Two goals for Travis Bowen and one each for Alejandro Covarrubias, Bradley Diallo, Jack McBean and Aleksandar Dokovic. The 6-1 victory for the LA Galaxy II in the second round of the US Open Cup was complete, decisive, and if it hadn’t been for the unusually warm weather, would have been completed without breaking much of a sweat.
Curt Onalfo (LA Galaxy II Head Coach) had his young crew prepared to face an unknown team.
“We had a really professional, for sure, 45 minutes” Curt Onalfo, LA Galaxy II Head Coach
And his team, fresh off a weekend road trip to play Dayton in USL Pro league play, responded well. Goals came early, and often with the LA Galaxy II leading 5-0 after the first half.
Scoring Summary:
LA: 6’: Alejandro Covarrubias (Unassisted)
LA: 24’: Bradley Diallo (Assisted by Andre Auras)
LA: 30’: Travis Bowen (Unassisted)
LA: 33’: Travis Bowen (Unassisted)
LA: 45’: Jack McBean (Assisted by Bradford Jamieson IV)
CAL: 50’: Raymundo Reza (Assisted by Kramer Runager)
LA: 82’: Aleksandar Đoković (Assisted by Laurent Courtois)
The lone bright spot for Cal FC was when Raymundo Reza got a pass from Kramer Runager, behind the LA Galaxy II defense and calmly put one past the on-rushing Cody Laurendi to bring the score to 5-1 in the 50th minute.
For their part, the LA Galaxy II, missed some opportunities and probably should have had more goals. But with regular starters resting after the road trip, it was a good chance to see some of the depth the LA Galaxy II have in their pocket.
“The most important thing is that we got the win. It would’ve been nice to get a hat trick, but I’ll watch the tape and improve from it.” Travis Bowen, LA Galaxy II
The bottom line is that Onalfo had his team ready to play. They had the right mindset, and played a game they were familiar with even when facing the most unknown of opponents.
“It’s all about us. Let them worry about us… It’s not like we had an in-depth scouting report. Because we had no idea who was even on the field.” Curt Onalfo, LA Galaxy II Head Coach
Up next for the LA Galaxy II is a weekend trip to Sacramento Republic FC to face a team that has been drawing large crowds at Hughes Stadium. Sacramento is coming off their 2nd round victory in the USOC over Ventura County Fusion (2-1).
The next US Open Cup game for LA Galaxy II will be against PSA Elite on May 28th at StubHub Center’s Track and Field Stadium at 7:30 PM (PT). PSA Elite advanced to this third round game after their opponent, San Diego Flash, had to forfeit because they couldn’t find a field to host the game.
Expect the competition to really step up if the LA Galaxy II can advance past the third round. With most amateur teams out of the competition it will be a clash of USL PRO, NASL, and Major League Soccer teams. And this is where you can expect the “David vs Goliath” match-ups that always see upsets and improbable results.
The US OPEN CUP, for it’s part, has continued to see a growing interest as professional soccer takes a hold in the United States. Since 1914 The Cup has crowned a continuous American Champion. That’s 100 years of Champions.