Chivas Usa

Jorge Flores, a skinny 17-year old soccer player with spiky hair and a ponytail, has a real quickness for getting to the ball. But his speedy reflexes are nothing compared to the lightning-fast jump he made from an Anaheim High senior to a member of Chivas USA's squad. Last winter Flores' uncle talked him into entering a reality TV show called "MLS Dream: Chivas USA Wants You." It was a nationwide tryout with more than 2,000 participants shown on Univision in February and March.

Chivas USA today AT NEW YORK RED BULLS When: 4 p.m. PDT. Where: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J. On the air: TV: Univision Deportes. Records: Chivas USA 4-6-1, Red Bulls 8-3-1. Record vs. New York: First meeting. Update: This game lost much of its intrigue when Chivas USA had its new star, former Red Bull striker Juan Agudelo, called up to the U.S. national team Sunday. Chivas defender Ante Jazic (Canada)

Chivas USA has undergone more alterations than Kirstie Alley's wardrobe in its eight seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise. Chivas got its latest new era off to a noteworthy start Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Galaxy before an announced crowd of 18,800 at the Home Depot Center. The win was noteworthy in part because it was the first for Chivas against its stadium roommate since 2007 and just the sixth in 23 meetings overall, vaulting Chivas over the defending MLS champions in the Western Conference standings.

Two weeks before the Major League Soccer season opened, Jose Domene, 31, Chivas USA's youthful general manager, sat in a rickety school bus on its way to yet another in a series of events to promote a team that had lost its way both on the field and in the community. This year, he pledged, it would no longer be business as usual for his faceless franchise, one that hasn't had a winning season or a playoff appearance since 2009. Thursday he backed those words with action, swinging a pair of major deals that landed his team a dynamic young striker in 19-year-old Juan Agudelo and a rugged central defender in Danny Califf.

VS. DALLAS Time: 7:30. On the air: TV: Azteca, Prime Ticket (tape-delayed 9 p.m.); Radio: 690. Where: Home Depot Center. Records: Chivas USA 4-1-1, FC Dallas 1-3-1. Record vs. FC Dallas: 1-0-0. Update: Chivas USA will be seeking to rebound from an unexpected midweek loss at Toronto, where a goal by former Chivas player Amado Guevara gave the home team a 1-0 win and ended Chivas' unbeaten run this season.

Chivas USA has signed Mexican striker Cesar Romero and two other players as it prepares for next month's Major League Soccer season opener. Romero, 22, last played for Murcielagos FC de Guamuchil in Mexico's second division. Chivas also added midfielder Peter Vagehas and defender Rauswhan McKenzie. Vagenas, 33, of Pasadena, a 12-year MLS veteran, played 16 matches for the Vancouver Whitecaps last season after spending two years with the Seattle Sounders and nine with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Galaxy tonight AT CHIVAS USA When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1330. Records: Galaxy 3-5-2, Chivas USA 3-6-1. Record vs. Chivas USA: First meeting. Update: They call this matchup of Home Depot Center roommates the SuperClasico, but there's likely to be nothing either super or classic about a game between two losing teams languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

When: 4 Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, San Jose. On the air: TV: Galavision. Records: Chivas USA 3-6, San Jose 7-2-1. Record vs. San Jose: 2-0 (2011) Update: Behind Chris Wondolowski's 11 goals in 10 games, San Jose entered the weekend leading the MLS in scoring (21) and tied for the league lead in wins (7). And with three goals in his last five shots on target, Wondolowski has never been hotter, leaving him on pace to shatter Roy Lassiter's 16-year-old MLS record of 27 goals in a season.

Chivas USA has undergone more alterations than Kirstie Alley's wardrobe in its eight seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise. Chivas got its latest new era off to a noteworthy start Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Galaxy before an announced crowd of 18,800 at the Home Depot Center. The win was noteworthy in part because it was the first for Chivas against its stadium roommate since 2007 and just the sixth in 23 meetings overall, vaulting Chivas over the defending MLS champions in the Western Conference standings.

Galaxy tonight AT CHIVAS USA When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1330. Records: Galaxy 3-5-2, Chivas USA 3-6-1. Record vs. Chivas USA: First meeting. Update: They call this matchup of Home Depot Center roommates the SuperClasico, but there's likely to be nothing either super or classic about a game between two losing teams languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

In arguably one of the biggest trades in the franchise's short history, Chivas USA on Thursday acquired striker Juan Agudelo from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for defender Heath Pearce and allocation money. Moments later, Chivas announced another deal, sending midfielder Michael Lahoud and allocation money to Philadelphia in exchange for Union defender Danny Califf. Agudelo, a 19-year-old rising star with the U.S. national team, has six goals in 33 matches with the Red Bulls over the last three seasons.

James Riley passed through three Major League Soccer franchises in two countries within a matter of minutes last November - all without leaving his living room. Left unprotected by the Seattle Sounders in the MLS expansion draft, he was selected by the fledgling Montreal Impact, which immediately traded him to Chivas USA. So over the next few months Riley had to rent an apartment in a strange city, find a yoga studio, locate the nearest grocery store and - most important - learn the quickest route between his new home and the Home Depot Center.

When: 4 Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, San Jose. On the air: TV: Galavision. Records: Chivas USA 3-6, San Jose 7-2-1. Record vs. San Jose: 2-0 (2011) Update: Behind Chris Wondolowski's 11 goals in 10 games, San Jose entered the weekend leading the MLS in scoring (21) and tied for the league lead in wins (7). And with three goals in his last five shots on target, Wondolowski has never been hotter, leaving him on pace to shatter Roy Lassiter's 16-year-old MLS record of 27 goals in a season.

Two weeks before the season started Chivas USA General Manager Jose Domene predicted his team would be back in the playoffs this fall. And nothing in Chivas' lackluster start has led him to change his mind. "We're just a click away. We are built to be a playoff team," he said Friday before Chivas dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Chicago Fire on Marco Pappa's goal three minutes into stoppage time. To be fair, Chivas has played well in spurts during its 3-6 start. But it's also been awful for spurts as well, which has increasingly made Coach Robin Fraser a target of the disgruntled among Chivas' small fan base.

When: 8. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN Deportes. Records: Chivas USA 3-5, Fire 2-2-2. Record vs. Fire (2011): 0-1-1. Update: Chivas USA and embattled Coach Robin Fraser head into their fifth home match of the season still looking for their first score at the Home Depot Center. And this time Chivas will be challenged by a short-handed Chicago team that has lost defender Jalil Anibaba and Coach Frank Klopas to one-game suspensions for a post-match scuffle following last week's 2-1 loss to Seattle.

Chivas USA and its coach, Robin Fraser, were both slapped on the wrist -- gently -- Thursday when Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber leveled penalties for actions taken in last Saturday's game with the Philadelphia Union at the Home Depot Center. Two Philadelphia players were ejected for hard tackles in the second half and after the second foul -- charged against Gabriel Farfan in the 85th minute -- Chivas USA's Blair Gavin and Dan Kennedy rushed over to confront Farfan.