Los Angeles Galaxy vs. D.C. United: Will Depth Win the Day for LA?

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will be without the services of midfielder/team captain Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for the month of June, as they host D.C. United at the Home Depot Center on June 3.

The Galaxy are riding a four-game winning streak to go with a six-game unbeaten streak. Los Angeles has a record of 8-2-5 (29 points), good for first overall in Major League Soccer.

"Well obviously we’re only losing two players right now in (Donovan) Ricketts and (Landon) Donovan and certainly (Josh) Saunders is going to get the call in the goal," Arena told reporters on Saturday. 

"With Landon, we have a combination of players we can use so we’ll make due the best we can. We’re 15 games in now. We only have four games in June, two home and two away.

"For us, that’s like being on vacation compared to what we’ve been through. We’ve had three weeks of three games in a week so that’s been difficult but hopefully some guys will step up and step in for Landon Donovan and Saunders is going to have the responsibility in Ricketts’ position."

Saunders currently has a 2-1-1 record to go with a 1.50 goals against average, a 68.8 percent save percentage and 11 saves made on the year.

Depth will be important for the Galaxy, who will see midfielder David Beckham take the captaincy for the month. Beckham current has seven assists to lead the club and was instrumental in LA's 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Ironically, the Galaxy defense—who have dominated in their last two match—had been the culprit for a blown victory late in their previous meeting with D.C.A penalty by Charlie Davies in the 84th minute forced a 1-1 draw at RFK Stadium, negating a first-half goal by Mike Magee.

"I thought the whole year we’ve done all right except for the Salt Lake game," Gonzalez told reporters on Saturday.

"Just as the year progresses, you’re just going to get better and better.  We keep on playing the same back five people and I think we’re doing a great job. Just the whole team stays committed from the forwards to the keeper and we’ve just been doing a great job.

"We just need to keep it up and look to get clean sheets because that’s what our job is as defenders and we love getting them."

But it's not just Beckham and the defense that have been pulling their share of the weight for the G's.

"It starts with, believe it or not, our forwards and the way they defend and move, our midfielders making play predicable and then our back line making plays," Donovan explained.

"(Our defenders) made some big plays tonight. They hadn’t been as tested as they have in the previous two games but made the plays they needed to play. Our goalkeeping was good.

"It was a really good team effort."

So just who will be tapped to produce? Good question, We can call it "The Million-Dollar Question for the Month of June."

One possible answer could be Chad Barrett, who is second on the team with three goals and three assists. Unfortunately, his finish has not been up to par. Barrett will need to find the net in bunched this month, starting with this Friday.

Another answer could be Juan Pablo Angel, who has two goals this season. However, his production has also been sporadic, and overall he has not lived up to the expections of a designated for LA. Friday marks an opportunity to turn that around.

Still another answer might be Juninho, who also has two goals this year. While he has made strides in breaking up possession, he has been lacking in the offensive category.

This month, the young Brazilian has a chance to change the name of the month: from June to Juneinho. (See what I did there? Good.)

And another possible answer is Miguel Lopez. Lopez had his coming-out game on Saturday against the New England Revolution, scoring his first-ever goal as a member of the Galaxy. Arena will look to incorporate his playmaking ability into the game plan while LA's No. 10 is in the middle of Operation Gold Cup.

Whatever the answer turns up to be, David Beckham has options. His on-field leadership and set piece deliveries will either make or break this side this month. While the back line of Omar Gonzales, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant and Sean Franklin have done their part, offensive production will need to be generated in June.

Ben Olsen's D.C. United is coming off a 3-2 victory over the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field on Sunday. They are currently 4-4-3, good for fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

Davies leads the team in goals with six on the season. Other top scorers for D.C. include Chris Pontius with four and Josh Wolff with three.

Andy Najar and Blake Brettschneider are D.C. United's main providers, with two assists each.

Goalkeeper Bill Hamid stopped a couple of penalties in the victory over Portland and will need to make more stops against the Galaxy attack. Hamid had a 3-2-3 record to go with a 1.62 GAA, a 51.6 percent save percentage and 16 saves made.

Watch for the back line of Perry Kitchen, Ethan White, Dejan Jakovic and Daniel Woolard to neutralize the chances Beckham will create off of set pieces.

Offensively, Pontius and Brettschneider will need to be stopped by the Galaxy defense. Avoiding handballs could prove useful in the latter stages of Friday night's encounter, too.

Prediction:

We have seen this Los Angeles Galaxy side pull out solid efforts on defense.

On Friday, they will have to make do without the presence of the two Donovans that have been clutch for the league's best team. Take your pick as to who Beckham will pick out on set pieces, but this is going to be another one-goal game.

D.C. United will realize that the Home Depot Center is a different animal altogether. They can ask their last vanquished foe in Portland for all the details.

Los Angeles Galaxy 1, D.C. United 0

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

INS AND OUTS

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-16 and Under-18s sides played two matches this past weekend.

On Saturday, the Young G's took on Arsenal FC at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Apparently somebody forgot to set an alarm clock for the Under-18s defense, as they never got going in a humiliating 5-1 shellacking at the hands of the Gunners.

The Under-16s were more fortunate, as Sebastian Velasquez brought home the game-winner in a 2-1 victory. Drew Murphy also scored in the 38th minute for Los Angeles.

The Galaxy Youth Academy then traveled to Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Arizona for a Sunday match with Real Salt Lake Arizona.

The Under-16s were unable to replicate their production from Saturday, falling 2-0. The result for the Under-18s match was unavailable at the time the article was posted.

The Young G's will look to regroup when they host a couple of matches this weekend to wrap up their home campaign for the 2010-11 season.

On Saturday, June 4, the Galaxy take on Nomads SC of San Diego. Kickoff for the Under-18s is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET while the Under-16s kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET.

The Galaxy Youth Academy's final home game is on Sunday, June 5, when they host the San Diego Surf.

Kickoff for the Under-18s is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET while the Under-16s kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET.