Kennedy: We're Still in the Mix

September 2, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


After 45 minutes, Chivas USA goalkeeper and team captain Dan Kennedy wanted to earn his third shutout of the season since the Goats were up 2-0 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday afternoon in BC Place. Coming back to the second half, a goal in the 64th minute and another in the dying minutes of the match, shut down the hopes for Chivas USA, closing the three-game series with the Whitecaps with a 2-2 draw.

"In these types of games, you know you're going to have to make plays to get the three points and I thought we did enough and we made some really good plays to get the three points," Kennedy said after the game. "For them to score in the last minute or two of the game was disheartening for us."

Taking the 2-0 lead as early as the 14th minute, the Red-and-White pressured the Canadian team throughout the first half. Coming back into the second half, the Goats had a few scattered scoring opportunities, including a clear shot on goal by Tristan Bowen that ended going high off the crossbar in the 80th minute, and that could've sealed the match in favor of the Red-and-White. Regardless of the final score, team captain Dan Kennedy believes the team has a lot to offer game-by-game.

"We all feel that we're better than our record shows, better than the points we have on the table. We've had a handful of games like these where we've for whatever reason, given up points in the last minutes.

"This is part of building character and experience; we have a very young team and a very new team, so we have guys that don't have experience and we have guys that do have experience in MLS. That's not an excuse, but it's a reality of our situation," Kennedy added.

With the series against Vancouver in the books, all that's left for Chivas USA is to move on, and quickly. The Red-and-White must comply with a match-up pertinent to Major League Soccer's Week 3 against Seattle Sounders FC, game set for this Wednesday, September 4 at Century Link Field.

"We came in here and we fought for a point, and we can build off that. I think this group has been through a lot this year, and the guys that have been here not just this season have been through a lot in the past two or three years. We're still in the mix, we're still competing in games, trying to play spoiler and we knew this was a big game for Vancouver and we didn't let them get three points. Now we have three days to recover because we have a big game in Seattle," Kennedy finalized.

This Wednesday's match against the Sounders will be televised live in Spanish only on Mundo Fox-22 due to prior scheduling conflicts with KDOC-56. For all the latest news and updates on Chivas USA, make sure to follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa.

Torres gets four goals in two games

The dream of succeeding in Major League Soccer is game-by-game turning into a reality for Erick Torres. The young Chivas USA forward has played a total of seven games with the Red-and-White and has become a serious concern to opposing defenses with a total of six goals in his short stint in the League.

Torres has been a key player in the last two games for Chivas USA, scoring two goals in each game, and not just regular goals. On Sunday-s 2-2 tie against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Torres had the courage to score two goals. The first goal came on a bicycle kick at the third minute of the match, opening the scoreboard for the Rojiblancos. And the second goal a header in the 14th minute, which makes Torres happy with his performance with Chivas USA.

"Happy, because I-m helping the team," said Torres. "For a forward it's always important to be scoring goals, and I hope I can continue on this track and help the team with more goals."

With only three minutes into the match, Torres notched the fifth goal in his MLS career. Midfielder Carlos Alvarez played a ball into the box that was initially deflected in the air. As the ball was coming down Torres, with his back to the net, sent his volley into David Ouster's net.

"The ball was there for me, and I decided to do a bicycle kick," Torres described. "These are the kind of goals that you have to see again to understand what happened. Let-s enjoy the streak. I-m thankful to God and with my teammates for the opportunity that they are giving me to score."

The Red-and-White managed to keep their advantage for over sixty minutes of the match. Later, in the 63rd minute the first goal from Vancouver came, and the equalizer was scored at the 93rd minute. In the last home game, Chivas USA had resolved the problem of keeping the advantage against the rival, but now the team has to acknowledge that there were some mistakes and lack of attention at times in the game that have to be corrected.

"We have to see what was missing from us and what we didn-t do. We have to analyze the game and work on that. Now, we have to recover from this because in three days we have a game against Seattle and we have to show a different face in that game," Torres concluded.

Chivas USA will face Seattle Sounders FC this Wednesday, Sept. 4, starting at 7 p.m. (PT) at CenturyLink Field, and all the action of the match can be seen in Spanish on MundoFOX 22 KWHY and heard in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM. For more information follow us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa.

Bocanegra upset about letting points slip away

Despite coming away from Sunday's road match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC with a 2-2 tie, Chivas USA center back Carlos Bocanegra was not ready to be simply content with moral victories. The two-time World Cup veteran expressed that the club was frustrated over not closing out the match with three points as opposed to one.

Bocanegra, making his sixth start since signing with the Rojiblancos in July, anchored the back line for 90 minutes but could not help prevent the equalizer from falling in stoppage time to prevent the Goats from recording back-to-back wins and their first-ever victory at Vancouver.

"Obviously we had a good first half," Bocanegra said. "We were getting all over them and frustrating them. They came out and changed their formation and pushed a lot more guys up front. They gave us some problems but we were holding on and they ended up getting that last one in the end. It's kind of a heartbreaker.

"We've been improving. We want to get out there and be hard to beat, we want to frustrate teams. Obviously Vancouver's at home, they come out and need to get a win. I think we did a great job, especially in the first half in staying organized and we capitalized on our chances. Second half they changed it up a bit and got a bit more joy. It's just frustrating because it's right at the end when we tied."

The Rojiblancos took a 2-0 lead by the 14th minute on Erick Torres' second-consecutive two-goal performance and had opportunities in the second half to tally a third score to put away the 'Caps. The added score could have given the Red-and-White defense a bit more breathing room heading into the final third of the contest. But instead they were called upon to hold off Vancouver's pressure for the remaining 76 minutes of regulation, which they did a solid job of doing. Yet, it was the added minutes of stoppage time which would prove to be the Goats' downfall, as WFC knocked in their second goal in the 93rd minute.

"It's kind of a good thing that we feel like this," Bocanegra added. "We would have been happy with a tie maybe a few months ago but now we're [angry] that we let those points slip away and we're frustrated. It's good for our team spirit. Unfortunately I'd rather have the two points, and then talk about that later, but it was a bit unfortunate. We're going in the right direction."

The Rojiblancos will have to quickly turn the page and prepare for their Wednesday match against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field to close out their two-game swing to the Pacific Northwest.

The match will be the third and final meeting against Seattle and will be televised in Spanish on MundoFOX 22 beginning at 7 p.m. (PT) and will also be broadcasted in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.

Real, Goats angry with result

To Chivas USA Head Coach Jose Luis Real, Sunday's match-up against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place was the opportunity to remember where he made his coaching debut in Major League Soccer on June 19. The only difference was that he didn't want to walk out of the match with the same 3-1 score in favor of the home team.

On Sunday afternoon as part of MLS Week 27, the Goats came out of BC Place with a 2-2 draw; despite taking a 2-0 lead by the 14th minute of the match. It was a last minute goal from Vancouver that took two points from the Red-and-White.

Regardless of the draw, Coach Real sees the team getting better game-by-game, scoring more than one goal in two consecutive games.

"I think Chivas are getting better game-by-game," Coach Real said after the game. "After all, I'm happy with the development of Chivas in the game, but angry at the result because 2-0 was a big opportunity to win the game, but two mistakes in the defense, we lost the opportunity to get our second win."

As early as the third minute of the game, Erick "Cubo" Torres notched his fifth goal of the season, a perfect bicycle kick, putting the Goats up 1-nil. Just 11 minutes later, Torres would got his second brace in two games.

Chivas USA would close the first half up in the scoreboard, but Vancouver found some of their own as they notched their first goal in the 68th minute. Unfortunately for the Red-and-White, in the last second of the match, the 'Caps scored the equalizer for the final 2-2 draw.

"I think we didn't concentrate a bit and Vancouver are a team that you can't lose focus on; they're a very good team. We need to improve that, we have to work on that. But today, we leave angry because we were close to winning. The previous occasion, we left angry because we were close to earning a draw. It's very different, and that speaks a lot about the team's development," Real commented.

Despite the chances of a postseason dimming, Chivas USA have not given up on improvement, and so shows the Red-and-White's previous two games. Now, the Goats will continue to work hard to perfect their style of play game-by-game alongside Coach Jose Luis Real, hoping to end the season more prepared to face next season.

"We're going to try to end the season with the most points we could get. First of all, attempt to play very well. I think the last two games are a perfect example of what the team can do and that's the difference and key part is that now we're working as a team, instead of playing individually," Real finalized.

Chivas USA arrive in Seattle after regenerative session

After three hours on the road and an hour crossing the border between Canada and the United States, Chivas USA arrived in Seattle on Monday afternoon, city host to Wednesday night's match against the Sounders FC.

The Red-and-White woke up early on Labor Day in the U.S. to host a regenerative session before departing for the Emerald City. At 9:00 a.m. (PT) the Goats gathered up in one of the hotel's halls in Vancouver, where, led by Strength & Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho, the team kicked off their morning workout.

The players that saw action in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC began with a light jog and some stretching around the room. Immersed in the hotel's pool and under a light rain, the Red-and-White continued their regenerative work before heading to recover with a good breakfast.

Meanwhile, the reserves hosted a more intense session with work on the ball and games of 'torito'.

Immediately after breakfast, the Goats jumped on the bus and started their trip south to Seattle, stopping by the Canadian-US border to go through the proper controls.

Chivas USA will return to the fields on Tuesday at Starfire Complex's Field 1 to prepare for Wednesday, Sept. 4's match at CenturyLink Field. Starting at 7:00 p.m. (PT), the Red-and-White fans will be able to watch their team on MundoFOX22 and listen to the game on W 690 AM Radio.



Major League Soccer Stories from September 2, 2013


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