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MLS LA Galaxy

Galaxy Weekly Update

May 11, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


CARSON, Calif. (Monday, May 11, 2009) - The LA Galaxy will look to stretch their unbeaten streak to seven games, matching their longest run in the last 10 years on Sunday afternoon when they host the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew on Military Day at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy picked up a pair of road draws last week, improving their record to 1-1-6 and will now look to claim their second consecutive home victory when they take on the Crew. That game kicks off at 12 p.m. and can be seen live locally on FS West, starting with the 'Galaxy Live' pregame show at 11:30 a.m. and nationally on Telefutura, starting at 12 p.m. The first 7,500 fans entering the stadium will receive a free Galaxy hat, which also features an American flag and yellow support the troops ribbon one each side respectively, and all fans will have the chance to watch World Freestyle Champion John Farnworth attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Wednesday, May 6; Galaxy 2 - Real Salt Lake 2 - Rio Tinto Stadium - Attendance: 16,155

Landon Donovan and Mike Magee scored in second half stoppage time to claim a 2-2 draw in the Galaxy's first-ever visit to Rio Tinto Stadium. Former LA forward Robbie Findley gave RSL a 1-0 lead in the first half, only for Donovan to equalize from the penalty spot in the first minute of stoppage time. However, the hosts appeared to have claimed all three points when Will Johnson scored from the penalty spot a minute later, only for Magee to score a last gasp goal in the 94+ minute to earn a point for the Galaxy.

Sunday, May 10; Galaxy 1 - Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field - Attendance: 29,025

The Galaxy maintained their unbeaten mark on the road and stretched their unbeaten streak to six games with a 1-1 draw in Seattle. Sebastian LeToux gave the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the first half of the first-ever MLS game between the two sides, only for Alan Gordon to equalize with a header in 35th minute to give the Galaxy a point. LA is now 0-0-4 on the road this season, joining the Chicago Fire as the only two teams in the league to have not lost yet on the road this season.

INJURY REPORT

Galaxy Injury Report

OUT - Leonard Griffin (Sports Hernia Surgery - Disabled List), Yohance Marshall (Right MCL - Sprain - Disabled List)

DOUBTFUL - None

QUESTIONABLE - Tristan Bowen (Left Knee - Sprain)

PROBABLE - Donovan Ricketts (Right Adductor - Tightness)

TEAM NOTES

SIX IN A ROW: With their road draws against Real Salt Lake and Seattle this week, the Galaxy have now gone six straight games without suffering a defeat. The unbeaten streak is the longest in Bruce Arena's tenure with the Galaxy and the club's longest since a seven-game unbeaten run at the end of the 2007 season. LA is 1-0-5 during their current unbeaten streak, with four of the draws coming on the road against Western Conference opposition.

If the Galaxy can get a win or a draw against Columbus on Sunday, they will run their unbeaten run to seven games, tying the fourth longest unbeaten streak in club history.

The Galaxy have recorded a pair of 12-game unbeaten streaks (from April-June 1996 and October 1999-May 2000), however each of those fall short of LA's record 15-game unbeaten run from September 1997-May 1998.

MAGEE OPENS HIS ACCOUNTS: Mike Magee opened his Galaxy goal and assist accounts this week, tallying both a goal and an assist in LA's two draws last week. The 24-year-old Chicago native was the only Galaxy player to register either a goal or an assist in each of his club's games last week, scoring a late game-tying goal at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and then setting up Alan Gordon's equalizer in Seattle on Sunday. Magee, who scored from the penalty spot late in the Pan-Pacific Championship Final, now has 24 goals and 14 assists in 134 games during his MLS career.

TAKING ON THE CHAMPS: Sunday's game against Columbus will be the Galaxy's first game of the year against the defending MLS Cup champions. The Crew, who enter the week with a 1-2-5 record and are tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, won their first-ever MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center on Nov. 23, 2008, defeating New York 3-1.

The Galaxy are 17-13-3 all-time when playing the reigning MLS Cup champion, including a 1-2-2 mark over the past two seasons against Houston who were the MLS Cup champs in 2006 and 2007.

TWO PLAY ON LOAN: Galaxy midfielder Kyle Patterson and defender Julian Valentin went on loan this weekend and played for local PDL side, Hollywood United. The pair helped the Hitmen earn their second straight win to open the season, with Patterson scoring his team's third goal in the 4-0 win over the Ventura County Fusion.

ELIGIBLE TO RETURN: Galaxy defender Leonard Griffin is now eligible to be removed from the club's Disabled List after missing the league mandated six games. The former UCLA star underwent sports hernia surgery in Germany in late March and was placed on the Disabled List prior to the 3-2 loss to Colorado on April 4. Griffin began his rehabilitation less than a week after his surgery and returned to full training late last month.

GALAXY RETURN TO ROSE BOWL TO FACE BARCELONA: Last week the LA Galaxy announced that the club will play an international friendly against FC Barcelona, one of the world's most popular and successful clubs - and the current UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey finalists - on Saturday, August 1 at 8 p.m. at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Tickets to see the Spanish giant, whose honors include 18 La Liga trophies, a record-setting 24 Copa del Rey championships and two UEFA Champions League titles, will go on sale to the general public in the coming weeks. With The Home Depot Center unavailable for this game as a result of the X Games, the Galaxy will be returning to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2002. During the club's seven years at the iconic Pasadena venue, the Galaxy boasted an impressive 72-27-8 home record.

YOUTH ACADEMY

LA GALAXY YOUTH ACADEMY SPLIT MATCHES WITH LAFC CHELSEA: The LA Galaxy Youth Academy split their weekend games against LAFC Chelsea on Saturday, with the U-18's claiming a 4-3 win while the U-16's suffered a 3-1 defeat.

The U-16's are now in fourth place in the West Conference SoCal Division, meaning that they are in the race for one of five Wild Card playoff spots. The top three teams from all nine divisions and the five best fourth place teams qualify for the postseason in each age bracket.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday when they take on the Irvine Strikers at The Home Depot Center. The games will be played on Field #5 and kick-off on at 1 p.m. (U-16) and 3:15 p.m. (U-18). The Strikers are currently in last place in both the U-16 and U-18 standings and the U-16's will be looking to complete the season sweep against them after earning a 3-0 win in Irvine on March 7, with Cristhian Hernandez scoring twice and Trent Clifton adding a goal. On that same day, the Galaxy U-18's lost to Irvine 2-0, meaning that they will be looking for their first win of the season against the Strikers.

After this weekend's action, both the U-16 and U-18 teams will travel to Sarasota, Fla. for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Summer Showcase. At the showcase, they will play teams from Missouri, New York and Florida before returning to league play for the final two games of the season.

NEED TO KNOW

GALAXY DEPORTIVO IS BACK: Galaxy Deportivo, the Galaxy's official half hour show in Spanish, is back for sixth season with hosts Alejandro Navarro and Elmer Polanco on KWHY-22. Catch the show this week and every other Saturday, at 6 p.m.

On top of behind-the-scenes footages, exclusive interviews and features and in-depth profiles, Galaxy Deportivo also recaps the club's latest activity within the community. Similar to how the fan's passion for the Galaxy is not limited to game day, neither is Galaxy Deportivo's coverage.

Past shows can be viewed on archive at LAGalaxyFutbol.com

PURO GALAXY HITS ESPN DEPORTES RADIO: ESPN Deportes Radio KWKW 1330 AM, the Galaxy's official Spanish language radio partner, is the place for all of your Galaxy news and information en español. The best place to get that information is on Puro Galaxy, the network's weekly, hour-long show that airs every Saturday from noon-1 p.m.

Galaxy color analyst Armando Aguayo and Galaxy sideline reporter Mario Amaya are joined on a weekly basis by the players, coaches and a series of special guests that allow the fan to get excited for match day. So tune in each and every week and stay up to date with everything that is going on in the Galaxy.

Fans can also listen to free podcasts of previous episodes at LAGalaxyFutbol.com.

Check out the LA Galaxy Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from May 11, 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.

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