CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy II have ambitions of winning a USL title, but first Los Dos must get past Western Conference regular season champion Orange County Blues on Saturday.
Los Dos are riding high after their dramatic 1-0 road win over Sacramento Republic in the opening round of USL Playoffs. Newcomer Bryan Olivera tallied the lone goal while goalkeeper Clement Diop played the hero with four saves in Galaxy II’s victory at Bonney Field.
After avenging their 2014 USL Playoff exit against Sacramento, Galaxy II now turn their attention to an Orange County side enjoying their best season to date.
“We’re pleased to get the result against Sacramento, but now we’re expecting a challenge against Orange County,” said defender Joe Franco. “We know each other very well, but we know that if we take care of our business and finish our chances than we’re going to win.”
Galaxy II will host Orange County at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium despite the Blues holding the top seed in the Western Conference. The Blues initially intended to host the game at Yorba Linda High School due to availability issues at their home site of UC Irvine’s Anteater Stadium.
Despite Orange County’s strong regular season, Galaxy II won the regular season series with the Blues with a 2-1-1 record.
“We know that we’re playing at home against Orange County, but this is a really good team. The pressure is on them because they are regular season champions,” said Diop. “We know that we need to win to go to the [conference] final. We’re all focused on that, and we know that we need to have a big performance to beat Orange County in front of our fans.”
Added leading scorer Ariel Lassiter, who missed the Sacramento game due to a red card suspension, “This is going to be a home game for us, and we’re going to have to take advantage. We need to capitalize on this.”
In front of their home fans at StubHub Center, Galaxy II are hopeful of clinching their first-ever berth in the USL Western Conference final on Saturday, and moving one step closer to the title.
“This is a win and go home game,” said Diop. “We’re confident. We’ve worked all year for this moment, and we’ll be ready.”
