CARSON, Calif. (Friday, June 20, 2014) – The LA Galaxy Academy Under-18 and Under-16 teams will be traveling to Indiana this weekend to take part in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs, which will be held Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27, at Grand Parks Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana. Both the Galaxy U-18’s and U-16’s will each play three group matches, with the top finisher in the group hosting a quarterfinal matchup. The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to Finals Week at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, July 17-19.
Last week, the Galaxy were drawn into Group B of the playoffs along with Montreal Impact FC, Chicago Magic PSG and Real Colorado.
The LA Galaxy Academy U-18’s will be opening group play on Monday, June 23 against the Real Colorado U-18’s at 10:15 a.m. (PT). The next day, Tuesday, June 24, they will take on the Chicago Magic PSG U-18’s at 8:00 a.m. before facing the Montreal Impact U-18’s on Thursday, June 26 at 8:00 a.m. in the third and final group stage game. All games are being played at the Grand Parks Sports Campus, which is hosting the Group Stage of the Academy Playoffs.
Last month, the LA Galaxy Academy Under-18 team claimed the Southwest Division Championship for the third consecutive year in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy after crushing Strikers FC by a score of 14-1 on May 31 at StubHub Center’s Field 5 in what was the LA Galaxy U-18’s last game in the USSDA regular season. The Galaxy U-18’s had already qualified for the 2013-2014 Academy Playoffs earlier in May after receiving an automatic bid to the 2013-14 Postseason.
LA GALAXY U-18’s 2013/14 U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cesar Jerez, Eric Lopez
DEFENDERS (7): Malcolm Jones, Manuel Padilla, Jeffrey Quezada, Juan Reyna, Justin Shottenhammer, Ivan Vazquez, Sebastian Velasco
MIDFIELDERS (5): Andrew Benitez, Ryo Fujii, Hugo Gutierrez, Elijah Martin, Axel Mendez
FORWARDS (6): Adonis Amaya, Christian Chavez, Mark Hernandez, Aaron Lombardi, Jorge Ruiz, Jaime Villarreal
HEAD COACH: Ante Razov
LA GALAXY U-16’S TRAVEL TO INDIANA AS WELL: The LA Galaxy U-16’s will also travel to Westfield, Indiana this weekend to take part in the Development Academy Playoffs. The LA Galaxy U-16’s were placed in Group D of the 2013-14 Academy Playoffs alongside D.C. United, Concorde Fire and Sockers FC and will play three group stage games from June 23-27.
The Galaxy U-16 squad will open play against Sockers FC U-16 on Tuesday, June 24 at 12:30 pm on Field 14. They will then take on Concorde Fire U-16 on Wednesday, June 25 at 12:00 pm on Field 29. The Galaxy U-16’s then have a day off before finishing group play on Friday, June 27 against D.C. United U-16 at 7:00 am on Field 13.
In April, the LA Galaxy U-16’s qualified for the 2013-2014 Academy Playoffs as the team received an automatic bid to the 2013-14 Postseason.
Highlighting the roster of players that will represent the U-16’s are forward Dylan Smith, who finished the regular season first on the team in scoring with 15 goals, defender Christian Onalfo, who has made 17 appearances this year and is the son of LA Galaxy II head coach Curt Onalfo, and forward Ethan Zubak, who is first on the team in games played (26) and games started (21), as well as goalkeeper Bennett Sneddon, who has played in 25 of this season’s 27 games.
LA GALAXY U-16’s 2013/14 U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Bennett Sneddon, Max Watkin
DEFENDERS (8): Bilal Abdallah, Danny Huizar, Tyson Griffin, Elan Koenig, Michael Lopez, Brian Ohara, Christian Onalfo, Alex Ramos
MIDFIELDERS (6): Jose Bustamante, Juan Orozco, Rey Ortiz, Andrew Perez, Jonathon Ramirez, Chris Segovia
FORWARDS (4): Marc Calderon, Dylan Smith, Adrian Vera, Ethan Zubak
HEAD COACH: Michael Muñoz
The LA Galaxy Academy U-18 and U-16 entire playoff schedule can be seen below.
LA GALAXY ACADEMY U-14’S PICK UP TWO WINS IN INDIANA FOR U-13/14’S NATIONAL SHOWCASE: The LA Galaxy Academy U-14 team concluded their participation in the U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy Showcase at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana last weekend with a 2-1-0 overall record.
The Galaxy Academy U-14’s kicked off the tournament with an impressive 4-0 win over Solar Chelsea SC as goals from Salvador Segura, Leonardo Zulli and a brace from Noa Harris propelled the Galaxy to victory. A day later, the Galaxy’s U-14’s dropped a 1-0 result to Chicago’s Sockers FC U-14’s on Saturday, June 14.
The Galaxy U-14’s were not able to recover from a second half strike from Sockers FC forward Patrick Ajdukiewicz at the 75th minute of the game. Mike Muñoz’s squad concluded the tournament on Monday, June 16 as a goal from Harrison and a brace from Zulli were enough to seal the Galaxy’s 3-2 win over the Toronto FC U-14 squad. The Galaxy U-14’s were up 3-0 by the 57th minute, but Toronto FC U-14’s attempt at a comeback fell short after Toronto’s Ayo Akinalo tallied goals at the 76th and 77th minute. With the conclusion of the Galaxy Academy U-14’s participation in the USSDA Showcase, the squad returned to Southern California to wrap up their 2013/14 season.
2014 DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
(All matches played at the Grand Parks Sports Campus, Westfield, Indiana)
| Game | Date |
|---|---|
LA Galaxy U-18’s vs. Real Colorado U-18’s | Monday, June 23 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 11 at 10:15 a.m. (PT) | |
LA Galaxy U-18’s vs. Chicago Magic PSG U-18’s | Tuesday, June 24 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 2 at 8:00 a.m. (PT) | |
LA Galaxy U-16’s vs. Sockers FC U-16’s | Tuesday, June 24 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 14 at 12:30 p.m. (PT) | |
LA Galaxy U-16’s vs. Concorde Fire U-16’s | Wednesday, June 25 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 29 at 12:00 p.m. (PT) | |
LA Galaxy U-18’s vs. Montreal Impact U-18’s | Thursday, June 26 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 11 at 8:00 a.m. (PT) | |
LA Galaxy U-16’s vs. D.C. United U-16’s | Friday, June 27 |
| Game will be played at Grand Parks Sports Campus – Field 13 at 7:00 a.m. (PT) | |
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