Strengthened by Jorge Vergara’s support and visit to The Home Depot Center, Chivas USA’s Youth clubs ended today their U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy regular season on a high note as both U15/16’s and U17/18 teams earned huge wins against the LA Galaxy.

Romario Lomeli and Caleb Calvert led Chivas USA’s U18 team to a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy in the last regular season game. Lomeli gave the Red-and-White the lead in the 20th minute after shooting a ball past LA goalkeeper off a pass by Brian Kennedy. The Galaxy fought hard throughout the rest of the half looking to equalize, but a solid performance by Chivas defense and ‘keeper Jake McGuire kept the ball from entering the Chivas goal.

Early into the second half, Calvert notched his 22nd goal of the season, and the second of the match for the Goats in the 57th minute. Although Chivas dominated the second half, the Galaxy was able to score their only goal in the 80th minute via penalty kick. With the win, the Red-and-White has qualified to the USSDA playoffs that will kick-off on June 24 at FC Dallas Park.

Also earning a huge win, and extending their unbeaten streak was Chivas USA’s U15/16 team as they defeated the LA Galaxy 4-2, also at The Home Depot Center. The Southwest Division Champions went down 1-0 in the 8th minute of the match after a Galaxy goal, but fought tirelessly to make a comeback. In the 20th minute, with all their hard work and determination, Mark Hernandez was able to notch the equalizer for the Goats, and five minutes later, Bilal Abdallah put the Red-and-White on top, scoring his first goal with the Academy. Just before the first half ended, Jorge Ruiz scored the third in the game, his 17th goal this season.

Coming back to the second half, the LA Galaxy scored early on in the 42nd minute to put them back in the game. It was Amaya Adonis who was able to seal the score board in the 81st minute for the final 4-2 win. Chivas USA’s U15/16 automatically qualify to the USSDA playoffs in Dallas that will kick-off for their category on June 25.

International Friendly
Chivas USA’s new and upcoming U23 squad fell 4-1 in their first international friendly match against Mexico’s U20 National Team on Friday night at the University of California at Riverside. The Red-and-White team, composed of former Academy players, fought hard against the Mexican squad who is preparing for the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup to be held in Turkey. Chivas USA’s U23 squad will participate in the So Cal Premier League that will kick-off June 1st and will face some of the top teams in Southern California.

Training Report: Chivas USA focus on attacking

Chivas USA today completed their final practice of the week with an emphasis on offensive tactics ahead of Sunday’s conference showdown against Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at home.

The session kicked off with a 10 minute light jog around the pitch, followed by a series of stretches under the supervision of Strength and Conditioning Coach Osvaldo Scansetti. The squad completed its warm-ups portion of training by running through cone and hudle drills positioned at short distances. The drills were set-up to work on speed and also incorporated hip rotation exercises.

The Rojiblancos were then divided into separate groups. The primary group, which had assigned the most number of players, continued the morning with a game of “torito” followed by soccer tennis. Meanwhile, the smaller group, under the direction of Head Coach José Luis Sánchez Solá, worked on finishing drills near the goal.

While the field players continued to work through the various drills and stations at practice, Goalkeeper Coach Daniel González worked with the ‘keepers individually by firing shots from various angles and distances in front of the goal.

After 45 minutes of game strategies for tomorrow’s match, the coaching staff concluded training with a cool-down session that included stretching excersises.

Chivas USA’s unique rivalry with RSL

The all-time rivalry between Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake is unique to any other the Red-and-White have established in Major League Soccer. Both Chivas USA and RSL entered the League in 2005 as expansion teams and have met 26 times, including two playoff matches in 2008. In regular-season competition, the sides have played each other nearly even, with a record of 10-10-4 and an equal amount of goals scored apiece at 30.

The Rojiblancos hold an edge in matches played at The Home Depot Center with a record of 7-5-1, and outscoring RSL 20-14, but the team from Utah has taken the last three meetings, including the season’s first of three contests on April 20 at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL took the 1-0 win on Javier Morales’ second-half goal, in a match that featured a failed penalty kick conversion and 24 fouls. And it is up to Chivas to try and establish their style of play to come away with the needed result in the rematch at home on Sunday beginning at 7:30 p.m. (PT).

“At this stage in the season, the rematches around the League begin to come into play,” said Chivas USA Assistant Coach Isidro Sánchez. “With the better understanding we now have of the League we will try and use it in our favor and return to our style of play, which is to pressure, run and possess the ball.

The first meeting was decided by the minimal difference and played nearly even across the statistical board. Both sides took 14 shots at goal and nearly split ball possession throughout the match. Nevertheless, it was the home side that came away with the clean sheet. And as Sánchez says, the team will try to snap out of its scoring drought from the last five games, while maintaining order on the back line against RSL’s scoring threats.

“The way to off-set [RSL’s] attackers is to have our defenders stay close to them and be very aware of where they are. The problem appears when you give them a lot of space. Intelligent players will hurt you.”