Chivas USA's season comes to an end with 2-2 tie vs. Real Salt Lake

Published on November 9, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


CARSON, Calif. (Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008) - Chivas USA's 2008 season drew to a close tonight, as the Red-and-White drew 2-2 with Real Salt Lake in front of an electric playoff crowd of 19,265 at The Home Depot Center. After Salt Lake's 1-0 victory last Saturday in Utah, RSL advances to the Western Conference Championship, by a 3-2 aggregate score, and will play the winner of the Houston Dynamo-New York Red Bulls series. The Red-and-White took a 1-0 lead tonight on Sacha Kljestan's 30th minute penalty kick, but RSL struck back with goals from Dema Kovalenko and Javier Morales. Justin Braun's late equalizer knotted the score at two, but Chivas USA could not find a third goal. The Red-and-White ended the regular season with a 12-11-7 record (W-L-T) and qualified for the playoffs for the third consecutive season in the club's four years of existence.

Chivas USA Notes (2-2 tie - 3-2 loss on aggregate - vs. Real Salt Lake, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif., 11/08/2008)

Chivas USA entered the match trailing 1-0 on total goals after last Saturday's match at Real Salt Lake, and tied the overall score after a half hour, when Ante Razov was taken down in the box. Sacha Kljestan took the resulting penalty kick, and struck high and to RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando's left, just above his dive. The goal was Chivas USA's first in the playoffs since October 22, 2006, snapping a scoreless streak of 412 minutes.

Real Salt Lake struck back nine minutes later when Javier Morales' cross was headed in by Dema Kovalenko, giving RSL the overall back. The Utah side took a further lead deep into the second half when Morales dribbled through the Chivas USA box and hit a low shot into the corner of the net in the 77th minute, giving RSL a 2-1 lead on the night (3-1 overall).

Justin Braun pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute, receiving a Francisco Mendoza through ball and finishing with a hard shot to Rimando's left. Though Chivas USA continued to push numbers forward in the closing minutes, the team fell short of getting a third goal and the series ended with RSL having the 3-2 advantage.

Real Salt Lake advances to the Western Conference Championship game, against the winner of the Houston Dynamo - New York Red Bulls series, Game 2 of which will be played Sunday in Houston. Chivas USA ends the season with a 12-11-7 record (W-L-T) in the regular season, and an 0-1-1 record in the playoffs.

Chivas USA Head Coach Preki, on tonight's match: "You can't discredit [our team's] commitment, effort. I thought we gave everything we had tonight, I was just a little bit disappointed with the way we came out in Salt Lake. If we had the same type of commitment in Salt Lake, we would not have lost this. Give them credit, they pushed the tempo a little bit more than us, they maybe wanted it a little more than us at home, and they got the result. And here, they got two goals." (For a full quote sheet, please visit cdchivasusa.com.)

The Red-and-White, averaging almost six players missing due to injury all season, were again without six players. Claudio Suárez (L calf strain) and Sacha Victorine (R knee sprain) did not recover in time to play, while the team was already without Eric Ebert (R knee lateral meniscus surgery), Maykel Galindo (sports hernia surgery), Lawson Vaughn (L ankle surgery), and Raphael Wicky (R ankle surgery), all out for the year. Alecko Eskandarian (L knee sprain) and Atiba Harris (L thigh strain) both played, Harris starting and playing 86 minutes, and Eskandarian entering the match as a substitute to start the second half.

Chivas USA resumes training on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. at The Home Depot Center as the team finalizes its postseason plans. For more information, please contact Chivas USA Communications.

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