U.S. Open Cup: LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Updated: July 4, 2015
Immediately after the California Clasico on June 27, 2015, the LA Galaxy played the San Jose Earthquakes again for the 5th round of the U.S. Open Cup. The two teams played at the new Earthquakes’ field—Avaya Stadium.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | San Jose Earthquakes | ||||
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 35 | GK | Bryan Meredith |
| 20 | D | A.J. DeLaGarza | 7 | D | Cordell Cato |
| 22 | D | Leonardo | 38 | D | Paulo Renato |
| 21 | D | Tommy Meyer | 15 | D | J.J. Koval |
| 36 | D | Oscar Sorto | 20 | D | Shaun Francis |
| 40 | M | Raul Mendiola | 80 | M | Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi |
| 25 | M | Rafael Garcia | 17 | M | Sanna Nyassi |
| 34 | M | Kenney Walker | 9 | M | Khari Stephenson |
| 15 | M | Ignacio Maganto | 22 | M | Tommy Thompson |
| 5 | F | Jose Villarreal | 23 | M | Leandro Barrera |
| 9 | F | Alan Gordon | 12 | F | Mark Sherrod |
| 31 | GK | Andrew Wolverton | 1 | GK | David Bingham |
| 2 | D | Todd Dunivant | 3 | D | Jordan Stewart |
| 33 | D | Dan Gargan | 5 | D | Victor Bernardez |
| 24 | M | Stefan Ishizaki | 27 | D | Fatai Alashe |
| 19 | M | Juninho | 6 | M | Shea Salinas |
| 17 | F | Sebastian Lletget | 19 | M | Michael Fucito |
| 14 | F | Adam Jahn | |||
Both U.S. Soccer and the LA Galaxy graciously streamed the match over YouTube so fans could watch it if unable to attend. Unfortunately, the video quality turned out to be horrendous, and the commentator (a San Jose employee) called the match poorly and with direct bias.
Because of the Galaxy’s next match only three days later back at the StubHub Center, fans watched a much different lineup walk onto the field. Omar Gonzalez, Gyasi Zardes, and Jaime Penedo also were unavailable due to their participation in the Gold Cup, which runs from July 7 to July 26—if their teams make it that far into the competition. Arena wanted to preserve his starters’ energy for the match against Toronto FC.
Almost from the start, the Galaxy seemed like a different team than the one that last faced the Earthquakes. They barnstormed the San Jose defense early! In the 6th minute, Kenney Walker sent an excellent cross behind the defense and Jose Villarreal easily trapped the ball then shot it past Bryan Meredith.
In the 30th minute, Mark Sherrod put Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi’s free kick behind Brian Rowe. Luckily for the Galaxy though, the referee called Sherrod offside and the Galaxy continued to hold the lead. San Jose nearly equalized the game numerous times after Sherrod’s unfortunate mistake.
The Earthquakes never managed to score as the Galaxy stifled all of their attempts. Alan Gordon almost gave LA a second goal, but Meredith barely saved it.
For starting many LA Galaxy II players, the Galaxy played surprisingly well (granted, San Jose only played some starters as well). The match represented a symbolic event though for the Galaxy. Prior to this win, they had been winless on the road since August 20, 2014.
I watched the match with pride as the youngsters received some first-team action. Before it started, I thought for sure the Galaxy would lose after such a disappointing showing. You might be thinking, “Why did you not have faith in your team?” Well, I kept wishing we’d win, but the odds were slightly against them, but much to my pleasure, the young guns redeemed the team’s poor loss last week—and to that, I am grateful. With such a difficult season thus far, Galaxy fans needed more excitement, entertainment, and encouragement.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things LA Galaxy and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
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