Chivas USA deals Ben Zemanski to Portland Timbers

Chivas USA continued its busy off-season dealing Wednesday when it sent midfielder Ben Zemanski to the Portland Timbers in exchange for allocation money and the right of first refusal for former Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein.

Bornstein is currently with Tigres-UANL of the Mexican league.

Zemanski, drafted by Chivas out of the University of Akron in 2010, played in 22 games last season, starting 18 of those. The 24-year-old did not score a goal and had only two assists.

Since October, seven players from last year’s Chivas squad have been traded or let go: forward Juan Pablo Angel and midfielder Peter Vagenas were not re-signed, options were declined on defender Danny Califf and forward Alejandro Moreno, and Zemanski, midfielder Nick LaBrocca and forward Casey Townsend were traded.

More moves are expected. Chivas has reportedly tried to deal midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who team officials said does not figure in their plans, and defender James Riley could soon be moving as well.

The moves follow a complete overhaul of the front office and coaching staff after a third consecutive losing season. The makeover appears to be making a difference: Chivas is 4-0-1 in five preseason games under new Coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola.

Chivas opens the Major League Soccer season March 2 by playing host to the Columbus Crew at Home Depot Center.

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