On Independence Day, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to get back on the winning track in Major League Soccer against the Seattle Sounders FC at the Home Depot Center.

There will be football. There will be fireworks. There will be football and fireworks. And Sigi Schmid's crew will look to get payback for the humiliation dealt to them earlier this season.

But there's just one problem with that planning. Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are back.

“We've scored a bunch of goals without [Donovan and Buddle],” defender Gregg Berhalter said. “Obviously they're a big part of our attack but we've proven we can score without them. It's just a question of today. We had some chances but we didn't make the best of them. We're confident in this group of guys for sure.”

Rats. Shoots. Maledictions of every language conceivable. Los Angeles will be at full strength when both teams collide.

As for Los Angeles, they are coming off a scoreless draw with Toronto FC and U.S. Open Cup action.

“We're here to do a job. We’re here to win a game and we tried to put our best foot forward,” Berhalter said. “The conditions are the same for both teams, so we can't worry about that. We came here to win and take three points back to LA. Unfortunately we didn't do that.

“Any time you go away from home, you don't want to concede goals, and you want to go back home and make it a more hostile environment. It's definitely a goal of ours. We don't take it for granted.”

After leading 1-0 against the Philadelphia Union, the Sounders collapsed off of goals by Sebastien Le Toux, Fred and Danny Mwanga to fall 3-1 and will head to the Home Depot Center to get back on the winning track. (That is, after beginning their U.S. Open Cup defense against the Portland Timbers.)

Fredy Montero has had a sensational year for the Sounders, with five goals and four assists. Steve Zakuani has also chipped in with four goals, and Brad Evans and Freddie Ljungberg have added three assists to the Rave Green's 2010 campaign.

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller has a 1.28 goals against average, with 26 saves to his credit.

The defensive backline of Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Tyrone Marshall and James Riley will need to have learned from their 4-0 shutout on May 8 at Quest Field. They understand that it's not Buddle or Donovan that is dangerous for the Galaxy. It's the entire team.

Eleven different players have scored for Los Angeles. Defensively, only four goals have been allowed by Donovan Ricketts, who possesses a 0.33 GAA on 33 saves.

The backline of the Galaxy is led by Todd Dunivant and Omar Gonzalez, who have played all 13 matches so far in MLS competition. Berhalter has done well donning the captain's armband but may need to surrender it with Donovan returning to the fold.

“It was another tough road game,” Berhalter added. “They're undefeated at home and it wasn't going to be easy. We came in, were disciplined and fought hard for a point.

“That was our mentality. We wanted to get back into it after losing that last game.”

With Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle returning to the fold, the Galaxy should be in good stead as they get back into form. Seattle should be able to get one back, though.

Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be followed by a fireworks spectacular. Bring the family along and show your appreciation for your country.

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy's U-18 side defeated the Clearwater Chargers 2-1 at the Bryan Park Soccer Complex in Browns Summit, North Carolina.

They wrap up the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs campaign with an 11:00 a.m. ET date with FC Dallas on Tuesday, June 29, 2010.


Toronto riots ablaze

Some unrest was going in in Toronto as well. From the LA Galaxy's website.

"Additionally, the city of Toronto is hosting the G20 Summit, which brought out protesters by the masses. According to reports, on Saturday thousands of protesters smashed storefront windows and set cars ablaze as Toronto Mayor David Miller urged residents to stay calm."

All right, so these Canadians are just like us. But I think we do it better. Much better. But I do like the spirit.

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