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Wed September 03 2008
» MORE PHOTOS » Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer blog SOCCER: Tie in front of sparse crowd ends Goats' participation in tournament. CARS...
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» MORE PHOTOS » Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer blog SOCCER: Tie in front of sparse crowd ends Goats' participation in tournament. CARSON - Like a lot of matches this season, Chivas USA was left with an empty feeling. And no, not just because Home Depot Center might as well have been empty Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Tauro FC of Panama. No one ann... read more
» MORE PHOTOS » Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer blog SOCCER: Tie in front of sparse crowd ends Goats' participation in tournament. CARSON - Like a lot of matches this season, Chivas USA was left with an empty feeling. And no, not just because Home Depot Center might as well have been empty Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Tauro FC of Panama. No one announced an official attendance - let's say dozens stormed the gates. Only six sections of seats were open for spectators. In fact, the play-by-play television camera was placed on the opposite side of the stadium to avoid showing a backdrop of completely empty seats on the east side. Chivas was once again left to lament a number of missed opportunities and couldn't erase the damage and the 1-1 tie eliminated the Goats from the competition. "It's very difficult to lose like this," Chivas coach Preki said. "I thought the game should have been over in the first half, we had so many opportunities." Needing to win by two goals after Tauro's 2-0 victory in Panama City on Aug. 26, Chivas seemed on its way when Roberto Nurse scored in the first half. Then the hopes were dashed first when defender Jonathan Bornstein picked up a second yellow card in the 52nd minute, leaving Chivas with 10 players, and Luis Moreno's goal in the 62nd minute. That advanced Tauro with the 3-1 aggregate into the group play phase of the tournament, and sent Chivas back to MLS play with an 0-for-3 effort in outside tournaments this year. Chivas finished with 20 shots, 14 on goal. Tauro FC shot 15 times, with seven heading toward the target. Tauro FC seemed content with sitting back on its half of the field early, letting Chivas expend all of its energy in search of the equalizing goals. And then Chivas went about its way coming up empty during a first half that included Sacha Kljestan being stopped on a penalty kick by Tauro FC goalkeeper Willington Dominguez, who basically couldn't latch onto anything else all night, though he made some key saves with deflections in the closing moments. Only one goal got past him when Nurse, the son of a Panamanian father, collected a pass from Bornstein, pivoted to his left and nailed a left-footer into the lower left corner of the goal in the 42nd minute. That erased a half of failure for Chivas. In the 12th minute, Justin Braun's shot from 12 yards beat Dominguez, but defender Leonel Parris headed the ball off the line. Nine minutes later, after drawing a yellow card for Nurse, Dominguez scrambled to his left to deny Kljestan. Dominguez was saved by his crossbar when Atiba Harris redirected a pass from Braun.
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Wed September 03 2008
CARSON - Like a lot of matches this season, Chivas USA was left with an empty feeling. And no, not just because Home Depot Center might as well ha...
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CARSON - Like a lot of matches this season, Chivas USA was left with an empty feeling. And no, not just because Home Depot Center might as well have been empty Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Tauro FC of Panama. No one announced an official attendance - let's say dozens stormed the gates. Only six sections of seats were open for spectators. In fact, the play-by-... read more
CARSON - Like a lot of matches this season, Chivas USA was left with an empty feeling. And no, not just because Home Depot Center might as well have been empty Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Tauro FC of Panama. No one announced an official attendance - let's say dozens stormed the gates. Only six sections of seats were open for spectators. In fact, the play-by-play television camera was placed on the opposite side of the stadium to avoid showing a backdrop of completely empty seats on the east side. Chivas was once again left to lament a number of missed opportunities and couldn't erase the damage and the 1-1 tie eliminated the Goats from the competition. "It's very difficult to lose like this," Chivas coach Preki said. "I thought the game should have been over in the first half, we had so many opportunities." Needing to win by two goals after Tauro's 2-0 victory in Panama City on Aug. 26, Chivas seemed on its way when Roberto Nurse scored in the first half. Then the hopes were dashed first when defender Jonathan Bornstein picked up a second yellow card in the 52 nd minute, leaving Chivas with 10 players, and Luis Moreno's goal in the 62 nd minute. That advanced Tauro with the 3-1 aggregate into the group play phase of the tournament, and sent Chivas back to MLS play with an 0-for-3 effort in outside tournaments this year. Chivas finished with 20 shots, 14 on goal. Tauro FC shot 15 times, with seven heading toward the target. Tauro FC seemed content with sitting back on its half of the field early, letting Chivas expend all of its energy in search of the equalizing goals. And then Chivas went about its way coming up empty during a first half that included Sacha Kljestan being stopped on a penalty kick by Tauro FC goalkeeper Willington Dominguez, who basically couldn't latch onto anything else all night, though he made some key saves with deflections in the closing moments. "I don't understand why the goalkeeper wasn't sent off there, pulling Roberto down," Preki said, referring to the play that resulted in the penalty kick. "As far as I know, the rule says that last guy, penalty, red card. "But in the beginning of the second half we got a soft call on Bornstein and a red card against us. ... "We've got to win this game. It doesn't matter. We should win this game by four or five goals against this team. I'm sorry." Only one goal got past him when Nurse, the son of a Panamanian father, collected a pass from Bornstein, pivoted to his left and nailed a left-footer into the lower left corner of the goal in the 42 nd minute. That erased a half of failure for Chivas. In the 12 th minute, Justin Braun's shot from 12 yards beat Dominguez, but defender Leonel Parris headed the ball off the line. Nine minutes later, after drawing a yellow card for Nurse, Dominguez scrambled to his left to deny Kljestan. Dominguez was saved by his crossbar when Atiba Harris redirected a pass from Braun. In the 65 th minute, Preki's frustration boiled over on Kljestan, who left today to join the U.S. national team for its World Cup qualifier on Saturday at Cuba. "I don't think he was good. I thought he was already with the national team or wherever he was," Preki said. "I don't think he was playing good. Nobody's untouchable. When you put that shirt on, when you step on the field, you've got to play for your team, so that's why." Kljestan, who had a quick word with Preki at the substitution, didn't quite see it that way. "Obviously, I didn't do my best in order to help the team win, so it's very disappointing," he said. "I feel bad for the rest of the guys who played their butts off tonight. ... "My focus right now is with Chivas, tomorrow it will be with the national team." On the other end, Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, getting a turn as Zach Thornton took a breather, was hardly tested. Tauro FC took one shot (not on goal) in the first half. That changed completely with Tauro FC up a man in the second half, but the Panamanians proved they could scatter their shots as well as Chivas could. In the end, after Harris sped downfield all alone only to sprawl onto the turf without being touched, which was answered by Luis Fernando Esobar's equally miserable shot on the other end, it was a reminder of why CONCACAF, the federation representing hurricane-vulnerable countries, is allotted only two automatic World Cup slots every four years. phil.collin@dailybreeze.com
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Mon September 01 2008
» BLOG: Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer MLS: Harris scores in stoppage time to help Goats to first win since July 5. CARSON - It seems like ...
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» BLOG: Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer MLS: Harris scores in stoppage time to help Goats to first win since July 5. CARSON - It seems like only six months ago ChivasUSA began to talk about the depth it would boast for the 2008 MLS season. Almost on the eve of September, it was on display, at least to a degree. After a night of frustration from missed chances, Chivas midfielder Atiba... read more
» BLOG: Nick Green's 100 Percent Soccer MLS: Harris scores in stoppage time to help Goats to first win since July 5. CARSON - It seems like only six months ago ChivasUSA began to talk about the depth it would boast for the 2008 MLS season. Almost on the eve of September, it was on display, at least to a degree. After a night of frustration from missed chances, Chivas midfielder Atiba Harris had his chip shot sneak through the arms of goalkeeper Greg Sutton in the final minute of stoppage time to lift Chivas to a 2-1 win over Toronto FC in front of 12,561 at Home Depot Center. For once, Chivas could look at the 18 shots that went awry and still come up with a smile. "Well, the thing you get concerned with mostly is when you don't create chances," Chivas coach Preki said. "Tonight we had many opportunities and it was one of those nights where it was just `Man, we can't catch a break.' And then the break came in the last seconds of the game." Forward Alecko Eskandarian, acquired in January, finally got to start a game following his recovery from sports hernia surgery. Chivas had figured on Eskandarian being there all along, considering Maykel Galindo had sports hernia surgery of his own to deal with. Eskandarian's first-half goal erased a brief deficit, then Chivas spent the rest of the night squandering chances until Sacha Kljestan lined up for a corner kick. His service was dummied by defender Bobby Burling and Harris clipped in his shot from about 12 yards out, which eluded Sutton and trickled across the line to end Chivas' winless streak at six games. It was such a sudden turn of events that Harris thought it was forward Justin Braun who let the pass through. "I shouted for Justin to leave it," Harris said. "I just wanted to get it on target and hopefully it goes in." "Oh my God," Eskandarian said. "I was blowing from the sidelines, I wanted that ball to go in so bad." Suddenly, Chivas (7-9-6) is alone in third place with its first victory since July 5. Toronto fell to 7-10-5. Not that Chivas is out of the woods yet with its exhaustive schedule. The Goats will be on display again Tuesday in the CONCACAF Champions League trying to stay alive in the 24-team tournament with a meeting against Tauro FC of Panama in the second leg of their series. But in MLS terms, Chivas has suddenly placed itself in playoff position if the postseason started today. And the team is even getting a break or two. Kljestan picked up a yellow card when he brought down Amado Guevara from behind in the first half. By accumulation of cautions, Kljestan would have to miss Chivas' next game at Toronto next Saturday; he'll serve his suspension while playing for the U.S. national team in Cuba, then be eligible to return as scheduled Sept. 11. In addition, there were no theatrics, let alone threats, from Toronto's Carlos Ruiz in his return to Carson. Ruiz was playing his first match since being sent north by the Galaxy in the first move of the Bruce Arena era. (0-3-3)
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Sun August 31 2008
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Landon Donovan scored a pair of goals for the Galaxy, but Shalrie Joseph's first goal of the season helped the New England Revol...
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Landon Donovan scored a pair of goals for the Galaxy, but Shalrie Joseph's first goal of the season helped the New England Revolution salvage a 2-2 tie Saturday night. Joseph's goal in the 71stminute helped New England (11-6-5) extend the Galaxy's winless streak to 10 (0-5-5). The Revolution is unbeaten in its past nine matches (7-0-2) against Los Angeles, which brought Dav... read more
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Landon Donovan scored a pair of goals for the Galaxy, but Shalrie Joseph's first goal of the season helped the New England Revolution salvage a 2-2 tie Saturday night. Joseph's goal in the 71stminute helped New England (11-6-5) extend the Galaxy's winless streak to 10 (0-5-5). The Revolution is unbeaten in its past nine matches (7-0-2) against Los Angeles, which brought David Beckham to New England for the first time. Joseph, New England's all-star midfielder, took a pass from Michael Parkhurst and beat defenders Eddie Lewis and Sean Franklin before unleashing a low drive past Galaxy reserve goalie Josh Wicks. Taylor Twellman gave New England a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute with his fifth goal in just eight matches this season. Revolution midfielder Khano Smith curled a left-footed drive from the left wing into the penalty box area, where Twellman beat Los Angeles defender Troy Roberts for space and then got his head onto the ball while crashing into Galaxy keeper Steve Cronin. The Galaxy (6-9-7) equalized 12 minutes later on the 15th goal of the season for Donovan, who converted a cross from Peter Vagenas (St. Francis high of La Canada Flintridge) while beating New England defenders Gabriel Badilla and Parkhurst for open territory. Donovan made a similar move for his MLS-best 16th goal to put the Galaxy ahead in the 55th minute. He sped past Parkhurst and Badilla, taking a through ball from Lewis and beating New England goalie Matt Reis. New England was without play-making midfielder and leading scorer Steve Ralston, who is sidelined with back spasms. The Revolution, utilizing a four-man defensive backline instead of its customary three-man unit, was also without strikers Adam Cristman (turf toe) and Kheli Dube (adductor strain). Beckham, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder, was held scoreless. He entered the game with five goals and eight assists for Los Angeles.
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Wed August 27 2008
PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panama's Tauro defeated Major League Soccer's Chivas USA 2-0 Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League pre...
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PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panama's Tauro defeated Major League Soccer's Chivas USA 2-0 Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League preliminary-round series. Edwin Aguilar scored in each half for El Tauro. The second leg of the home-and-home, total-goals series will be played next Tuesday at Home Depot Center in Carson. Eight preliminary round winners will advance to the group... read more
PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panama's Tauro defeated Major League Soccer's Chivas USA 2-0 Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League preliminary-round series. Edwin Aguilar scored in each half for El Tauro. The second leg of the home-and-home, total-goals series will be played next Tuesday at Home Depot Center in Carson. Eight preliminary round winners will advance to the group stage of the tournament, which replaces the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
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