Galaxy 3 Rapids 2

The Galaxy remain (barely) alive in the playoff hunt with 32 points, while the slumping Rapids remain on 34 with two consecutive defeats.

An own goal by former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu and a 35-yard screamer from Brandon McDonald settled the matter. A late and dubious Tom McManus PK in the 88th minute wasn't enough to give the Rapids hope.

On deadline with a game story tonight. More later

The Galaxy and Rapids exchanged goals in the opening 45 minutes, with the Galaxy's Bryan Jordan getting the second of his MLS career and Colorado's Cory Gibbs equalizing with his first-ever MLS goal.

The first half took a familiar path with the Galaxy applying much of the pressure - albeit creating few clear-cut chances along the way - and the Rapids soaking it up.

The Rapids' Tom McManus almost opened the scoring inside the first minute, Sean Franklin clearing off the line.

Former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu, making his first start since Aug. 9, performed almost exactly the same duty at the other end for Colorado 22 minutes later, preventing an Alan Gordon header from counting after goalkeeper Preston Burpo had failed to hold the ball under pressure from Alan Gordon.

Franklin got his first-ever MLS assist in the 36th minute, carving a path through the Rapids defense and slipping the ball to Edson Buddle who scored from about 15 yards for his 14th of the season.

Colorado's tying goal was a beauty, former Manchester United midfielder Terry Cooke sending a pinpoint corner to an unmarked Cory Gibbs, whose glancing, angled header gave Josh Saunders no chance. It was Cooke's 11th assist of the season, the third most in the league.

Brandon McDonald replaced captain Pete Vagenas in the 38th minute, when the Galaxy captain suffered a recurrence of his right quad injury that left him sidelined for weeks earlier in the season.

With a loss the Galaxy are out of playoff contention, while a third consecutive Rapids road win will vault Colorado back into the third and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Coach Bruce Arena makes just two enforced changes from the team that lost 1-0 last Saturday to the Crew.

Bryan Jordan replaces David Beckham, who is on international duty with England, while Alan Gordon deputizes for Landon Donovan, who has returned from Washington and is on the bench.

Galaxy lineup: Josh Saunders, Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Greg Vanney, Jordan, Joe Franchino, Pete Vagenas, Eddie Lewis. Edson Buddle, Gordon.

Colorado has top scorer Conor Casey suspended, so Tom McManus will play as the lone forward. Former Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu replaces Mike Petke in the starting XI.

Rapids lineup: Preston Burpo, Kosuke Kimura, Cory Gibbs, Ihemelu, Jordan Harvey, Terry Cooke, Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark, Nick LaBrocca, Pablo Mastroeni, McManus.

With the U.S. wrapping up a place in the final round of World Cup qualifying in Saturday's 6-1 win over Cuba, Coach Bob Bradley released nine players from that squad - including the Galaxy's Landon Donovan - ahead of Wednesday's meaningless clash against Trinidad & Tobago.

Among those added to the roster were Chivas USA left back Jonathan Bornstein, who has struggled this year to recapture the form he showed last season, and Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew, who looks likely to make his U.S. debut.

Rogers, who had an inch-perfect cross to set up one of the Crew's two goals in its 2-2 draw today with Chicago, has made several eye-catching displays this season and calls have increased for Bradley to give him a chance.

Also released by Bradley were: Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, Brian Ching, Jay DeMerit, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu.

Here's the full roster -

goalkeepers Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0).

Defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA: 0/0), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 6/0), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC: 0/0).

Midfielders Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 3/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 20/6), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 4/0), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids: 11/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia: 1/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 1/0).

Forwards Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 1/1), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew: 0/0).
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

Chivas USA qualified for the playoffs Saturday with a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, while the Galaxy try to stave off elimination (again) today when they face the Colorado Rapids at 5 p.m. at Home Depot Center.

Fans can get and give at today's game: the first 5,000 fans in attendance receive a special collector's series soccer ball, while the Galaxy Foundation is holding a clothing drive for the Union Rescue Mission. All fans who contribute clothes or make a cash donation receive a $5 off voucher for the Galaxy's regular season finale Oct. 26 against FC Dallas and will be entered into a drawing for a soccer ball signed by the team.

Are the Rapids more motivated than the Galaxy? Well, they're the team with the uplifting video:

Saturday college score:
Loyola Marymount 1 (6-4-3) Pepperdine 0 (4-7-2)

The U.S. thrashed Cuba 6-1, Jamaica beat Mexico and Croatia shot blanks.

First off, why did Fox Soccer Channel inflict the overly chatty and not particularly insightful Nick Webster and Warren Barton on viewers from an L.A. studio rather than on-site English commentators during the England-Kazakhstan game this morning? (Which also has the effect of lowering the crowd noise from the almost 90,000 in attendance, further detracting from the game).

David Beckham came on for the last 10 minutes of the 5-1 England win, creating the fourth and final goal from (what else) a free kick. (An incredibly horrible Ashley Cole howler led to the Kazakhstan goal).

Sticking with World Cup qualifying for the moment, it seems the Cubans forgot to ensure they had a hall monitor and players are again making a dash for the exits ahead of the U.S. game today. A reported 18,000 tickets were sold for the game by Friday. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Noted: Bob Bradley has started the defensive quartet of Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and Heath Pearce six times, with England and Spain the only
teams to score against them. This group has recorded four of the USA's eight shutouts this year.

Classic comment on Goff's blog, BTW:

MLS really should hold an allocation each time the Cuban team plays here. It would streamline the process.
Posted by: Alejandro Ruiz | October 11, 2008 12:28 AM

Here's a breakdown of the playoff implications in MLS this weekend:
*Chivas USA can qualify for the playoffs with a win over the San Jose Earthquakes today if Colorado fails to win against the Galaxy Sunday and FC Dallas doesn't beat Toronto this afternoon. But as Chivas USA press types point out:

"At this stage (of the season), four points (a win and a draw) from (the club's) remaining three games will be enough to guarantee Chivas USA a third straight spot in the playoffs, regardless of other results."

Chivas USA-Earthquakes preview here. The game is on at 7 p.m. on KAZA and delayed at 10 p.m. on Prime.

Friday College scores:
No. 5 USC 3 (11-1) No. 16 Washington 2 (9-3)
USC came from behind twice to win the game in double overtime with Amy Rodriguez scoring twice including the winner. The Trojans have now won nine straight games.

LMU men 1 (3-3-4) Portland 0 (4-5-2)
Freshman Artur Jozkowicz got the winner to even the Lions' West Coast Conference record at 1-1.

UCLA 3 men (3-3-5) No. 6 California 2 (6-2-3)
Junior midfielder Michael Stephens scored the game-winning goal from a penalty pick in the 93rd minute.

No. 3 UCLA women 2 (10-0-2) No. 25 Washington State 1 (6-3-3)
UCLA wins in double overtime

UC Santa Barbara women 3 (9-5) Cal State Northridge 2 (5-6-1)
CSUN had just one shot on target as they lose their Big West Conference season opener.

I don't know about you, but the weekend can't quick enough for me after the less than cheery news this week about what one newsroom wit described as our 301.K plans.

And there's plenty of soccer on TV and live locally to distract us.

I'll be back with a Chivas USA preview Saturday and a Galaxy one Sunday, but the bottom line is although the 1-1 draw last night between Real Salt Lake and the Red Bulls did little to clarify the playoff picture Chivas USA can still qualify for the playoffs while the Galaxy can put themselves (and us) out of their misery and be eliminated from the post-season.

Oh, and the U.S. can make the next round of WCQ by defeating Cuba Saturday.

For now here's your basic list of games just so you don't forget to set up the TiVo.

World Cup qualifying games on TV Saturday include:
9 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel England-Kazakhstan
11:30 a.m. FSC Spain-Estonia
4 p.m. ESPN Classic Cuba-U.S.
5 p.m. KVEA Mexico-Jamaica

MLS games on TV this weekend include:
5:30 p.m. Saturday FSC Toronto FC-FC Dallas
7 p.m. Saturday KAZA Chivas USA-San Jose Earthquakes (or delayed at 9:30 p.m. on FSN)
Noon Sunday KFTR Columbus Crew-Chicago Fire
9 p.m. Sunday Prime (delayed) Galaxy-Colorado Rapids

Mexican league games on TV include:
3 p.m. Saturday KMEX CD Guadalajara-San Luis
5 p.m. Saturday KAZA Santos Laguna-Pachuca
2 p.m. Sunday KMEX Puebla-Club America

Local college games this weekend include:
3 p.m. today at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 16 Washington
1 p.m. Sunday at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 25 Washington State
7 tonight at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington State
1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington
4 p.m. today at Sullivan Field LMU men-Portland
2 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Field LMU men-Gonzaga
1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Field LMU-Pepperdine

A quiet morning so just a couple of things to pass along:

*Pepperdine (5-6-2) downed Cal State Bakersfield (4-9-1) 2-1 Wednesday in a come from behind win. Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Loyola Marymount in Westchester.

*The Cal State Northridge men (5-4-2) tied defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara (6-3-2) 2-2 Wednesday with the Matadors missing six starters against the No. 18-ranked school in the nation.

This is an excellent SI article that while not specifically about MLS (in fact the article doesn't even mention soccer) has resonance for Galaxy fans.

This season especially has seen many of these, um, symptoms appear in Carson.

Beatlemania like screams every time David Beckham touches the ball. Flash bulbs exploding around Home Depot Center like so many LSD flashbacks. And generally uneducated fans who don't appear to appreciate they are watching a godawful team.

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane once complained about the lack of atmosphere at Old Trafford caused by a surfeit of the prawn sandwich eating crowd - read ignorant corporate types - sitting on their hands rather than supporting their team.

I don't mind rich guys subsidizing the masses (thanks Uncle Phil). I just don't want them taking over to the extent a sporting event becomes like a night at the opera. (It's depressing when fans tell me the nitwits behind them complain about them standing up - after a Galaxy goal has been scored!).

Of course, the Galaxy has been so abysmal this season there's been precious little to shout about, although the likes of the Riot Squad are doing their utmost (thanks guys).

But in the main it's a stadium full of people so thrilled to watch a global superduper star like Becks they can't see beyond to the quality of football on display. Which has, generally speaking, been crap.

Nevertheless, the Galaxy have increased their ticket prices each year despite missing the playoffs three years in a row (there's a prediction in there).

Season ticket holders reportedly dropped 15 percent this season. And are likely to fall again in the coming one. I'm getting more and more anecdotal reports via e-mail, on this blog and in person of fans who say to me: "I can't bring myself to watch this lot anymore. It's a waste of money."

That's telling me the knowledgeable fans who understand the game know what product they are seeing: a bland corporate one unlikely to get the most ardent soccer fans to return. They'll sit home and watch Stoke City play Hull City (no disrespect to Hull, unexpectedly lighting up the EPL this season so far) rather than support MLS.

The game is being undermined by the suits.That's not what the sport is about. The casual fan - such as families - who understand the democracy of soccer are endangered.

And if that's the case, so is the authenticity of the game itself.

A light morning for news (unless you're one of the few people excited the U.S. has climbed seven places in the latest superfluous FIFA rankings released today).

But there are a couple of Chivas USA related items to pass along.

In its continuing efforts to cultivate a larger fan base the club has announced the creation of a "Coaches Connection" aimed at youth soccer coaches that offers "coaching tips and information on Chivas USA's innovative Youth Development System. Coaches can register online for a free monthly newsletter, which will provide training tools, soccer drills and player development insights used by Chivas USA to nurture and grow more complete players."

Also, Chivas USA Youth Team coaches will conduct a coaching seminar on Oct. 18-19 at Home Depot Center. For $75, which includes lunch, a ticket to Chivas USA's Oct. 19 game vs. the Colorado Rapids, as well as coaching materials and a certificate of completion, coaches receive insights on "game preparation, systems of play, tactical talks, as well as game analysis."

For more information contact Julio Cano at 310-630-4564 or jcano@cdchivasusa.com.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA fan group the Union Ultras is offering a bus trip to the Bay Area for Saturday's game at the Earthquakes. Cost is $70, which includes a match ticket. The bus leaves from the valley at 8 a.m. Saturday and returns to Southern California immediately after the game. Families are welcome.

More information at the Union Ultras Web site.

Finally, occasional Chivas USA fan Morrissey, seen in the past at the HDC in a club jersey, has apparently found a new allegiance.

Here's a shot from a Hollywood Palladium gig in 2007

Photo by Juan Miranda/ Chivas USA

A trivial item with only a peripheral relationship to Chivas USA, I understand, but one that gives me an excuse to embed a Morrissey video of a great song on a slow news day:

Two to talk about.

The three finalists for Honda Player of the Year (given to the best player for the U.S. MNT) are last year's winner Landon Donovan, (who this year became the U.S. all-time leading goalscorer with 36 goals); 2006 winner Clint Dempsey (who has four World Cup qualifying goals so far); and goalkeeper Tim Howard (with five shutouts so far in qualifying).

That's the same three I picked and again my vote went to LD.

Yes, I know Howard has looked a mountain of strength and reliability (with some great saves thrown in for good measure) behind a sometimes shaky defense.

Yes, I know Dempsey has been crucial because gawd knows Eddie Johnson (and others) have fired mainly blanks.

But without Donovan the U.S. just doesn't go. Period. He's the creative force, the attacking fulcrum, who is unafraid to run at defenders unlike so many American players.

It's why Klinsey wants him at Bayern Munich in January (assuming he lasts that long in what is turning out to be a bad season already).

Yeah, he's worth a record fifth award.

The winner will be announced Nov. 11 in downtown L.A.

Donovan haters: feel free to rip away.

The other award is for the top 11 players (and one coach) for the NCAA 50th anniversary team. Voting began Monday and runs until Oct. 15.

Among the finalists: Former Bruins Paul Caligiuri, Brad Friedel and Sigi Schmid and current Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

Vote here.

The naughty boy is one Carlos Martinez, a reportedly supremely talented former San Pedro resident, punted from the U.S. Under-17 Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for repeatedly breaking the rules. His family is moving back to the Harbor Area - and Chivas USA and the Galaxy are among those interested in the wayward teen.

The good lad is Galaxy prospect Tristan Bowen, who may become the first youth developed by an MLS team to make the jump and sign a pro contract.

And look who's standing next to him in the picture. Bowen may also be among the first Alexi Lalas signings to pan out.

The L.A. entry in the new Women's Professional Soccer is taking shape.

As always, I had more information than could fit in the column, so here's some extra factoids and quotes:

*Amy Rodriguez is widely expected to be the top pick in a WPS college draft scheduled for January. That means she won't be playing in Southern California; the L.A. team picks fifth in the first round of the 10-round draft.

*L.A. WPS GM Charlie Naimo will remain coach of Pacific Palisades-based W-League team Pali Blues, which becomes a feeder or reserve team to the WPS team.

*Don't expect to many top German players in the inaugural WPS season. They are being urged to stay home ahead of the 2011 Women's World Cup.

*Here's Coach Abner Rogers on the need to look overseas for foreign attacking players:

"The one thing that we looked at when we started this whole process was who are the best players in the world - what can they bring to the table. ... We felt attacking options, creativity was something we lacked (in the U.S.), players who can do something on the ball out of the ordinary."

*Naimo on being allocated the rights to Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama:

"We have so many fantastic attacking options. The Japanese player is a different class. I think the fans are going to love her. She's very adaptable, versatile. She's a package."

Naimo on being allocated the rights to former South Torrance High star Shannon Boxx:

"Boxxy was a no-brainer. She wanted to be here, we wanted her and she's a great player."

The new Women's Professional Soccer league conducted its third draft Monday, this one for American players not allocated when U.S. Women's National Team players were divvied up or international players not previously allocated.

Here are the complete draft results.

The as yet unnamed L.A. franchise (its nick name and colors will be announced later this month) chose Canadian National Team goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, defender Kendall Fletcher, U.S. Women's National Team forward Christie Welsh and former Pac-10 Player of the Year Manya Makoski.

They join such players as Marta, Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, Aly Wagner, Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama and and Chinese striker Han Duan who were allocated previously.

"The goal was to have a team that could keep the ball, play a poss style, but have a little bit of flair to them and I feel we've definitely gone in the right direction," said Coach Abner Rogers.

Also today, the WPS announced a broadcast agreement with Fox Soccer Channel that covers 20 regular-season games and the all-star game, as well as the two semifinals and the final on Fox Sports Net.

I'll have more on the WPS and the L.A. team in Tuesday's column, which I had better get on with writing.

A couple of quick notes:
*David Beckham may be out of form for the Galaxy, but he was still picked for England's next two World Cup qualifiers. Consequently, he'll miss Sunday's Galaxy game against Colorado.

*Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas was also called up by Jamaica for WCQ.

In Sunday's college games it was:
UCLA men 3 (2-3-5) SDSU 3 (2-5-1)
UCLA women 3 SDSU 0
USC 2 (10-1) Cal State Northridge 1 (5-5-1)
CSUDH men 1 (11-1-1) Sonoma State 0
CSUDH women 6 (8-5) Sonoma State 2
LMU women 0 (5-4-3) San Diego State 0 (4-6-2)
St. Mary's 2 (2-6-1) LMU men 1 (2-3-4)
Cal State Northridge men 1 (5-4-1) UC Riverside 0

Finally, Cal State Dominguez Hills junior defender Kevin Gallaugher was named the Brine California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer Player of the Week after the Toros posted a pair of shutouts over the weekend, limiting opponents to a combined seven shots on target.