Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: Northern Exposure

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy head north to BMO Field in Toronto to take on Toronto FC in a bid to further extend their lead in Major League Soccer. The Galaxy (10-1-2, 32 points) settled for a scoreless draw with Toronto (5-4-2, 17 points) on May 15 at the Home Depot Center. The match potentially sees Dema Kovalenko's return to the line-up. "It's nice to be back with the team again," Kovalenko said during training. "Any way I can get back and play, I'm just happy to be back. "Whenever I come back, wherever Bruce uses me, I'm going to fight and compete like I always do. I'm going to try and get my spot, but the guys are doing well and we're winning. "I just have to wait for my chance and I understand that. If I have to come off the bench and help the guys, that's fine, too. I don't like it, and Bruce knows that. I've missed a long time, and however they use me, I'll accept it. It's not a problem." It seems very likely that not a lot of changes will need to be made to a side that ...

This Is the Los Angeles Galaxy: Alan Gordon

This is Part 18 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. Alan "Flash" Gordon is a local product made for the Los Angeles Galaxy. A native of nearby Long Beach, California (which, coincidentally, is where the author also calls home), Gordon has appeared 92 times for the G's (as of May 5, 2010) playing the forward position. Standing at a tall 1.91 meters, Gordon's imposing presence up front has been crucial in the clutch many times for the blue and gold of LA, culminating in an MLS Cup in 2005. Gordon will now look to add a second championship to his winning resume. Alan Gordon was born on born October 16, 1981 in Long Beach. The 36th-largest city in the USA and fifth-largest in California, Long Beach is home to the Port of Long Beach, one of the world's largest shipping ports. It is home to a burgeoning oil industry and corporations such as Epson America, Molina Healthcare, and SCAN Health Plan. Attractions in the International City include the Queen Mary, Cal State Long Beach's iconic Walter Pyramid, the Aquarium of the Pacific, ...

Vancouver Whitecaps Look to Seattle Sounders for Successful MLS Formula

The Seattle Sounders entered Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2009. Since then, they have arguably become the most successful expansion franchise in the history of pro-sport. The reason for the Sounders success is simple. Their die-hard fans. "It is a fan driven sport," said Gary Wright, Sounders senior vice president of business operations. "The crowd is absolutely electric and people walk away and say, ‘wow that was a great time,' no matter what the score is." The Sounders draw in more than 30,000 fans to Qwest Field every game. The team even has its own marching band, The Sound Wave. Before every home game, fans excitedly gather for "The March to the Match." Fans follow The Sound Wave to Qwest from Occidental Park, while cheering for their team. "I really believe the Pacific Northwest has a tremendous soccer heritage, and soccer fans, and it's not just in Seattle. It's Vancouver. It's Portland," said Wright. Wright believes Vancouver can learn from Seattle, and use its fan base to catapult the Whitecaps into MLS stardom. And Sounders players agree. "The Pacific Northwest is the ideal place for soccer and I think that the success that they've had in Seattle is going to be emulated in these other organizations," said ...

PODCAST: World Cup Talk with Dave Vaudreuil, a Two-Time MLS Champ

We were fortunate to talk with David Vaudreuil, a two-time MLS champ with DC United, former executive board member for the MLS Players Association, and former coach. We discussed recent events in the World Cup, including his opinion of which teams have the best chance to win, vuvuzelas, and the impact of the new ball. We also talked about Mexico's team and the US Team. We discussed the future of soccer in the U.S.A, and whether our premier athletes like Lebron James or Adrian Peterson would have been good soccer players. We also talked about the growth of the MLS and how increases in salaries will lead to more athletes playing soccer. Thanks to Dave for joining us and providing his valuable insight. You can download the podcast by right-clicking and selecting "Save As..." or Click HERE to Listen Used with permission from "The Sports Piece " presented by Global Data Finder. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Chris Klein

This is Part 17 in a series of players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. When it comes to finding a role model for America's young soccer talent to follow, you have to consider Chris Klein as a shining example. An accomplished veteran of Major League Soccer for more than a decade, a man of deep faith and an avid coach of the game, Klein overcame injury—not once, but twice—to cement his place as one of MLS's resilient midfielders. Standing at a tall 1.85 meters, the No. 7's presence and ability will prove vital to the Los Angeles Galaxy's chances of lifting their third MLS Cup. Chris Klein was born on January 4, 1976 in St. Louis, Missouri. Known for its Gateway Arch, the 1904 World's Fair and Olympic Games as well as culinary institutions like Provel cheese, St. Louis has a rich soccer tradition. The Saint Louis University Billikens men's soccer program earned national championships in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1973. St. Louis Athletica spent more than a season in Women's Professional Soccer, and featured stars such as Eniola Aluko and Hope Solo. ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Chris Birchall

This is Part 16 on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. Trinidad and Tobago's men's national football team is known as the Soca Warriors. Last year proved to be a year of sheer disappointment for the small island nation, finishing dead last in the final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification through CONCACAF. One of the members on that Soca Warriors side that gave it a valiant go is midfielder Chris Birchall of the Los Angeles Galaxy. A member of the 2006 team that competed in Germany, Birchall will look to ease the pain of qualification failure with success in Major League Soccer. Christopher Birchall was born on May 5, 1984 in Stafford, England. Located in the West Midlands, Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire. With a population of 63,681 (as of the 2001 Census), Stafford is home to St. Chad's Church, one of the oldest in England. It was also a major shoe manufacturer during the 19th and 20th centuries. A notable former resident of Stafford is author J.R.R. Tolkien, who used the cottage owned by his wife Edith as the inspiration behind notable works ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Gregg Berhalter

This is Part 15 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. In the game of soccer, the job of a center-back is to stop opposing players, particularly the strikers, from scoring and to bring the ball out from their penalty area. Besides having a good jumping, heading, and tackling ability, successful center-backs need to be able to concentrate, read the game well, and be brave and decisive in making last-ditch tackles on attacking players who might otherwise be through on goal. One example of a successful center-back is Gregg Berhalter, one of the four towers that comprise the Los Angeles Galaxy backline. Berhalter's leadership has allowed him to don the captain's armband for Bruce Arena's club when Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are out on safari at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His years of footballing experience have led him to play in the Netherlands, in England, and in Germany before joining Major League Soccer. Gergg Berhalter was born on Aug. 1, 1973, in Englewood, New Jersey. Englewood is a small town of 26,203 located in Bergen County, outside of New York City. Englewood ...

England 1-1 USA : Fabio Capello Left Green in Face as U.S. Earns Deserved Draw

Team USA came away with a highly credible 1-1 draw, despite Robert Green's huge howler after he allowed Clint Dempsey's tame shot to creep into the goal. The U.S. forced much of the game against an abysmally inept England who played about as bad as they possibly could. Clint Dempsey's equalizer cancelled out Steven Gerrard's early strike as Team USA were every bit England's equals during the game. Huge question marks now stand against Fabio Capello who seems to be making the same mistakes Sven Goran Erikkson made in 2006, and one must wonder at his strange selection and long ball tactics. For his part, Bob Bradley deserves great credit. After going 1-0 down his team showed great courage to come back into the game and were every bit the equal of their illustrious opponents. The opening couple of minutes were very reminiscent of an English Premier League match as neither side dwelt on the ball for any longer than a couple of seconds. Before the match the USA's defence and league were compared unfavourably with their opponents and after just four minutes the differences were apparent. A simple throw in on the right from Glen Johnson was picked up by Frank Lampard, ...

Chris Pontius Hat Trick Leads DC United Past Seattle Sounders, 3-2

Southern California native Chris Pontius came west and scored three goals to boost DC United past the Seattle Sounders, 3-2, Thursday night before 36,146 fans on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Pontius, who starred at the University of California Santa Barbara and was DC United’s first pick of the 2009 draft, broke the scoring ice at the 39 minute mark with one of two unassisted goals of the initial stanza.  The second came at the 44 minute mark. The opening goal was a 25-yard effort that shot off of Seattle midfielder Patrick Ianni’s back and landed in the back of the net after catching goalkeeper Kasey Keller going the wrong way. DC United’s second score was a drive from 17 yards out that deflected off the hands of Keller and rolled inside the left post. The game matched a pattern of Sounders' performances in other close games lost, the difference being that in previous instances the team was often shut out by a 1-0 score that proved a jinx.  The Sounders believed that the figurative monkey had been removed from their backs with Saturday night’s 3-0 triumph over the New England Revolution. Seattle Coach Sigi Schmid following the team’s Tuesday practice at Qwest Field ...

The New England Revolution: The Great Unknown

Tonight I played in an after-work soccer league.  The game itself isn’t much to talk about, especially my contributions—which are never much to speak of. But as I tried to stay warm on the sideline during a cold (for June) driving rain, I had a very interesting conversation that made clear a problem that I always guessed the New England Revolution had, but never saw so obviously.  While chatting with a teammate I mentioned that I was hoping to see Brazilian club side Cruzeiro play the Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. He nodded, knowingly.  (Or so I thought.) Ten seconds or so later, he said something like ”Wait, Cruzeiro, the Brazilian team?”  “Yes.” I replied. “Really?  Here?”  He questioned. “Yup.  Against the Revs, at Gillette.”  I reminded him. “Wow.  Cool.”   He remarked. And then we went back to watching our team run around, mostly out of position, in a losing effort. Nothing remarkable, for sure. But let’s be a little more specific about this situation. The person I was speaking with?   He was ON A soccer field.  He was an immigrant from Costa Rica.  He was asking me about who I supported in the World Cup.  He loved soccer. His younger brother was also on the team, potentially even a better player—or at least one with ...