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Red-And-White Look to Finalize Week with Home Victory

September 6, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


With only three days of training, Chivas USA prepare to host D.C. United this Sunday, Sept. 8 at the StubHub Center in their third and last match in seven days. The Red-and-White look to close the week matching their last home match: a victory.

In the Red-and-White's two previous matches, Chivas USA travelled to Vancouver to be only a minute away from earning three points, but the Whitecaps were able to steal two points and get the 2-2 tie in the 93rd minute. Just a few days later, to comply with Major League Soccer's Week 6 match-up against Seattle, Chivas visited CenturyLink Field, looking for their first victory in said stadia. But a goal by the Sounders in the 24th minute was enough to give the team its first loss in three games.

Playing all 180 minutes in the short tour was defender Bobby Burling who helped the team fight for a positive result, something that won't be any different in this Sunday's game.

"We knew Seattle was a good team in set pieces and they have good servers' on the ball and big guys in the box. Unfortunately we gave up a ball in a bad area and they capitalized on it. I think a little more attention to detail; last time we were at home, we got a win so hopefully we can keep the momentum going at home," Burling told cdchivasusa.com

That momentum has been most noticeable with the recent acquisitions the club has made. With the integration of young forward Bryan de la Fuente to the Chivas USA attack, the team has demonstrated improvement game-by-game. Despite his short time with the group, De la Fuente has adapted very well, not only to the plan set by Coach Jose Luis Real, but with his teammates as well. That adaptation has led him in helping his teammates score goals, something that he hopes to continue to do this Sunday against D.C. United.

"Every day I feel much better, with more confidence than in the beginning. Each day I get to know the movements of each player and they see how I move. I think that that has helped me to adapt better with the team and get some personal confidence," De la Fuente commented.

Don't miss Chivas USA's match-up against D.C. United this Sunday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. (PT) at the StubHub Center. The match will be televised live on Mundo Fox-22 & KDOC-56. For all the latest news and updates on the club, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa.

Chivas USA not concerned over challenging stretch

Come Sunday at the StubHub Center, Chivas USA will not square off with Eastern Conference side D.C. United, they will also perhaps battle the element of fatigue. Coming off a two-game swing to the Pacific Northwest, Sunday's 6 p.m. (PT) match will mark the Rojiblancos' third match in eight days as they find themselves closing in on the final stretch of the 2013 campaign.

The Goats initiated their road trip with a positive result last Sunday, as they came away with a 2-2 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Despite coming away with the road point against a conference rival to split the season series, the squad left Canada with somewhat of a bad taste in their mouth from letting a two-nil lead slip away at BC Place. After making the short trek to Seattle the following day, the Red-and-White had a slow start in Wednesday's match against Sounders FC. By the time the second half came around, however, it was Chivas who were on the front foot and applying pressure in the attacking third in search of the equalizer.

The equalizer never came though and the Goats fell 1-0 and now return home to continue their short week, which should test their resiliency and conditioning. The squad will be aided by playing in the friendly confines of home, where they have built a solid streak by earning points in four of their last games in Carson.

"When you look at the course of a season there's going to be stretches where a lot of games are shoved into a week or ten days," said center back Bobby Burling. "We have to rely on our depth. Guys train all season and are always ready for an opportunity. We have a deep team and we have some guys that can step in and hopefully help us out.

"After two tough games on the road we're just trying to build off our last home win against New York and come out with the mentality that a win is what we're looking for and anything else other than that is unacceptable right now. It's always nice to play at home. It's fun to go on road trips and be around the group but there's no place like home and we like to play here as much as we can."

Perhaps no other position gets worn down or tested more so than the back line in such a span, but Burling and his teammates did not seem weary or concerned with the challenge of playing their third match in such a span.

"Physically we are very well prepared," said fellow center back Mario de Luna. "We've worked very hard. We're at home against a team that has fewer points than us and these are games that you can't let get away. We have to get three points by any means.

You get used to it, and after all you're doing something that you enjoy. It's not a sacrifice or something bad to play three games in a week. In reality it's something you like to do and with the preparation that [Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho] has provided us we are very comfortable."

Sunday's match, part of Major League Soccer's Week 28, will be the first and only meeting between the clubs this season and will be televised in English on KDOC and in Spanish on MundoFOX 22, and can also be heard in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.

Chivas USA complete first of two final sessions ahead of Sunday's match

Chivas USA held their first of two remaining training sessions ahead of their match against Eastern Conference side D.C. United programmed for this Sunday beginning at 6 p.m. (PT). After a short series of warm-ups, the squad was split into two groups to run through passing drills. The drill was first completed utilizing hand passes and later went on to implement them in traditional fashion, with the objective of maintaining possession.

The two groups then moved on to compete in an extended possession drill with players rotating to occupy vacated spaces after distributing the ball to their teammate. The morning session at the StubHub Center's Field 6 culminated with 11-on-11 tactical work led by Head Coach Jose Luis Real in nearly the full length of the pitch. The exercise consisted of limited ball movement with Real instructing the group on tactical rotation and movements in both the attacking and defensive third.

The session then concluded with members of the Red-and-White who had significant activity during the two-game road trip completing a series of exercises before ending their day. Those who had limited or no activity on the trip stayed to participate in a brief inter-squad match in reduced space before also concluding their session ahead of tomorrow's final practice and concentration for Sunday's match. The game will be televised in English on KDOC-TV and in Spanish on MundoFOX22 and it will also air in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.

Preview: Part of Academy kick-off season

A new season is ahead for Chivas USA's Youth Development Academy. Chivas USA's new U14 team will kick-off their participation in the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) this Saturday, Sept. 7. The U15 team will also begin their season in the Coast Soccer League (CSL) this Saturday. Meanwhile, the U13, the youngest squad in the Youth Development program, will start their season with CSL on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Chivas USA's U14 Team will kick-off their first season in USSDA facing the Santa Barbara Soccer Club this Saturday at 10 a.m. (PT) at Westmont College in Montecito, Calif. In preparation, the U14's held four friendly scrimmage games during preseason facing local elder clubs. In those four matches, the young squad was able to earn three victories and a draw.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA's U13 took part of local and national tournaments this summer. In the last days of the month of July, the young soccer players participated in the 2013 Volkswagen Junior Masters in Kansas City where they were able to reach the Final Championship match. They will kick-off the season facing Milan Red this Sunday at 8 a.m. (PT) at University of California, Irvine's Field 4.

Brian Kleiban, Head Coach for both the U13 and U14's will have his hands full this weekend. Working with a few of the current players in the past has helped him build the team, and Kleiban doesn't doubt that there is enough talent in the teams to earn positive results this weekend.

"It's a timely process, it's going to be a learning curve the first few months of the season, but the scouting team with Junior [Gonzalez] and [Roberto] Vidrio and Mario [Ayala] did a good job by identifying to untapped players that nobody knew about and we brought them in slowly. It's going to take time to have that team chemistry but, there's no excuse, from day one, we have to perform," Kleiban said.

This Saturday will also be the start of the season for the Red-and-White's U15 squad. Playing at home, the young squad will face Oxnard Wave Premier at 3:15 p.m. (PT) at UC Irvine's Field 1. The match will be the squads first of 13 games this season.

U23's return to action

A month after being named State Champions, Chivas USA's U23 Team is back in action. This Saturday, the team will face Real So Cal Academy at Oak Park High School at 7:15 p.m. (PT) in a friendly scrimmage. On July 27, the U23's faced Real So Cal and were able to earn a 1-1 draw at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex.

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