ACADEMY U-16’S ON THE VERGE OF DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS: The LA Galaxy Academy U-16 team moved to the verge of a postseason berth with a pair of wins at The Home Depot Center last weekend. Four different players scored on Saturday to lead the Galaxy to a 4-0 win over Nomads SC. One day later, the Galaxy completed a sweep of the San Diego-area teams with a 1-0 victory over San Diego Surf. With the wins, the Galaxy are now 9-5-2 in the Division and sit in second place, two points ahead of both Irvine Strikers and Real So Cal, who each have one game left this year, compared to two for the Galaxy.
The Galaxy will take on Real So Cal on Saturday evening before closing their season with a road game against Cosmos Academy West at Pasadena High School on Sunday. With a win in either of those two games, the Galaxy U-16’s will qualify for the Development Academy Playoffs. If they slip to third or fourth in the group, they will have to earn one of 12 wild card berths, which go to the 12 best teams that did not finish first or second in their group based on their average points per game in all competitions. The Development Academy Playoffs begin on June 24 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
The Galaxy U-18’s also hosted the Nomads and Surf last weekend, losing 3-2 to Nomads on Saturday and drawing 2-2 on Sunday against the Surf. They will round out their season this weekend, taking on Real So Cal on Saturday and Cosmos Academy West on Sunday.
ACADEMY TEAMS SUCCEED AT LEGENDS CLASSIC: The LA Galaxy Academy’s four youngest teams, their U-12, U-13, U-14 and U-15 teams were all in action as well last weekend, participating in the Legends Classic, which was held in Chino and Ontario, Calif. The Galaxy U-12 and U-14 teams were each crowned tournament champions in their age groups, while the U-13’s went close, falling on penalties in the tournament final. The U-15’s also reached the tournament semifinals before being upset.
The four teams combined for a 14-1-4 record at the tournament while outscoring their opponents 73-14. Only once did the Galaxy allow more than two goals in a game at the tournament while they scored three or more goals 13 times.
