Weekly Update: West title in reach
Galaxy host Houston in Western Conference Championship on Friday night
The Dynamo qualified for the Western Conference thanks to their 1-0 win over Seattle in extra time on Sunday afternoon at Robertson Stadium. Brian Ching scored the game's only goal, giving the Dynamo a 1-0 series win after Game #1 ended 0-0.
The Galaxy won the regular season series against the Dynamo, winning 1-0 at The Home Depot Center on June 28 behind a goal from Todd Dunivant and playing to a 0-0 draw in Houston on October 18.
The winner of Friday night's game will advance to the MLS Cup in Seattle on Sunday, November 22 against the winner of Saturday's Eastern Conference Championship between the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake. Both Conference Championships are one-game, winner-take-all affairs. If the game is tied at the end of 90 minutes, it will go to 30 minutes (two 15-minute halves) of extra time. If the game is still tied after extra time, it will be decided by kicks from the penalty mark.
Sunday, November 8
LA Galaxy 1 - Chivas USA 0 - The Home Depot Center - Attendance 27,000
Galaxy Win Series 3-2 on Aggregate
Galaxy Injury Report
OUT - Alecko Eskandarian (Head - Disabled List), Julian Valentin (Right Foot - Disabled List)
DOUBTFUL - None
QUESTIONABLE -Stefani Miglioranzi (Left Groin - Strain)
PROBABLE - None
BACK IN THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
The Galaxy are back in the Western Conference Championship for the first time in four years, dating back to their MLS Cup title in 2005. Since MLS began using the current playoff format (two-leg, aggregate goal Conference Semifinal Series followed by a single game Conference Championship) in 2003, the Galaxy have advanced to the Western Conference Championship three times, falling to the Kansas City Wizards in 2004, beating Colorado in 2005 en route to the MLS Cup championship and this season.From 1996-2002, Major League Soccer used a best two-out-of-three or first to five points playoff format, meaning that all series were played out over a maximum of three games. In seven years under those rules, the Galaxy reached the Western Conference Championship Series six times, advancing to the MLS Cup in 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002 when the club won their first league championship.
RECORD SETTING CROWD SEES GALAXY WIN:
The Galaxy had a capacity crowd of 27,000 for Sunday evening's win over Chivas USA, setting the record for the largest crowd ever for a Galaxy postseason game at The Home Depot Center. The crowd equals the biggest attendance ever for a postseason game at the venue, matching the record crowd that was set for the 2003 MLS Cup between San Jose and Chicago. That record was matched last season for the 2008 MLS Cup between Columbus and New York.The biggest crowd ever to see a Galaxy postseason game remains the 2002 MLS Cup, when 61,316 fans saw the Galaxy beat the host New England Revolution 1-0 in extra time at Gillette Stadium. The Galaxy's biggest crowd ever for a home playoff game is 30,231, set on October 2, 1996, when the Galaxy beat San Jose 2-0 at the Rose Bowl.
DONOVAN TIES RECORD:
Landon Donovan's 73rd minute penalty kick was the 16th postseason goal of his MLS career, tying him with Carlos Ruiz as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Donovan has 16 goals in 20 career playoff games, including six in six postseason games with the Galaxy.The 27-year-old Galaxy captain is also tied with the Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley as the top scorer in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs. All three players have two goals heading into the Conference Championships. Donovan scored a goal in each leg of the Conference Semifinal Series against Chivas USA, meaning that he has tallied either a goal or an assist in five of the six playoff games he has played as a member of the Galaxy.
Donovan's six career postseason goals as a member of the Galaxy are tied with Cobi Jones for the third most in club history. Only Carlos Ruiz (11 goals) and Mauricio Cienfuegos (7 goals) have scored more postseason goals for the Galaxy than Donovan.
ARENA AND GONZALEZ UP FOR AWARDS THIS WEEK:
Major League Soccer will continue to hand out their league awards this week, with two members of the Galaxy named as finalists for awards that will be announced this week. Head coach Bruce Arena will discover on Wednesday if he has been named the league's Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. The winner of the award in 1997, Arena is one of three finalists for the honor along with Robert Warzycha of the Columbus Crew and Sigi Schmid of Seattle Sounders FC. He will look to join Bob Bradley and Schmid as the only two coaches in league history to win the award twice.The following day, Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez will look to be named the MLS Rookie of the Year. The 21-year-old center back was the No. 3 overall pick at the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, and was the only player on the club to appear in and start all 30 regular season games this year. If he is selected for the award over fellow finalists Stefan Frei of Toronto FC and Chris Pontius of D.C. United, he will become the second consecutive Galaxy player to be named the MLS Rookie of the Year, joining Sean Franklin who claimed the honor in 2008.
RICKETTS GETS FIRST CLEAN SHEET:
Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made two saves on Sunday evening to earn the first postseason win and clean sheet of his MLS career. That game was the Galaxy's 47th all-time postseason game, with Ricketts keeping the club's 16th playoff shutout. Ricketts, who is just the fifth different goalkeeper to play a postseason game for the club, is the first goalkeeper other than Kevin Hartman to keep a clean sheet while playing the full 90 minutes of postseason game since October 2, 1996 when Jorge Campos made six saves in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Clash that clinched the Galaxy a berth in the inaugural Western Conference Championship Series.FACING THE DYNAMO:
Friday night's game will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the Galaxy and the Dynamo. The two sides have met 11 times in the regular season with the Galaxy compiling a 3-4-4 record against Houston, including a 1-0-1 mark this season. That win came on June 28 and was the Galaxy's first-ever win over the Dynamo at home. LA is now 1-2-2 all-time against the Dynamo at The Home Depot Center, with Landon Donovan scoring three of the Galaxy's five home goals against Houston.THREE FORMER GALAXY GREATS NOMINATED FOR THE SOCCER HALL OF FAME:
Former Galaxy stars Mauricio Cienfuegos, Robin Fraser and Eduardo Hurtado have been nominated for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. All three players were members of the inaugural Galaxy team in 1996, helping the club reach the MLS Cup Final that year while being named to the MLS All-Star Team.Cienfuegos played for the club from 1996-2003, appearing in 198 regular season games and winning three trophies with the club, including the 2002 MLS Cup. He is second in club history with 80 career assists while his 14 career postseason assists are the most in Galaxy history.
Fraser was one of the lynchpins of the Galaxy defense from 1996-2000, appearing in 129 regular season games for the club. The Galaxy's Defender of the Year in 1997, 1998 and 1999, he remains the only Galaxy player ever to win the MLS Defender of the Year award, a prize that he claimed in 1999 when he captained an LA defense that allowed just 29 goals in 32 regular season games.
Hurtado spent just a little more than two seasons with the Galaxy but remains the fifth leading scorer in club history with 30 goals in 50 games for the club. His team-high 21 goals were the third most in MLS in 1996 and he added three more in the postseason that year, including the first-ever goal in an MLS Cup, giving LA a 1-0 lead in the 5th minute against D.C. United. He was named the Galaxy's MVP that season before adding eight more goals in his second and final full season with the club in 1997.
Voters in the player election include selected members of the media, Hall of Famers, past and present U.S. Men's and Women's National Team coaches, MLS and WPS coaches of four or more years tenure, and a select group of soccer administrators. The ballot deadline is November 19. The results will be announced in early 2010.
DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY BACK IN ACTION ON SATURDAY:
Less than a week after the Galaxy ended Chivas USA's MLS Cup dreams with Sunday's 1-0 win, the LA Galaxy Youth Academy will look for similar results in the first meeting of the year between the Galaxy and Chivas USA Youth Academy's. The games will be played at Cerritos College on Saturday, November 14, with the U-16's kicking off at 12 p.m. and the U-18's playing at 2:15 p.m.The Galaxy and Chivas USA Youth Academies met twice last season at both the U-16 and U-18 levels, with the Galaxy U-16's claiming 1-0 and 4-0 wins over their rivals. The U-18's split the season series, with the Galaxy winning 3-0 in the first meeting and Chivas USA coming out on top 3-1 in the second.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FOR THE WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Tickets are now available for the Western Conference Championship between the Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. The game will kick off from The Home Depot Center at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 13. Playoff ticket prices are the same as regular season prices, meaning that tickets start at just $24 for the chance to see the Galaxy clinch their first MLS Cup berth since 2005.Additionally, fans can purchase a special Playoff Family 4-Pack for as little as $66. This special package includes four tickets to the Friday night's game, as well as four hot dogs and four sodas.
Fans wishing to purchase MLS Cup Playoff tickets can do so by visiting www.lagalaxy.com or by calling 1-877-3GALAXY (342-5299), as well as www.ticketmaster.com and through all Ticketmaster outlets.
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.
