After Break, They Vow Not to Bend

Coming off an unexpected victory over the Fire at Chicago last Sunday and an even more welcome couple of days’ rest and recreation at the Colorado ranch of team owner Philip Anschutz, the Galaxy players start the second half of the Major League Soccer season tonight in a good frame of mind.

Their opponent at the Home Depot Center will be the defending MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes, and the Galaxy is intent on avenging a 4-2 loss suffered at San Jose on May 22.

Coach Sigi Schmid wasn’t sure what helped more -- the 1-0 shutout of the Fire at Soldier Field or the two days at the Anschutz spread north of Denver.

“It didn’t help my golf game,” Schmid said. “I think I lost more balls than I put on the green.”

But the players appreciated the brief break.

“It was some good times for them,” Schmid said. “What I really enjoyed was seeing different groups intermingling, some guys playing golf, some guys fishing, some guys skeet-shooting, some guys playing cards.

“Today at training, it was probably one of our most intense and competitive training [sessions] of the whole season. So maybe the break did some good.”

Shutting out Chicago also restored confidence that had been shattered by consecutive losses to the MetroStars, in which the Galaxy yielded five goals and scored only one.

“I think we showed a lot of grit and willpower and determination,” Schmid said. “I think to win the championship those three ingredients have to be there.”

Unfortunately, the Galaxy lost defender Danny Califf for the second time this season when he injured his left knee. Califf underwent surgery for torn cartilage Thursday and will be out until early August.

On the plus side, Tyrone Marshall should return tonight after being sidelined for the last nine games because of a sprained ligament in his left knee.

“We hope that Tyrone will be back for us, and that will help ease the blow [of losing Califf] a little bit,” Schmid said.

The Galaxy could have eased its problems by bringing back former starter Ezra Hendrickson, but he was picked up by D.C. United, which acquired his rights from the Dallas Burn.

“We had a discussion about it,” said Doug Hamilton, the Galaxy’s president and general manager, “but frankly we felt that, with everyone healthy, we like the group that we’ve got in the back.

“We couldn’t just pick him up. We would have had to do two things, which increases the price. We would have had to compensate Dallas and move a player to make room under the [salary] cap, whereas D.C. had an open roster spot. The price at the end of the day was different for the two clubs.”

With Califf out and Marshall possibly returning, Schmid will be changing his defensive foursome again.

Still, he expects the team to rebound from its most recent home game, a 3-0 loss to the MetroStars.

“We want to reestablish ourselves at home,” he said. “We want to show in the second half of the season that the Home Depot Center is an uncomfortable place to come and play.”

He meant for the visiting team, of course.