Chivas Usa Soccer Team

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 is on its way to the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament for the fourth time in five years. But the team that shows up next month in Argentina for its first-round game probably won't resemble the one that squeaked past Morelia in a shootout in Sunday's Interliga final in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Depot Center. That's because the Guadalajara team is scheduled to begin play in the 50th Copa on Feb.

Chivas USA and Chivas de Guadalajara spent 70 minutes Wednesday night passing a round ball across a more or less green Rose Bowl field and accomplished virtually nothing. Zilch. Nada. Then Guadalajara and its fans came to life and the Mexican club left the stadium with a comfortable 2-0 victory courtesy of goals by Omar Arellano. Before that, though, it was dreadful. If referee Paul Ward had had the freedom and the foresight to end it after 45 minutes, the majority of the announced crowd of 22,879 would not have complained.

This score just in: Chivas USA 1, Real Salt Lake 0. Major League Soccer held its second expansion draft Friday afternoon, and after 10 rounds, it was clear that Chivas USA Coach Thomas Rongen had delivered the more telling blows. Real Salt Lake Coach John Ellinger did OK, but Rongen did better, landing a punch or two to the Galaxy's midsection.

Veteran Dutch coach Hans Westerhoff will be named coach of Chivas USA this week, The Times has learned. Westerhoff will replace fellow Dutchman Thomas Rongen, who was ousted as coach of the Major League Soccer expansion team on Monday and replaced on an interim basis by one of his assistants, former Mexico national team goalkeeper Javier "Zully" Ledesma. Ledesma, 46, the uncle of Chicago Cub shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, played professionally in Mexico for Chivas de Guadalajara, Morelia and UAG.

Pablo Campos scored his first goal as a member of Real Salt Lake and Robbie Findley had two goals as Real Salt Lake continued its home dominance with a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA on Wednesday night. Campos, who was traded to Real Salt Lake (8-9-6) from San Jose on July 15 and made his first start Wednesday, scored his first goal with his new team in the 43rd minute by heading in a cross from forward Fabian Espindola. Espindola added to the lead in the 75th minute when his left-footed blast sailed past goalkeeper Lance Parker into the upper corner of the goal.

The ups and downs of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in its infancy were on full display at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night. Carlos Ruiz was only too happy to exploit the growing pains of Chivas USA. It was Ruiz's penalty kick in the 85th minute that proved to be the winner for FC Dallas in its 3-1 victory over the Goats.

Chivas USA Coach Preki demanded explanations, but police intervened. So Chivas left South Carolina without much opportunity to discuss lingering matters with officials after its 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss Tuesday to the Charleston Battery. It was "a frustrating night" for Preki, whose club lost its sixth consecutive U.S. Open Cup match dating to 2005.

One day, possibly soon, Major League Soccer might find itself with a rivalry on its hands such as the one that was on display at the Home Depot Center on Sunday afternoon. With Club America in town for a friendly against Chivas USA of MLS, it was a chance for fans of the Mexican league powerhouse to scream, show their passion, toss a few smoke bombs onto the field, set off firecrackers and give a taste of what things are like in places where soccer means everything.

The failure to properly mark U.S. national team striker Brian Ching on a crucial free kick spelled defeat Saturday night for Chivas USA at Robertson Stadium in Houston. The defending Major League Soccer champion Houston Dynamo was played off the field by some slick Chivas passing in the first half, but rebounded in the second half to win, 1-0, on Ching's 64th-minute header off a free kick by Brad Davis.

Martin Vasquez imagined many times his aspiration to become coach of Chivas USA. He shared that dream two years ago with Shawn Hunter, the team's president and chief executive, and with Antonio Cue, the team's part-owner. He did it shortly after becoming an assistant coach with Bayern Munich. "The very last thing I said to him," Hunter said, "was it would be an honor for me to introduce you as the head coach at Chivas USA." That finally happened Wednesday when Vasquez, 45, was hired as the club's fifth head coach.

It was an emotional Sunday evening, with feelings running high in both Major League Soccer locker rooms -- joy in one and despair in the other. Over in the Galaxy's quarters, David Beckham was holding forth on the bumps and bruises he had suffered in a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA that advanced the Galaxy to Friday's Western Conference final, also in Carson, against the Houston Dynamo. "It's sore," Beckham said of his bruised back. "I got a knee in my back and it went into spasm.

Odd, weird, strange, unusual. Or, to put it another way, error, error, error, error. Sunday afternoon's 2-2 Major League Soccer tie between Chivas USA and the Galaxy was not your ordinary MLS playoff game. Not by a long shot. Four goals were scored, and every one of them was the result of a mistake rather than a spectacular play. Chivas took the lead, and the Galaxy tied it. The Galaxy went ahead, and Chivas tied it. The near-sellout crowd of 25,218 at the Home Depot Center was left with mixed feelings.

Chivas USA tonight AT CHICAGO Time : 5 p.m. On the air : TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes; Radio: 690. Where : Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill. Records : Chivas USA 13-9-6, Fire 10-7-12. Record vs. Fire : 0-1-0. Update : In its next-to-last game of the regular season, Chivas USA finds itself poised to finish anywhere from first to fourth in the Western Conference. The team, tied with the Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo with 45 points, one point ahead of the Seattle Sounders, already has secured a playoff berth.

Chivas USA Coach Preki had warned his team that its matchup with the Kansas City Wizards would not be what he called "an easy game." The game had strong playoff implications in Major League Soccer's Western Conference, making it a surprise, Preki said, when a "very poor half from both teams" ended in a scoreless tie. Luckily for Chivas USA, it painted a different picture in the second half en route to a 2-0 victory before 12,923 at the Home...

Chivas USA used D.C. United's own goalkeeper in the first half to stay alive in the playoff hunt with a 2-0 victory Saturday evening, while struggling United's postseason hopes dimmed. Maicon Santos set up the winning goal in the 33rd minute when Chivas (12-9-5) capitalized on a miscue by United goalkeeper Milos Kocic, who was making just his third career start. Jesus Padilla added to the lead in the 53rd minute. Zach Thornton made two saves in his 11th shutout of the season as Chivas moved into a tie with Seattle for the first of four wild-card playoff spots with four matches remaining.

AT D.C. UNITED When: 4:30 PDT. Where: RFK Stadium. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 690 (tape-delayed after Chivas de Guadalajara game from Mexico). Records: Chivas USA 11-9-5, D.C. United 8-7-12. Record vs. United: 0-0-1. Update: With a win today, Chivas USA can significantly harm D.C. United's playoff chances while at the same time enhancing its own prospects. The teams tied, 2-2, on May 16, when Chivas USA allowed a two-lead to evaporate in the final 15 minutes.

Seven minutes is not a long time, except on the soccer field. Chivas USA found that out to its cost on Saturday night when it was only about seven minutes from moving into the Galaxy's rearview mirror in the Major League Soccer playoff race. Sacha Kljestan had given Chivas the lead and Preki's team only had to see out the last few minutes to earn a 1-0 victory and close to within one point of the Galaxy in the West. Then Juan Pablo Angel struck for the New York Red Bulls.

Chivas USA and Chivas de Guadalajara spent 70 minutes Wednesday night passing a round ball across a more or less green Rose Bowl field and accomplished virtually nothing. Zilch. Nada. Then Guadalajara and its fans came to life and the Mexican club left the stadium with a comfortable 2-0 victory courtesy of goals by Omar Arellano. Before that, though, it was dreadful. If referee Paul Ward had had the freedom and the foresight to end it after 45 minutes, the majority of the announced crowd of 22,879 would not have complained.

Pablo Campos scored his first goal as a member of Real Salt Lake and Robbie Findley had two goals as Real Salt Lake continued its home dominance with a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA on Wednesday night. Campos, who was traded to Real Salt Lake (8-9-6) from San Jose on July 15 and made his first start Wednesday, scored his first goal with his new team in the 43rd minute by heading in a cross from forward Fabian Espindola. Espindola added to the lead in the 75th minute when his left-footed blast sailed past goalkeeper Lance Parker into the upper corner of the goal.