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Rivera, Proud of Our Crest

June 6, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


The last two Reserve League games have been ideal for Chivas USA midfielder Jose Manuel Rivera. Not only has he served as team captain in these two games, but has also had the fortune to score three goals.

During Chivas USA's Reserve League match on Wednesday against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Thunderbird Stadium Rivera scored two valuable goals that helped the team come back from a 3-0 score, earn a 3-3 draw, and remain unbeaten in the Reserve League.

"I'm happier about the way we got it [the score]. It was a very complicated first half for us, we had three errors that cost us goals; it was difficult to score three goals, but we did it. At halftime, we talked about it and I'm happier about that than the goals I scored," Rivera commented after the game.

In the 71st minute, the referee called a foul in favor of Chivas USA from 30 meters from the rival's goal. Without thinking twice, Rivera grabbed the ball, and knew what he had to do. He had to help his team come back in the game.

"When I grabbed the ball, I thought I would just center the shot because the goal was a bit far, but I knew that we had to score. I felt confident since I saw the defensive wall, I told myself that I had to shoot on goal, and I had to do it," Rivera added.

Coming back in the game and earning a positive result after the circumstances they faced wasn't as impressive in the game as coming back out for the second half and fighting to get a win until the very last second.

"At halftime, obviously we were upset because we had started off the first minutes of the game having control, just like we had talked about and planned.

"We said that we could turn the game around and that we were already here; we had travelled too far to leave like that, with a lot of goals. We needed to play with a lot of pride, with heart and to love our jersey, our uniform and to perform at our best wherever we are," Rivera finalized.

A boost of confidence for Soto

Josue Soto's second-half goal in Wednesday's MLS Reserves League match-up against Vancouver Whitecaps FC not only put Chivas USA back in the game after going down 3-nil by halftime, but it also gave them the confidence to turn the game around and earn a hard fought 3-3 draw at Thunderbird Stadium.

In the 58th minute of the match, Soto received a ball from teammate Jose Manuel Rivera, clipped a long range ball at goal, shooting it past 'Caps goalkeeper Joe Cannon, and fortunately for the Goats, notched the first goal for Chivas USA, and his first with the club.

"I felt good, especially because of the comeback of the team on the road. It's a Reserve League game but still we still want to win so it was a good result," Soto commented after the Reserve League match.

Through the rest of the match, Soto and the rest of the Goats didn't give up and continued their search for the victory. Rivera notched the second goal in the 71st minute of the match through a free kick, and five minutes before the end of the game, Soto played a ball to Rivera, which the team captain simply chipped into the back of the net.

"I thought we played good. Even in the first half, we just had three goals in three giveaways and three counters, and they put it away. We kept playing the same way in the second half and things started going our way. The three goals that we got were good quality finishes, quality play," Soto added.

Now, Soto feels refreshed and motivated to continue his good performances on the field. And with those performances, he hopes it can lead to a spot in the First Team's starting line-up.

"I thought we played well. Even in the first half, we just had three goals in three giveaways and three counters, and they put it away. We kept playing the same way in the second half and things started going our way. The three goals that we got were good quality finishes, quality play," Soto added.

Now, Soto feels refreshed and motivated to continue his good performances on the field. And with those performances, he hopes it can lead to a spot in the First Team's starting line-up.

"It's always good to play and to score. It's good for a player to feel like he played well, and I think I did today, especially in the second half. Overall, it's a confidence boost for me playing in the middle, which I haven't done in a while and I feel very good there. I think, personally, it's good and I think as a team it's great. It's a group of guys that are more involved with the reserves and just pushing for our spot in the first team," he finalized.

Morales and Mexico bid farewell to Toulon

For Chivas USA forward Julio Morales and the rest of Mexico's U-20 team, their participation in the 2013 Hopefuls' of Toulon Tournament in France came to an end Thursday with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Belgium's U-20 National Team. El Tri led the match deep into regulation time and looked as though they would be headed to a meeting with France to dispute a third-place finish in the tournament. But Belgium equalized in stoppage time to instead give Portugal the date against France.

With a record of 1-1-2, Mexico finishes the tournament with the third-most points in Group B with five, and will now set their sights on the next challenge - the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey set to begin on June 21. Despite not appearing in today's match, Morales does come away from the tournament with a goal under his belt, and will continue to look to contribute when ever called upon by Head Coach Sergio Almaguer.

Mexico will play their opening match as part of Group D against Greece on June 22, and will then face Paraguay and Mali as the other two teams in the group.

Chivas USA Reserves return to join the First Team

Chivas USA returned to practice Thursday morning with the full squad in attendance. Fresh off their 3-3 draw at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday as part of Reserve League competition, the Reserve squad joined the First Team at The Home Depot Center's Field 6.

The players who did not travel to Vancouver started off the session at 10 a.m. (PT) and began with a light jog around the pitch, followed by 10 minutes of agility and conditioning drills with cone and obstacle poles for added difficulty. The warm-up session was then supplemented by a series of stretching exercises. Meanwhile, the reserves arrived shortly after and ran through similar obstacle drills as part of their regenerative program. After completing the agility drills, the reserve group participated in a jog of their own around the pitch.

Meanwhile the First Team incorporated ball work into their training. The players broke out into groups of three for a possession drill with two group members trying to dispossess their teammate from the ball. The session then gravitated to tactical work which stretched the length of half the pitch for approximately 45 minutes.

After completing their tactical work, the group ran through a series of supplemental agility drills similar to the ones they completed during warm-ups. After doing so, four group members transitioned to practice their shots from inside the top of the 18-yard box with a goalkeeper in goal. The morning concluded with a group stretch for recovery before being dismissed for the day as well as being given Friday off.

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