By DAN KARELL
Considering all the news from Thursday, Chivas USA players could have been forgiven for losing their focus this preseason.
Instead, the Goats put together an inspiring performance on Saturday afternoon at the Desert Diamond Cup against the New England Revolution, coming back from a two-goal deficit to win, 3-2.
Lee Nguyen and recent acquisition Teal Bunbury gave the Revolution a two-goal lead 20 minutes into the game, but three-straight goals from Erick Torres, Carlos Alvarez, and Mauro Rosales gave Chivas USA an impressive win. The win takes Chivas USA to second place in the Desert Diamond Cup with four points from two games. The Revolution drop to fourth place with one point in their two matches.
Up next for Chivas USA is another match against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, while the Revolution face the Chicago Fire.
Here are some more notes from around MLS preseason:
D.C. UNITED TOP CONFERENCE-FINALIST DYNAMO
D.C. United opened the 2014 Carolina Challenge Cup on a high note.
Adding to the positive momentum they’ve built this offseason with new signings, D.C. United recorded a 2-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo. Ben Olsen’s side took the lead in the 21st minute by way of an own goal by Dynamo defender David Horst, and two minutes from the end of the match, Michael Seaton scored the insurance goal to put the game away.
D.C. United next face the Charleston Battery on Wednesday while the Dynamo take on the Seattle Sounders.
LATE EVANS GOAL LEADS SOUNDERS PAST BATTERY
The Seattle Sounders breathed a sign of relief after 90 minutes on Saturday.
Heading into the final minutes of their Carolina Challenge Cup opener, the Sounders remained deadlocked at 1-1 with the host Charleston Battery. In the 88th minute, Sounders Homegrown signing Sean Okoli was taken down in the box, earning his club a late penalty kick. One minute later, Brad Evans stepped up to seal the match for the Sounders.
Using a lineup featuring a number of regular starters, the Sounders got off to a good start when former Battery midfielder Osvaldo Alonso scored in the 25th minute. However, the Battery were able to hit back three minutes later through Colin Falvy to tie the score.
The Sounders next face the Dynamo on Wednesday while the Battery take on D.C. United.
FIRE BEAT FC TUCSON, BROWN TAKES RAPIDS PAST RSL
Behind goals from Alex and Bakare Soumare, the Chicago Fire took down Desert Diamond Cup host FC Tucson in the first game on Saturday.
Though it won’t officially count in the record books, Soumare’s goal was surprising as he’s only scored three times in his seven-year professional career. The bruising center back last scored on Oct. 5, 2013 in a 3-0 victory against D.C. United.
Meanwhile, the defending Western Conference champions have not hit the ground running this preseason as they were taken out, 1-0, by the Colorado Rapids in Tucson. Deshorn Brown scored the only goal of the match in the 69th minute. RSL has yet to score a goal in two games at the Desert Diamond Cup.
GALAXY FIRST TEAM TROUNCE GALAXY II
In the first-of-its-kind white vs. blue match between the LA Galaxy and Galaxy II, the Galaxy first team showed what it takes to play at the MLS level.
Behind two goals and an assist from Robbie Keane, the veterans beat the USL Pro Galaxy II, 3-0, on Saturday evening at StubHub Center.
Just two minutes into the match, Keane scored the opener with an audacious 40-yard lob over the head of Galaxy II goalkeeper Cody Laurendi. In the 24th minute, Keane scored on a penalty kick and then in the 69th minute, Keane set up new signing Samuel for the third goal of the match.
Galaxy II started Galaxy Homegrown signings Jack McBean, Jamieson Bradford, and Raul Mendiola.
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What do you think of these results? Impressed with Chivas USA’s win? Think that D.C. United could take the Carolina Challenge Cup? What’s behind RSL’s scoring troubles?
Share your thoughts below.
Did you even watch the Revs-Chivas match? How can you call it impressive, when the Revs were treating it like the preseason warm-up that it was? By the time the winning goal went in, Revolution had subbed the entire team except for the keeper, while Chivas had kept most of their starters, including the very impressive Mauro Rosales.
And a back-up/ on trial GK. I’m pretty sure both Revs goals were not scored on Dan Kennedy.
So it was a “preseason warm-up” for the Revs, but somehow something different for Chivas USA?
Chivas USA should rename themselves the LA Guild. Or something like LAFG or LASG where G = Guild, F=Football, S=Soccer.But Guild somewhere in the name would be a cool replacement for the word Club.
Name ties into Hollywood and the Writers Guild, Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild.
Guild is also synonymous with Club.
They can also say they own the practice of soccer in LA (like saying “we run LA”!) whenever they possibly overtake the Galaxy (perhaps 50-75 years?). That comes from the definition of guild that I found:
Definition: A guild /ɡɪld/ is an association of artisans or merchants who control the practice of their craft in a particular town.
Oh and the LA Guild home jerseys would be Metallic Gold tops/socks with Metallic silver piping. Metallic Silver shorts with Metallic Gold piping.
Road jerseys would be Black with Metallic Gold and Metallic Silver piping. With stars and other hollywood imagery mixed into the uniform/crest.
Metallic, glitzy, shiny uniforms like glitz of hollywood!
Oh and maybe just name them The Hollywood Guild (replace LA with Hollywood)
creative. i like it.
The Coffee Pot Cup is on the line this Wednesday night!
What is that? It sounds delicious.
DC United vs Charleston Battery.
Starting in 2004, supporters from both sides created the Coffee Pot Cup in honor of Charleston’s historic victory and the reaction it drew from D.C.’s players. As tradition has it, supporters of the losing side fill the cup with beer for the victors’ fans. Since the CPC was born, the Battery have yet to beat United. http://www.dcunited.com/news/2012/02/coffee-pot-cup-on-the-line-against-charleston