CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy’s Jeff Larentowicz had every reason to breathe a sigh of relief Sunday.
It wasn’t so much that the Galaxy held off the New England Revolution in a 4-2 victory in front of 21,237 at StubHub Center to stretch their unbeaten streak to an MLS-high seven games (4-0-3). But it was especially satisfying for the 32-year-old, now in his 12th season, who made his first-ever start for the five-time MLS Cup champions.
“It’s taken a little while,” he said after going the full 90 minutes against the Revolution, “but I tried to put in the work and give myself a chance.
“It was good to get a win, too.”
Larentowicz, who was born in Pasadena, had been limited to two relief appearances and just 42 total minutes of playing time prior to Sunday. The highly regarded midfielder had spent the past few months recovering from sports hernia surgery and was anxious to get back on the field.
He ironically first suffered a groin injury last June 13 against the same Revolution while he was a member of the Chicago Fire but put off corrective surgery. He finally had the hernia repaired last Nov. 16 and signed with the Galaxy in January.
Larentowicz, whose last start was Oct. 25, 2015 when the Fire played the New York Red Bulls, said the inactivity was nothing short of agonizing.
“It was lonely,” he said. “You feel like you’re not doing what you’re paid to do. You come to the team to perform a certain duty and you can’t do that.
“The way you really bond with your teammates is on the field, covering for them and them covering for you. That’s an understanding that develops day after day. Working out by yourself you can’t do that.
“This is what you want to do,” he went on. “Your body needs it, and when you can’t give it that you don’t feel like yourself. It was difficult.”
Larentowicz was impressive Sunday in taking the place of holding midfielder Nigel de Jong, who was sidelined by a groin injury. He nearly scored in the 65th minute when his header off a corner kick by Emmanuel Boateng went just over the crossbar. He also almost had an assist late in the first half when he sent a nice pass to Giovani Dos Santos, whose shot from an angle at 12 yards went just wide of the net.
He said he was told “two or three days ago” he would start and was ready for the opportunity.
“Physically I’ve felt good for a little while now,” he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of training in and I’ve felt good and strong. Once you get out there you kind of get in a groove.”
It was almost like the good, old days, he said.
“Exactly,” he agreed. “And it helps to have the players that we do. The guys make it extremely easy, to the point where you can do what you do best.
“This is what I want to do. I know my role is going to be different from what it has been; I’ll be contributing a bit here and there. I just want to be part of this.”
