Over the weekend, LA Galaxy II trotted out its youngest starting lineup in club history for the team’s 1-1 draw against Orange County SC on Saturday, April 22.
10 players 20-years-old or younger took the field for
Los Dos
for the opening whistle, making for a starting XI that with an average age of only 19 in the team’s fifth match of the season. Four of those players – Ian Lonergan, Jorge Hernandez, Jonathan Estrada, Alex Juarez – are current members of the Galaxy Academy. Additional Academy reinforcements Zico Bailey (16) and Jake Arteaga (17) entered the match in the second half.
In four years since the club’s inception in 2014,
Los Dos’
Starting XI’s have trended younger and younger. LA Galaxy II took the field for the first time in 2014 with an average age of 22.6. In this season’s home opener, the club averaged an age of 21.
After the game Saturday, LA Galaxy II Head Coach Mike Muñoz commented on the team’s youth.
“My message is going to stay consistent: the kids can play. They just need to be inserted in the right moments. They need to continue to be protected, but they showed tonight, regardless of who the opponent is or what is stage is all about, it’s no problem. I’m very proud of them.”
Jaime Villarreal and Hugo Arellano, two former Galaxy II and Academy starlets, are perfect examples of what happens when given minutes at a young age with
Los Dos
. After excelling in both levels of LA Galaxy’s developmental system, the two signed MLS contracts this offseason. Arellano inked his contact at the age of 19, Villarreal at the age of 21. Both former pupils of Muñoz, Arellano, Villarreal and other Galaxy II graduates now train with the likes of Giovani dos Santos, Romain Alessandrini and Jelle Van Damme day in and day out.
LA Galaxy II have a bye week before returning to action on Saturday, May 6 against Orange County SC at Orange County Great Park Stadium. The match kicks off at 5:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on
LAGalaxy.com/2
.
