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Red Bulls, Chivas try to get back on track

Jul 15, 2011 - 6:39 PM Carson, CA (Sports Network) - Red Bull New York will try to get its season back on track as it travels to California to face Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on Saturday.

New York, 1-2-3 in its last six Major League Soccer matches, is coming off a disappointing 1-0 home loss to rivals DC United. To add insult to injury, the only goal in that match was scored by former Red Bull Dwayne De Rosario.

While Chivas are 1-3-2 in their last six matches, they have done well in their last two outings. They defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at home on July 6th and tied Sporting Kansas City 1-1 at Livestrong Park three days later. Chivas led for most of the match against Sporting and were unlucky to not claim all three points, as they conceded a late goal to Omar Bravo.

Chivas midfielder Nick LaBrocca deserves a great deal of credit for the club's recent run of good form. LaBrocca notched goals against San Jose and Sporting and looked a constant threat to score more. Head Coach Robin Fraser is enthusiastic about the impact LaBrocca is making for the Goats at the moment.

"I'm very excited about the fact that I feel that we have the best young emerging player in the league," Fraser said after the match against Sporting. "He's such an intelligent player and he gets himself shots."

LaBrocca attributes his recent success to consistently playing the same attacking-midfield position as opposed to switching from one position to another.

"Normally I've bounced from position to position to help teams out," LaBrocca told Chivas USA's website. "This is a nice change for me. You're able to get into a groove and work on certain skill sets that you wouldn't be able to when you're bouncing from position to position. So this is a great opportunity for me to have some stability with a certain position that I'm playing, and get better day by day."

New York's newest signing, goalkeeper and Designated Player Frank Rost, is available for selection after joining the club midweek and is expected to be the starter on Saturday.

The Red Bulls have used three different players in goal this season (Bouna Coundoul, Greg Sutton, and Alex Horwath), and that inconsistency has resulted in numerous errors that have cost the team points on several occasions.

Rost brings a wealth of experience to the club, having spent nearly 20 years playing in the German Bundesliga, most recently for Hamburger SV.

In the previous meeting between these two clubs this season, Chivas stole a 3-2 win at Red Bull Arena on May 15th behind a Justin Braun hat trick.