Galaxy Remain Unbeaten with 0-0 Draw with Toronto FC

LA Galaxy 0, Toronto FC 0
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Home Depot Center — Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
None

Misconduct Summary:
LA – Omar Gonzalez (Yellow Card) 50’
TFC – Maksim Usanov (Yellow Card) 62’
TFC – Maksim Usanov (Yellow Card/Red Card) 94+

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders; Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Bryan Jordan (Chris Klein 69’); Chris Birchall, Jovan Kirovski (Clint Mathis 77’), Juninho (Mike Magee 73’), Michael Stephens; Landon Donovan©, Edson Buddle.

Subs Not Used: Chris Sharpe, Sean Franklin, Alex Cazumba, Tristan Bowen.

Toronto FC: Stefan Frei; Nick Garcia, Adrian Cann, Nana Attakora, Maksim Usanov; Amadou Sanyang, Martin Saric, Nick LaBrocca (Jacob Peterson 63’), Sam Cronin; Dwayne DeRosario© (Gabe Gala 70’), Chad Barrett (Joseph Nane 78’).

Subs Not Used: Jon Conway, Raivis Hscanovics, Fuad Ibrahim.

Notes:
• With the draw, the Galaxy are now 7-0-2 on the season, giving them 23 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference and are now 10 points ahead of second place Houston, Real Salt Lake and San Jose who each have 13 points.
• LA is now eight points ahead of the Eastern Conference leading New York Red Bulls for the best record in MLS. The Red Bulls are 5-3-0 for 15 points after losing 1-0 at home to Seattle earlier this evening.
• The Galaxy did not get their 25th point of the 2009 season until a 3-1 win at New York on July 16.
• Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that defeated Seattle 4-0 last weekend, bringing in Josh Saunders and Juninho. Juninho replaced Chris Klein while Saunders replaced Donovan Ricketts, who missed the game with a right elbow strain.
• In addition to Ricketts, the Galaxy were without A.J. DeLaGarza, Dema Kovalenko, Leonardo and Eddie Lewis who all missed the game through injury.
• Sean Franklin was back in the 18-man squad for the first time since April 17 when he sprained his right ankle in the first half of the 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, but did not play. He had missed the last four games because of the injury.
• With Saunders starting and Ricketts unable to play, MLS League Pool goalkeeper Chris Sharpe was brought into the team. Sharpe, who was in preseason camp with the Galaxy during the 2008 season, spent the last two seasons with the Colorado Rapids.
• Tonight’s game was the final game for both Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan before they join the U.S. National Team at their pre-World Cup training camp in New Jersey.
• For just the second time this season and the first time at home, the Galaxy did not score in the first half.
• Both times the Galaxy have been held scoreless in the first half of a game this season, the game has ended 0-0.
• The Galaxy remain one of two undefeated teams in MLS with a 7-0-2 record. Columbus is in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0-2 mark.
• The Galaxy are now unbeaten in their last 12 games, going 9-0-3 in their last 12 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2009 season. This ties the second longest unbeaten streak in club history.
• Omar Gonzalez was shown his third yellow card of the season in the 50th minute. He is now two bookings away from a mandatory one-game suspension.
• Bryan Jordan was forced to leave the game in the 69th minute with a right hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Chris Klein who was playing right back for the first time this season. Klein is LA’s fourth right back this season, joining A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin and Jordan.
• Edson Buddle, who has a team-high four yellow cards this season, was not booked for the second straight game meaning that he is now one game away from having one card cleared from his record. If Buddle is booked in his first game back from the National Team, he will be forced to serve a one-game suspension.
• After scoring nine goals in the Galaxy’s first six games, Edson Buddle has now gone scoreless in each of their last three. He went closest to scoring in the 66th minute when he hit the post with a shot from close range.
• Toronto’s Maksim Usanov was sent off in the fourth minute of stoppage time after collecting his second yellow card for a foul on Landon Donovan.
• Goalkeeper Josh Saunders made one save for his first clean sheet of the season. Dating back to the April 4, 2009, Saunders has not allowed a goal in 397 consecutive minutes in both the MLS regular season and the postseason.
• The shutout was the Galaxy’s third straight and seventh in nine games this season. If LA can keep a clean sheet in their next game against FC Dallas, they will tie the MLS record for most clean sheets in the opening 10 games of the season with eight.
• The attendance for today’s game was 20,007
• The Galaxy are back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Texas to take on FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen on FOX Sports West on tape delay starting at 9 p.m. ESPN Deportes Radio 1330 AM will broadcast the game live on the radio in Spanish starting with their pregame shows at 7 p.m. while the game will be available live in English at www.lagalaxy.com.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.