CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, June 5, 2013) – For the second consecutive season, the LA Galaxy U-18’s are champions of the Southwest Division in the Western Conference of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The team capped off a tremendous regular season Sunday by routing Real So Cal 5-0 at home to clinch the division title.
READ: LA Galaxy Academy U-18’s capture second consecutive division title
Under the direction of first year head coach Alex Yi, the Galaxy U-18’s exceled at both ends of the field, conceding a division low 30 goals in 28 games while scoring a division-best 76 goals, for an average of more than three goals per game. Sunday’s win over Real So Cal was the ninth time the team netted four or more goals in a game, meaning that they scored four or more goals nearly once every three games. Anchoring the attack was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-bound forward Justin Dhillon, whose 17-goal tally was a team-best during the regular season. Midfielder Raul Mendiola was second on the team with 12 goals while forward Sebastian Velasquez added another eight on the year.
With the regular season behind them, the U-18’s (19-5-4, 61 pts.) will now shift their focus to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs, which will be held from June 24-28 at FC Dallas Park in Frisco, Texas. The draw for the playoffs will take place Monday, June 17, with all teams having finished the regular season by Sunday, June 9. Eight teams will advance from the Academy Playoffs to Finals week, which will be held from July 14-20 in Houston with the championship game for the U-18’s being played at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday, July 20.
The Galaxy entered Sunday’s regular season finale knowing that they needed a win in order to win the Southwest Division title for a second straight season. Facing a Real So Cal team that had handed LA one of their five losses on the year, the Galaxy controlled the game from the outset, getting first half goals from Velasquez and Dhillon to lead 2-0 at the break.
In the second half, Dhillon added a second off a pass from Mendiola just after the hour mark and Jaime Villarreal added a goal three minutes later to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Galaxy. Lucas Da Silva completed the rout in the 84th minute, making the score 5-0, while goalkeeper Daniil Slepukhin helped the Galaxy record their 10th shutout of the season.
GALAXY U-16’S SHUTOUT IN SEASON FINALE: With a 3-0 defeat to Real So Cal, the LA Galaxy U-16’s regular season came to a close on Sunday afternoon.
First half goals from Spencer Held and Alex Simon within the first 13 minutes put LA in an early hole that the team was unable to climb out of. Real So Cal tacked on a third in the 52nd minute when Luis Carbajal beat Galaxy goalkeeper Eric Lopez.
Galaxy forward Steve Martinez started but could not add to his impressive goal-scoring tally, closing out the regular season ranked fourth in the nation with 18 goals in 20 games. Christian Chavez finished second on the team with nine goals followed by Haji Wright with seven.
The Galaxy finished the campaign in seventh in the Southwest Division standings with a 7-13-8 record for 29 points and a goal-differential of minus-seven. They will participate in the 2012-13 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Showcase, which is held at the same time as the Development Academy Playoffs from June 24-28 at FC Dallas Park in Frisco, Texas.
SORTO IN FRANCE: The U.S. Under-20 National Team completed their participation in the Toulon Tournament today with a 1-0 loss to Korea Republic, going 1-3-0 in four games. LA Galaxy defender Oscar Sorto did not dress for the first game, a 4-1 loss to host France, but was available for selection for the final three games of the tournament. In his only appearance in the tournament, he started and played 77 minutes of the loss to Korea.
