Results tagged “mls”

Chivas USA 'keeper Zach Thornton is going to need to make more room on his mantel. On Monday, the veteran 'keeper was named to the 2009 MLS Best XI roster following a stellar campaign in which he registered a personal best Goals Against Average (GAA) of 0.87. His league best GAA was well complemented by the 12 shutouts he amassed throughout the season -- also tops in MLS. Thornton first earned the award in 1998 when he helped the Chicago Fire win the MLS Cup.

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham put in a strong performance to help the blue-and-gold capture the Western Conference title for a sixth time in club history and the first since 2002. Veteran defender Gregg Berhalter and team captain Landon Donovan provided all the scoring on the night, literally at the eleventh hour, to take a 2 - 0 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo.

Galaxy forward Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick at the 73rd minute to give the blue-and-gold the edge over in-stadium rivals Chivas USA last night and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Come Monday morning, only one L.A. side will remain in the hunt for MLS Cup 2009. The fortunate team that will continue its trek will be determined later this afternoon at the Home Depot Center when the Galaxy and Chivas USA close out the first-ever SuperClásico playoff series.

Two wins and two draws. That was the net result of this year's first weekend of MLS playoff action. Oddly enough, the victories were registered by the two lowest seeded teams vying for MLS Cup 2009. Real Salt Lake defeated the Columbus Crew by a score of 1 - 0 on Saturday night and the New England Revolution pulled out a 2 - 1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon, just ahead of the Chivas USA - Galaxy clash at the Home Depot Center which ended in a 2 - 2 draw.

What a memorable year it has been for L.A. area soccer fans. It all started back in February with the will he/won't he? (stay in Italy) saga of David Beckham. Attention would once again be drawn to him upon his return to MLS in July, but in between, Chivas USA and the Galaxy were busy making their own headlines.

Sometimes it is hard to describe events from the soccer world to those that don't follow the sport. Tonight's ChivaClásico match between CD Guadalajara (Chivas de Guadalajara) and Chivas USA at the Rose Bowl happens to fit that category quite well.

For a third match in a row, Chivas USA got to the 90th minute with less men than when they started, courtesy of a straight red card to midfielder Marcelo Saragosa at the 71st minute. Fortunately for the red-and-whites, Seattle was unable to capitalize and the teams played to a 0 - 0 draw in the Emerald City yesterday afternoon. Later in the day, the Galaxy blanked Toronto FC behind a goal and an assist by David Beckham.

MLS action is reaching a boiling point and both L.A. teams are right in the thick of it.

Maicon Santos registered his first MLS goal Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center to help Chivas USA defeat the visiting New England Revolution by a score of 2 - 0.

One word describes last night's performance by the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center: embarrassing. While it was a breakout game for Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza, scoring two first half goals, there was little else for the Galaxy faithful to cheer about after a 6 - 3 thrashing courtesy of FC Dallas. L.A. was on its heels from the start, unable to contain the speed of Marvin Sanchez and Jeff Cunningham. The latter nearly opened the scoring at the 2nd minute but luck intervened and Cunningham missed. No matter, Dallas would open the scoring at the 7th minute on a deflected free kick.

Four months ago, had one dared to state that the Galaxy would today be within striking distance of first place of the overall standings, one would have received more than a fair share of odd looks. The same type one would get if one were to claim that hiring Ruud Gullit as Head Coach was the best move the Galaxy have made in the last 5 years.

Sky Sports Italia is reporting that Galaxy midfielder David Beckham will be returning to A.C. Milan in January. Few details are provided, but seems to indicate that an agreement has been reached by all parties involved. (In the photo: David Beckham shows off his A.C. Milan jersey alongside A.C. Milan VP Adriano Galliani.)

The U.S. Men's National Team took a big step towards booking a ticket to next year's World Cup in South Africa after a tough win over Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. The soca warriors took the game to the Yanks for long stretches during the first half last night as the Yanks looked disorganized and struggled to generate any offense.

David Beckham scored his first goal on the season to help secure the Honda SuperClásico for the Galaxy last night at the Home Depot Center.

Sometimes events in the sporting world happen in such a way that one has to wonder if someone scripted them. This year's final installment of the Honda SuperClásico between the Galaxy and Chivas USA seems to fit that bill quite well.

Chivas USA Head Coach Preki Radosavljevic was all smiles at last night's post-game press conference and for good reason. Midfielder Sacha Kljestan put in his best game of the year, scoring two goals on the night and leading Chivas USA to a 2 - 0 victory over the visiting Toronto FC. When asked about Kljestan's performance, Preki stated "I think it (is) a good sign. I thought he had a really good game. I thought he worked hard defensively too and we hope he just keep going."

A little over a month ago, Chivas USA traded forward Atiba Harris to FC Dallas for midfielder/defender Marcelo Saragosa in a move that left many speculating what plans the red-and-whites might have in mind as they prepared for their playoff run. Some fans and analysts speculated that the team was making room for a big name signing, while others were puzzled at the move, given the team had been struggling on the offensive side. Lingering questions were answered over the last few days and the rest of MLS better take notice.

Maykel Galindo and Eduardo Lillingston each scored a goal for Chivas USA en route to a 2 - 0 victory over New York Red Bull at Giants Stadium last night. Hours after the red-and-whites victory, the Galaxy fell by the same scoreline to Seattle Sounders FC at the Home Depot Center.

Tuesday morning, as Chivas USA players prepared to return to the practice field, midfielder Sacha Kljestan tweeted "back to training... gotta get this season back on the right track." Kljestan's succinct message accurately summarizes the red-and-white's current situation.

Landon Donovan and Jovan Kirovski each scored a goal for the Galaxy en route to a 2 - 1 victory over New England Revolution, while Chivas USA continues to struggle and gets routed 4 - 0 at the Colorado Rapids. The Galaxy pressured the New England Revolution defense from early on and quickly took control of the game at Gillette Stadium. The increasing pressure on the Revolution defense led to some errors in the back line and it wasn't long before the blue-and-gold got some quality shots on goal.

Chivas USA and Galaxy take the show on the road tonight as they return to MLS action in Colorado and New England respectively. The red-and-whites return to action after a three week break which has allowed them to regroup after a series of tough results. The team recently acquired MLS veteran Marcelo Saragosa and Kevin Harmse, but despite the additions, injuries have once again become a major source of problems for the red-and-whites.

Galaxy forward Landon Donovan scored his 8th goal of the season at the 33rd minute as the blue-and-gold played to a draw against the Kansas City Wizars last night. Kansas City had taken the lead at the 26th minute when forward Claudio Lopez picked up the ball at the center circle and sent a long arching shot towards the Galaxy goal. Galaxy 'keeper Donovan Ricketts was caught off his line and despite his desperate attempts to recover

Kudos to MLS Commissioner Don Garber for fining Galaxy midfielder David Beckham for his actions at last Sunday's match versus A.C. Milan at the Home Depot Center. While the amount is trivial ($1,000), the action restores some credibility to the league and perhaps signals the beginning of the end of the special treatment Beckham has received.

A variety of great soccer options await fans over the next few days.

Alecko Eskandarian, Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis each scored first half goals for the Galaxy, giving the blue-and-gold a 3 - 1 victory over Red Bull New York last night at Giants Stadium.

Three was the magic number for the Galaxy last night. Galaxy forward Edson Buddle scored his 3rd goal of the season at the 30th minute to give the blue-and-gold a 1 - 0 victory over Chivas USA in the second leg of the Honda SuperClásico. The victory extends the Galaxy win streak to three games, all of which have come by the same scoreline. Coincidentally, the combination of yesterday's loss by Chivas USA and a Seattle victory over Houston drops the red-and-whites to third place in the standings.

Chivas USA returns to MLS action tonight after a 2 week break during which time it participated in the SuperLiga U.S. Open Cup tournaments. The red-and-whites will have little time to reacquaint themselves upon their return, jumping into the deep end from the get-go to host the second leg of the Honda SuperClásico against in-stadium rivals Los Angeles Galaxy.

Galaxy and Chivas USA drop respective games by similar scoreline as the MLS season quickly approaches its halfway point and SuperLiga action got underway.

It is SuperLiga time at the Home Depot Center!