Fri Aug 8 14:50:59 2008

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Chivas, K.C. aim to get back on winning track

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Kansas City, KA (Sports Network) - Chivas USA and the Kansas City Wizards, two Major League Soccer teams coming off shutout losses in league play last week, face off at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday in a rematch of last year's Western Conference semifinal series.

The Wizards (5-6-7) are coming off a 2-0 loss at D.C. United, which was the team's first home loss since June 14.

The Wizards played the game without striker Josh Wolff, who suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out completely for the United match. Wolff is listed as probable this week along with midfielder Carlos Marinelli.

"Certainly, losing Josh [Wolff] the day before a game is an adjustment but every team has to deal with that," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said. "I thought we played a lackadaisical, not very sharp first half. I thought D.C. was by far the better team the first 45 minutes, so I was extremely disappointed in the first 45 minutes of play. Second half, I thought we came out very strong. ... I don't know what the stats are but we for sure had a hell of a lot more shots than them in the second half."

Chivas USA's (6-7-4) loss came at the hands of the Chicago Fire, who scored the only goal in the game.

"We were a little sluggish to start," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "We didn't play with a lot of energy like I expected. We make one mistake and they scored a goal. In the second half, we were better, and we had a little more energy, we were pushing forward."

It was the Chivas USA debut for goalkeeper Zach Thornton, who last started a league game in 2006, for the Colorado Rapids. Thornton was acquired from the New York Red Bulls to replace brad Guzan, who transferred to Aston Villa of the English Premier League.

"I don't think I saw too many chances, except for the goal," Thornton said. "The ball was bouncing around, and they happened to get there first and got a shot off. It was one of those unlucky things."

The Goats did get some encouraging news on the injury front, with Alecko Eskandarian coming on for the final 17 minutes, his first league game action since April 5, and Maykel Galindo playing the final 26 minutes, his first league action since May 11.

Both are listed as probable along with Justin Braun, Jonathan Bornstein and Jorge Flores on the team's injury report. Ante Razov and Claudio Suarez are listed as questionable while midfielder Sacha Kljestan is out because of his participation with the U.S. Olympic team.