Chivas-Dynamo could decide home-field
Red-and-White could vault to second in conference with win
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Two years later, the stakes are nearly the same.
Sunday, Chivas USA will battle Houston at The Home Depot Center in a match that could once again determine the Western Conference regular season champion.
"It'd be huge to win the West," said Michael Lahoud. "The thing that gets everyone on the team excited is making history. The thing that we talked about at the beginning of this year is taking this team to a place that it's never been before. To win the Western Conference would be a good start."
Chivas USA have traditionally struggled against the Dynamo. The Red-and-White have only beaten Houston once in 11 meetings, and were knocked out of the 2006 playoffs by their Texan rivals.
"Houston is a team that we haven't done too well against in recent years," said Lahoud. "We really want to finish strong at home and carry our momentum into the playoffs."
The Red-and-White are coming off a 1-0 loss to Chicago on Thursday that knocked them out of the race for the 2009 Supporters' Shield, but the team isn't dwelling on the tough result.
"One of the things that makes a good team is the ability to bounce back," said striker Justin Braun. "To be able to put that loss behind us and move forward into Sunday. We need to focus on the little things and fix the mistakes we made against Chicago so that we're ready for Houston."
Chivas USA have already faced Houston twice this year. In actual league competition, the Red-and-White traveled to Houston on June 10, suffering a 1-0 loss. The two sides first met on March 13 in what turned out to be a heated preseason scrimmage that featured five yellow cards, one red card and a nearly bench-clearing brawl.
"It's going to be a battle," said Carey Talley. "We've played against them in preseason, and once earlier this year; any time we play these guys, it's a fight. But we're ready for it."
The Red-and-White will have the advantage of not having to face Brian Ching, after the Houston striker was given a red card last weekend against Los Angeles. Ching has notched eight goals and three assists this season.
"He's definitely a key player," said Braun. "It helps us out that he's not going to be up front, but they have other guys that can step in. We just need to worry about playing our game."
Houston is anchored by Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark in the midfield. Both players have been prominent fixtures of the U.S. national team over the course of the last year and have seven goals and five assists between them in MLS.
"Growing up, I heard lots of positive things about Ricardo and Stuart," said Lahoud. "Seeing them on the national team at the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup, it only makes me hungrier to go up against them. It will be a challenge, but a challenge that I'm looking forward to."
Chivas USA have been in good form recently, having lost only one of their last seven matches, and are eager to finish the regular season with a bang against the Dynamo.
"We're coming back to Los Angeles to play for a win," said Talley. "That's all."
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
