Chivas USA Notes (2-0 loss vs. Colorado Rapids, The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif., 10/20/2012)
- · CARSON, Calif. (Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012) – Chivas USA (7-18-8, 29 points) fell, 2-0, Saturday night in its home finale, while goalkeeper Tim Melia made his first MLS start against the Colorado Rapids (10-19-4, 34) before 11,499 fans. The Rapids were led by two first-half goals, the first coming on Martin Rivero’s strike – with assists from Tyson Wahl and Jaime Castrillon on the sequence. Forward Kamani Hill knocked in the second goal off an Omar Cummings assist.
- · The Rojiblancos tested Colorado goalkeeper Steward Ceus inside the 10 minute mark by getting into dangerous spots inside the box multiple times, with Alejandro Moreno and Juan Agudelo nearly connecting for a goal on two separate occasions. In the ninth minute, Moreno moved the ball on the right flank on a breakaway and crossed it to Agudelo, but the Goats could not capitalize on the chance.
- · The Rapids moved ahead in the 16th minute on Rivero’s second goal of the season when he beat Melia in a one-on-one meeting near the short area. Wahl served an entry pass from about 30 yards out near the left sideline, where Castrillon grazed the pass to Rivero who was unmarked on the right side of the box. The assists were Wahl’s and Castrillon’s first and third of the season, respectively.
- · Colorado would go up a second goal in the 43rd minute on Hill’s header that found the inside of the right post. Cummings was able to connect with Hill – his fourth goal of the year – on a cross near the right corner of the box to record his second assist of the season.
- · The Goats continued to get quality looks in the first half. In the 41st minute, midfielder Jorge Villafaña centered a pass from the left flank that found a cutting Moreno near the far post, but his tap-in attempt was wide. Chivas USA edged Colorado in shots for the match 14-13.
- · In the second half Chivas USA continued to move its numbers forwards in search for a goal. In the 50th minute, Moreno once again got deep into the box and crossed a dangerous pass to the positioned Agudelo, whose header attempt near the short area traveled wide right. Midfielder Laurent Courtois, who came on as a sub in the 64th minute, tried to get the Goats on the board with his left-footed strike inside the 18-yard box, but Ceus was able to deny the shot and preserve the 2-0 result.
- · Chivas USA concludes its 2012 season when it travels to face FC Dallas, Sunday, Oct. 28 at FC Dallas Stadium. The match kicks off at 4:00 pm PT and will broadcast live on Galavision in Spanish. For more information please visit cdchivasusa.com. Follow us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa
THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:
CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER:
Thoughts on the match: “I feel like we’ve sat and had this press conference many times before, where we do some things well, didn’t capitalize on our opportunities, made some pretty critical mistakes and the story plays out as we’ve seen before. It was just a disjointed effort that, at times, was promising and we created some really good chances, and if you don’t score your chances, then you certainly put yourself behind the eight ball. It was a disappointing night, for sure. Certainly, the season has been disappointing, but you feel like every game is an opportunity to redeem yourself somewhat. Certainly, you always want to at least close out a season on a positive note.”
Looking ahead: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. You have to play well and you have to win – that’s part of the job. And that’s certainly the approach going into this coming weekend as well as we determine the players we think are going to play the best and give us the best chance to win. Regardless of whether we are in the playoffs or not, I’ve always felt this way – that every time you turn up, it’s an opportunity to do your best and try to get a result. You always have an eye toward next season, but the job is still here to be done. As of now, there’s still one more game to play, 90 minutes left to play. I would think that we all feel like we need to finish on a better note than we showed tonight.”
On Tim Melia’s debut: “Tim is a very good goalkeeper. I’ve known him for a while and I’ve seen him for a while. He had some good moments and then he had some moments I thought he looked maybe a little inexperienced. But certainly, he’s got a bright future. He’s a very good goalkeeper.”
CHIVAS USA DEFENDER– JAMES RILEY:
Thoughts on the match: “We had some good possession, some good opportunities. We gave it to them again and we created something we weren’t able to capitalize on and it’s kind of been the theme of the season. I thought the guys gave a good effort in the second half; the first half was a little slow. We found ourselves in a hole and we were playing catch-up.”
On fans’ support: “They’ve been fantastic for us, obviously. They’ve stuck with us through the ups and downs and obviously next year we want to give them something to cheer about with wins at home and some entertaining soccer. We will definitely work hard in the off-season to give them that because that’s what they deserve.”
On next week’s season finale: “We want to end on high. We will prepare this week and prepare to go down to Dallas and win. We still have pride to play for, we still have the club to play for, so we’ll go about it as professionals.”
CHIVAS USA MIDFIELDER – BEN ZEMANSKI:
On fans’ support: “It was disappointing not to give these crowds a result. They’ve came out all year to support us and it was a frustrating year for all of us. It was really disappointing to not give them something to go home with. We can’t thank them enough. The hardest thing to do is to support a team that is struggling a little bit right now and hats off to them for coming out to every game and giving their support. I really appreciate it and the whole team appreciates it.”
On next week’s season finale: “Hopefully all of the fans are watching and we are going to try and end this season with a win.”
CHIVAS USA GOALKEEPER – TIM MELIA:
Thoughts on the match: “I think we shot ourselves in the foot. I thought we definitely had our opportunities; we controlled the ball more in the second half. We shot ourselves on the foot like we have all season and it’s tough to come back when you’re in a hole.”
On his MLS debut: “I wanted a win, so anything but a win isn’t good.”
On fans’ support:“The fans have been great, you have to say thank you to them for coming out here every game even though we didn’t have a good season, and they’ve been huge.”
On next week’s season finale:“We just have to win, we have to at least end on a good note.”
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH – OSCAR PAREJA:
Thoughts on the match: “A very good game for us. The most important part of the game was that we presented good ideas on the field. It’s a team that has shown for many stretches in this season that we don’t deserve to be in [this] position. A lot of credit to my players, they did a great job.”
Mindset entering the game despite not in playoffs:“We have a bunch of professionals here that face every game with the same attitude despite the position. We’re not in the running for the playoffs but today they played like if it was one of those games. I give credit to a group that is professional and came in and fought, but put a lot of good ideas and played good soccer on the field.”
On Ceus’ first MLS start: “He has been very patient waiting for this moment, the game rewarded him. It wasn’t just his first MLS start, but he won it and no goals conceded. A lot of positive things not just for the group, but for the Stew.”
COLORADO RAPIDS FORWARD – KAMANI HILL:
Thoughts on the match: “I thought it was a very good performance from us, we came out with a lot of intensity, we were organized and we finished our chances. It was great to start off the game so positively for us.”
On playing professionally: As a player, every game you play to win, and every game you play to do your best, because you are being seen, you never know who is watching the game. Every game is important individually. We came out and did our thing and I thought we gelled as a team, which is most important.”
Sequence of the goal: “I think we stole the ball from the back. Our organization and our pressure paid off for us, and Omar came up the right side and delivered a great ball to the back post and I put it back where it came from, it caught the keeper adjusting and scored a great goal.”
COLORADO RAPIDS GOALKEEPER – STEWARD CEUS:
Thoughts on first MLS start: “Getting my first game as a start and coming in with a clean sheet is definitely huge. It’s a big boost in confidence to come out with a clean sheet and win today. Pretty much every game is nerves and by the time you touch the ball one time it’s natural, the nerves go away once you touch the ball. We just had to control what they were coming at us with and be ready to start attacking when we had our chances.”
On the team’s attitude going into the season finale: “We came and we worked hard all week. Playoffs aren’t in sight but we have a lot to play for and we’re continuing to play hard and show what we have for the next game and for the year to come. Going into the season finale, I know it’s Fan Appreciation Day so we’re going to go out there and play our hearts out for the fans that have been coming out and supporting us day-in and day-out through thick and thin.”
Thoughts on the win: “For the team it’s a huge result, every win is a big win. It’s good to carry positive momentum going forward.”
Chivas USA (7-18-8) vs. Colorado Rapids (10-19-4)
October 20, 2012 – The Home Depot Center
Scoring Summary:
COL – Martin Rivero 2 (Jaime Castrillon 3, Tyson Wahl 1) 16
COL – Kamani Hill 4 (Omar Cummings 2) 43
Chivas USA – Tim Melia, James Riley, John Valencia, Shalrie Joseph, Ante Jazic (Ryan Smith 54), Jorge Villafaña, Peter Vagenas (Laurent Courtois 64), Nick LaBrocca, Ben Zemanski, Juan Agudelo (Cesar Romero 85), Alejandro Moreno ©.
Subs not used – Bobby Burling, Marco Delgado, Oswaldo Minda, Patrick McLain
Colorado Rapids – Steward Ceus, Tyson Wahl, Drew Moor ©, Hunter Freeman, Marvell Wynne, Jeff Larentowicz, Jaime Castrillon (Jamie Smith 72), Hendry Thomas, Martin Rivero, Kamani Hill (Tony Cascio 66), Omar Cummings (Joseph Nane 86)
Subs not used – Ian Joyce, Davy Armstrong, Andre Akpan, Chris Klute
Misconduct Summary:
COL – Tyson Wahl (Yellow, Foul) 11
CHV – Ben Zemanski (Yellow, Dissent) 78
CHV – John Valencia (Yellow, Foul) 88
Referee: Yader Reyes
Referee’s Assistants: Mike Rottersman, Baboucarr Jallow
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Attendance: 11,499
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Cloudy, 71 degrees
About Chivas USA
Founded in 2004, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved remarkable success in seven full seasons in Major League Soccer. From 2006-2009, the Mexican-owned club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons, to the delight of its passionate supporters. In addition, Chivas USA’s innovative grassroots programs demonstrate its deep commitment to the Southern California community, while the club’s youth teams and Soccer Academies offer unprecedented opportunities to the region’s best young talent. For more information on Chivas USA, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 