West’s best hoping for offensive battle Friday

The first place New England Revolution are headed to Los Angeles to face the David Beckham led Galaxy on July 4th. The Galaxy, who failed the make the playoffs last season, currently lead the Western Conference, thanks to Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Edson Buddle, who have led their offense to a league leading 32 goals.

Those stats shouldn’t worry the Revolution too much, as the Galaxy also lead the league in a not so impressive category with 28 goals allowed. The Revs, meanwhile, have been much more balanced and sit 3^rd in goals scored (23) and have allowed the 2^nd fewest goals (18). Should the Revs be able to contain the Galaxy’s speed up top, as they did so well in the teams two meetings last year, there is little doubt the team’s offense will find plenty of chances to win the match against Los Angeles’ shaky defense.

The offense, led by Captain Steve Ralston, who has tallied 6 goals along with 3 assists this season, hasn’t been shutout in two months. With former MLS MVP Taylor Twellman available after scoring in his first start of the season in the Revs 3-0 US Open Cup victory against Richmond, the team’s offense should become even more potent. Forwards Kheli Dube, Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally have all staked a claim for a starting spot in Twellman’s absence. While Twellman, the Revs all time leading scorer, seems an almost certain starter when back to 100%, Coach Steve Nicol will have a tough decision to make on who partners with him up top.

Regardless of who he picks, Nicol will have two forwards available on the bench who can come in and make an impact. Nicol has options on the wings as well, with Mauricio Castro and Khano Smith both capable of starting on the left, and Sainey Nyassi and Wells Thompson available on the right. Smith and Thompson are currently carrying injuries, but all four offer different strengths and the speed of Nyassi and Smith can change the game coming off the bench.

That, along with the incredible recent play of goalkeeper Matt Reis, should concern the Galaxy, a team that has only one win this season against Eastern Conference opposition. In fact, while the Galaxy have dominated their Western Conference foes, when it comes to Eastern Conference opposition, they’ve only managed to beat Kansas City, who sit in last place.