Chivas USA kicks off SuperLiga 2009 this Saturday

Published on June 15, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


CHIVAS USA MAKES SUPERLIGA 2009 DEBUT THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AGAINST TIGRES UANL: For the second straight year, Chivas USA will participate in the SuperLiga, the third annual competition which pits top soccer teams from Mexico and the United States against each other for local bragging rights and one of the biggest purses in the region. The Red-and-White open their SuperLiga 2009 schedule this Saturday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m. at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., against Mexico's Tigres UANL. Chivas USA will then travel to face MLS foes the Chicago Fire on June 23 at Toyota Park, before closing Group A play when it hosts San Luis of Mexico on Saturday, June 27 at 7:00 p.m. at The Home Depot Center. Tickets, including special 2- and 3-game packs that include SuperLiga matches and the July 11 Honda Super Clásico vs. the LA Galaxy, are available by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or via cdchivasusa.com. A full schedule of SuperLiga matches available at cdchivasusa.com.

SUPERLIGA HISTORY: SuperLiga 2009 is the third edition of the tournament, and the second time that Chivas USA has participated. In 2007, Pachuca of the Mexican First Division topped the LA Galaxy 4-3 on penalty kicks to win the first SuperLiga. Last year, Chivas USA played in the tournament for the first time, and in the team's first game of the tournament, fell to Pachuca 2-1. The Red-and-White then won its next game 1-0 over the reigning Mexican champions, Santos, before earning a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution. Forward Ante Razov scored all three of Chivas USA's goals in the tournament, as the Red-and-White fell short of advancing to the tournament's semifinals on goal differential, while the Revolution went on to win the tournament. Below are the groups and a full schedule for this year's edition of the tournament; for a full schedule of the tournament, or to purchase tickets, visit cdchivasusa.com or call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

Group A Group B

Chicago Fire (USA) New England Revolution (USA)

Chivas USA (USA) Kansas City Wizards (USA)

San Luis (MEX) Santos Laguna (MEX)

Tigres UANL (MEX) Atlas (MEX)

CHIVAS USA DROP ONE-GOAL DECISIONS AT HOUSTON AND COLUMBUS: Chivas USA spent last week on a difficult road trip, facing the two top teams from the 2008 regular season in the span of five days. First, the Red-and-White fell 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, extending the team's all-time winless record in Houston to 0-6-2 (W-L-T). The team then visited the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew on Sunday, and despite scoring first through Eduardo Lillingston's 39th minute goal, gave up two goals to the reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto en route to a 2-1 loss. The Red-and-White's record now sits at 8-4-3 (W-L-T) in 2009, tied for first place in the league with Houston, and the team does not have another league match until the July 11 Honda Super Clásico against the LA Galaxy.

BORNSTEIN AND KLJESTAN PLAY FOR U.S. AGAINST ITALY IN CONFEDERATIONS CUP: Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan both played in Monday's United States National Team match against Italy in the Confederations Cup, taking place this month in South Africa. In the 3-1 loss, in which the U.S. gave up all three goals after being reduced to 10 men after a red card to Ricardo Clark in the 33rd minute, Bornstein played the first 86 minutes before being substituted in place of Sacha Kljestan, who had a late shot go just over the bar. The team's next match is against Brazil on June 18, before finishing group play on June 21 against Egypt. All 16 matches of the tournament will be available in high definition on the ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD. Fans can also follow all the USA's matches live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker. Bornstein has made a total of 16 appearances for the U.S., and Kljestan has 18.

RED-AND-WHITE AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF 2009 MLS SEASON: With 15 of 30 MLS matches played, Chivas USA has started strong, owning an 8-4-3 (W-L-T) record, good for 27 points and a tie for the league lead with the Houston Dynamo. This is the team's best record at the halfway point of a season. Last season, the Red-and-White were 6-6-3 (21 points) at the midpoint, while the team was at 7-5-3 (24 points) in 2007 and 6-5-4 (22 points) in 2006. In 2005, the team's first season, the team was just 1-12-3 (6 points) at the midpoint of the 32-game season. In all but 2006, the team has earned more points in the second half of the season than in the first.

GOALKEEPER ZACH THORNTON SETS TEAM AND PERSONAL RECORDS: Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton earned seven shutouts in the first 15 matches of the season, which gave the goalkeeper 65 shutouts in his career, tied with San Jose's Joe Cannon for second on the MLS all-time charts. In addition to the clean sheets, Thornton also set a new club record for consecutive minutes without conceding a goal earlier this year, going 401 minutes between April 22 and May 16, beating the Red-and-White's previous record of 334 minutes, set by Brad Guzan in 2006.

CHIVAS USA U-18'S QUALIFY FOR DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS; PARTICIPATE IN COPA SAPRISSA: The Chivas USA Under-18 Team earned a 5-3 victory over the Irvine Strikers on Saturday, June 6 at Cerritos College, giving the team a berth in the Development Academy playoffs which take place in Greensboro, N.C., from June 26-29. It is the first time that a Chivas USA Youth Team has qualified for the Development Academy playoffs; more information on the playoffs can be found in the Development Academy section of USSoccer.com. The U-18 Team is currently participating in the Copa Saprissa in Costa Rica; the team has three losses with two matches left to play in the tournament. More information can be found at the U-18 and U-16 team pages, and for more information on the Chivas USA Youth System, please visit http://web.mlsnet.com/t120/youth.

INJURY UPDATE: Defender Ante Jazic played his first minutes of 2009, and first ever in an official match for Chivas USA, in Sunday's match at Columbus, having previously been out due to a concussion suffered in preseason. Below is the team's injury update; the most recent version is available at www.mlsnet.com.

CHIVAS USA INJURY REPORT (As of Monday; 6/15):

Bobby Burling Sports hernia surgery Out

Dan Kennedy Right knee sprain Out

Ante Razov Right ankle surgery Out

Lawson Vaughn Left ankle surgery Out

Cesar Zamora Left hamstring strain Out

Justin Braun Concussion Questionable

CHIVAS USA'S 'STIMULUS PLAN' GETS SOCCER FANS INTO THE TOP MATCHES OF THE YEAR STARTING AT JUST $50: Chivas USA is offering fans the chance to watch the top matches of the year with the club's 'Stimulus Plan', a limited-time offer that gets fans into the top five Chivas USA home games of the 2009 season, plus a 'bonus' ticket to the July 11 Honda Super Clásico against the LA Galaxy, all starting at the bargain price of just $50. The plan includes Toronto FC (Aug. 22), New England (Sept. 13), Juan Pablo Angel's New York Red Bulls (Sept. 26), the California Clásico vs. San Jose (Oct. 17) and Fan Appreciation Night on the last day of the regular season against the Houston Dynamo (Oct. 25). The bonus 'Stimulus Game' is the highly anticipated Game 2 of the Honda Super Clásico series against intra-city rivals LA Galaxy on July 11. For more information, please visit cdchivasusa.com or call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

TUNE IN THIS THURSDAY TO 'PASIÓN CHIVAS USA' ON W RADIO 690 AM: Fans can tune in to 'Pasión Chivas USA', airing this Thursday night from 5-6 p.m. PT on W Radio 690 AM. Hosts Hipólito Gamboa and Rigoberto Cervantez, who also serve as play-by-play and color commentator for every Chivas USA match of the 2009 MLS season, will preview SuperLiga 2009, discuss the team's performance in last year's edition of the tournament, and look at the team's record at the halfway point of the MLS season. The official weekly radio program of the Red-and-White, 'Pasión Chivas USA' covers everything on the Major League Soccer club, from match commentary, recent news from the team, interviews, contests to win tickets to Chivas USA matches, as well as phone calls from fans listening to the show.

DON'T MISS 'SOMOS CHIVAS USA' THIS SATURDAY AT 1:30 P.M. PT ON KAZA AZTECA 54: Fans, don't miss Chivas USA's official weekly TV show, "Somos Chivas USA'. Featuring renowned co-hosts Mara Almada and Antonio Rosique, with reporting by renowned Chiva-expert Ramón Diaz, 'Somos Chivas USA' gives viewers an inside look at the Red-and-White, including player features, match analysis, highlights, and much more. This week's 'Somos Chivas USA' is scheduled to air on KAZA Azteca 54 in Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 20, complete with special features and commentaries on Chivas USA. Tune in this Saturday for your 'Somos Chivas USA!'

GUADALAJARA UPDATE: BACK FROM VACATION: Chivas de Guadalajara just returned from a brief break on June 1. The team is holding preseason training at Verde Valle for the upcoming Apertura 2009 preseason. More information on Chivas de Guadalajara can be found at the club's official website, www.chivascampeon.com.

CDCHIVASUSA.COM: THE TOP SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING ABOUT THE RED-AND-WHITE: With new features, videos, and articles every day, cdchivasusa.com is the top source for everything on the Major League Soccer's top team, Chivas USA. New videos are constantly added, ranging from the popular 'Chatting with Chivas USA' and 'Chatting with the ChivaGirls' series, to match previews and recaps, to other features on the team. Fans can also find articles on happenings within Chivas USA nearly every day, as well as Adrian Paul's offbeat column "Red-and-White Monday" every week. Visit cdchivasusa.com today to for all the latest news and information on the Red-and-White!

JOIN CHIVAS USA'S NEW SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE AT MYCHIVASUSA.COM: Last week, Chivas USA launched MyChivasUSA.com, a social networking site designed for fans of the Red-and-White. The social network was created using the Ning platform, and allows fans to customize a profile, set up blogs, add photos and videos, send messages and chat, track matches they've attended, and much more. Several Chivas USA players, including Jonathan Bornstein and Alecko Eskandarian, as well as members of the ChivaGirls, have already set up profiles on the page. Chivas USA season ticket holders and members of the Union Ultras and Legión 1908 supporters groups were among a select group of members invited to join the site last week. For more information, or to make your own account, please visit MyChivasUSA.com and click on the 'Sign Up' link.

VISIT 'DENTRO DEL REBAÑO', CHIVAS USA'S OFFICIAL BLOG: Chivas USA's official blog, 'Dentro del Rebaño' (or 'Inside the Flock') will contain updated content on the team throughout the season. Check out chivas-usa.blogspot.com today for the latest information on Chivas USA!

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from June 15, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central