Chivas USA
Chivas USA held a fast-paced, physical practice this morning at The Home Depot Center’s Field 6 – complete with an inter-squad workout. Left back Ante Jazic and midfielder Oswaldo Minda remained absent from practice as they return from completing their participation with their respective national teams. Starting center back, Danny Califf, was held out of practice for precautionary reasons and is listed as questionable because of a right hamstring.
QUESTIONABLE: Danny Califf (R HS); Tim Melia (Low Back)
PROBABLE: MF Ryan Smith (R HS); Peter Vagenas (R HS)
As the FIFA dates came to a close last night, Chivas USA players Ante Jazic and Oswaldo Minda closed their international duties for this month.
Can you guess who this is? Write your answers below and you could be the winner of four (4) tickets to this Saturday’s Chivas USA match vs San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. in The Home Depot Center. Deadline is this Thursday, September 13 at 5pm! Write your answers in the comment box below and check back tomorrow to see if you’re a winner! Remember you can only submit ONE answer.
Just like last week, and the weeks before that, Chivas USA's Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy is nominated for MLS Save of the Week!
After opening the scoreboard in last Saturday's Chivas USA game at Seattle, midfielder Nick LaBrocca is nominated for MLS' Goal of the Week. The New Jersey native scored his second goal of the season in the eighth minute of that match off a pass by newcomer Shalrie Joseph (his first assist with the Goats). Aside from his nomination to the league-wide honor, LaBrocca was also selected CDChivasUSA.com's Man of the Match.
HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER:
On the game: “I thought we started off very well. We made it difficult for them to get attacking chances against us and we obviously created some pace for ourselves and scored an early goal – a good goal. It was a great start. And then slowly but surely, we got less and less confident on the ball, which led to more turnovers, which led to the rest of the game.”
On Chivas USA’s defense and on their missed offensive opportunities: “It was certainly an improvement over what we’ve seen the last few weeks. We certainly worked a lot at it over the last number of weeks and through this week. So to come out and be solid and not give up a ton of opportunities was definitely better and we felt better about that. But you have to be able to play on both sides, right? We defended fairly well. They’re really hard. I have to give them credit – they fought really hard. On the attacking side, we just weren’t good enough. When you keep giving good teams opportunities, they’re going to obviously create chances.”
DEFENDER - JAMES RILEY
On coming back and playing in Seattle: “Obviously kind of mixed emotions. It’s fantastic to come back and play in front of a crowd that I did for three years. I have a lot of good memories with this team and club and organization. But obviously, we were a bit hard done. I thought we could have gotten out of there with a point. Our backs are against the wall like a wounded animal, so we’re scrapping for anything right now. We’re scrapping for playing time, for wins, for jobs next year. I thought we came out and competed. Obviously good teams sometimes find a way to win consistently and they did that today with two great goals.”
Our Man of the Match honor in the game against Seattle goes to none other than Nick LaBrocca. In the eighth minute of the match, LaBrocca was able to open up the scoreboard as he received a pass from teammate Shalrie Joseph. LaBrocca was then able to turn around and strike the ball past Seattle Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, giving Chivas USA the early lead.
Midfielder Nick LaBrocca gave Chivas USA the early lead as he scored the first goal of the match. Re-live the goal:
Just like we told you yesterday, Shalrie Joseph appeared in training with a brace on his right elbow. Today, he just had his elbow wrapped during practice and trained throughout the entire session. So, what was the cause of the brace? We spoke to Shalrie and he said it was caused by an awkward fall in last Sunday’s match at San Jose. Luckily, the Red-and-White midfielder says he is feeling a lot better and should be good to play this Saturday at Seattle.
It was a muggy and rainy training session for Chivas USA as they prepare for this Saturday’s match at Seattle Sounders at 1pm. Midfielder Ryan Smith returned to full action today as he participated in the team’s mini-scrimmage. We spotted Shalrie Joseph with a brace around his right elbow; staff informed us that he had minor pain on his elbow and that he will still be eligible for Saturday’s game.
Here’s a little taste of what went on in practice today: