Chivas USA vs. Seattle Sounders | MLS Match Preview

CHIVAS USA vs SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
Sept. 3, 2014 (WEEK 26, MLS Game #243)
7:30 p.m. PT (TWCD; JOEtv/ROOT-NW Alt)

Chivas USA will face a real test in putting their long winless and goalless streaks to an end, as they play host to overall leaders Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday evening at StubHub Center. Chivas have not scored in more than nine hours, since July 20, seeing their winless streak reach seven games in a 3-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on Sunday. Sounders FC are still atop the MLS overall table, after their second win a row, defeating Colorado 1-0 at home on Saturday afternoon.

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REFEREE: Ted Unkel. SAR (bench): Ian Anderson; JAR (opposite): Jonathan Johnson; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 10 games; FC/gm: 23.0; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 3; pens: 3

SUSPENDED: CHV: Erick Torres (through Sept. 3)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHV: Bobby Burling, Agustin Pelletieri, Erick Torres, Oswaldo Minda … SEA: Osvaldo Alonso, DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHV: Marky Delgado, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Donny Toia, Nathan Sturgis, Leandro Barrera, Nigel Reo-Coker … SEA: Brad Evans, Obafemi Martins, Gonzalo Pineda
DISABLED LIST: CHV: Thomas McNamara … SEA: Damion Lowe; Kevin Parsemain
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: CHV: Erick Torres (Mexico, 9/6 v Chile; 9/9 v Bolivia) ... SEA: Marco Pappa (Guatemala, Copa Centroamericana)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (14 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 11 goals … Sounders FC 8 wins, 21 goals … Ties 4
AT CHIVAS USA (8 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 8 goals … Sounders FC 4 wins, 14 goals … Ties 2
FUTURE MATCH: 9/27: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Chivas USA, 1 p.m. PT

2014 (MLS):
4/19: CHV 1, SEA 2 (Torres 5 – Neagle 24; Martins 81)

• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Obafemi Martins’ goal in the 81st minute snapped a deadlock as Sounders FC took a 2-1 victory April 19 at StubHub Center.
• Sounders FC are unbeaten in their last 12 meetings with Chivas USA, with wins in their last six encounters, since Chivas won the first two meetings ever between the clubs in 2009. Seattle has won eight times with four draws.
• Sounders FC are unbeaten all-time vs. Chivas USA at home, with 4 wins and 2 draws in six meetings in Seattle.
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid vs. CHV: P4 W3 L0 T1 … Wilmer Cabrera vs. SEA: P1 W0 L1 T0

LAST MEETING (MLS)

• Chivas USA were in the lead just five minutes into the match. Leandro Barrera was taken down just inside the box and referee Ismail Elfath awarded the penalty. Erick Torres converted with ease, beating Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei for his sixth goal of the season.
• Sounders FC were level in the 24th minute, when Lamar Neagle cleaning up after a Clint Dempsey attempt at goal after Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy fumbled the ball inside the box.
• The match turned when Chivas USA midfielder Marco Delgado was sent off in the 73rd minute, and Sounders FC hit for the winner just eight minutes later. Obafemi Martins played a one-two with Dempsey, collecting the return pass in the area and beating Kennedy with a chip shot for the match-winner.
• CHIVAS USA (4-2-3-1): Dan Kennedy - Eric Avila, Bobby Burling, Carlos Bocanegra, Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Donny Toia 46) - Marky Delgado (ejected 73), Agustin Pelletieri - Mauro Rosales (Luke Moore 86), Carlos Alvarez, Leandro Barrera - Erick Torres (Adolfo Bautista 79).
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - DeAndre Yedlin, Djimi Traore, Chad Marshall, Leo Gonzalez (Dylan Remick 90) - Lamar Neagle, Gonzalo Pineda, Osvaldo Alonso, Marco Pappa (Brad Evans 67) – Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins (Chad Barrett 90).

CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA saw their winless and goalless streaks continued for yet another match, dropping a 3-0 decision to the LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon at StubHub Center. Chivas USA sit in ninth place in the Western Conference with 25 points from 24 games.

LAST MATCH

• The Galaxy took the lead in the 41st minute. Sprinting forward out of the midfield on the left, Landon Donovan laid a pass for Gyasi Zardes in the left side of the area to hammer home a first-time shot inside the far post past goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• The lead was doubled in the 65th minute through sheer magic. After nutmegging center back Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Robbie Keane looked up and put a sublime chip over Kennedy from well beyond the penalty area. The strike earned some bows from Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena on the sideline.
• The rout was complete six minutes following a dizzying give-and-go between Keane and Donovan all around the Chivas penalty area, with Zardes finishing off the 10-pass build-up by tapping home with the simplest of finishes into an empty net.
• Chivas USA finished a man down when forward Erick Torres earned a straight red card in the 75th minute for a studs-up tackle on Baggio Husidic.
• Chivas USA head coach Wilmer Cabrera made three changes to the team that fell 1-0 to the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado came into the back four for Tony Lochhead, and Nigel Reo-Coker and Leandro Barrera started in midfield in place of Oswaldo Minda and Eric Avila.
• CHIVAS USA (4-4-2): Dan Kennedy - Akira Kaji, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Donny Toia - Nathan Sturgis (Eric Avila 46), Nigel Reo-Coker, Agustin Pelletieri (Marvin Chavez 69), Leandro Barrera (Bobby Burling 78) - Erick Torres (ejected 75), Felix Borja.

TEAM NEWS

• Chivas have now gone 546 minutes without scoring, the longest streak in MLS this season and the fourth-longest in MLS history; the loss extended their run to seven games without a win.
• Already without Erick Torres for the Seattle match after he was called into the Mexican national team, Torres will miss the first match when he is available following his return after he was sent off vs. LA.
• “We tried to think of a way to organize for the second half and bring more dynamic to look for a goal and keep the game close, but they were clinical and talented in their finish,” said Chivas USA head coach Wilmer Cabrera. “It didn't help that we lost a man, our top scorer, it made the situation worse, but anyway now we have to face another top team at home and hopefully we can adjust the new players and try to bring a more positive mentality to be more offensive in our team.”
• Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made his Chivas USA debut, coming into a central defense role alongside Andrew Jean-Baptiste with Tony Lochhead suspended for caution accumulation.
• Nigel Reo-Coker also made his Chivas debut after being acquired from Vancouver, playing the full match in a central midfield role.
• “That´s why we brought him, he´s a leader and a player with experience. He has not played often so now he has to get into rhythm. How? Playing. Playing and taking charge of the team. He’s a natural leader, he talks and organizes. He's ready to help us and he helped us a lot today. It’s a positive impact,” said Cabrera. “We know Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is a very good defender and is going to help us. He needs to be playing, also for Luis Bolaños, we have to bring him onto the field.”
• Said Reo-Coker: “It was fantastic to be involved, first game in a long time. There has been a lot of traveling going on behind closed doors but it was a great experience. Just after that performance I think I just needed that one game. I thought we played really well as a team, we can take a lot of positives from that. In my personal belief, I just feel that there is only one way for us to go and that’s up.”
• Bobby Burling made his first appearance since July 5, coming off the substitutes’ bench for the final 12 minutes vs. LA.
• Marvin Chavez made his first appearance since Aug. 9, coming as a 69th-minute substitute, but he will now join Honduras for the Copa Centroamericana.
• Leandro Barrera made his first start since Aug. 3, coming in to a wide midfield role. Eric Avila did not start for the first time in three matches, but came on as a halftime substitute.
• “We have some guys that can create options. We created options. Leandro [Barrera] was running through the line and we brought in Eric Avila to give us a little bit of flair and movements going forward,” said Cabrera. “The last touch, the last pass, the last cross is something the guys are feeling that they have to score. We have to make sure that we aren’t accelerating the process. We have to continue fighting and this team is not going to give up, that’s for sure.”

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Seattle Sounders FC made it two wins in a row, defeating the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC are in first place in the Western Conference and the MLS overall table with 48 points from 25 games.

LAST MATCH

• The game's lone goal came in the 52nd minute, and it was a special one. Clint Dempsey swooped in and smashed a Marco Pappa corner kick into the top-right corner from a full volley at the back post, past MLS debutant Joe Nasco in the Rapids goal.
• Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei was called upon to make two saves in keeping the clean sheet.
• Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid made no changes to the team that defeated the Portland Timbers 4-2 at Providence Park.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Chad Marshall, Leo Gonzalez - Brad Evans (Chad Barrett 75), Gonzalo Pineda, Osvaldo Alonso, Marco Pappa (Lamar Neagle 75) - Obafemi Martins (Andy Rose 90), Clint Dempsey.

TEAM NEWS

• Sounders FC won a second consecutive match, their first consecutive wins since winning three in a row around the World Cup break from May 31-June 28.
• “If you want to go far in the playoffs, you have to be able to win games like this. You have to be able to play to zero in the back. You have to be able to minimize the opponents' chances. And sometimes you just have to make good use of your set pieces,” said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. “Those are deciding factors and (we) were unlucky to not maybe get a couple more in the second half.”
• Said Clint Dempsey: “I feel like we have the same conversation every week we play at home. Most teams sit back and it opens up in the second half. In an ideal world if we can open the game up in the first half and get some goals I think it makes the game easier for you. It's something that we'll continue to work on but the most important thing is the three points and getting two wins in a row and trying to keep going from there.”
• Dempsey scored for a second consecutive match, his third goal since returning from the World Cup. Dempsey now has 11 goals this season, tied for sixth in the MLS Golden Boot standings.
• “You noticed in the second half, when Marco (Pappa) played wider and (Brad) Evans was providing us width on the other side, then all of a sudden that space underneath opened up for Oba (Martins), opened up for (Clint) Dempsey and then you could see some combinations, some that they barely missed on,” said Schmid. “You could also see us getting in on the side. The corner came off a good run from Evans that resulted in a corner that resulted in a goal. So being able to go out wide opens up the middle.”
• Marco Pappa collected his first assist since June 7, his third assist of the season. It was a 10th goal of the season for Sounders FC from a set piece, tied with Real Salt Lake for second-most in MLS, one fewer than FC Dallas.
• “(Marco Pappa's) done a good job on our set pieces, although (Gonzalo) Pineda has done well with those as well. Luckily we have two guys that do well with that,” said Schmid. “Marco is a guy who helps us keep possession with passes for our team and when he gets wide on the left flank, is also a guy who can get Oba crosses and get behind the defenses in that way. I thought he had one really good chance and thought he was going to pull the trigger instead of trying to lay it through. He's had a good season for us."
• It was an eighth clean sheet for Stefan Frei this season, which leads MLS. Sounders FC have not recorded shutouts in back-to-back games this season.
• “They tried to clip a few balls over the top of our defense, but [Chad] Marshall and Zach [Scott] did a really good job with that,” Schmid said. “I thought we did a really good job of keeping the game in front of us and not allowing them to use their speed to get behind our back four.”
• There will be a lineup change for the Chivas USA match as Pappa will now leave to join Guatemala for the Copa Centroamericana.
• “We had a good game last week and there were no injuries so there was no need to change anything at this point,” said Schmid. “As we move forward, Marco Pappa leaves to join the Guatemalan side so we'll have to make a change there. We have guys who are sitting on cards so the next yellow would make them sit out a game so there are always changes that end up forcing your hand so that's why you have to have good reserve players. Again, it was just a reflection of rewarding the team that played well last week.”