LA Galaxy Rediscovers Scoring Form in 4-1 Rout of Sporting Kansas City

Perhaps Sporting Kansas City should change their poseur-oriented moniker and revert to the good old "Kansas City Wizards."I mean, it sure helped Peter Vermes's men last season at the Home Depot Center, when they laid the hammer down on Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy by the tune of 2-0 on Aug. 28 of last year.My, my, my, how the times have changed.Sporting were taking on a Galaxy side desperate for a return to form. It didn't help matters that a certain Omar Bravo would be sidelined for a while due to sports hernia surgery.Nor did the situation get ameliorated by the fact that Sporting was riding a three-game losing streak.Make that four.In spite of a 39th-minute howler from the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez, who becomes Chicken Thief No. 3 (yes, even the home team's players can be held liable for stripping the fans of their well-deserved poultry from Pollo Campero), the tandem of Landon Donovan, Juan Pablo Angel and David Beckham bailed the defender out en route to a 4-1 victory at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on a cool May evening.If it weren't for that own goal, it could be considered the most comprehensive performance by the Galaxy ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Sporting Kansas City: Live Blog, Play-by-Play Analysis

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy continue their 2011 Major League Soccer season when they take on Peter Vermes's Kansas City Wizards tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.The Galaxy are currently 4-2-5 (17 points), while Sporting are 1-4-1 (four points) and are at the bottom of the MLS standings.Both teams are riding three-game winless streaks and are in need of a pick-me-up.Keep it here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2011 Major League Soccer season. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Sporting Kansas City: In Search of Form

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are struggling this season.They are in need of a return to scoring form as they take on Peter Vermes' Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California."The result [on Wednesday against Philadelphia] is very disappointing," Arena told reporters this week. " We should have won this game by two or three goals.  We missed a bunch of chances, the referee missed the penalty on the goalkeeper, we had plenty of chances to get to 2-0.  We made a mistake at the end and it cost us a goal, but having said that, we were certainly in position to score two or three goals. But it is disappointing."The Galaxy are on a three-game winless streak, with a 2-1 defeat to FC Dallas and 1-1 draws against the top two teams in the MLS Eastern Conference: the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union.For Arena, a victory against the Union would have brought fresh wind in the sails of the G's."This is a game where we controlled the game and played pretty well, so there was no carry over," Arena said. "It was a game where we should have ...

Los Angeles Galaxy Blow Lead Again, Settle for 1-1 Draw with Philadelphia Union

Sometimes there are hard habits to break. In soccer, one of them is the habit of squandering precarious one-goal leads.Just like at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have made it a habit of blowing 1-0 leads.At PPL Park in Chester, Penn. Wednesday night, the Galaxy let Philadelphia Union halftime substitute Danny Mwanga score an equalizer in the 84th minute to force another 1-1 draw, this time on the road.At least one positive can be taken from this: unlike the match with the Red Bulls, the split was determined by the players, not the referee.Carlos Ruiz did have a point in saying that the Galaxy are not the dominant team they were last season. Is Ruiz the second coming of Nostradamus? To a degree, of course he is.Why? Because the Galaxy lacked the skill consistency to neutralize the pressure of Union attackers late in the contest. Never mind that in terms of finishing, Juan Pablo Angel can't score his way out of a wet paper bag.Angel was denied his chances by Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who had to battle a groin injury in the second half. Stopping your fellow countryman at your age can do that ...

Major League Soccer Drops the Ball with 4-Game Suspension for Marcos Mondaini

The new sign leading out of the locker room in every Major League Soccer stadium should read"CAUTION: PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS OR INJURY."In the wake of the third severe injury suffered by an elite player, Major League Soccer showed that they are not as concerned as they should be with the safety of their players by suspending Chivas USA forward Marcos Mondaini only four games for violent, reckless and completely unnecessary play.The suspension is actually only for three games with one additional game for the red card. He will also pay a fine of $1,500.The tackle in question occurred in the first half of a recent match between Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake.After being beaten in the run of play with a good piece of skill by Javier Morales, Mondaini chose to take out the frustration of the match on Morales' ankle.As Morales set to shoot the ball from just outside the box, Mondaini slid in and took out his plant leg. He was several yards away from touching any part of the ball.This incident is the third this season of players being severely hurt and out for ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Philadelphia Union: Play-by-Play Analysis, Reaction

Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy travel to Chester, Pennsylvania and PPL Park for a match with Peter Nowak’s Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer action. The Galaxy are currently 4-2-4 (16 points) and are first in both the league and the MLS Western Conference, while the Union are 4-2-1 (13 points) and have three games in hand over the visitors. Los Angeles is coming off a 1-1 draw at home to the New York Red Bulls, while Philly is looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat away to the Portland Timbers. The Galaxy will be without the services of David Beckham, who will be given some time to recuperate after a demanding draw at Victoria Street. You can keep up to date on continuing coverage of action from Major League Soccer and World Football on your open-source sports network, Bleacher Report. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

MLS Cup 2011: 10 Teams That Could Join the Championship Party

Major League Soccer announced the location of the 2011 MLS Cup Championship match on Tuesday.For the fourth time in league history, the match will be held at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.The match is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2011 at 9 p.m. ET.While it is very early in the season, and anything can happen in the playoffs, here is a list of the top 10 teams that could make it through a long season, survive a brutal playoff schedule and make it into the championship match.Begin Slideshow

MLS: L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls Turn out Titanic Draw

In terms of footballing stature, two names would be at the top of the list of players you want to see play before you die: David Beckham and Thierry Henry.The two clashed as the L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls went head-to-head Saturday. Perhaps the two largest franchises in the MLS circuit, L.A. and New York fought out a 1-1 draw at the Home Depot Center in California, but it was the football on display that ended up being the winner. In an entertaining match that could have ended with many more goals, it was sad to see it end and a pleasure to have watched all at the same time. Goals from Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan saw the nets bulge at both ends, but the winner on the night was the reputation of America's soccer league, proving that it's not a part player in the sports arena anymore. In a match that saw Henry showing flashes of past genius, Beckham providing trademark free kicks and Donovan sending his more than 20,000 home fans into raptures at his equalizing goal, this was a great ...

LA Galaxy vs. New York Redbulls: Impressions From My First Live Soccer Game

Though these two teams may not put the most talent in the world on the pitch, I figured that going to a live soccer game would be well worth it for the atmosphere if nothing else. My expectations were certainly met, and on top of that, David Beckham and Thierry Henry put on as good of a show as possible.The atmosphere was awesome, definitely better than I expected. The fans were loud, and very into the game. I was sitting right next to the "spirit corner", as I'm going to call it, and they were very animated— they didn't get quiet for more than a minute through the entire match. However, as animated and fun as the crowd was, I was surprised with the obscenities that were yelled collectively. While I don't necessarily condone the cursing, which isn't appropriate for the children in attendance, I loved the passion. The Staples Center could definitely take some notes.You could certainly see the difference between Henry and Beckham and the MLS lifers. Landon Donovan was the lone exception, and although he was very quiet for the first 10-15 minutes of the game, he played an excellent first half. I was disappointed when he missed an easy opportunity when he ...

MLS Week 8 Recap: Heavyweight LA/New York Matchup Provides Seasons Best Game

Week 8 of the MLS season was not blessed with an abundance of goals, yet there was enough intrigue, entertainment and incident in one game alone to ensure it was still an entertaining weekend of action in the USA's top league. Most Expensive Matchup in League History Ends All Square Despite End to End ActionLA Galaxy 1-1 New York Red BullsHeading into the season, one of the fixtures most of the leagues fans was looking forward to was between the MLS's big spending heavyweights, LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls.The two teams boasted the most expensive lineups to have faced each other in league history, including five Designated Players. It would also mark the first time that European superstars David Beckham and Thierry Henry would renew their head to head rivalry in MLS (each player missed their road fixture in the two matchups last season).Anybody caught up in heavy traffic outside the Home Depot Center may have missed plenty of action already if they arrived in their seats late with the first chance of the game falling to Landon Donovan in just the third minute, before Thierry Henry opened the scoring in the fourth.Jamaican winger, Dane Richards threaded a beautifully ...