Red-And-White Look to Add Points with Fourth-Straight Home Result

Published on August 19, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Heading into the final third of the Major League Soccer season, there is virtually no unfamiliarity among conference opponents at this stage. With already two meetings in the books between Chivas USA and FC Dallas, there is no secret on how each side will come out in a series finale up for grabs for the Rojiblancos.

What is unknown as of now is who will replace Tristan Bowen and Gabriel Farfan on Wednesday's match at the StubHub Center. Both Bowen and Farfan will begin serving their two-game suspensions for their actions in Chivas' last match on Aug. 3 against the Colorado Rapids, where both players saw straight red cards. The absence of the duo will call on playmakers such as Erick Torres, Carlos Alvarez and Eric Avila to play an even bigger role, if the Red-and-White wish to claim their first season series of the 2013 campaign.

"First of all it's a home game, so we're going full out," said Avila. "Every home game is important. [FC] Dallas is a good team, so I think heading into that match we're just going to go at them. They're a team with good pace and well organized. So going into the third game it should be a good one."

The Red-and-White have had success against FCD this season, as they took the first meeting in Week 2 in Carson, 3-1, and later battled for a scoreless draw at FC Dallas Stadium on July 4, which gives the squad confidence in knowing that they match up well against the Texas side.

"I think we were well organized," Avila commented on the previous meetings. "We stayed together as a team so it was hard to break us down.

"We have to watch out for their counter attacks and they have big forwards. So size is going to be on their side a little bit. But if we stay compact and organized like the first two games we should be fine."

Should the Goats come away from Wednesday's match with a tie or better they will clinch their first series against FCD since 2009, as the sides played even last season with three draws. Aside from that, the squad looks to continue their solid home run and add to their 1-1-2 record under Head Coach Jose Luis Real.

"It's very important to us, especially against a good team. It's good to match up and know that we can do big things out here; it just took a little bit of patience. Hopefully winning the series will also give us a boost to the next game. It's a home game and we promised to try and win every home game for the fans and ourselves. I think we're ready," Avila concluded.

Alvarez and Avila, ready for what's next

Nothing is better for Chivas USA than to have home field advantage as they head into Major League Soccer's Week 25 match against FC Dallas on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m. (PT). The Goats will not only be playing at home, but they will also come into this game ahead of Dallas in this season's three-game series. The Red-and-White took the win in the first match against Dallas and earned a scoreless draw at the Texan stadium.

One player heading into Wednesday's game with an extra added boost of confidence is midfielder Carlos Alvarez. In the Red-and-White's last match in MLS action, the rookie notched his second goal of the season, helping his team take the lead as early as the 5th minute and earning a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids playing with nine men.

"I'm just doing the same thing I've been doing all a long since I started; just trying to learn as much as I can and take shots on goal, that's the main thing. It does give me a little boost but at the end of the day, but it's a new game and a new team and now we just have to keep working," Alvarez told cdchivasusa.com.

With over a week full of training, the Goats are ready to get back in action, facing FC Dallas for the third and final time this season. The Red-and-White have put more attention and work on the fitness portion of training this week, working closely with Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho in order to be ready for this Wednesday's game.

Midfielder Eric Avila, who made his professional debut in MLS with FC Dallas in 2008, talked about the importance of working on the physical aspect in order to be ready for this week's action.

"It's something that we need to have in order to fight for 90 minutes. We're working hard during training and the conditioning is going to help us a lot in the game against Dallas," Avila said.

Stay updated on all Chivas USA news following the Red-and-White on Twitter: @cdchivasusa.

Training Report: Focusing on Dallas

After a well deserved day off after having a bye week in Major League Soccer action this last weekend, Chivas USA returned to training on Monday morning at the StubHub Center's Field 6.

The group kicked off the day around 9:30 a.m. (PT) on Monday with three jogging laps around Field 6 that included some stretching exercises. After another series of stretches, Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho led the team to a series of power jump before heading to work on short and long passes.

For the majority of the training session, Head Coach Jose Luis Real held an inter-squad scrimmage in reduced spaces, laying out to the group the plans for the third and last match of the season against FC Dallas. After working in the scrimmage, the entire team focused on set pieces. Around 11:15 a.m. (PT), Head Coach Real ended the day's training session.

Chivas USA will hold their last training on Tuesday morning ahead of their match against FC Dallas on Wednesday, August 21 at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at the StubHub Center. For all the latest news on Chivas USA, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 19, 2013


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