CHIVAS USA vs D.C. UNITED
STUBHUB CENTER, Carson, Calif.
Sept. 8, 2013 (WEEK 28, MLS Game #259)
6 pm PT (KDOC/KWHY)
Chivas USA return home to face D.C. United in an interconference matchup Sunday evening at StubHub Center. Chivas are coming off a 1-0 loss at midweek to Seattle Sounders FC, ending a two-game undefeated run. United are still looking for their first away victory of the league campaign, dropping a 2-1 decision at the New York Red Bulls last weekend to leave them on the precipice of playoff elimination.
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REFEREE: Mark Kadlecik. AR1 (bench): Anthony Vasoli; AR2 (opposite): Ian Anderson; 4th: Jesus Cisneros
MLS Career: 22 games; FC/gm: 24.5; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 7; pens: 8
DISABLED LIST: CHV: Daniel Antuñez
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHV: Carlos Borja, Mario de Luna … DC: Chris Korb, John Thorrington
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHV:Bobby Burling, Carlos Alvarez, Gabriel Farfan, Tristan Bowen … DC: Perry Kitchen, Daniel Woolard, Kyle Porter, Dennis Iapichino, Luis Silva
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: DC: Dwayne De Rosario, Dejan Jakovic, Kyle Porter (Canada)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (15 meetings): Chivas USA 4 wins, 19 goals … United 8 wins, 25 goals … Ties 3
AT CHIVAS USA (29 meetings): Chivas USA 2 wins, 9 goals … United 3 wins, 12 goals … Ties 2
LAST YEAR (MLS):
9/23: DC 1, CHV 0 (Boskovic 64)
• The teams are meeting for the only time this season in league play.
• D.C. United have a two-season undefeated streak alive vs. Chivas USA, with two wins and a draw since the last Chivas win, Aug. 29, 2010. United won 1-0 at RFK Stadium in the only meeting between the teams last year.
• United won the first five meetings ever between the clubs, before Chivas USA won three of the next five, with two draws.
• Coaches record: Ben Olsen vs. CHV: P4 W2 L1 D1 … José Luis Real vs. DC: first game
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA saw their two-game undefeated run come to an end to conclude their road swing, falling 1-0 to Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday evening at CenturyLink Field. Chivas USA sit in ninth place in the Western Conference with 22 points from 27 matches.
LAST MATCH
• The game's lone goal came in the 24th minute, and again it came from a set piece. Marc Burch served in a beautiful curling free kick that found Lamar Neagle all alone in the 6-yard box, and he brought it down off his thigh before smashing a leaping side volley past Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• Sounders FC goalkeeper Michael Gspurning was called upon to make just one save in recording a third consecutive shutout.
Highlights: SEA 1, CHV 0
• Chivas USA head coach José Luis Real made one change to the team that reached a 2-2 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. Mario de Luna came back into the team in place of Carlos Bocanegra.
• CHIVAS USA (4-4-2): Dan Kennedy - Carlos Borja, Mario de Luna, Bobby Burling, Marky Delgado - Carlos Alvarez (Matthew Fondy 60), Edgar Mejia, Oswaldo Minda (Gabriel Farfan 80), Bryan de la Fuente (Eric Avila 46) - Julio Morales, Erick Torres.
TEAM NEWS
• Chivas USA return home for back-to-back games after seeing their road winless streak extended to 12 games, since a 4-1 win at Chicago on March 24.
• “It's kind of a testament to the season we've had; it's been a lot of ups and downs. Definitely nothing has come easy for us,” said defender Bobby Burling. “I think we came out a little flat in the first half, maybe tired legs from the previous game and a little bit of a letdown late in Vancouver tied over to the first half here but we came in and put in a full shift and battled.”
• After scoring five goals in the previous two games and hitting the back of the net in four consecutive matches, Chivas USA were blanked on the attacking end.
• “I think since coach Real has been here we've made substantial progress and it's been consistent. It took a while for our results to show that progress and in the last five weeks you've seen a couple of wins and a draw last game that could very easily have been a win so we're settling into the system and guys are playing with a little more confidence,” said goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• Chivas USA have allowed 10 goals from deadball situations, tied for second-most in MLS with Portland (LA Galaxy lead with 11). Chivas has allowed five goals from free kicks.
• “I think we can do better by not fouling and we can do better marking on our set pieces. So we'll be disappointed in that for sure, but with that being said we stuck around and we did give ourselves a chance to tie and get out of here with something,” said Kennedy. “Tough week for us in terms of games and road trip. The important thing is we came out of this pretty healthy and we'll go back to the StubHub Center with a good game on Sunday and feeling pretty decent about this road trip.”
• Matthew Fondy made his MLS and Chivas USA debut, coming on for the final half-hour in a wide midfield spot. “He's excellent. He's a new player, he's young. He did very well. He's a very good player,” said Chivas USA head coach Jose Luis Réal.
• Eric Avila made his first appearance in three matches, coming on at halftime wide on the left of midfield.
• Mario de Luna returned to central defense following a two-match absence as Carlos Bocanegra did not feature.
• “It's not easy to have many games because the players normally at the second of the three games are so tired, but this is one of the youngest teams in the league and I'm sure that for the next game, they're going to be good,” said Real.
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United had their most recent winless run extended to four games, falling 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday evening at Red Bull Arena. United are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 14 points from 26 matches.
LAST MATCH
• The Red Bulls took the lead in the eighth minute. Lloyd Sam hit what looked to be a cross from the right side that floated over United goalkeeper Bill Hamid and clanked off the far post before completely crossing the line.
• United pulled even in the 36th minute. Dwayne De Rosario's cross-field pass found Nick DeLeon, and he brought the ball down well before cutting inside to smash a shot inside the near post past a helpless Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles.
Highlights: NY 2, DC 1
• But the home side was back on top just two minutes later. Jonny Steele delivered a cross from the left flank and Tim Cahill met the ball with a powerful header that Hamid could do little about.
• The turning point came in the 72nd minute when New York center back Ibrahim Sekagya was whistled for a penalty kick and subsequently shown a red card for obstructing De Rosario from getting to a ball in the penalty area. De Rosario then took the spot kick from 12 yards out, but Robles who dove low to his right to turn aside the shot to preserve the win.
• United head coach Ben Olsen made one change to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC at RFK Memorial Stadium. Lewis Neal came into the team in place of Conor Doyle.
• D.C. UNITED (4-4-1-1): Bill Hamid - Chris Korb, Daniel Woolard, Dejan Jakovic, James Riley - Nick DeLeon (Collin Martin 80), Perry Kitchen, Jared Jeffrey (John Thorrington 18), Lewis Neal (Conor Doyle 67) - Luis Silva - Dwayne De Rosario.
TEAM NEWS
• United remain winless on their travels following the defeat at Red Bull Arena, now 0-10-3 in road games this season. Four teams in MLS history have gone winless over the entire season on the road, last Vancouver in 2011.
• “Players have short memories, we’ll bounce back. It’s a tough loss tonight; again, I feel like we deserved a little bit more but in a day or two they’ll be over and it we’ll get back to work,” said United head coach Ben Olsen. “We go out west for a game and there is still a goal here and it is to get better each week and obviously is to prepare ourselves for Salt Lake.”
• United saw their league winless streak extended to four matches since a 3-1 win vs. Montréal on Aug. 3.
• “We just have to stay in it,” said midfielder Perry Kitchen. “It’s very hard to do at this point but we’ve got to keep grinding and staying at it. Ultimately we have a championship game coming up that we are trying to prepare for so, all these games leading up to it are important. As much as it stinks that nothing is going our way in the league, we just have to stay positive and try to figure it out.”
• Dwayne De Rosario made his third consecutive start in attack for United and contributed his second assist of the season, but was not able to score a goal for a second consecutive game after netting vs. Toronto FC.
• “We could’ve done a lot better in the first half. I think them scoring, then giving up a goal and then coming back and scoring hurt us but I thought the second half was a lot better, there were a lot of positives we could take out of that,” De Rosario said. “(I’m) disappointed in myself that I missed that penalty shot at a time like that; I guessed right, I hit on frame but still at a time like that I think should bury it.”
• Nick DeLeon started a third consecutive match and his sixth in the last seven following a three-match absence to injury, and scored his first goal of his second MLS season. He had six goals in his rookie year.
• Jared Jeffrey started his fifth match out of the last six league games, but was forced off after just 18 minutes after an injury.
