The LA Galaxy Academy U-16's claimed the first National Championship in club history on Saturday, defeating Pennsylvania's PA Classics 4-1 in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Final on the campus of Marquette University in Milwaukee. Sean Dhillon gave the Galaxy a 1-0 lead inside the game's opening two minutes while Willie Raygoza scored the eventual game-winner in the 60th minute. Justin Dhillon and Drew Murphy added goals in the final 10 minutes to round out the win.
The Galaxy finished Finals Week with a tournament best 12 goals, with the Dhillon brothers, Sean and Justin, each leading the way with three. Sean Dhillon gave his team a dream start just two minutes into the game, beating PA goalkeeper Brent Arnold to put his team up 1-0.
The Galaxy would take that lead into halftime, only for the Classics to equalize nine minutes into the second half when Kyle Bitterman beat Josh McNeely to make the score 1-1. That was just the second goal allowed by the Galaxy during Finals Week.
On the hour mark, Willie Raygoza put the Galaxy up for good, scoring his first goal of the Finals to make the score 2-1.
With the game drawing to a close, Justin Dhillon scored his 22nd goal of the year, finishing off a pass from Drew Murphy with seven minutes remaining. Two minutes later, Dhillon turned provider, setting up Murphy for the game's final goal, making the score 4-1 and giving LA their first Academy Championship.
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Related:
Video: U16 Team Profile