Chivas USA salvage draw in SuperLiga finale

Red-and-White notch equalizer in 88th minute against San Luis

CARSON, Calif. -- It would have been easy for Chivas USA to write off Saturday night's SuperLiga match against Mexican side San Luis. With the Chicago Fire losing 2-1 to Tigres UANL earlier in the evening, the Red-and-White had been eliminated from the tournament before the opening whistle blew in Los Angeles.

Instead, Chivas USA fought a tough match against an aggressive San Luis side, coming back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw and break their four-game losing streak.

"I was really proud of the way the whole group played," said Chivas USA head coach Preki. "After we gave up the goal, we could have easily gone down two, three, or four. But we had a fight in us, we played for each other, and that's good to see."

The Red-and-White went down 1-0 in the 54th minute on an Alfredo Moreno penalty kick after Chivas USA goalkeeper Lance Parker brought down San Luis striker Jose Reyes in the box. Parker, who serves as backup to usual starter Zach Thornton, came in at halftime to see his first minutes of the 2009 season.

"Lance was maybe a little bit too anxious," said Preki of the play on which the penalty was awarded. "I think if that moment came maybe 20 minutes later, he makes a better decision. It's just because it was the first five minutes and he hadn't settled in yet. But I was happy with the way our young players played tonight."

Rookie Cesar Zamora also got his first minutes of the season Saturday night, coming in as a substitute in the 61st minute for Carey Talley. The 18-year-old roamed the right flank for Chivas USA and worked hard in his debut.

"It was his first time on the field in front of a big crowd," said Preki of Zamora. "I'm sure he was nervous, but we tried to encourage him to go and try things. I think he came in and worked hard and it was good to see him get some minutes."

Zamora, a southern California native, joins Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayen as the third product of the Chivas USA youth system to move up to a professional contract with the first team.

"I feel really good," said Zamora after the game. "I'm glad to have gotten the chance to prove myself. This experience will help me to get better and continue learning."

Zamora and the rest of the Red-and-White fought hard throughout the second half and finally got their equalizer in the 88th minute when Atiba Harris headed in a Bojan Stepanovic free kick.

"We've spent a lot of time on set pieces because we have a lot of big guys," said Harris. "I just saw the ball in the air and knew it was a good opportunity."

Chivas USA have been guilty on several occasions of allowing late goals, conceding six in the final 13 minutes of play in their last eight games. Conversely, Harris' late equalizer Saturday night was only the third goal all season that the Red-and-White have scored beyond the 75-minute mark.

"We just kept going," said forward Chukwudi Chijindu. "As long as we keep fighting, I think we're in every game. We had some good plays down the stretch and luckily we were able to get one."

While their 2009 SuperLiga campaign has come to a close, Chivas USA are happy with their performance on Saturday night and will use it as momentum for their U.S. Open Cup clash on Tuesday, when they take on the USL-1 Charleston Battery on the road.

"This game is a confidence booster going into the Open Cup and the second half of the season," said Atiba Harris. "And we feel good about that."

Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com