Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, October 7, 2011

Beaten but not unbowed

For Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, their season still hangs in the balance. Unable to secure the Major League Soccer Supporters Shield on Tuesday night against New York, the Galaxy manager decided it was time for a house call and gave the team the week off to recharge their batteries.

“We looked like a tired team tonight, and this is the culmination of a lot of games in a short period of time,” Arena told MLSSoccer.com's Nick Firchau. “And it showed.”

Los Angeles played nine games in 30 days and managed a decent record of 5-3-1, the most lopsided result coming against the Red Bulls.

“We’re a bit tired after all the games we’ve been playing, but it was disappointing losing, of course,” midfielder David Beckham said. “We had a hard game over the weekend against Salt Lake, and then obviously the travel, the time zones, and all that.

"It was a quick turnaround."

Los Angeles will have some important games coming up though, including the home final against Chivas USA on Sunday, Oct. 16 (kickoff: 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN Deportes) and C.D. Motagua on Thursday, Oct. 20 (kickoff: 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel).

Forward Chad Barrett had a dismal display against New York and was just another of the casualties that were out of form.

“CONCACAF has taken its toll on us,” Barrett said. “You can see we were missing players due to injuries here and injuries there, and international duty. But that’s gonna happen. We need the other players to step up and do the job, and we’ve been doing that up until now."

Youth Academy Update

While the first team was struggling to get back on its feet this week, the youth sides were looking fresh as ever.

On Oct. 1, the Under-13's took down Arsenal FC 3-2 at Arroyo High School. Christian Perez, Ian Lonergan and Jesus Nunez scored for the Galaxy.

The Under-15's took down Beach FC 5-0 at Los Angeles Harbor College. Milano Sanchez-Johnson scored a brace, while Colin Hossum, Rolando Munoz and Juan Reyna added to the one-sided result

On Oct. 2, the Under-12's defeated the OC Revolution 2-0 at the Whittier Soccer Complex. Daquan Dawkins and Brecc Evans scored for the Under-12s, who improved to 4-0-0.  The Under-13's shut out the OC Revolution 2-0 at the Whittier Soccer Complex thanks to goals from Perez and Nunez to improve to 3-1-1 on the year.

Also on Oct. 2, the Academy U-14's took part in a doubleheader at the Oaks Polo Fields, and it wasn't even close.

In the first part of the doubleheader, the Young G's slammed down Slammers FC 2-0 thanks a Sebastian Navarrez brace. In the nightcap, Navarrez was part of a 5-0 whitewashing of Pateadores FC. Other goal-scorers include Cesar Farias, Connor Ryan, Asa Silverman and Dylan Bielanski. The Under-14's are sitting pretty at 4-0-0.

The Under-16's were the only side to suffer a defeat over the weekend, and it came at the hands of rival side Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. Mario Ortiz scored a brace for the Young G's, but it wasn't enough as they fell 3-2. The Under-16's are having a tough start to the season, dropping to 1-1-1 and 0-1-0 in the US Soccer Development Academy SoCal Division.

The Under-18's, however, are faring much better, as shown in the 2-1 victory over Chivas USA. Home Grown player Jack McBean scored the game-winner in the 80th minute. Drew Murphy also scored for the Galaxy in the 56th minute of play. The Galaxy Under-18's remain unbeaten at 3-0-0 and are 1-0-0 in the US Soccer Development Academy SoCal Division.

Here are this week's Galaxy Academy matches.

LA Galaxy U-12’s at Real SoCal White                      Sunday, October 9

Game will be played at Oak Park HS in Oak Park, Calif. starting at 4:50 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-13’s at Arsenal FC                                Saturday, October 8

Game will be played at Arroyo Valley High School in San Bernardino starting at 9:30 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-15’s at Real SoCal White                      Saturday, October 8

Game will be played at North Ranch #1 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. at 11:50 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-16’s at San Diego Surf                          Saturday, October 8                            

Game will be played at the San Diego Polo Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. at 2:30 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-18’s at San Diego Surf                          Saturday, October 8                            

Game will be played at the San Diego Polo Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. at noon.