CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy, ready to return to competition following a lengthy break from MLS play, take on Santa Ana-based amateur side La Máquina FC in a fourth-round U.S. Open Cup match Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at StubHub Center. Parking is free.
It has been almost two weeks since the five-time MLS Cup champions were last seen on the pitch, an uneventful 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas City on June 2, and MLS teams have been off since then to accommodate player appearances in not only the Copa America Centenario but also the European Championships.
The Galaxy are 27-15-1 all time in the Cup, which dates back to 1914, and won it in 2001 and 2005. The Galaxy reached the Cup final on two other occasions and lost in last year’s quarterfinals to Real Salt Lake.
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said he did not know anything about La Máquina but was not concerned about preparing to face a virtually unknown opponent.
“I’m not spending a whole lot of time worried about it,” he said after training Monday. “We should go out and play well and win the game.”
Tuesday’s match – the winner moves on to the round of 16 on June 29 – figures to provide a number of the Galaxy’s younger players some coveted playing time. One of them could be third-string goalkeeper Clement Diop, a 22-year-old native of Paris, France who led Galaxy II to last season’s USL Western Conference championship with eight shutouts and a 1.12 goals-against average.
Galaxy goalkeeper coach Matt Reis said he likes what he has seen from Diop despite no playing time with the first team.
“He’s extremely athletic,” Reis said. “He’s got great feet and does well under pressure. For him it’s all the little things … talking, communicating, positioning. All of that is what he’s really been working hard on.
“We’re excited to see what he can do and he definitely deserves this opportunity.”
Diop, who said he has benefitted from the daily tutelage of the Galaxy’s other goalies, Brian Rowe and Dan Kennedy – “It’s good to be with them every day,” he said – is not looking at Tuesday’s game as a showcase of his talents.
“A game is a game,” he said. “I just need to play my game, to be focused and perform like I used to do with the second team. I think the coaches know my abilities. Maybe after a game with the first team we get a better idea of what I can do.
“I trust my teammates; there is no problem for me tomorrow. I’m ready for it.”
