Torres Continues Hot Streak and Earns Praise from Teammates

September 9, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Sunday's game-winning goal performance by Chivas USA forward Erick "Cubo" Torres is starting to become somewhat customary for the Red-and-white, and they don't mind at all seeing him do his trademark robot celebration dance as much as possible. The 20-year-old striker pounced on a ball near the penalty spot and put it past D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid in the 51st minute to help deliver his new club the 1-0 shutout.

Torres' team-high seven goals not only helped the Rojiblancos kick off their two-game homestand with a positive result but also led them to remain unbeaten in five of their last six matches at home. Since his arrival in mid-July, Torres has given the Goats a lethal weapon up top, something that goalkeeper and captain Dan Kennedy says the club has not had in a long time.

"'Cubo' is class," Kennedy said after the match. "I don't think we've had a real forward here since Ante Razov. That was probably our last forward that had just as much threat and savvy. He's only 20-years-old; it's hard to believe how young he is. He's got it all because he can bang - which you have to be able to do in this league. You either have to be so good that no one touches you or you have to be able to bang. He can do that, but when he gets his chances he always puts them away."

The high comparison Kennedy made in reference to Razov, a forward who tallied 30 goals for Chivas USA during his three-year (2006-'09) stint with the Rojiblancos, only solidifies his praise for the young Guadalajara native in his first season in Major League Soccer.

The striker has wasted no time in becoming the Goats' go-to scorer and has emerged as one of the league's most dangerous forwards, having come away with Latino de la Jornada honors twice already and earning nominations for Goal of the Week. Torres recently delivered back-to-back two-goal performances to lead the Rojiblancos to a win at home over the New York Red Bulls and a road tie with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

But the Guadalajara product continues to stay humble and hungry to continue maximizing his performance and his position within the club. And come Saturday, Kennedy and the rest of the Rebaño Angelino will look to Torres to continue his hot streak and deliver the scintillating goals that have become crucial to their success.

"I'm happy and grateful with my teammates," Torres said after the match. "Happy because I had the opportunity to score again and even happier that the team was able to come away with three points.

"I feel really good. I still think there are some things I need to improve to reach my maximum. I'm working to reach that maximum and I think the team has helped me a lot to tally the goals that I have."

Chivas USA will look to close out the current two-game stint with a similar result as they host conference rival the Portland Timbers on Saturday in the second leg of the three-game season series. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will be televised in English on KDOC and in Spanish on MundoFOX 22. The contest will also be broadcasted in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.

Real, happy with Chivas USA's performance

It was the perfect ending to the three-game week. On Sunday night, Chivas USA earned a 1-0 victory over D.C. United in the right place, at home in the StubHub Center. Not only did the Goats get three points, but they were able to earn their second consecutive victory at home.

The win did not come easy as the Red-and-White struggled to keep the Eastern Conference team at ease during the first half, after D.C. United took four shots on goal and maintained 60% of the ball possession. Led by Head Coach Jose Luis Real, Chivas USA returned to the second half to give their rival a fight, taking seven shots on goal and eventually, getting the game-winning tally.

"In my opinion, Chivas are getting better game-by-game, but in this game, in the first 20 minutes, we had big problems; our team was not good," Coach Real said in a post-game conference. "I liked the second half very much; [Erick Torres] scored again. Our team played very well on many occasions in the second half. D.C. was a very good team in the last play of the game. For Chivas, it has never been easy. All the games for Chivas are never easy. But I'm happy because the second half was good and we won."

The game-changer came in the 51st minute of the match, as Edgar Mejia sent in a ball into the box that was slightly deflected by midfielder Bryan de la Fuente. Forward Erick "Cubo" Torres was able to get to the end of the ball and push it past goalkeeper Bill Hamid to earn three points for the Red-and-White. Sunday's goal was the seventh in nine games for the 20 year-old Mexican forward.

"Cubo is another one of the most important players for Chivas USA. He scores goals but he always works for the team. His personality and mentality are strong. He's a very important player for Chivas," Real said about the youngster.

Chivas USA will have a couple of days to recover and begin preparations ahead of their next match, a home game against the Portland Timbers next Saturday, Sept. 14. The Goats will return to training at the StubHub Center's Field 6 on Monday morning. For all the latest news and updates on the club, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa.

Recap: Academy Season gets underway

Three Chivas USA Youth Development Academy teams opened up action in their respective leagues this past weekend. The U13 and U14 teams were able to kick off with strong victories, while the U15 squad was unable to defeat its first rival. Also having action this weekend, Chivas USA's U23 team extended their unbeaten streak in a friendly.

The following is a recap of all the weekend's action:

In their first match in U.S. Soccer's Development Academy, Chivas USA's U14 team earned a strong victory of 5-2 over Santa Barbara Soccer Club on Saturday morning at Westmont College.

The young Goats had a strong first half, dominating their rival and going up 4-0 by the end of the first half thanks to a brace by Chris Hernandez and two goals by Oscar Penate and Leo Cuteno. Penate opened the scoreboard in the seventh minute of the match thanks to a pass from Daniel Villegas. Less than 10 minutes later, Hernandez took advantage of a rebound to notch the second for Chivas. Three minutes later, Villegas sent a cross inside the box, allowing Hernandez to simply push the ball into the back of the net. Before the end of the first half, Cuteno scored the fourth goal.

Coming back into the second half, the Red-and-White struggled as Santa Barbara looked to catch up in the scoreboard. The opponent was able to score two goals in the 55th and 60th minutes after defensive errors, but the scoreboard would not yet close for the Goats. Cuteno earned his brace after a combination between him and Penate in the 65th minute. The U14s will continue their season by visiting FC Golden State on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. (PT) at Monrovia High School.

Also earning their first victory in the Coast Soccer League, Chivas USA's U13 defeated Milan Red 4-1 on Sunday morning. The team, also led by Coach Brian Kleiban, started off the match on the wrong foot, giving up a goal in the seventh minute. Fortunately, Jonathan Estrada was able to score twice to give Chivas USA the lead by halftime. In the second half, Efrain Alvarez scored the third in the 55th minute thanks to a great pass by Alex Mendez. Misael Becerra was in charge of sealing the 4-1 score in the 60th minute, also on a great assist by Mendez. In their second game of the season, Chivas USA's U13s will face Olimpia SC 99 at the Santa Barbara Complex next Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. (PT).

On the other end, Chivas USA's U15 squad fell 4-0 in their first match of the Coast Soccer League season. Despite putting up a fight throughout the entire 70 minutes of play, it was not enough to give them the desired first points. The next challenge for the young squad will come next Saturday, Sept. 14 against Valley United Dema at 9:40 a.m. at the University of California, Irvine's Field 5.

U23s continue winning-streak

Just as they concluded the previous season, Chivas USA's U23 team earned a 3-1 victory over Real So Cal Academy in a friendly match on Saturday night in Oak Park. With goals scored by Javier Castro, Dan Delgadom and Leopoldo Morales, respectively, the U23s earned their 10th-consecutive win stemming from last season. The team will now continue training at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex ahead of their season opener on Saturday, Sept. 21.

For all the news on Chivas USA's Youth Development Academy, follow us on Twitter: @ChivasUSAYouth and @cdchivasusa

Avila happy to contribute in current home streak

Chivas USA Head Coach Jose Luis Real wasted no time in going to his bench early in Sunday's match against D.C. United. Real started the game with two forwards up top for the Red-and-White but midway through the first half opted to bring on an additional midfielder in Eric Avila in the 28th minute. And the tactical move paid immediate dividends.

Avila, along with fellow midfielders Carlos Alvarez, Edgar Mejia and Bryan de la Fuente, began getting into range and possessing the ball well in the attacking third to begin generating solid looks at goal. Avila got off his best strike of the match in the 50th minute on top of the 18-yard line just right of the arc. Avila's strike was on frame and it took a last-second diving one-handed save by United goalkeeper Bill Hamid to keep the shot from going in and putting the Goats up a goal.

A minute later, however, the Rojiblancos would not be denied, as Mejia sent his pass inside the arc which grazed off De la Fuente to set up Erick Torres for the eventual game-winner by the penalty mark and hand Chivas their fifth result at home in their last six. Despite coming off the bench in the last two matches, Avila is happy to contribute in any capacity that Real asks, as long as the results keep coming.

"It feels good," Avila said after the match. "It feels good in the locker room - it feels good on the field and coming to practice every day. We still have a couple of games and honestly we're just looking at the next game that comes forward."

After being acquired in the off-season via trade, Avila has made 19 starts in 22 appearances in his first season with the Red-and-White while tallying a pair of goals and two assists. And the 25-year-old San Diego native has emerged as one of the club's key players and part of the nucleus that has continued to grow together under Real's new system.

"I think we were trying to find our way in the first couple of minutes. Coming in, I was just trying to help the team out as much as I could and going forward. I think any player would have came in and tried to help out as well," Avila added.

"We changed it up a little in the first half. We're used to playing differently and switching around. I was more of an outlet, coming and playing wide to try to feed [Torres] as much as possible."

Avila and the rest of the Red-and-White will now look to extend their home unbeaten run when they square off against Western Conference foe the Portland Timbers this Saturday at the StubHub Center. The match will be the second of three meetings between the sides and will be televised in English on KDOC and in Spanish on MundoFOX 22 and will be broadcasted in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.

Chivas USA hold follow-up regeneration session

Chivas USA returned to the StubHub Center's Field 6 Monday morning, a day after securing a 1-0 shutout over D.C. united in the first leg of their two-game homestand. The morning session was made up of a reduced group, with the majority of the players who had activity in Sunday night's win reporting for regenerative work. The morning kicked off with a series of group stretches before moving on to completing a light jog around the pitch under the instructions Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho.

After completing a set of supplementary stretches, last night's participants headed back to the locker room and were dismissed for the rest of the day. Those players who had minimal to no activity then broke out into a game of torito for additional warm-ups and ball work, also under the watch of Camacho.

Afterwards the group ran through a distribution and finishing drill under the guidance of Head Coach Jose Luis Real. The exercise consisted of a give-and-go build-up with a keeper in goal as the attackers got off strikes from about 18 yards out. The session culminated with a brief series of free kicks before also ending their work day with supplementary stretches.

The Goats will be off Tuesday and return to Field 6 for full practice on Wednesday in preparations for the second leg of their two-game homestand versus Western Conference rival the Portland Timbers this Saturday. The match is programmed for 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will be televised in English on KDOC and in Spanish on MundoFOX and can also be heard in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM.



Major League Soccer Stories from September 9, 2013


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