Saturday, October 30, 2010

All Preparation Done, Galaxy Ready for Postseason Opener

Under a steady and sometimes heavy rain, the Galaxy went through their final training session of the week this evening at Qwest Field in Seattle.
It was a short session as much designed to get the guys loose and ready for tomorrow as it was to get everyone accustomed to the plastic field in the Sounders home stadium. With the rain falling for most of the day, it was cold and wet inside the stadium, making for a focused effort to get the work in and then get back to the hotel without risking injury.
Here is a report that Troy Bardy filed from Qwest after speaking to a number of the guys at the hotel this afternoon.
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Additionally, here are a few extra photos from today's media session and training in the rain at Qwest.


Finally, a few things to know ahead of tomorrow' game...

- Seattle's Sigi Schmid has the most most postseason wins in MLS history with 19 while Bruce Arena has the second most with 16 history.

- The Galaxy and Sounders have twice met at Qwest Field, with the two sides playing to a 1-1 draw in May 2009 and LA winning 4-0 there earlier this season.

- No Galaxy player has more than one goal in their career against the Sounders, though six different players scored against them this season. Landon Donovan had a hand in five of the seven goals that LA scored against Seattle this season, scoring one and assisting on four.

- Two Seattle players have two career goals against the Galaxy, with Steve Zakuani scoring in each of the meetings between the sides in Carson and former Galaxy forward Nate Jaqua tallying a pair of goals against LA.

- Yohance Marshall did not accompany the team to Seattle, instead he travelled to Trinidad to join up with the Trinidad and Tobago National Team for the Digicel Caribbean Championship. A qualifying tournament for Caribbean nations for next summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup, the tournament will see Marshall and the Soca Warriors play three games in six days in an attempt to advance to the next round of the tournament. T&T will host St. Vincent on Tuesday, Guyana on Thursday and Haiti on Saturday in round robin play with the top two teams advancing to the final group stage of the competition, which will be held in Martinique later this month, with the Final held on December 5.

Marshall has made one appearance for his national team, debuting in a 1-0 loss to Jamaica earlier this month. He is one of four players that did not make the trip north, giving the club a travelling party of 20 players, though only 18 can dress on game day.

- Finally, Ricardo Salazar will be the referee on Sunday. The Galaxy were 1-1-0 with Salazar as the referee this season, beating Chivas USA 2-0 on April 1 and losing 2-0 to New York at home on September 24. In those two games, Salazar handed out seven yellow cards to the Galaxy and just one to the opposition while also giving them a penalty, which Juan Pablo Angel converted.

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