Chivas USA Notes (3-2 vs. New York Red Bulls, Harrison, NJ, 5/15/11)·        

With three goals by Justin Braun, Chivas USA defeated the New York Red Bulls on the road by a score of 3-2 on Sunday night at Red Bull Arena in front of 16,365 fans. It was Braun’s first hat trick in his MLS career that resulted in three points for the Red-and-White as they prepare for next week’s SuperClásico against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, May 21st, at 7:00 p.m. PT at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
 
·         With tonight’s result, Chivas USA improves its record to 3-3-3, with 12 points, and is in seventh place in the Western Conference. Chivas USA has only lost one game in the last seven matches, and has won three games in the last four appearances. The Red-and-White also handed Eastern Conference leader New York its first loss at home.
 
·         Chivas USA Youth product Chris Cortez, who signed with the Red-and-White today, made his MLS debut after participating with Chivas USA U-18 Team, preseason camps, as well as in the current Reserve League, where he has scored 4 goals in 4 games. Cortez joins other Chivas USA Academy products Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayén, who are also playing with the First Team.
 
·         Braun opened the scoring very early into the game, at the sixth minute,  with a shot from the top edge of the penalty area, from the left into the top-right corner from about 18 yards  to put the score 1-0 in favor of the Rojiblancos.
 
·         However, The Red Bulls quickly responded and tied the game when Rafael Marquez made a perfect pass to Thierry Henry, who controlled the ball and shot to the far post to put the score 1-1 at the 21st minute.
 
·         Ten minutes later, Justin Braun scored his second goal of the night as Heath Pearce sent a free kick to the left side of the box, Alejandro Moreno saved it on the line and passed the ball to Braun, who converted from a very difficult angle at the 31st minute.
 
·         The Red Bulls responded four minutes later as Luke Rodgers was taken down by Heath Pearce inside the area and Dwayne De Rosario converted the penalty kick to make things 2-2.
 
·         Braun appeared for the third time in the scoreboard early in the second half after Moreno headed another Pearce’s free kick, Red Bull goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul pushed off the ball to the right post but bounced back to Braun, who tapped the ball for this third goal of the night.
 
·         Braun on his hat-trick: “In MLS, that’s my first. A cool moment for me. The goods thing is, is that the team came in and got three points on the road against one of the top teams.
·         Chivas USA Head Coach Fraser on tonight’s game: “This group is unbelievably motivated. They have tremendous character. If you look at this season so far, some of the results we’ve had, the effort with which we’ve played, they’re extremely motivated, and a focused group. They’re very much concentrating on getting better and better every week, and finding a way to get results. Tonight was a prime example of a team that gutted out a result.”
·         The Red-and-White travels back to Los Angeles on Monday and will resume training on Wednesday ahead of the SuperClásico against the LA Galaxy next Saturday, May 21st at The Home Depot Center. For more information, or for tickets to any Chivas USA match, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.  
New York Red Bulls 2:3 Chivas USAMay 15, 2011 – Red Bull Arena Scoring Summary:
CHV — Justin Braun 1 (unassisted) 6
NY — Thierry Henry 5 (Rafael Marquez 1) 21
CHV — Justin Braun 2 (Ante Jazic 2, Heath Pearce 2) 31
NY — Dwayne De Rosario 1 (penalty kick) 35
CHV — Justin Braun 3 (unassisted) 56
Chivas USA — Dan Kennedy, Zarek Valentin, Michael Lahoud (Mariano Trujillo 30), Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Ben Zemanski, Simon Elliott, Nick LaBrocca, Jorge Flores (Francisco Mendoza 84), Justin Braun (Chris Cortez 69), Alejandro Moreno.
Substitutes Not Used: Victor Estupinan, Gerson Mayen, Michael Umana, Zach Thornton.
New York Red Bulls — Bouna Coundoul, Jan Gunnar Solli, Tim Ream, Rafael Marquez, Roy Miller (Stephen Keel 89), Dane Richards (Juan Agudelo 71), Dwayne De Rosario, Teemu Tainio (Mehdi Ballouchy 71), Joel Lindpere, Luke Rodgers, Thierry Henry.
Substitutes Not Used: Matt Kassel, Carlos Mendes, John Rooney, Greg Sutton.
Misconduct Summary:
NY — Thierry Henry (caution; Reckless Foul) 62
CHV — Chris Cortez (caution; Marks on Field) 81
Referee: Alex Prus
Referee’s Assistants: Adam Wienckowski; James Conlee
4th Official: Sorin Stoica
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Showers-and-66-degrees
Attendance: 16,365