The Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders will, no doubt, will be familiar with each other this coming July.

There is the Reserve League match on Tuesday, July 5. There is the possibility of both teams meeting in Tukwila's Starfire Sports Complex in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.

But first, there is the matter of the Independence Day match. And suddenly, both the Galaxy and Sounders are even in terms of games played and are the top two teams in the league.

Los Angeles are 9-2-8 (35 points) while Seattle are 8-4-7 (31 points). Depth will be an issue at goalkeeper for the Galaxy. Donovan Ricketts is out due to a broken forearm and Josh Saunders is serving a suspension for an inexcusable punch to San Jose's Steven Lenhart.

"When I first went in there, I wasn’t nervous at all," forward/midfielder/goalkeeper(!) Mike Magee said. "I only thought I had to make it 10 minutes, and then we’d have a great plan at halftime where I’d be back on the field.

"And then we got back in (to the locker room), and it started hitting me that I was going back in goal, and that was pretty nerve-wracking."

Thus, the question is asked: Will Bruce Arena bring in the untested Brian Perk to man the nets? Or will he decide to give Magee a bigger shot at glory? Or will it be Perk and another player from the pool filling in on the bench?

This is a big decision that must be made on the 235th anniversary of the day when the former United Colonies of America said "¡No Más!" across to King George III and his ilk. Brave souls, they are.

The return of an angry Landon Donovan will no doubt raise the hopes of this side, who had a 1-1-2 record in what has been an average June. The most prolific scorer on the USA Men's National Team leads the club with eight goals and will need to work his magic again, especially with David Beckham still nursing a bad back.

The likes of Chad Barrett (four goals), Juan Pablo Angel (three goals) and Juninho (three goals) were kept at bay thanks to Saunders's ejection, although they did get some looks on goals. With Perk getting a possible shot to earn his stripes, look for the offense to be revitalized with Donovan's return as captain.

Defensively, the back line of Omar Gonzalez, A.J. De La Garza, Sean Franklin, Gregg Berhalter and Todd Dunivant have done the work but will need to be ready for a high-flying Seattle firing squad (more on the Northwest Arsenal in Rave Green later) itching for a piece of history.

Juninho and the midfielder combo of Chris Birchall and Miguel Lopez will need to connect on their sequences to stand any chances of testing the Seattle defense.

As for the Seattle SuperSounders Football Club (see what I did there, NBA enthusiasts?), they have a balanced scoring attack, with 12 players having recorded at least one goal. Brad Evans leads the way with four for the season. Alvaro Fernandez and Fredy Montero each have three goals this year.

Montero is the team's top provider with four assists, although Mauro Rosales has also pitched in with three assists on the year.

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller has a 7-4-7 record with a 0.94 goals against average and 52 saves to his credit

Watch for defenders like the ever-reliable James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Tyson Wall to hold the Galaxy attack at bay. The speed will be important, as the Sounders love to open up the field when they have the chance. Hey, they're on a three-game winning streak, might as well.

The good news for the Sounders is that they may not have to mind Beckham. The problem is that last year, they got hammered with Beckham not in the lineup. Hint: the 4-0 refund-inducing hammering at the now-renamed CenturyLink Field last season.

R.I.P., Qwest Field.

And last season, the Galaxy routed the Sounders at the Home Depot Center 3-1.

No question, this string of futility for Seattle has left a very bad taste in their mouths. Expect this to be another old-fashioned West Coast showdown with fireworks aplenty.

Prediction

 Two words: goal festival. Who would want to be a goalkeeper? Nobody on a night like Independence Day. Put this on your records, America!

Los Angeles Galaxy 4, Seattle Sounders 2

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

INS AND OUTS

ESPYS and Cowbells for Landon

No surprises about this: Landon Donovan was nominated as a finalist for the Best MLS Player at the 2011 ESPYS, which will take place in LA on Wednesday, July 13.

Galaxy alum and current Ingolstadt forward Edson Buddle is also on the ballot. The Galaxy MVP in 2010, Buddle led the team with 17 goals in the regular season before adding two more in the postseason. An MLS All-Star for the third time in his career, Buddle scored nine of the Galaxy’s first 10 goals of the season en route to the best season of his career.

Other top players include FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira and San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris "Wondo" Wondolowski.

Fans can vote at www.espn.com/espy.

More from the Young Americans

Jack McBean and the USA U-17 Men's National Team were struggling to rediscover their touch after falling flat against Uzbekistan.

The Young Americans managed a scoreless draw with New Zealand, but both sides would advance out of Group D and into the knockout rounds.

Up next for the USA is a match with Germany at the Estadio Corregidora in Queretaro, Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, June 30 at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET. 

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-18 and Under-16 teams were in action in Frisco, Texas at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and Showcase.

The Under-18s lost to the New York Cosmos Academy East 2-1 to open play. However, they bounced back to shut out the Houston Dynamo 3-0. Scorers for the Galaxy Under-18s were unavailable as this article went to press.

As for the Under-16s, they were on a roll.

They began the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City. Grady Howe scored in the eighth minute and Sebastian Velasquez notched home the game-winner in the 56th minute of play.

The Under-16s then proceeded to crush the IMG Soccer Academy 4-1. Scorers for the Galaxy Under-16s were unavailable as this article went to press.

For the Under-18s, they wrap up their Showcase and their season with a match against Texas Rush AJ Auxerre. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET on Field 5 of Pizza Hut Park.

As for the Under-16s, they will look to make it to Finals Week when they take on the Houston Dynamo. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET on Field 17.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here