CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy Academy solidified their status as one of the premier academies in the United States on Wednesday with a total of 11 players signing their letters of intent to attend a total of six universities across the United States.
Four of LA’s young starlets will be attending perennial powerhouse UC Santa Barbara including current USSDA U-18 leading goalscorer Adonis Amaya, Galaxy U-18 captain Jeffrey Quezada, forward Axel Mendez, and midfielder Ryo Fuji. Also well represented is UCLA which will be attended by U-18 forwards Steve Martinez and Christian Chavez.
For Amaya, who is one of the highest rated youth prospects in the United States and a target for many programs, signing with the Gauchos simply made the most sense.
“It was a big decision for me. During my visit, they made me feel at home and I want to go to a program where we can win national championships,” Amaya told LAGalaxy.com. I feel that it is a great program for me and we’ve also got a large Galaxy presence, so even though it was a tough decision, I’m very happy with my decisions.”
Also heading off to college this fall will be Raymundo Barajas (Loyola Marymount), Hugo Gutierrez (Cal Poly), Justin Eng (Utah Valley University) and University of San Francisco attendees Manny Padilla and Justin Schottenhammer.
Although the group of 11 players will be attending various universities this Fall, they will all remain integral parts of the Galaxy U-18’s for the remainder of the 2013/14 U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy slate. Currently, the U-18’s are 9-3-2 this season and return to action this weekend with a pair of games against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18 side and Crossfire Premier U-18s at StubHub Center.
