Following a weekend off, the LA Galaxy are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Colorado Rapids at The Home Depot Center. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. but fans are asked to arrive early as the first 7,500 fans in attendance will receive a free t-shirt upon entering the stadium and hot dogs and beer will cost just $1 each during pregame. FS Prime Ticket will broadcast the game on tape delay, starting with 'Galaxy Live' at 9:30 p.m., while AM 570 (English) and ESPN Deportes KWKW 1330 AM (Spanish) will have the game live on the radio.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Galaxy were off this weekend, marking the club's first bye week of the season. The other 14 teams in MLS were all in action, meaning that Los Angeles are now one of two teams to have played just one game this season. The Galaxy are currently tied with the Houston Dynamo for fifth place in the Western Conference with one point, five points behind leaders Seattle and Chivas USA and two points behind this weekend's opponent, Colorado, who is 1-1-0 this season. The Rapids defeated Kansas City in their home opener on Saturday, defeating the Wizards 2-1 behind goals from Terry Cooke and Omar Cummings.
INJURY REPORT
Galaxy Injury Report
OUT -Todd Dunivant (Right Ankle - Post Surgery), Leonard Griffin (Sports Hernia Surgery)
DOUBTFUL - None
QUESTIONABLE - Edson Buddle (Right Quad - Strain), Donovan Ricketts (Right Groin - Strain)
PROBABLE - Eddie Lewis (Left Hamstring - Strain)
TEAM NOTES
GRIFFIN UNDERGOES SURGERY:
The Galaxy will be without defender Leonard Griffin for a couple of weeks after he underwent sports hernia surgery in Germany last week. The 26-year old Palmdale, Calif. native missed the last two weeks of preseason and the club's season opener against D.C. United with the injury before being operated on last week. He returned to Los Angeles on Friday and has begun his rehabilitation.
SUEÑO MLS WINNERS ANNOUNCED:
On Sunday, the Galaxy's four winners of Sueno MLS were unveiled at the San Bernardino Soccer Complex. The following players were selected from the more than 600 participants in the nationally-televised player search...
Mikon Orellana, attacking midfielder, Provo, Utah
Mikon "Mikey" Orellana drove ten hours from Utah to Los Angeles with his family in order to tryout at Sueño MLS. His family was contemplating driving back to Utah after his Saturday tryout before a phone call to come back and participate in an interview with Univision changed their mind. The 15-year-old, and native of El Salvador, is the youngest national finalist to date.
Hector Ramos, left back, Mexicali, Baja California, México
A native of Mexican-border town Mexicali, Hector Ramos stayed with his uncle in Indio, Calif., while trying out. It was his uncle who encouraged the youngster to register for Sueño.
Javier Rodriguez, center back, North Las Vegas, Nev.
Javier Rodriguez did not stay near or around Los Angeles during the two-day tryouts. He and his family drove from Las Vegas to San Bernardino and back on both Saturday and Sunday. Rodriguez was obviously unaffected by the road trips as he was one of the four local winners selected by the scouts.
Cesar Silva, forward, Anaheim, Calif.
Cesar Silva is a product of the same youth soccer program (Pumas DSP) that produced the first Sueño MLS winner, Jorge Flores. Having been a part of Atlas Guadalajara's youth system for eight months last year, the Guadalajara native was one of the more experienced players at the tryouts.
Those four will join the four finalists from the Chicago Fire and D.C. United in Los Angeles for the "Final Event" next week. The ultimate champion will be unveiled on Sunday, April 12, on Univision's Republica Deportiva, the popular Univision weekly Spanish-language sports show that will chronicle the tryouts in a "reality show within a show" format.
INTERNATIONAL ROUNDUP:
David Beckham and Landon Donovan were each in action last weekend for their national teams, with Beckham helping England to a 4-0 win over Slovakia in a friendly and Donovan helping the U.S. claim a 2-2 draw in El Salvador in a World Cup Qualifier.
Donovan started and played the full 90 minutes for the U.S., who moved to the top of the CONCACAF qualifying group with four points from their first two games of the qualifying campaign. The U.S. is back in action on Wednesday, April 1, when they host Trinidad & Tobago in Nashville, Tenn. That game will kick-off at 4:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2 and Galavision.
Beckham earned his 109th cap for England, coming on at halftime of his country's 4-0 win over Slovakia in a friendly in London. With his appearance, Beckham surpassed Bobby Moore to become the all-time leader in appearances by a field player with England. The midfielder will be back in action with England on Wednesday in a World Cup Qualifier against Ukraine at home, looking to become the second player in England history, joining goalkeeper Peter Shilton, to earn his 110th cap.
YOUTH ACADEMY
LA GALAXY YOUTH ACADEMY SPLITS WEEKEND ACTION:
The LA Galaxy Youth Academy U-16 and U-18 teams each played a pair of games this weekend, each winning over FC Portland on Sunday after falling on Saturday against local side, Arsenal FC.
On Saturday the U-16 side fell 2-1, with Gabriel Rivera scoring his side's only goal. One day later, Eric Verso scored twice while Scott Cohen, Jesus Rochin and Nathaniel Schnitman added goals in a 5-1 win over FC Portland. That win improved the U-16's record to 11-6-2 on the year and moved them to third place in their Division.
The U-18's also picked up a win and a loss this weekend, falling to Arsenal on Saturday 3-1, with Dersu Abolfathi scoring his team's only goal, before bouncing back with a 4-0 win over FC Portland on Sunday. Jose Torres scored twice in that game to lead the Galaxy, while Jorge Cervantes and Seba Tanguy added goals to round out the victory and improve the team's record to 8-9-2 on the season.
Both Academy teams will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Fullerton, Calif., to take on fellow SoCal Division side Pateadores FC at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. The U-16 game kicks off at 2 p.m. and the U-18 game gets underway at 4:30 p.m.
IN THE COMMUNITY
HELP SAVE A LIFE WITH NOTHING BUT NETS:
The Galaxy have joined forces with the Chicago Fire, D.C. United and the Seattle Sounders FC for a four-team challenge to help prevent the spread of malaria. As part of the
Nothing But Nets
campaign, the four teams will raise money in a month-long challenge, with all funds going toward the purchase, distribution and education about the proper use of a long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed net, which can prevent malaria. Nets cost just $10 and can lower malaria transmission by up to 90 percent.
The Galaxy are asking fans to take part in the challenge by making a monetary donation to Nothing But Nets at the LA Galaxy Foundation booth during the club's next three home matches against the Colorado Rapids (April 4 and April 7) and Chivas USA (April 11). Fans wishing to make a contribution online can do so by visiting the Community section of the Galaxy website.
If the Galaxy are able to raise more money that the other three teams, one lucky Galaxy fan, who donated money to the cause, will win a trip for two to the 2009 MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City.
To learn more about the Nothing But Nets campaign, visit the MLS Works website or lagalaxy.com.
KYLE PATTERSON TO VISIT LOCAL SCHOOL:
On Monday afternoon, Galaxy midfielder Kyle Patterson visited the Downtown Value School in Los Angeles. The rookie participated in a question and answer session with the students while also signing autographs and taking photos with all the kids, who are between kindergarten and the eighth grade.
NEED TO KNOW
MORE THAN 20,000 TICKETS SOLD FOR GALAXY-AC MILAN FRIENDLY:
On Monday the Galaxy announced that more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the club's friendly against AC Milan. Endline, General Admission and 200 Level Sideline - Wide seats are already sold out, with all available tickets now starting at $60. The game will be played on Sunday, July 19 at The Home Depot Center and Galaxy season ticket holders can use their Bonus Game 3 tickets. To order tickets for this game or any other Galaxy game, please call 877-3GALAXY (877-342-5299) or visit www.lagalaxy.com.
REVERSE PRICING ON SELECT GAMES THROUGH APRIL 11:
Last week the Galaxy unveiled the club's March Madness ticket deal which offers fans the chance to purchase tickets to select Galaxy home games for reverse pricing. This deal, which runs through April 11, will give Galaxy fans the chance to see some of the top talent in MLS and enjoy the atmosphere that is only available at The Home Depot Center, all for an affordable cost, in line with today's difficult economic times.
Reverse pricing means that price levels for all seating areas has been reversed, allowing fans to purchase Sideline tickets, which are normally $75 each, for just $14, which is typically the price for 2nd Level Sideline - Wide seats. This deal is available for the Galaxy's league games against Colorado (April 4), Chivas USA (April 11), New York (May 2), Columbus (May 17) and Houston (June 28).
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 or www.lagalaxyfutbol.com, or the club's official blog at
www.thelagalaxy.blogspot.com
for all the latest news from the club.
