CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy advanced to the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup with a 6-1 victory over U.S. Adult Soccer Association side PSA Elite at StubHub Center on Wednesday evening.
Robbie Keane notched a hat trick while Sebastian Lletget, Gyasi Zardes and Baggio Husidic each scored for the Galaxy in the victory. Michael Salazar scored the lone goal for the amateur side. The Galaxy’s six goals are a club record for goals in a U.S. Open Cup match.
PSA Elite jumped out to a surprise early lead in the ninth minute when a turnover deep in the Galaxy’s end resulted in a run up the right side by Jose Carrera-Garcia. The UC Berkeley midfielder then found Salazar streaking down the center for the finish past Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
The lead did not last long however as LA found their equalizer in the 15th minute when Lletget capitalized on a scramble off a Galaxy corner and punched it into the PSA Elite net. The goal is Lletget’s second in two games across all competitions. With the score level, the Galaxy began to control the tempo and started to pull away from the visitors.
The Galaxy took the lead for good in the 19th minute when Ignacio Maganto flicked the ball behind the PSA defense to Keane who played it across the Zardes for the easy tap in. LA doubled their advantage 10 minutes later when Lletget dished the ball over the top to Maganto who knocked it down to Keane for the easy finish.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Galaxy needed just eight minutes to add to their lead when second-half substitute Jose Villarreal fired a pinpoint free kick to a leaping Keane who nodded in his second of the evening.
Keane got his hat trick in the 70th minute when nice interplay between Lletget and Raul Mendiola resulted in an easy header for the Irishman. The Galaxy rounded out the scoring in the 77th minute when Oscar Sorto fired a cross down the right side to Husidic who was waiting at the far post for the easy close-range finish.
The Galaxy will find out their opponents for the fifth round on Thursday when U.S. Soccer conducts a draw for the next two stages of the Open Cup. LA could potentially face San Jose Earthquakes, Real Salt Lake or the Portland Timbers in the fifth round.
LA Galaxy 6, PSA Elite 1
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. PT
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
PSA – Michael Salazar (Assisted by Jose Carrera-Garcia) 12’
LA – Sebastian Lletget (Assisted by Kenney Walker) 15’
LA – Gyasi Zardes (Assisted by Robbie Keane, Ignacio Maganto) 19’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Ignacio Maganto, Sebastian Lletget) 29’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Jose Villarreal) 53’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Sebastian Lletget, Raul Mendiola) 70’
LA – Baggio Husidic (Assisted by Oscar Sorto) 77’
Misconduct Summary:
PSA – Trevor Haberkorn (caution) 39’
PSA – Jamel Wallace (caution) 72’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Brian Rowe; Rafael Garcia, Omar Gonzalez (Dan Gargan 45’), Tommy Meyer, Oscar Sorto; Raul Mendiola, Sebastian Lletget, Kenney Walker, Ignacio Maganto; Robbie Keane (Baggio Husidic 71’), Gyasi Zardes (Jose Villarreal 45’).
Substitutions not used: Andrew Wolverton, Stefan Ishizaki, Juninho, Mika Vayrynen.
TOTAL SHOTS: 21; SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; FOULS: 4; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 2.
PSA Elite: JakeMcGuire; Michael Salazar, Robert Amick, Jamel Wallace, Jose Carrera-Garcia, Henry Wingo (Christian Thierjung 61’), Trevor Haberkorn, Mats Bjurman (Norberto Orejel 68’), Nathan Smith, Corey Baird (Justin Dhillon 61’), Michael Sperber.
Substitutions not used: David Elias, Aaron Simmons, Grady Howe, William Raygoza.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3.
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal
Referee’s Assistants: Cameron Blanchard and Issam Ashkar
4th Official: Omar Muro
Attendance: 4,055
