Birchall Blast Gives Galaxy 1-0 Win

LA Galaxy 1, Puntarenas FC 0
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Titan Stadium — Fullerton, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Chris Birchall (Michael Stephens) 88’

Misconduct Summary:
PFC – Sherman Vasquez (Yellow Card) 17’
LA – Gregg Berhalter (Yellow Card) 31’
PFC – Jose Macotelo (Yellow Card) 54’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; Alex Cazumba, Gregg Berhalter (Leonardo 46’), Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin; Dema Kovalenko (Michael Stephens 76’), Eddie Lewis© (Bryan Jordan 64’), Juninho, Tristan Bowen (A.J. DeLaGarza 81’); Mike Magee (Chris Birchall 70’), Edson Buddle.

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Kevin Guppy, Yohance Marshall.

Puntarenas FC: Bryan Zamora (Olger Ruiz 46’); Sherman Vasquez (Heliut Farrier 56’), Dario Delgado©, Adrian Compan; Jason Pena (Hernan Perez 60’), Rafael Nunez, Pedro Leal, Mario Centeno (Franklin Chacon 60’), Ricardo Garcia; Carlos Gonzalez (Mario Viquez 46’), Joshua Diaz (Jose Macotelo 46’).

Subs Not Used: None

Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy remain unbeaten in the preseason, improving to 4-0-2.
• The Galaxy are 2-0-0 against college teams, 2-0-1 against MLS opponents and now 1-0-0 against foreign opposition.
• Chris Birchall scored the Galaxy’s only goal, beating Puntarenas goalkeeper Olger Ruiz from 20 yards out with a right footed shot.
• LA has allowed just two goals in those six games, keeping five clean sheets.
• Donovan Ricketts made two saves to complete the clean sheet.
• The Galaxy outshot Puntarenas 20-6. They also held a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.
• Eddie Lewis began the game as the Galaxy’s captain. He passed the captain’s armband on to Edson Buddle when he was replaced in the 64th minute.
• The Galaxy nearly took a 1-0 lead inside the game’s first minute with Miek Magee narrowly missing from close range off a Tristan Bowen cross.
• Bowen nearly scored one of his own midway through the first half, only to see his long range shot carom off the crossbar.
• Puntarenas forward Ricardo Garcia had a goal ruled out in the 52nd minute.
• Bryan Jordan entered the game in the 64th minute and
• This was the Galaxy’s first game against a Costa Rican club since June 9, 2009 when they defeated CS Herediano 1-0 at The Home Depot Center.
• Prior to tonight’s game, the Galaxy had not played at Titan Stadium since April 9, 2003 when they lost 4-1 to Necaxa of Mexico in the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
• The Galaxy are next in action in an international friendly on Sunday, March 21 when they host CD Aguila of El Salvador at The Home Depot Center. This game kicks off at 5 p.m.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.