+4
The Galaxy had little going up the middle missing Landon Donovan and Juninho. David Beckham had no one to get the ball to with Juan Pablo Angel out.
LA Galaxy (8-2-5, 29pts)
12 Josh Saunders GK
5 Sean Franklin DEF
4 Omar Gonzalez DEF
20 A.J. DeLaGarza DEF
2 Todd Dunivant DEF
8 Chris Birchall MID
23 David Beckham MID – Captain
19 Juninho MID
18 Mike Magee MID
11 Chad Barrett FWD
25 Miguel Lopez FWD
Subs: Perk, Berhalter, Hejduk, Cardozo, Stephens, Cristman, Kirovski
note: Juan Pablo Angel was a game time scratch and will not be in the lineup. Landon Donovan and Donovan Ricketts are off on international duty. David Beckham will most likely wear the Captain’s band all of June.
D.C. United (4-4-3, 15pts)
28 Bill Hamid GK
23 Perry Kitchen DEF
15 Ethan White DEF
22 Chris Korb DEF
21 Daniel Woolard DEF
14 Andy Najar MID
27 Fred MID
19 Clyde Simms MID
13 Chris Pontius MID
16 Josh Wolff FWD – Captain
29 Blake Brettschneider FWD
Subs: Willis, Brasesco, Barklage, King, Shanosky, Davies, Ngwenya
The North American Soccer Reporters named Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan MLS Player of the Month for the month of May. While Donovan had a low ranking on the April version of the Castrol Index due to some absences, this past month Landon appeared in all seven of the Galaxy’s matches, playing the full 90, and scoring six goals. Donovan leaves for the Gold Cup with a league leading eight goals.
After that setback with the knee injury in April, Donovan was a man possessed in May scoring five goals in LA’s first four games. He added a sixth goal from the penalty spot against Houston on May 25th, giving the Galaxy a 1-0 victory. The Galaxy had a 4-1-2 record in May, and stretched their lead over second place FC Dallas to seven points. The team is unbeaten in their last six matches and currently holds a 4 game winning streak. This is the fifth time Donovan has been named player of the month in his MLS career.
The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that, together with Adidas, they have developed a third kit that shall be unveiled on July 4th. The July 4th match at the Home Depot Center is against the Seattle Sounders and will feature a post-match fireworks show. The match will also be broadcast on ESPN2.
The shirt itself will be revealed to the public three days before the match. There will be an exclusive VIP unveiling in downtown LA July 1st. Fans can pre-order the third kit in advance, either online or at the Team LA store inside Home Depot Center.
So let the speculation begin. With the home all-whites and the road all-blues, the smart money seems to be on a yellow kit. It ties in with the local basketball team, it’s the team’s secondary color, and it has historical relevance to the team. It’s unlikely it’ll have a Miss America sash, but that’s another possibility.
LA Galaxy v DC United, 8pm (FoxSoccer)
Fox Soccer Night In America returns after a brief hiatus, with two marquee franchises as the headliners. The Los Angeles Galaxy have been very consistent as of late, winning three straight to the tune of one-nil. Should the Galaxy manage to pull off this feat again, they would be the first team in MLS history to win four straight games one-nil. The MLS record for one-nil games is held by Colorado, who had five straight games go one-nil, but they lost two during that stretch.
The good news for the LA Galaxy is that after playing in Gary Neville's Testimonial last week, and missing the Galaxy's midweek game, David Beckham returned to the team in New England and added another notch to his seventh assist, one off the league lead. However, the Galaxy will now be without Landon Donovan, who joins the US Men's National Team for a friendly against Spain. He'll then miss most of the month of June playing in the Gold Cup. The Home Depot Center will host two matches of the Gold Cup Group B, including Jamaica and Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Without their star midfielder and star goalkeeper, Los Angeles will need Beckham and their strong backline to rise to the occasion. Omar Gonzalez, though he's been called up for national team duty before, won't be making an appearance at the Gold Cup.
D.C. United have been trying to regain some of their past glory. In a strong performance during a friendly against AFC Ajax, Blake Brettschneider scored a goal. His performance got him inserted into the starting lineup against Portland Timbers, and the rookie from the University of South Carolina set up two goals in United's 2-3 victory. The match was Portland's first home loss of the season.
The Galaxy's current six game unbeaten streak goes back to a 1-1 draw in DC on April 9th. Mike Magee and Charlie Davies traded goals, though Davies' goal was on a penalty. The controversial penalty came in the final minutes of the match, a match which Landon Donovan sat out. United haven't beaten the LA Galaxy at home since 2005.
Nil Divided By Nil Is Nil, Galaxy And DC Draw 0-0
It wasn't the most exciting match of the season, but in the end the Galaxy managed to squeeze out a point despite generally poor play. The Los Angeles Galaxy drew with DC United, 0-0, and nearly put 20,036 people to sleep in the process. Interim captain David Beckham played too far back at times; drifted into odd areas; and generally didn't get things going. The play of Josh Saunders was possibly the only bright note on the night, making four saves, two of which are easy candidates for the highlight reel. The Galaxy offense was nothing to re-watch, managing only one shot on goal the entire match.
Juan Pablo Angel was a game time scratch, suffering a knock in Wednesday's practice. The Galaxy certainly missed Landon Donovan and Juninho's creativity, but that's not an excuse for the effort being poor. Juninho suffered a left ankle injury against New England, and had a hard time getting going tonight. David Beckham didn't have many targets up front, with neither Miguel Lopez or Chad Barrett really standing out. Adam Cristman made his Galaxy debut in the 83', but there wasn't much he could do in such limited time.
The Galaxy have eight days to find that spark, as their next match is back at Home Depot Center next Saturday against Toronto FC. Hopefully by the the club has found a way to get more than one goal on target the whole match. Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened at Home Depot Center tonight was the appearance of Wesley Sneijder, who was taking a break from the Manchester United rumors in Los Angeles. His wife (a model) spent time with Victoria Beckham.
A short second may have been the Angel CIty Brigade calling Charlie Davies a diver. Charlie Davies had the matches best opportunity to score, beating last man Omar Gonzalez. Davies slowed up with just Josh Saunders to beat, Gonzalez was able to catch up with him, and Davies' falling attempt went wide right. Andy Najar had a great attempt in the 86', which Josh Saunders kept up with a brilliant diving save.
Jun 03 10:57p by Josie Becker