CARSON, Calif. – Before Omar Gonzalez could focus on the LA Galaxy’s match with the Colorado Rapids, he had something far more important to do.
Gonzalez sent a text to grief-stricken teammate A.J. DeLaGarza asking a simple question. How could he somehow the honor the memory of DeLaGarza’s son Luca who passed away on Thursday after a battle with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome?
DeLaGarza, ever the mindful defender, responded to his longtime teammate with simple message.
“Just get a shutout and play hard for Luca,” Gonzalez recalled.
And that they did.
Donning black armbands in honor of Luca, the Galaxy overwhelmed the Rapids, scoring six goals in the team’s largest margin of victory since 1998. The win featured braces by Landon Donovan, Gyasi Zardes and Baggio Husidic and extended the Galaxy’s winning streak to five games and helped continue the team’s rapid rise up the standings.
But to each member of the Galaxy, the win meant so much more.
“Tonight was about something bigger than all of us,” said Gonzalez. “[We were] playing for his family and it’s just great that there is so much love here. We’re happy that we could get this win for them tonight.”
Added Baggio Husidic, “This was one of those games where we wanted to leave everything out on the field and we wanted to make sure that we played this game properly for Luca and the DeLaGarza family. A lot of guys took pride in this performance today.”
For Zardes, arguably the most influential player in the victory, the ability to honor Luca’s memory provided a dose of sobering perspective. A new father himself, the Galaxy striker echoed the sentiments of all the thousands of parents sending their respects to the DeLaGarza family in their time of need.
“It was very difficult. Me and my wife were talking about [Luca] constantly. It could have been anyone’s son. It could have been my son,” said Zardes. “I think about A.J. and his family and it’s very difficult. I’m keeping them in my prayers and all we can do is just be there for his family.”
The tributes weren’t limited to the actions on the field as the Galaxy held a moment of silence before the match. At the 20th minute, the 18,145 in attendance stood and cheered for the incredible fight displayed by Luca DeLaGarza during his week of life.
Just two minutes later, the LA Riot Squad and Angel City Brigade offered their respects by performing their signature Stadium call and response chant, only this time repeating Luca’s name for several minutes.
“We play a sport for a living that we tend to think is very important, and people I think get carried away with parts of it. We try to keep it all in perspective and life is more important,” said Donovan. “We’re heartbroken for our teammate [A.J. DeLaGarza] and our friend Megan [DeLaGarza] and their family and we do our job and we get on with it, but it doesn’t change what happened yesterday.”
Although the official tributes may be over, Donovan himself insists that the Galaxy will carry on the memory of Luca DeLaGarza in their hearts for good.
“That’s going to be a part of our season going forward,” Donovan said. “It doesn’t mean that after tonight we forget about it. It’s still a piece of all of us that we feel is lost.
“It doesn’t take away from the pain [the DeLaGarza family] is feeling but maybe it put a few smiles on their faces in a period of three or four days when they’ve had no smiles and a lot of tears,” he added. “If you can do that, that’s great. But it doesn’t change what happened, and we’re sad for them and will continue to support them.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com .
