The LA Galaxy stretched their unbeaten streak in MLS play to five games with a 1-1 draw in Kansas City on Saturday, but now the club shifts their focus to the European champions FC Barcelona.
The two sides will meet at the Rose Bowl on Saturday in a special international friendly, which is presented by Farmers Insurance Group. More than 70,000 tickets have already been sold for the game which will be Barcelona's first game in the U.S. since completing their historic treble in May, winning the La Liga title, in addition to their Champions League and Copa del Rey triumphs.
This game will be broadcast live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel, starting at 8 p.m. (PT). Fans locally will be able to catch the game live on the radio in English on KTLK 1150 AM and in Spanish on KWKW 1330 AM ESPN Deportes Radio.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Saturday, July 25
LA Galaxy 1 - Kansas City Wizards 1 - CommunityAmerica Ballpark - Attendance: 11,906
INJURY REPORT
OUT - Sean Franklin (Right Hamstring - Surgery - Disabled List), Julian Valentin (Right Foot - Fracture - Disabled List)
DOUBTFUL - None
QUESTIONABLE - Edson Buddle (Right Foot - Hyperextension), Alecko Eskandarian (Nose - Contusion), Dema Kovalenko (Left Calf - Contusion), Donovan Ricketts (Hip Pointer)
PROBABLE - None
TEAM NOTES
WIN STREAK SNAPPED; BUT UNBEATEN STREAK UP TO FIVE: The Galaxy's four-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday with the 1-1 draw at Kansas City, however, the club still has not lost in any of their last five league games, a streak dating back more than a month. The Galaxy are 4-0-1 in the current unbeaten streak, outscoring their opponents 7-2. Landon Donovan and Alecko Eskandarian lead the way with two goals scored each in that time, while Josh Saunders has played 241 minutes without allowing a goal during this run.
The five-game unbeaten streak is LA's second longest this season, following a 10-game unbeaten run earlier this year in which the Galaxy went 2-0-8. The Galaxy recorded 14 points in that stretch, compared to the 13 points that they have picked up in their current run.
This is the 14th time in club history that the Galaxy have gone five consecutive games or more without a loss, which ties D.C. United for the most five-game unbeaten streaks in MLS history.
FIT TO BE TIED: Saturday's 1-1 draw at Kansas City was the Galaxy's 10th draw of the season, tying a team record that was set in 2004. Seven of the Galaxy's 10 draws have come by 1-1 scorelines, with two ending 2-2 and one finishing 0-0. In those 10 games, the Galaxy have surrendered the game's first goal eight times, including in the season opening 2-2 draw with D.C. United, which saw the Galaxy come back from a 2-0 deficit.
In 2004, six of LA's 10 draws finished 1-1, three were 0-0 and one was 2-2, with the Galaxy falling behind in five of those.
DONOVAN NOMINATED FOR GOAL OF THE WEEK AGAIN: For the second consecutive week, Galaxy captain Landon Donovan has been nominated for the MLS Goal of the Week award.
With the Galaxy trailing 1-0, Donovan collected a ball from David Beckham and ran at the Kansas City defense before hitting a low, right-footed shot that beat Kevin Hartman just inside his right post and gave the Galaxy a 1-1 draw, which extended their unbeaten streak to five games.
Click here to vote for Donovan's goal and check back on Wednesday to see who the winner is.
BECKHAM PROVIDES A HELPING HAND: David Beckham collected his first assist of the 2009 MLS season in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Kansas City. Beckham, who assisted on both Galaxy goals in the 2-2 draw with AC Milan on July 19, broke up a Santiago Hirsig pass and played it to Donovan, who scored to tie the score at 1-1 in the 33rd minute.
>Beckham led the Galaxy in assists last season with 10, making him the ninth different Galaxy player to register 10 or more assists in a season and the first player besides Landon Donovan to lead the club in assists since the 2004 season. In addition to Beckham and Donovan, only four other players have ever led the Galaxy in assists.
AT THE ALL-STAR BREAK: The Galaxy have reached the MLS All-Star Game with a 6-3-10 record for 28 points, which leaves them alone in third place in the Western Conference and tied with D.C. United for the fifth-best record in the league to this point of the season. The 28 points are the most the Galaxy have had at the All-Star Game since 2005, when they reached the All-Star break with an 8-7-5 record for 29 points.
The Galaxy's three losses at the All-Star break are the club's fewest since the 1996 season, while their 10 draws are the most they have ever had at this point of the season.
Additionally, in two of the last three years, the Galaxy have recorded more wins after the All-Star Game than they did before it.
NEED TO KNOW
LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN FOR GALAXY-BARCELONA FRIENDLY AT THE ROSE BOWL: Tickets for Saturday's friendly against FC Barcelona, which is presented by Farmers Insurance Group are going fast. The game will be played at the Rose Bowl and more than 70,000 seats have already been sold. The reigning Champions League winners will begin their three-game tour of the West Coast with Saturday's friendly against the Galaxy before moving on to Seattle and then San Francisco later in the week.
Be sure to visit www.lagalaxy.com or call 877-3GALAXY to purchase tickets or for more information about this unbelievable friendly.
FOUNDATION TO HOST HOW SUITE IT IS! ON AUGUST 15: Prior to the Galaxy's 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.
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.
