Seattle Sounders FC will face another MLS team for the first time Monday, meeting the L.A. Galaxy at the Home Depot Center training facility in Carson, Calif.

No Beckham, of course, but after a week of Sounders vs. Sounders, that's hardly the point.

“Right now for us, the important thing is that we maintain what we’re trying to do from a fitness level and continue to build and progress in terms of our physical preparation," coach Sigi Schmid said through a Sounders media release. "Tactically, so we understand things, like the first game here was not as good as the games were later, because guys were over-dribbling, holding the ball, so had to stop and make those corrections. What we’re really trying to get out of as we get into Monday’s game with the Galaxy is be at a point where we want to see where we’re at physically. And secondly, we want to see if we start understanding some of the concepts that we want to employ defensively and offensively."

The Sounders spent their first 10 days of training at the Seahawks facility in Renton, then spent last week in Southern California while emphasizing conditioning.

Now comes a series of training games. After the opener against the Galaxy, the Sounders will play Shandong Luneng of China at Oxnard, Calif., on Tuesday; the Ventura County Fusion in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday; and the San Jose Earthquakes at San Luis Obispo on Friday.
Schmid plans to use one starting 11 today, another on Tuesday and then a mix on Wednesday.

The Sounders will return briefly to the Northwest next week before traveling to Argentina for more training games Feb. 27 through March 5.

Here are camp highlights from Saturday, as provided from the Sounders' staff:

PERSONNEL
The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Mamadou Danso*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Emerald George*, Taylor Graham, Kevin Guppy, Patrick Ianni, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Fernando Screpis*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not train with team first week in Renton

Three new faces were at camp: Argentine midfielder Fernando Screpis, midfielder Emerald George from St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Gambian Mamadou Danso from Southern Polytechnic (NAIA) joined the team for the second session.

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Freddie Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), and Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle).

- Nicola Andelic is no longer with the team

Technical Director Chris Henderson participated in the running and passing drills in the morning session.

General manager Adrian Hanauer watched from the sidelines for both sessions.

Peter Vagenas, recovering from arthroscopic surgery, was in attendance to watch his new teammates for both sessions.

TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS
There were training sessions at Ventura College: 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

There was heavy rain for the morning session. Rain subsided for the afternoon session. Temperatures were in the low 50s.

The first session was primarily fitness and technique drills. Field was separated into three grids with a cross and finish drill, passing drill, and 6-v-6 on 40x40 yards with regulation goals.

The second session was 11-v-11 full-size made up of three squads: Blue, Orange and Green.

Blue Squad: GK – Kasey Keller; Defenders – James Riley, Danny Jackson, Nate Sturgis and Taylor Graham; Midfielders – Khano Smith, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso and Sebastien Le Toux; Forwards – Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua.

Orange Squad: GK – Chris Eylander (1) and Kevin Guppy (1); Defenders – Mamadou Danso, Adam West, Kyle Shmid and Quavas Kirk; Midfielders – Emerald George, Fernando Screpis, Stephen King and Lamar Neagle; Forwards – Vini Oliviera and Jeff Clark.

Green Squad: GK – Ben Dragavon; Defenders – Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl and Zach Scott; Midfielders – Roger Levesque, Sanna Nyassi, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty and Leighton O’Brien; Forwards – Steve Zakuani and Ryan Pore.

1st Game: Blue vs. Orange ended in 0-0 draw

2nd Game: Blue defeated Green 2-0. 1st goal scored on a Sebastien Le Toux cross to Brad Evans for the header after Evans ran 30 yards down the left side line to get into the box. 2nd goal came on a Brad Evans cross from the left side to Sebastien Le Toux for the header.

3rd Game: Orange vs. Green ended in 0-0 draw.
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SIGI SCHMID SAYS
On the afternoon session: “The objective of this week was to work hard, so everybody should be tired so you expect it to be a little bit disjointed when you’re playing a game like you played today. You see some things that make you feel happy, and you see some things you don’t. Obviously you’re never fully prepared for something, but it’s good to be able to go out there next week and play against somebody that you don’t see everyday at training.”

On Sebastien Le Toux and Brad Evans connecting: “It’s something that worked well. Sebastien brings a high energy to the game, and Brad works very hard. We look at the goal that Brad got today. He’s the one that initially broke up the play and poked it wide, and then makes a 30, 40 yard run to get in the box. But that’s an element that he brings to the game and Sebastien is willing to make those runs as well. When you work hard, eventually something breaks your way.”