U.S. Soccer Federation announced today the second-round and possible third-round match-ups in the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where Chivas USA will face the winner of the second-round match between the Ventura County Fusion and the L.A. Blues. Should the Fusion win, the Red-and-White will travel to Ventura College to face the PDL side in a 7 p.m. (PT) match on May 28. Similarly, should the Blues come out victorious, the Goats will face the USL PRO side at Titan Stadium, located on the campus of Cal State Fullerton in a 7:30 p.m. (PT) meeting on that same day.

Chivas USA tied a franchise-best run in last season’s Open Cup. The Red-and-White reached the semifinals for the second time in club history, but fell short by losing to eventual runner-up Seattle Sounders FC in Tukwila, Wash. last July. Similar to this year’s format, Chivas USA and the other 15 Major League Soccer clubs participating in the prestigious tournament, enter competition in the third round. And the Rojiblancos know their potential rivals well. Chivas USA took a 1-0 victory over the Fusion at Ventura College in the third round of last year’s Open Cup to advance to the fourth round and has faced the Blues in several scrimmages throughout the years. The Goats most recently faced the Blues in a preseason friendly at The Home Depot Center’s Field 4 in February, which ended in a 5-1 rout for the Red-and-White.

Should Chivas USA win their opening match in Open Cup, it will mark the third time the club has advanced past the third round. The Rebaño Angelino return to compete in this year’s edition of the Open Cup with several key returning players from last season’s squad that made the semifinals run, including goalkeeper and captain Dan Kennedy, forward Jose Correa and midfielders Jorge Villafaña and Laurent Courtois. The Blues will host Ventura County Fusion at Titan Stadium on May 21 beginning at 6:30 p.m. (PT).

Avila expecting a familiar face

Recently acquired midfielder Gabriel Farfan won’t be arriving to a strange land with Chivas USA. Not only is he a Southern California native, but he was part of Chivas USA’s U19 squad back in 2005 and he’s a very close friend of fellow midfielder Eric Avila.

Both Avila and the Farfan brothers were born and raised in San Diego, Calif. They grew up playing in the same soccer league, and now, are being reunited at Chivas USA. But just like Avila, this won’t be Farfan’s first stint with the club, as he was part of the Red-and-White U19 squad back in 2005 that took part of a international tournament in Costa Rica, team directed by now-Youth Academy Director Sacha van Der Most.

“I’ve known Gabriel since I was about eight or nine years old, we’ve played for the same club team; he and his brother are like brothers to me, his mom is like my mom and our mom’s are best friends. We went to residency together, played against each other in college, played together in the same teams sometimes. We’re still best friends and now he’s going to be playing here with us,” Avila said after the team’s first training session on Wednesday.

With the news that Farfan would be joining Chivas USA for the 2013 season, Avila couldn’t be happier than to welcome his life-long best friend to Los Angeles and the team.

“I’m very excited; he’s a guy that’s going to help us out a lot. He’s well experienced, as well and it’ll be nice to have him on the field,” Avila added.

Training Report: Chivas returns to work

Chivas USA returned to full practice today at The Home Depot Center’s Track and Field ahead of Sunday’s Western Conference battle against Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. (PT). The morning session kicked off with a team jog around the pitch followed by stretching in preparation for team drills.

The Red-and-White then broke out into two rows to walk through a series of hurdles with the objective of finishing leg and hip work for added flexibility. The exercise was first completed straight forward and then sideways. The drill then gravitated to over-under hurdles. Likewise, the hurdles were first walked through going straight forward and then from side-to-side.

The squad, under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach Osvaldo Scansetti, moved on to work on core strength and conditioning drills. The players transitioned through multiple stations that consisted of exercises on mats, trampoline drills, and light weights for 30 minutes.

The session then turned its focus onto ball work in reduced spaces. The team broke up into pairs and completed passing drills from about 15 yards apart while working the ball forward and backwards toward one another. Afterwards, the ball work continued with a three-on-three drill inside a 15-by-10 yard space with the objective of battling for ball possession in the reduced space.