CARSON, Calif. -- Trying to make it through Saturday's season finale against Houston without any injuries was seemingly the most important aspect of an otherwise meaningless match, and Chivas USA accomplished just that.
But that does not mean the team made it through unscathed. Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was sent off early in the second half of the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Consequently, Kennedy will miss Saturday's first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series against Real Salt Lake.
Chivas USA will likely turn to veteran goalkeeper Zach Thornton at Rio Tinto Stadium. Without Kennedy, who was in goal when the Red-and-White won five of six games in September and October, teammates said the club would not be any different with Thornton in goal.
"It doesn't change at all," Chivas USA striker Alecko Eskandarian said. "Zach has been working really hard since he got injured and this last week in training I spent a lot of time shooting and working with the goalies and he seemed actually really good and I think he showed (Saturday) with a couple of big saves he made."
Thornton joined Chivas USA on Aug. 1, the day before the club resumed league play following a break for SuperLiga. Former 'keeper Brad Guzan had been sent to Aston Villa prior to the start of SuperLiga and the club dealt for Thornton to help fill the void left by Guzan's transfer.
Against San Jose on Aug. 23, Thornton made several key saves to preserve a scoreless draw and picked up his first win a week later, with a 2-1 victory against Toronto. But a hamstring injury suffered a week later knocked Thornton out of action for more than one month.
"He's worked really hard to get back from injury right away and he's looked really, really sharp in training," Sacha Kljestan said. "We're confident with Zach right now."
Thornton's resume provides reason for confidence. In 1998, Thornton was the backstop on the Chicago Fire when the expansion team made a surprising run to MLS Cup. On a team that also featured Chivas USA stars Ante Razov and Jesse Marsch, Thornton stood out with his goalkeeping. He shut out the high-powered LA Galaxy in the Western Conference final, then did the same to D.C. United in MLS Cup '98. He went on to man Chicago's nets for the next seven seasons, playing at least 24 games in six of them.
Thornton, though, was a forgotten man in Colorado in 2007 and this year with New York before necessity brought him to Chivas USA. In his limited time with the Red-and-White, Thornton posted two wins and three draws and was impressive after coming off the bench against Houston.
Chivas USA players said Thornton needs a similar performance on Saturday.
"He's fit now so I think he's ready to go," midfielder Paulo Nagamura said. "Obviously Dan has been doing really well for us lately, but it's all about the depth of the squad. Zach is going to have to step up and show us why he's here. We all know he's good enough to be the number one and were very confident to have him as the number one."
Chivas USA have had to deal with injuries and other absences throughout the season, from the start of the preseason through Saturday's regular-season finale. Losing another key player on the eve of the playoffs is just another challenge to overcome, players said one they feel confident they will do so.
"Nothing changes with Zach," Eskandarian said. They're different players, different goalies, but the one thing we pride ourselves on is being deep, to know that if someone has to step in and do job, we won't skip a beat and we'll go get it done."
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