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August 11, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


MLS Week 21: August 9-10, 2008

(All times Eastern)

Thursday, August 14

Los Angeles Galaxy at Chivas USA, 11:00 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)

This is the third and final regular season installment of one of the best rivalries in MLS - the SuperClasico. LA leads the all-time series 8-3-3, but Chivas have won two of the past four meetings dating back to 2007. The Galaxy defeated Chivas USA 5-2 in the first meeting this season, and the teams tied the second meeting 1-1. Chivas USA will look to make up ground in the Western Conference although missing two key members in midfielder Sacha Kljestan and former goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Both are with the U.S. Olympic team in China. Guzan's transfer to Aston Villa was completed last week. Veteran leadership from Landon Donovan and David Beckham will be looked for by Los Angeles, as they look to settle in after the departure of head coach Ruud Gullit and team president Alexi Lalas.

Saturday, August 16

FC Dallas at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. (FSC, FSE)

Both teams head into the game coming off 14-day breaks between their last MLS League match. Columbus is looking to rebound from a 2-0 road loss to Houston while FC Dallas is looking to stretch their road winning streak to two games; they defeated Toronto FC 2-0 on Aug. 2. FC Dallas welcome two veteran strikers to their team since the last time they suited up. Former Toronto FC striker Jeff Cunningham, the League's fourth all-time leading scorer, and Viktor Sikora, a Dutch striker who has spent the past nine years in the Dutch first division with Vitesse, Ajax and most recently NAC Breda could make their debuts on Saturday. Cunningham started his career in 1998 with the Crew and played seven seasons with Columbus. He ranks as the League's fourth all-time leading scorer with 99 goals. He'll look to form a dynamic striking tandem with Kenny Cooper, whose 13 goals are tied for the League lead with the Galaxy's Landon Donovan.

D.C. United at Chicago Fire 8:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Chicago heads into the game off a solid road victory as they came from behind to defeat the Revolution 2-1 at Gillette Stadium. They sit alone in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5-5 record and 32 points, only one point behind the Revolution. After playing in only one MLS regular season contest in July, D.C. United has a tough August schedule with six League games. United meet the New England Revolution on Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match. Although he did not record the shutout last Saturday at New England, Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch still leads the League with eight shutouts on the season. He also ranks first in save percentage as he's stopped 86 percent of the shots he's faced.

Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo, 8:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Neither team played last week, but they still remain first and second in the Western Conference standings - Real Salt Lake 7-6-6 with 27 points and Houston 6-4-8 with 26 points. This is the second meeting between the clubs this season. They played to a scoreless tie in the first match on July 3 at Rice Eccles Stadium. Houston leads the all-time series 4-2-2. Real Salt Lake has not earned a point on the road versus Houston, losing all three matches they've played at Robertson Stadium.

Kansas City Wizards at Colorado Rapids, 9:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Even with a win over Chivas USA last Saturday, the Kansas City Wizards sit at the bottom of a tightly contested Eastern Conference with 25 points. The bottom four teams in the Eastern Conference each have 25 points, but the Wizards sit last on goal differential. The Wizards broke a three-game winless streak in League play led by forward Claudio Lopez and midfielder Davy Arnaud who each registered a goal and assist in the win over Chivas USA last Saturday. The Rapids have registered only one win in their last nine games and they lead the League with 10 losses. They sit sixth in the Western Conference with a 6-10-3 record and 21 points. Real Salt Lake is led by two second-year MLS players in Robbie Findley whose five goals lead the team, and Javier Morales, whose seven assists lead the team and rank third in the League.

New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes, 10:00 p.m. (HDNet, DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

After a 13-day break and one of the biggest victories of the season, a 3-2 last-minute win over the Galaxy, San Jose hosts the team with the League's best record in New England 10-5-3 (33 points). New England suffered their first defeat in League play since June 21, with a 2-1 home loss to the Fire last Saturday. Also lost in the game was midfield stalwart Shalrie Joseph, who received two cautions and a subsequent red card and will miss Saturday's clash versus the Earthquakes. The Earthquakes newest signings, Arturo Alvarez and Darren Huckerby, have fit nicely into the mold in San Jose. Alvarez notched his first goal in an Earthquakes uniform and recorded an assist on Aug. 3 versus Los Angeles, while Huckerby scored his second goal and had the corner kick that led to the game-clinching goal by Ryan Cochrane in the 90th minute.

Sunday, August 17

Toronto FC at New York Red Bulls, 5:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

The teams sit tied with 25 points each in the Eastern Conference standings - Toronto FC (7-8-4, 25 points) and New York (6-6-7). Two key contributors came to life for each team this past weekend, as newly acquired Toronto FC forward Chad Barrett scored his first goal for his new club on a well-placed strike from more than 30-yards out. The goal held up as the game winner in a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids. Last season's runner up in the Golden Boot race Juan Pablo Angel scored two goals as the New York Red Bulls came from a goal down to defeat D.C. United at home. Angel's two goals take his season total to six. Former Red Bull and current Toronto FC playmaker Amado Guevara will miss the contest as he serves the second of a two-game suspension.

New York Red Bulls Forward Juan Pablo Angel Wins MLS Player of the Week Award

Juan Pablo Angel was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 20 of the 2008 season. Angel scored two goals in New York's 4-1 victory over D.C. United at Giants Stadium on Sunday. The victory improved the Red Bulls' record to 6-6-7 (25 points). They now sit tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with three other teams and sit eight points behind New England for first place. Angel is currently in his second season with New York after playing seven seasons with English Premiership club Aston Villa. After signing with New York last season as the team's second Designated Player, Angel went on to score 19 goals and was named a finalist for the League's MVP award and Newcomer of the Year award. This is Angel's first Player of the Week award this season, and the third of his career. New York (6-6-7) returns to action on Aug. 17 when they host Toronto FC at 5 p.m. ET. For more on Angel's Player of the Week honor click here.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.

MLS Players Shining on Olympic Stage

The U.S. Men's Olympic soccer team is off to a great start in group play as the team defeated Japan 1-0 and narrowly missed out on a chance to wrap up a spot in the next round by tying the Netherlands. The Americans lost a 2-1 lead in the third minute of second-half injury time after dominating play through the final 65 minutes of the contest.

Nonetheless, the U.S. is performing well and is led largely by current MLS players and players with roots in MLS. The 18-man U.S. Olympic roster boasts 10 current MLS players and five others who began their professional careers in MLS.

The team has notched three goals in the first two games coming from the Houston Dynamo's Stuart Holden in the 1-0 win over Japan, and Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and former New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore in the 2-2 tie versus the Netherlands. The U.S. leads the group heading into the final game on Wednesday, Aug. 13 versus Nigeria, where they could face Columbus Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo who has come off the bench and played 15 minutes through the first two games for the Super Eagles.

U.S. Olympic Roster & Stats Through Two Group Games

Player Current Club Previous MLS Club GP GS Minutes Goals

Adu, Freddy Monaco (France) D.C. United/RSL 2 2 170

Altidore, Jozy Villareal (Spain) New York Red Bulls 2 0 41 1

Bradley, Michael SC Heerenveen (Holland) New York Red Bulls 2 2 180

Davies, Charlie Hammarby IF (Sweden) 0 0 ---

Edu, Maurice Toronto FC 2 2 180

Feilhaber, Benny Derby County (England) 2 0 18

Guzan, Brad Aston Villa (England) Chivas USA 2 2 180

Holden, Stuart Houston Dynamo 2 2 172 1

Ianni, Patrick Houston Dynamo 0 0 ---

Kljestan, Sacha Chivas USA 2 2 180 1

McBride, Brian Chicago Fire 2 2 164

Orozco, Michael San Luis (Mexico) 2 2 180

Parkhurst, Michael NE Revolution 2 2 180

Rogers, Robbie Columbus Crew 2 2 151

Seitz, Chris Real Salt Lake 0 0 ---

McCarty, Dax FC Dallas 0 0 ---

Szetela, Danny Brescia (Italy) Columbus Crew 2 0 8

Wynne, Marvell Toronto FC 2 2 180

Galaxy Forward Landon Donovan to Chat with Fans on ESPN.com Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Galaxy forward and Redlands, Calif. native, Landon Donovan will chat with fans tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.com. Donovan, who has 77 career goals in MLS, has scored a career-high 13 goals this season and is currently tied for first place with FC Dallas' Kenny Cooper in the Golden Boot race. Donovan and the Galaxy will take on Chivas USA in this week's ESPN2 Primetime Thursday game at 11 p.m. ET. To submit questions and participate in the chat click here.

U.S. Open Cup Semifinals To Be Played on Tuesday

The New England Revolution will try to keep their treble hopes alive as the team plays D.C. United tomorrow night in one of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal matches. New England, 2008 SuperLiga champions and defending U.S. Open Cup Champions, will travel to face D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The winner will face the winner of the all USL-1 semifinal between the Seattle Sounders and Charleston Battery, which is also being played on Tuesday evening. A live audio broadcast of the Revolution-United semifinal will be available at www.revolutionsoccer.net and Matchtracker will be available at www.mlsnet.com.

U.S. Open Cup Semifinals; Tuesday, August 12

All Times Eastern

New England Revolution (MLS) at D.C. United (MLS)

RFK Stadium; Washington, D.C. - 7:30 PM

Seattle Sounders (USL-1) at Charleston Battery (USL-1)

Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, S.C. - 7:30 PM

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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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