Los Angeles Galaxy: Ins and Outs, October 28, 2011

Release the Hounds...

The Los Angeles Galaxy announced this past week that they will take on the Philippine national football team in a end-of-season friendly ahead of the match against Melbourne Victory FC on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

“The big part of this is to leave something behind. Soon, we will do something for the kids and the community," said Galaxy team president Tom Payne at a press conference on Sunday at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, according to Peter Atencio of the Manila Standard. "At the end of the day, we want the kids to have something to look up and look forward to."

According to the World Football Elo Ratings, the Philippines are the most improved national side. The Azkals were eliminated from 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification by Kuwait in the second round in the Asian Zone.

Notable players on the Azkals include goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, Ray Jonsson, Jerry Lucena, Dennis Cagara, and the scoring tandem of Phil Ypounghusband and Emilio Caligdong.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PHT/3:30 a.m. PT/6:30 a.m. ET.

The keeper dilemma

But the Filipino excursion will have to be tabled in the meantime. There is postseason football to be played, including an important Conference Semifinal series against the New York Red Bulls.

One question that needs to be answered is which goalkeeper will get the nod against New York. Will it be Donovan Ricketts? or will it be the more-reliable Josh Saunders?

“We’re very fortunate to have, in our opinion, the two best goalies in the league,” Galaxy assistant coach Dave Sarachan told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “We’ll just kind of get through each day and have to make a decision.”

“Every day we come here, work hard and keep the same mentality,” Saunders said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for anybody all the way through the team, you have to prepare every day whether you’re playing or not.”