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Chivas USA To Face Colorado Rapids In Season Opener Friday Night

March 25, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


CARSON, Calif. (Thursday, March 25, 2010) - Chivas USA will open its sixth season in Major League Soccer on Friday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. PT, facing the Colorado Rapids at The Home Depot Center (TV: KDOC and KWHY; Radio: W Radio 690 AM). Led by Head Coach Martín Vásquez, the Red-and-White have a new-look roster and will see Chivas USA veterans Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein serve as the team's captains in 2010. A special First Kick Pack is available for the game, with tickets starting as low as $15, and the first 7500 fans through the gate will receive a special mini soccer ball. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.

A pair of Chivas USA veterans who joined the club in 2006 will serve as the co-captains this season, with Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein taking over in the role. Kljestan and Bornstein were both selected by the Red-and-White in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, and have enjoyed a great deal of success in their four seasons with the club; Bornstein is a three-time All-Star, Kljestan was named U.S. Soccer's 2008 Young Male Athlete of the Year, and both are regular call-ups for the United States National Team. Kljestan will wear the captain's armband on the field, with Bornstein taking over when Kljestan is not on the field.

With a pair of key additions in Salvadoran midfielder Osael Romero and defender Michael Umaña of Costa Rica, as well as the departures of several veterans, the Red-and-White will have a new-look roster in 2010. Romero, a star for the El Salvador National Team, where has 8 goals in 39 appearances, will look to boost the Red-and-White's offense from his attacking midfield position. Umaña, who played every minute of Costa Rica's appearance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, will find a role on Chivas USA's back line.

The team also announced on Thursday that it has signed developmental players Carlos Borja and Ben Zemanski. Borja joins the Red-and-White from Chivas de Guadalajara, where he has spent the last two years, playing primarily in the Primera A division with affiliate team CD Tapatio. The defender, 22, had also been a member of the Chivas USA first team in the 2006 MLS season. Zemanski, who shares a birthday with Borja (Jan. 18, 1988), joins the club after four successful years at the University of Akron. The midfielder was selected by Chivas USA in the third round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft this January, and joins Akron teammate Blair Gavin on the Red-and-White's roster.

With the signing of Borja, the Red-and-White now have four former Chivas USA youth team players, joining Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayén, veterans of the United States U-20 World Cup team, as well as Cesar Zamora, a recent call-up to the U.S. U-20's. With the addition of its young players, as well as the departure of several veterans, the team's average age (25 years, 160 days) has dropped almost two and a half years from the roster at the end of the 2009 season. The team's full roster is below.

CHIVAS USA 2010 ROSTER (As of March 25, 2010)

# Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown

23 Carlos Borja DEF 6-0 170 01/18/1988 Anaheim, CA

13 Jonathan Bornstein DEF 5-9 145 11/07/1984 Los Alamitos, CA

17 Justin Braun FWD 6-3 195 03/31/1987 Salt Lake City, UT

77 Chukwudi Chijindu MID 5-9 188 02/20/1986 La Verne, CA

45 Yamith Cuesta DEF 6-3 177 04/17/1989 Turbo, Colombia

19 Jorge Flores FWD 5-9 150 09/16/1989 Anaheim, CA

9 Maykel Galindo FWD 5-10 165 01/28/1981 Villa Clara, Cuba

18 Blair Gavin MID 6-0 165 01/08/1989 Louisville, KY

6 Ante Jazic DEF 5-11 175 02/27/1976 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

1 Dan Kennedy GK 6-1 200 07/22/1982 Yorba Linda, CA

16 Sacha Kljestan MID 6-1 150 09/09/1985 Huntington Beach, CA

11 Michael Lahoud MID 5-8 140 09/15/1986 Annandale, VA

14 Gerson Mayén MID 5-8 150 02/09/1989 Los Angeles, CA

10 Jesús Padilla FWD 5-11 150 03/03/1987 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

7 Osael Romero MID 5-6 142 04/18/1986 Usulután, El Salvador

29 Maicon Santos FWD 6-1 186 04/18/1984 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

5 Marcelo Saragosa MID 6-0 175 01/22/1982 Campo Grande, Brazil

22 Zach Thornton GK 6-3 230 10/10/1973 Edgewood, MD

8 Mariano Trujillo MID 5-7 150 05/19/1977 Mexico City, Mexico

4 Michael Umaña DEF 5-10 170 07/16/1982 Santa Ana, Costa Rica

28 Cesar Zamora MID 5-11 152 05/27/1991 Sylmar, CA

21 Ben Zemanski MID 5-11 150 01/18/1988 Akron, OH

Having qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for four straight seasons, Chivas USA is looking to build on past success and make 2010 the club's best year yet. Season Seats are on sale starting at the low price of just $10 per game, and 10- and 5-game plans are also available. For more information on Chivas USA, or to purchase tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.



Major League Soccer Stories from March 25, 2010


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