The Los Angeles Galaxy will hit the midway point of their second extended road trip of the summer on Saturday when they face off against the Chicago Fire.
The two teams are heading into the home stretch of the season. With just 10 games remaining for the Galaxy, and nine games on the Fire's schedule, every game now is pivotal in the race for the playoffs.
Both teams are within striking distance of the leaders in their respective conferences; the manner in which the two teams have gotten to the position they are in is a rather stark contrast though. The Galaxy have had two huge swings in their season. They opened up the '05 campaign red hot, but fizzled in the summer heat having won just two games in their last 11. </p>
The Fire has gone on a mini roller coaster ride themselves in their last seven games, having won four regular-season contests before dropping their last three. With the parity in the league, it comes as no surprise to Galaxy coach Steve Sampson that Chicago is where it is in the standings.</p>
"Every team is going to go through their ups and downs during the season," said sampson. "They're still a very good team, and will be against us."</p>
Chicago features a stable of young talented strikers that have been playing well lately, none more so than rookie sensation Chris Rolfe, who can add a tally he scored against Italian powerhouse AC Milan, to the five goals and four assists he's recorded in league play. The attacking options that Chicago has will force the hand of the Galaxy just a bit when it comes to the style of play they will bring to Soldier Field.</p>
"They are a very, very good team and they play well at home," said Galaxy striker Landon Donovan. "Our objective is defend well and pick your spots to counter and get at them. We have the players capable of scoring goals."</p>
The Galaxy won for the first time away from The Home Depot Center in over a year Wednesday night, taking a 1-0 result from Chivas USA in the first game of a doubleheader. Granted the game was played across town at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the near 90,000 fans that filled the stadium created one of the most hostile environments that any MLS team will ever face. The win on Wednesday night should give the Galaxy a boost, not just heading into Saturday, but heading into the playoffs as well. </p>
"We can use this as a motivater, as a stepping stone, to go in there," said Sampson after Wednesday night's game. "We know we have to play better, and we can play better. Our goal is to get to the point where -- come playoff time -- we're playing our very best soccer, and we have a way's to go."</p>
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
