LA Galaxy Starting XI

Dan Kennedy; Robbie Rogers, A.J. DeLaGarza, Jelle Van Damme, David Romney; Giovani dos Santos, Nigel de Jong, Steven Gerrard, Emmanuel Boateng; Robbie Keane ©, Gyasi Zardes

Subs

Brian Rowe, Daniel Steres, Rafael Garcia, Baggio Husidic, Raul Mendiola, Sebastian Lletget, Mike Magee

Lineup Notes

• In the second leg of the SCCL quarterfinals, head coach Bruce Arena will trot out a strong lineup against Mexican side Santos Laguna for a chance to advance to the semifinals.
• Dan Kennedy starts in net for the second-straight competitive match for LA after being acquired this offseason. Kennedy, who has played for Chivas USA and FC Dallas, has been one of the most consistent keepers in MLS since joining the league in 2005 and also has the largest biceps of any MLS goalie.
• Robbie Rogers flanks the right side of the defense against Santos, marking his second-straight match in his new position. After making the switch to defense in 2014, the MLS veteran has become one of Major League Soccer’s top defenders, and will now look to anchor the right back position this season after featuring on the left last season. Last week, Rogers also announced the birth of his son, baby Caleb Gene.
• Belgian defender Jelle Van Damme starts in the center of defense for the second straight match after making his Galaxy debut in the first leg of the series. The veteran signed with the Galaxy in January after featuring in Belgium, Germany, England, and Netherlands during his career.
• Steady, versatile, billboard-star defender A.J. DeLaGarza starts again in the center alongside Van Damme in what will be a key partnership for the Galaxy’s 2016 defense. DeLaGarza, a two-time LA Galaxy Defender of the Year winner, is the Galaxy’s longest-tenured player, joining the team in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
• Defender Dave Romney gets the nod at left back against Santos Laguna Tuesday night. Romney joined LA Galaxy II last year as a practice player before signing his first pro contract with Los Dos ahead of the 2015 season. Later that year, Romney caught Bruce Arena’s eye (not literally) in a pair of friendly matches – Club América and Barcelona – before becoming the first LA Galaxy II player to sign a first-team contract. Before the Galaxy, the Southern California product was a standout at University of San Francisco.
• Mexican superstar Giovani dos Santos starts in the midfield and will look to link up with Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes to collect some all-important SCCL away goals. The Mexican star primarily played up top alongside Robbie Keane in 2015, but makes the move back to help balance the LA offense.
• Really good soccer player and noted Pittsburgh Steelers fan Nigel de Jong starts in his second-official competition with the Galaxy alongside Steven Gerrard. The Netherlands World Cup vet just joined the club weeks ago and had only played in two preseason exhibition matches prior to last week’s first leg vs. Santos.
• English legend Steven Gerrard again starts in the center of the pitch alongside de Jong. Gerrard enters his first full season with LA and is playing in his first SCCL series with the Galaxy.
• Emmanuel Boateng starts on left in midfield Tuesday night. The little Ghanaian is super, super, super fast. The offseason signing impressed during preseason this year and has manned the left side of the midfield as Sebastian Lletget recovered from a minor injury during a portion of preseason.
• Local kid Gyasi Zardes will start up top against Santos Laguna. The Hawthorne product had a solid 2015 season, scoring six goals and notching four assists, a year after a record-setting season with the Galaxy in 2014.  
• The devilishly-handsome Galaxy captain Robbie Keane will look to do what he does best: score a lot of goals. The Galaxy striker has improved every season in Major League Soccer, scoring a career-high 20 MLS goals in 2015. He is approaching 100 goals in all competitions with the LA Galaxy, currently having scored 94 goals in just 143 appearances in all competitions, on pace to become the fastest to score 100 goals of any MLS player.

Additional lineup notes

• On Sunday, English defender Ashley Cole became father to a baby boy and is not available for selection.
• Alan Gordon, confused for Jesus off the bus upon arrival to Mexico, will miss the match with a knock sustained in training on Sunday.

Game Notes

• In 29 games played, the Galaxy’s all-Time SCCL record is now 15-8-6, scoring 52 goals and allowing 32.
• The Galaxy continue to hold the record for most SCCL wins (15) and goals (52) by a U.S. team.
• LA are 6-2-3 in their last 11 SCCL games overall with six shutouts during that span.
• The Galaxy are 2-0-3 in 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League play. LA finished with eight points in the group stage ahead of Central FC and C.D. Comunicaciones.
• The Galaxy’s all-time SCCL record vs. Mexican teams is 2-4-1, with seven goals for and 10 goals against.
• LA Galaxy All-Time SCCL Scorers: Robbie Keane (9); Jack McBean, Alan Gordon (5); Juninho, own-goal in favor of (4); Laurent Courtois, Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, Mike Magee, Michael Stephens, Jose Villarreal (2); Chad Barrett, David Beckham, Adam Cristman, AJ DeLaGarza, Giovani Dos Santos, Sean Franklin, Chandler Hoffman, Ignacio Maganto, Raul Mendiola, Tommy Meyer, Samuel, Mika Vayrynen, Gyasi Zardes (1)
• LA Galaxy SCCL Appearances (5):
  • 2010-11
  • 2011-12
  • 2012-13
  • 2013-14
  • 2015-16

What to watch for

• How will the Galaxy respond to a hostile crowd at Estadio Corona?
• Can the Galaxy find the rhythm to score away goals to advance to the SCCL semifinals?
• Can the Galaxy defense build off a solid performance in the first leg of the series?
• How will Giovani dos Santos perform in his first official competition in Mexico as a member of the Galaxy?
• How will Dave Romney match up on the left filling in for Ashley Cole?
• When will John Strong mention the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl victory during the broadcast?

Pretty neat

• Match preview:
• Over 50 ACB members taking the trip to Torreon:
• This is LA – Robbie Rogers found a new home and new life in West Hollywood
• This Is LA

Quotable

• Robbie Keane: "If you look at the MLS in terms of the first year I came until now, you would say that the MLS now would be on par with the Mexican league. As the Mexican league has stayed [the same], the MLS has got bigger and I think it's going to continue to get bigger."
• A.J. DeLaGarza: “It’s always hard playing in Mexico, and even though we don’t have a good track record, we have to be ready. Tijuana put us on our heels early a few years ago, so we have to weather that storm early. We have to be smart and make them face their goal early on. We could’ve had a couple of goals the other day, but it’s funny to me how people always say that we’re in trouble when we keep the away goals at zero.”
• Steven Gerrard: “If we had scored a goal, it would have been a perfect result but we’ve been banging the drum all preseason about being solid defensively, and that is the base that we can be successful from. We’re very pleased with the defensive side of the game, and now we just need to tweak the balance in the attack, and hopefully the game will come. This game is still in the balance. It’s 50-50 still.”