Pro Soccer News: LA Galaxy is Off to Australia

Galaxy will face Newcastle United Jets this Saturday in The Qantas Challenge
 

LA Galaxy will play their final match of the year this Saturday when they face the Newcastle United Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The broadcast of the match will begin at midnight with a 30-minute pregame show; the game kicks off live at 12:30 a.m. (PT). Following the conclusion of the game, Fox Soccer Channel will air a 30-minute postgame show, complete with player interviews and reaction to the friendly from the stadium.

LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will bring 22 players to Australia. Led by David Beckham, Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan, the Galaxy departed for Australia on Tuesday night and will arrive in Sydney on Thursday morning. 

A two-time MLS Cup champion, the LA Galaxy are coming off one of the best regular seasons in club history, having posted a 18-7-5 record for 59 points before falling to FC Dallas in the Western Conference Championship last weekend. The Galaxy placed four players on the MLS Best XI, including the 2010 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Donovan Ricketts, 2010 MLS Defender of the Year finalist Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan, who finished with an MLS-best 16 assists on the season and Edson Buddle, who was the Galaxy’s 2010 MVP after scoring a career-high 17 goals.

The only Galaxy players that will not accompany the club to Australia are forward Tristan Bowen and defender Yohance Marshall, each of whom will be on international duty. On Sunday, Bowen will travel to Georgia with the U.S. Under-20 National Team for the Torneo de las Americas, where they will face Colombia and Mexico. Marshall will be in Martinique with the Trinidad & Tobago National Team for the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup, a qualifying tournament for next summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. Marshall and the rest of the Soca Warriors will open group play in the tournament on Friday, November 26 against Cuba before facing Grenada on November 28 and Martinique on November 30. If they finish in first or second in their group, T&T will qualify for the 2011 Gold Cup.

This is the Galaxy’s second trip to Australia in the last four years, with the club also playing Sydney FC in front of more than 80,000 fans at Telstra Stadium in November 2007. LA Galaxy Roster for The Qantas Challenge vs. Newcastle Jets has the following players:

GOALKEEPERS (3) – Brian Perk, Donovan Ricketts, Josh Saunders

DEFENDERS (7) – Gregg Berhalter, Alex Cazumba, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Leonardo

MIDFIELDERS (8) – David Beckham, Chris Birchall, Juninho, Jovan Kirovski, Chris Klein, Dema Kovalenko, Eddie Lewis, Michael Stephens

FORWARDS (4) – Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Bryan Jordan, Mike Magee