CARSON, Calif. (Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014) – LA Galaxy II earned a victory in their first-ever USL PRO Playoff match with a 2-1 win over the Rochester Rhinos. Los Dos earned the comeback victory in the quarterfinal game behind goals from forwards Chandler Hoffman and Charlie Rugg as Galaxy II have advanced to the semifinals, where they will travel north to face Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Galaxy II came back from a goal down in the first half and finished the match with just 10 men to earn the victory over the Rhinos.
“It’s just one of those games you’ve just got to grind out,” LA Galaxy II head coach Curt Onalfo said. “Some teams can throw their hands in the air and make excuses, but we fought, came together as a team and we worked hard. So overall, I was really pleased with the character we showed and the fact that we really were a team tonight.
“I think that’s something we can build on as we go into the semifinals against Sacramento on Saturday.”
Rochester opened the scoring in the 22nd minute of play when JC Banks fired a shot past Perk to make the score 1-0. Forward Alex Dixon played a ball over top the Galaxy II defense to Banks, who went in on goal with just Perk to beat. Banks fired a shot with his right foot that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and in the net.
Galaxy II responded just minutes later when they earned a penalty kick in the 28th minute after Jaime Villarreal launched a shot from outside the 18 that bounced off of a Rochester player’s hand. Chandler Hoffman stepped up to the spot and fired it on goalkeeper James McCarthy, who made a diving save before Hoffman followed up the shot and fired it into the corner of the net off of the rebound.
“He made a good save on the first shot, but I stayed with the play and I was able to slot it to the back post,” Hoffman said. “I just tried to stay calm knowing that I could still score the goal.”
Los Dos added the second of the night 62nd minute as Hoffman combined with Charlie Rugg for the goal. Hoffman found space down the left-hand side before firing in a cross to an oncoming Rugg, who blasted in a shot to an open net to put the hosts up by one.
In the 66th minute, captain Rafael Garcia was sent off after seeing his second yellow card for a challenge on a Rochester player as Los Dos played down a man for the rest of the match.
Galaxy II absorbed pressure from the Rhinos in the closing minutes of the match, but the defense stood firm, with goalkeeper Brian Perk making a heroic, diving save in extra time to keep the score 2-1. JC Banks took a free kick from inches outside the 18 and fired a shot that was headed for the bottom left corner of the net, but Perk made a diving save on the shot and push it away from goal.
“It was a huge win for us,” said Hoffman. “We had some adversity tonight in going down to 10 men, but the guys that came into the game stepped up. We played 24 minutes down a man and didn’t really concede much; Perk makes one huge save, but besides that I thought we did really well playing with 10 men and holding on to the lead.”
Over 2,400 fans came out to StubHub Center to support Galaxy II in their first-ever USL PRO Playoff match.
“I thought it was a great atmosphere,” said Onalfo. “It was really helpful for us, especially at the end of the game. So hopefully if we get another game [at home], we’ll have the same sort of turnout or even better. It was a great night for the LA Galaxy and LA Galaxy II.”
With the victory, Galaxy II will travel to face Sacramento Republic FC in the USL PRO Playoff Semifinal match next Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. live on www.lagalaxy.com.
Follow all Los Dos action through the LA Galaxy II Twitter account.
The complete LA Galaxy II’s 2014 USL PRO schedule can be found here.
LA Galaxy II 2, Rochester Rhinos 1
Saturday, Sept. 13 – 7:30 p.m. PT
USL PRO Playoffs Quarterfinal
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
RR – JC Banks (Assisted by Alex Dixon) 22’
LA – Chandler Hoffman (penalty) 29’
LA – Charlie Rugg (Assisted by Chandler Hoffman) 62’
Misconduct Summary:
RR – Tyler Rosenlund (caution) 16’
LA – Dragan Stojkov (caution) 43’
LA – Charlie Rugg (caution) 45’
LA – Rafael Garcia (dissent) 45’
LA – Rafael Garcia (second yellow; ejection) 65’
LA – Jason Bli (caution) 90+3’
RR – Donny Smith (caution) 90+5’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Brian Perk, Rafael Garcia ©, Daniel Steres, Bradley Diallo (Lee Nishanian 86’), Jason Bli, Bradford Jamieson IV (Travis Bowen 90+), Dragan Stojkov, Andre Auras, Jamie Villarreal (Alejandro Covarrubias 63’), Charlie Rugg (Jack McBean 82’), Chandler Hoffman (Joe Franco 71’)
Substitutes Not Used: Cody Laurendi, Elijah Martin.
Rochester Rhinos: John McCarthy, Baba Diallo, Ouna Obasi, Kyle Hoffer (Levi Houapeu 86’), Pat McMahon, Tyler Rosenland ©, JC Banks, Tony Walls, Jonny Mendoza (Minh Vu 73’), Alec Sundly (Donny Smith 63’), Alex Dixon (Colin Rolfe 85’).
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Soffner, Pat Slogic, Lance Rozeboom.
