Los Angeles Galaxy: Ins and Outs, June 7th, 2012

CONCACAF Champions League business This past week, the draw for the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage took place. Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy were drawn into Group 5, which also features Isidro Metapan of El Salvador and the third-place team from the Caribbean Football Connection. Among the possible clubs from that group: USL Pro side Antigua Barracuda FC of Antigua and Barbuda, Caledonia AIA and W Connection of Trinidad and Tobago and the Puerto Rico Islanders of the NASL. “We are looking forward to returning to play in the CONCACAF Champions League,” Arena said, per the team's official website. “We know that we will have to play four difficult games against Metapan and our Caribbean opponents but we look forward to the challenge.” The Los Angeles Galaxy qualified for this year's Champions League by winning the 2011 MLS Supporters Shield and 2011 MLS Cup. Isidro Metapan qualified for this year's edition by winning the 2011 Apertura. Caledonia and W Connection finished in the top two of the 2011-12 TT Pro League, while Puerto Rico qualified as the defending CFU Club Championship champion. More injury concerns The Los Angeles Galaxy continue to walk wounded. Forward Edson Buddle and midfielder Dan Keat undergone ...

D.C. United Falls to Philadelphia Union 2-1 in 4th Round of U.S. Open Cup

D.C. United lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Union Tuesday night in a physical U.S. Open Cup round of 16 matchup in front of 3,276 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds. Antoine Hoppenot’s goal a minute and a half into the first overtime, past the outstretched leg of United goalie Bill Hamid, who had come out to challenge the rookie substitute, put the Union up to stay. Former United phenom Freddy Adu's left-footed pass set up Hoppenot’s game-winning goal. Hoppenot almost scored in injury time but Hamid dove to his right to stop the potential game-winner, and the match went into overtime. United controlled the action for most of the game but was unable to finish its chances, with Union goaltender Zac MacMath making several key saves. It was a hard-fought, scrappy battle that the referees at times let get out of hand. In the 112th minute of action, United defender Brandon McDonald and Union defender Carlos Valdes were ejected with red cards because of their roles in a scuffle in front of the Union goal. Several times apparent penalties did not get called. In the 72nd minute, Valdes blatantly elbowed United forward Maicon Santos but no whistle was made. The ...

Sporting Kansas City Defeat Colorado 2-0, Advance to U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals

Sporting Kansas City used a lock-down defense and a goal from Rapids-killer Teal Bunbury to defeat Colorado 2-0 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup in front of 14,868 fans at Livestrong Sporting Park.Just over two weeks ago, Colorado fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a draw with Kansas City at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.In the locker room after the game, I asked defender Matt Besler what changed between the two matches. He said:"Our attitude. We were at home, we wanted to make sure we drove the game. In Colorado, we sat back too much and let them have the ball and let them dictate the play. We wanted to make sure we pressured higher up the field this game."Sporting KC enjoyed the majority of the possession in the first half, but too many chances were left unfinished.As an example, in the 11th minute, Besler put one of his Rory Delap-like long throw-ins into the penalty area. Defender Chance Myers tried to use his heel to direct it into the net, but it bounced up and over the crossbar.The match was also incredibly physical. Sporting KC and Colorado combined for 32 total fouls and five ...

Los Angeles Galaxy: Ins and Outs, June 4, 2012

Trouble for Magee and Stephens The bad news continues for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy. Midfielders Mike Magee and Michael Stephens were fined and suspended by the MLS Disciplinary Committee this past week. Both Magee and Stephens were shown yellow cards for their incidents. But the Disciplinary Committee ruled that Stephens endangered the safety of his opponent on his 46th-minute foul on Adam Moffat. Magee, on the other hand, was deemed to have committed aggravated dissent against referee Silviu Petrescu, including throwing a ball in his direction in the second minute of second half stoppage time. As a result, Los Angeles will now be without both Magee and Stephens, as well as fellow midfielder Hector Jimenez, for the game against Portland on June 17. Jimenez was given a two-game suspension for his foul on San Jose’s Steven Beitashour in LA’s 3-2 loss to the Earthquakes on May 23. Reserves break through in Portland While it has been difficult for the first team to get a positive result at Jeld-Wen Field, it has not been the case for the Los Angeles Galaxy reserves, who powered their way to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers reserves on Saturday. Kyle Nakazawa opened the scoring in the third ...

When Will Kenny Cooper Get a Call-Up to the United States Men’s National Team?

In the Red Bulls 1-1 draw with Chivas USA, it was Kenny Cooper who scored the equalizer. In the team’s first U.S. Open Cup game against the Charleston Battery, he scored the first goal of the game—one that would eventually be the game-winner.The tally against the Goats was his 11th of the season, and ties him with San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski for the league lead. He’s also tied with Wondolowski for the league lead with four game-winning goals.The two share the same amount of goals, but what is different is that only one is currently in camp for the United States Men’s National Team in preparation for its upcoming friendlies ahead of World Cup Qualifying.Chris Wondolowski and former MLS forward Herculez Gomez were both called into camp, and deservedly so—they’ve been on incredible scoring streaks.It is well-known that players getting consistent minutes for their clubs and playing in good form are favored for spots with the national team. So with Cooper playing his best soccer in years, the time has come to once again ask: When will Kenny Cooper get called up?Cooper has been a scoring machine in his time with MLS, and is playing his best soccer since 2008 when ...

Los Angeles Galaxy: Ups and Downs

The Aftermath of an Open Cup crash Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have a lot of time to think ahead to their next contest of the season, a June 17 match with the Portland Timbers. The Galaxy exited the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 loss to the Carolina RailHawks in the third round. "With the way the season has been going, a lot of us haven’t been getting a lot of minutes," Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. "We were planning on playing next week, so it’s a big disappointment for us." "It’s a point in the game where we were a little fatigued,” Arena told the press. “We’d used all three of our changes at that point. We had some unfortunate injuries. They were more aggressive obviously in the last 30 minutes." Among the casualties were Hector Jimenez, Chad Barrett and Bryan Gaul, who were subbed out due to injury. "The fact that we had three guys come out with injuries, three guys who had actually been playing games, three guys that would have been in to play 90 minutes was a little bit unfortunate," Stephens added. "I think you saw that a lot of guys ran out ...

Can a Loss in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Can Help the Chicago Fire?

Heading to Michigan to face the Michigan Bucks on Tuesday, the Chicago Fire did not expect to lose. But after a 3-2 loss in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, I must say that it could serve as a blessing in disguise. Losing to a team from the Player Development League (PDL) should be a wake-up call for the Fire.In the Fire's defense, they have been undermanned with two of their top players sidelined with injuries: defender Arne Friedrich has been out along with midfielder Chris Rolfe. The biggest problem is the offense which has also struggled especially early in games.With a trip to New England on the horizon and stinging from the loss to the Bucks should have the Fire come out angry and focused. What better way to get a win streak started than against the seventh-place Revolution? To win on Saturday, the Fire must attack early and often while neutralizing Saer Sene. The MLS rookie from France leads the Revolution in goals scored with seven and shots with 29. While Sene has flourished, New England has struggled, having also lost their third-round matchup to the Harrisburg Islanders. The Fire must also avoid falling behind on the scoreboard. This has been what ...