Chivas USA Look to Bounce Back in Reserve League Play

September 23, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Coming off a rough road loss at Houston on Saturday, Chivas USA will look to quickly turn the page on their worst loss of the season and jump into Reserve League play on Tuesday. The Red-and-White reserves will travel to face Real Salt Lake and look to add to their 4-3-1 record and maintain their second-place standing in the West Division.

Despite being among Major League Soccer's youngest squads, the veterans on the club will surely do their part to pick up the group and make sure that the objectives remain clear. The Goats have performed well in Reserve League action, with the second-most wins in the West and a goal differential of plus-three.

"It was a tough loss," said Jose Manuel Rivera, who was part of the 18 that suited up against the Dynamo. "For those of us who don't have as much participation [with the First Team] we now have a good opportunity to maintain our rhythm and continue adding points. This is a team that despite the stumbles picks itself up quickly and is united."

For second-year goalkeeper Tim Melia, the match serves as yet another stepping stone in his return from injury. Melia started in goal in the Goats' last reserve match on Sept. 15 against the Portland Timbers and led the Rojiblancos to a 4-1 rout while logging the entire 90 minutes. Melia's strong performance could merit him yet another start on Tuesday in his quest to reclaim his position as team captain Dan Kennedy's back-up. Like Rivera, Melia says that the squad's focus is on Tuesday's contest and not last Saturday's loss in the Lone Star State.

"I don't think our morale is affected at all," Melia said after Monday's training session before departing to Utah. "We just have to be professional about it and go [to Salt Lake] and do a job. You're going to lose games, no matter what level. So right now we just have to focus on the game tomorrow. Despite the fact that it's a reserve game we're going out there to win."

The reserves have been able to count on solid performances all season from the likes of Rivera and forward Tristan Bowen, who are among the club leaders in goals. And come Tuesday they will likely be in Assistant Coach Marco Fabian's starting 11 to remain sharp and continue to make themselves noticed by Head Coach Jose Luis Real and his staff for First Team minutes.

Fabian has been steadfast in his expectations of those who are selected to compete. As Rivera mentioned, Fabian emphasizes "for us to approach the matches seriously and compete in them as if they were yet another match."

Tuesday's match kicks off at 11 a.m. (PT) at RSL's America First Field. Visit cdchivasusa.com and follow on twitter @cdchivasusa for post-match coverage.

Academy Recap: U16s shine in tour & U23s extend streak

The following is a recap of the weekend's action for Chivas USA's Youth Development Academy:

USSDA

It was a positive weekend for Chivas USA's U15/16 in their U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season kick-off in the Pacific Northwest. In their first match of the season, the Red-and-White earned their first three points as they defeated the Portland Timbers U15/16 squad 2-1 at the Timbers Training Facility on Saturday afternoon. Two goals by Gilberto Avalos led the group to the ultimate victory.

To finalize the weekend's action, Chivas USA's U15/16 squad travelled to Seattle to face the Sounders' youth squad. Not only did the young Goats have a superb match, but Ivan Gutierrez's hat trick led Chivas to earn a 3-2 win over the Sounders. The two wins now put Chivas USA's U15/16 Team in second place in the Southwest Division. The team will have next weekend off before hosting Real Salt Lake AZ on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 12 p.m. (PT) at Bell Gardens Sports Complex's Field 5.

Chivas USA's U17/18 Team had a challenging first week in USSDA action. In their first game of the season, the Red-and-White earned a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers U17/18 Team. An own goal in the 17th minute gave the Timbers the early lead. But shortly before the end of the first half, Paul Salcedo notched the equalizer for the final 1-1 score. The second match was less favorable for the Red-and-White, falling 6-0 to the Seattle Sounders on Sunday afternoon at Starfire Sports Complex.

With the point earned over the weekend, Chivas USA's U17/18 sit in 7th place in the Southwest Division standings. The Goats will host Real Salt Lake AZ U17/18 Team on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. (PT) at Bell Gardens Sports Complex's Field 5.

U23s extend unbeaten streak

Chivas USA's U23 squad opened up their season in the Coast Soccer League with a 2-1 win over Pomona United on Saturday night at Bell Gardens Sports Complex. The win symbolized the 11th consecutive victory for the U23 squad. The Red-and-White will now look to extend the positive streak when they visit Tustin Celtic next Sunday, Sept. 29 at 8:45 a.m. (PT) at Meadowood Park in Irvine.

U15s earn draw with Seleccion Alianza in friendly

Chivas USA's U15 Team participated in a friendly match against Seleccion Alianza U15 Team, playing in front of national and international scouts. The Red-and-White earned a 2-2 draw with the team consisting of Southern California talent. Cesar Becerra notched the first goal of the match in the 25th minute, but just two minutes later, after a miscommunication between defenders and the goalkeeper, Alianza notched the 1-1 equalizer. Before the end of the first half, the Goats struck yet again with Gerardo Lopez heading in the 2-1 lead. Just a few minutes later, a loose ball helped Alianza notch the final 2-2 draw.

The U15's will return to action in CSL next Sunday, Sept. 29 facing Carlsbad Elite B97 at 4:20 p.m. (PT) at the University of California, Irvine's Field 1.

U13s end participation in international tournament in Spain

After having a rocky start, Chivas USA's U13 squad has concluded their participation in the 2013 Canillas International Tournament that was held in Madrid, Spain. The young Goats kicked off the tournament with an unfortunate 1-0 loss to Bromma, but would come back later in the day to earn a 2-0 win over Wederbremmen. Closing the day's action, the U13 Team would see their hopes of advancing to the next round dim as they fell to eventual tournament champion Atletico de Madrid.

Chivas USA's U13 closed action in the tournament on Saturday afternoon. In the consolation round, the young Red-and-White faced Azerbaijan's Gabala, taking a 3-0 victory. To finish off, the Goats faced China's Shandong Luneng where they earned a 1-0 victory.

The young squad is en route back to Los Angeles and will begin preparing for their next match in the Coast Soccer League (CSL), set to be against FC Golden State Gold next Sunday, Sept. 29 at 3:15 p.m. (PT) at Pasadena High School.

Burling frustrated with halftime exit

Chivas USA entered the match against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium with the obligation to make various tactical changes even before the match had begun. What they didn't count on was the forced changes they would have to make by halftime.

Having passed just a few minutes in the match, in a defensive play, Bobby Burling, jumped in an effort to clear the ball, but the defender found himself in a clash with a Dynamo forward. The collision lead Burling to have some discomfort on his back that throughout the entire first half would continue adding on until it was impossible to handle.

After a quick medical revision and evaluation in halftime, the coaching staff was forced to make their first substitution, leaving Burling on the bench for the second half.

"It's always difficult to leave the field like that; I feel like I've let the team down," Burling said after the game. "You get injured and you have to leave the game and obviously with a score like that, it's never easy."

Burling's absence in the second half led, by consequence, the adjustment to the backline. It was the third change that Head Coach Jose Luis Real and his team was forced to face.

The first came with the knee injury of Marky Delgado during the team's tour through the Pacific Northwest, where they faced Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Seattle Sounders. Before then, Delgado had been a regular in the starting line-up, starting in the last 13 games, for the most part as a right back.

Adding onto the changes is left back Carlos Borja after the player received a one-game suspension after accumulating five yellow cards by the end of the match against the Portland Timbers in last week's action.

With Carlos Borja out of this match due to card accumulation, Marky Delgado due to injury and Burling during the match, they are three key players out of a system that had just begun taking form and paying off. Even though the team had players ready to jump onto the field, consistency once again became a challenge for the young Red-and-White squad.

"There was a change in the backline but I thought the guys put in a good 60 minutes with the game 1-1 at one point," Burling commented. "Houston's a team that's pushing for every point they can get, pushing for the playoffs, and we're just trying to play spoiler and it was one of those night's that the last 30 minutes obviously didn't go our way."

Saturday's result is not an encouraging one, however, it's not something that cannot be fixed for the Red-and-White in its mission to set a base ahead of the 2014 season. Situations like these help solidify the team, correcting the mistakes made and helping the team mature.

Because of this, the Red-and-White has their mind set on their next challenges that coincide with back-to-back games against state rivals. First off, Chivas will host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, and a week later, visit the LA Galaxy in the Angelino Derby. With the week ahead, Burling hopes to recover in order to come back to the Red-and-White line-up.

"It's more frustrating to watch than not be a part of it. I feel like I let the guys down but at the same time, injuries happen and hopefully I get better for next week," Burling finalized.

Next Sunday's match against the San Jose Earthquakes at the StubHub Center will be televised live on KDOC-TV and UniMas starting at 8 p.m. (PT). To purchase tickets to this match, or for more information, call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

Chivas USA Reserves host training session

It was 9 a.m. (PT) when Chivas USA Reserves met at StubHub Center's Field 6 to host their last training session before traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah to face Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer Reserves League action on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 10 a.m. (PT).

After a warm-up session that involved a light jog around the pitch and a game of torito, the team led by Head Coach Jose Luis Real focused on tactical work with possession and definition. Sending centers from different zones across the field, and building up vertical plays from the midfield all the way to the front of the box, the forwards would seek a way to shoot at goal or head the ball into the back of the net.

Once the build-up activity ended, the Red-and-White focused on set pieces defensively and offensively from both sides of the box and with corner kicks.

Around 10:30 a.m. (PT), the technical staff called the end of the session with some stretching, and the Goats headed back to the locker room to get ready for their upcoming trip. Meanwhile, the First Team will return to training on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 9:30 a.m. (PT) also at StubHub Center's Field 6.



Major League Soccer Stories from September 23, 2013


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