdi Amirabadi, midfielders Hossein Kazemi, Farzad Majidi and Alireza Mansourian, and forward Siavash Akbarpour of the Iranian League champion Esteghlal will also participate in the match. Forward Ali Samereh, a member of Iran's 2002 World Cup Qualifying team, finished the current season as the runner-up in goal scoring in the United Arab Emirates League with 18 goals. Along with Kazemi and Amirabadi, 23-year-old midfielder Iman Mobali was named as alternates to the 2006 Iranian World Cup roster. Mobali played with the national team in 2006 World Cup qualifying, the 2004 Asian Cup (third place finish) as well as the 2002 Busan Asian Games where Iran successfully defended its championship title.
L.A. TO FACE ENGLISH CLUB CRYSTAL PALACE FC JULY 19 IN RICHMOND, VA: The Los Angeles Galaxy will take on English club Crystal Palace FC on Wednesday, July 19 at the University of Richmond at 7:30 p.m. in Richmond, Virginia. The Galaxy will face an English team for just the second time in club history and the first time since 1997, when Los Angeles tied Aston Villa 1-1. Crystal Palace was founded in 1905 and finished the 2006 season in sixth place in the Coca-Cola League Championship, the second-highest level of English soccer, with a 21-13-12 record. Crystal Palace reached the championship play-off and nearly qualified for promotion back to the Premiership before falling 3-0 on aggregate to Watford in the semifinals. The Galaxy are expected to face a tough Crystal Palace team that boasts Republic of Ireland international Clinton Morrison (13 goals in 2006), Australian National Team defender Tony Popovic and English Under-21 National Team midfielder Ben Watson.
GALAXY DRIVE SERIES - FOOD DRIVE: On Thursday, June 8th as part of our Galaxy Drive Series and in support of National Hunger Awareness Month, the Los Angeles Galaxy will be hosting a Food Drive benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. We are asking our fans and the general public to donate four (4) canned food items, i.e. canned meats, fruits or vegetables, peanut butter (plastic containers), baby formula, etc. or $5.00 to the L.A. Regional Food Bank prior to the Galaxy vs. Chivas game. All donors will receive a Galaxy Drive Series Voucher for $5.00 off the gate price of a Galaxy ticket for select games, a Galaxy Luggage Tag and be entered into a drawing for a soccer ball signed by members of the 2006 Galaxy team.
For more information, please visit the In the Community section of the Los Angeles Galaxy website or call 310.630.2200.
GALAXY JERSEY-OFF-THE-BACK AUCTION ON JUNE 8TH!: The Galaxy Foundation will host the team's eighth annual Jersey-Off-the-Back Auction during the Galaxy vs. Chivas game on Thursday, June 8th at The Home Center on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills.
The Jersey-Off-the-Back Auction gives fans the rare opportunity to bid on an authentic game-worn jersey from one of the Galaxy's starting eleven (11) players. Fans can place bids at the Galaxy Foundation booth beginning at 5:30pm through the end of half-time. All bidders must report back to the Galaxy Foundation booth by the end of half-time. Fans must be present to win.
For additional information on the Jersey-Off-the-Back Auction, please contact the Galaxy Foundation at 310.630.2200.
GALAXY COMPLETE SEND OFF TOUR FOR THE WORLD CUP: Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and defender Chris Albright are with the U.S. National Team preparing for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The United States opens play in the World Cup on June 12, and Donovan and Albright continued their preparation this past week participating in three exhibition games for Team USA. Donovan appeared in all three matches, starting and playing 90 minutes against Morocco (1-0 loss) and Latvia (2-0 win) while coming off the bench to play 24 minutes against Venezuela (1-0 win). Fellow teammate Albright started and played 90 minutes against Venezuela, helping the USA to a 2-0 victory in Cleveland, OH.
Galaxy forward Cornell Glen is also preparing for the World Cup with Trinidad & Tobago. Glen sat out Trinidad & Tobago's 1-1 tie with Peru May 10 due to an injury, but was expected to be ready to play in an exhibition against Wales on May 27. However, Glen did not appear for Trinidad & Tobago in their 2-1 loss to Wales at the Liebherr GAK Stadium. T&T are the smallest nation ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup final and will have their work cut out in Group B alongside England, Sweden and Paraguay at the finals next month.
GORDON MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE OF 2006: Galaxy forward Alan Gordon made his first appearance of the season on May 20, entering as a substitute and playing the final 25 minutes of the game. Gordon was slowed by a sports hernia injury earlier in the season, and last played for the Galaxy in a two-minute stint on October 1, 2005.
SCORELESS STREAK: The Galaxy set a new club record on May 21, extending their scoreless streak to 390 minutes. The Galaxy broke the old team record of 319 minutes without a goal that was set in 1997. The Galaxy last scored a goal on April 29 when Herculez Gomez scored in the 60th minute against Real Salt Lake. Over its last four games, the Galaxy has been outscored 9-0. The Galaxy's 390-minutes scoreless streak is the ninth longest stretch in MLS history.
FOUR IN A ROW: The Galaxy are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the first time the club has lost four games in a row since the 1997 season. It is only the fourth time in Galaxy history that the team has lost four games straight. L.A. lost four straight matches two times in 1996, with the team dropping a team record five straight games from August 11 - August 28.
SHUTOUT CITY: The Galaxy has been shutout six times so far in 2006, as the team nears the Los Angeles club record for most times being shutout in a season. In 2000 and 2003 the Galaxy was shutout eight times.
HOME SWEET HOME?: For the first time in club history, the Galaxy has started the season winless at home in its first five games. The Galaxy is 0-4-1 at The Home Depot Center in 2006. The most losses at home by a Galaxy team were set in 1997, when L.A. went 10-6-0 at the Rose Bowl.
OFF THE BENCH: Galaxy forward Herculez Gomez entered the May 20 game against the Rapids as a substitute at halftime. Of his 12 career MLS goals, Gomez has only scored two of them as a substitute. Gomez scored his second and third career MLS goals as a substitute on July 16, 2005.
SHOOTING GALLERY: The Los Angeles Galaxy is second in MLS with 97 shots taken. The Galaxy sits only behind DC United, who leads the league with 106 shots. However, the Galaxy has struggled to convert on their shots, scoring a league-low six goals.
GALAXY DEPORTIVO BREAKS DOWN ALL THE ACTION SATURDAY: Galaxy Deportivo, The weekly, half-hour Spanish language television show devoted to the Los Angeles Galaxy, can be seen this Saturday, June 3 at 3:30 p.m. on KWHY - Channel 22. Galaxy Deportivo, hosted by Los Angeles area personality Elmer Polanco, can be seen at the same time each and every Saturday on Channel 22.
2006 GALAXY SEASON TICKETS STILL ON SALE: Los Angeles Galaxy season tickets for 2006 are still on sale. For more information or to reserve your seats today, call the Galaxy ticket office at 1-877-3GALAXY or visit the club's website at www.lagalaxy.com.
Did you know ... The Galaxy will face an English team for just the second time in club history and the first time since 1997, when Los Angeles tied Aston Villa 1-1?
