Ihemelu knows Galaxy

Colorado defender excited to face his former teammates

Pat Rooney, Special To The Rocky

Published September 8, 2007 at midnight

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Ugo Ihemelu has played a game back at the Home Depot Center, and he also has had the pleasure of taking on his former teammates with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

But Ihemelu has not yet faced his former Galaxy friends in Southern California, an encounter he admits he is looking forward to very much.

Acquired by the Colorado Rapids with forward Herculez Gomez for goalkeeper Joe Cannon in an offseason trade with Los Angeles, the former Galaxy players are hoping to continue the Rapids' sudden playoff push tonight in their homecoming against the struggling franchise that brought the duo into Major League Soccer (8:30 MDT).

"It's always fun playing your old team, and it's going to be good to go back and see some of the fans who used to root for us," said Ihemelu, one of the Rapids' starting defenders. "We have friends there that we left behind, so they're going to be able to watch us as well. That stuff is definitely motivation."

The Rapids will bring a four-game unbeaten streak into the Home Depot Center and will look to extend their run without defensive midfielder Pablo Mastroeni. He did not make the trip because of an illness that limited his minutes last week at Columbus and also knocked him out of an appearance with the U.S. national team against Brazil on Sunday in Chicago.

Also missing will be the buzz that surrounded the Galaxy's visit to Colorado almost two weeks ago, which ended in a 3-0 Rapids victory but was preceded by the electric anticipation of an appearance by Galaxy player 0David Beckham.

Beckham, though, did not play against the Rapids because of fatigue and a nagging ankle injury, and since then, the international icon's season has been derailed by a sprained knee. The still-talented Galaxy is left wondering what happened to a season of promise that has been reduced to this - a six-game losing streak in MLS and league-low 14 points.

"If you look around the league, the teams that are doing well are the ones that have had consistent lineups and haven't had a lot of change," Ihemelu said. "L.A. has had a lot of changes and they haven't been able to mesh together. They have a great coach, they have great players, but the injury bug hit them."

The Rapids have two home wins against the Galaxy but suffered a 2-0 loss in their previous visit to the Home Depot Center, against CD Chivas USA on June 16. The club enters the match tied for the final MLS playoff spot with Columbus, which hosts a Chicago Fire team tonight that is only two points behind the Crew and Rapids.

"Right now, (the Galaxy) is playing for pride, and they are playing for a spot on the team so that next year they have a chance to come back," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "They are a dangerous team. Regardless where they are, we need to come out and keep doing what we've been doing."

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