CARSON, Calif. – It was five years ago when Jack McBean was a promising 16-year-old from Newport Beach who had just signed his first professional contract with the LA Galaxy.
Now he is noticeably bigger, stronger and more confident as he and the five-time MLS Cup champions prepare to face the Portland Timbers in Wednesday’s round-of-16 match in the U.S. Open Cup at Providence Park. The match will be streamed live on www.lagalaxy.com.
“He’s putting in the time and effort to get better, and it’s shown,” head coach Bruce Arena said when asked to gauge the progress of the young striker who likely will be in the starting lineup Wednesday.
“It’s a culmination of what he’s been doing over the last couple of years, deciding that he wants to be a player instead of a young kid surfing every day.”
McBean does indeed surf – “Not every day,” he pointed out with a grin – but he clearly is committed to being the best professional he can be. He also said he initially was disappointed when he was demoted to the second team but called it an invaluable experience.
“It was kind of a reality check,” he said. “This can happen in this profession, and if I wanted to keep it going I had to step it up another level.”
McBean, who at 16 became the youngest player in team history to play in a game, start a game and score a goal in his first-ever appearance on Oct. 23, 2011 at Houston, had scored a USL-leading 12 goals when he signed with the parent club last Wednesday. He started and went the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 tie with Colorado that night and came off the bench for a nine-minute stint in Saturday’s 1-1 draw in San Jose.
McBean said the passage of five years has gone by much quicker than he could have imagined – “It feels like it was yesterday,” he said with a smile – and added he’s having the time of his life.
“It’s been fun,” he said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs in the five years, but I’m happy to still be here and working hard every day.”
Asked what he has learned during that time, he replied, “A lot.”
“Just nothing comes easy,” he went on. “You’ve got to just worry about your game and what you can control. There’s so many things players can’t control. Just worry about coming in every day with a good attitude and a good mentality and try to get better.”
The Galaxy, who advanced with a hard-earned 4-1 victory in extra time over amateur side La Maquina on June 14, are 28-15-1 all-time in the U.S. Open Cup and were champions in 2001 and 2005. Portland reached this stage with a 2-0 victory over fellow MLS side San Jose.
The winner will host the winner of Real Salt Lake-Seattle in the quarterfinals on July 20.
PORTLAND TIMBERS vs. LA GALAXY
PROVIDENCE PARK, Portland, Oregon
June 29, 2016 (U.S. Open Cup)
7:30 pm PT (YouTube)
The Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy have had their fair share of battles in MLS since the Timbers joined the league in 2011, including a 5-2 Portland victory in LA at the end of the regular season that propelled them to MLS Cup glory last season. However, the two high-profile sides have not met in the U.S. Open Cup since 2011. That will change on Wednesday night as they will battle to see who will reach the quarterfinals of the tournament at Providence Park.
More controversy?
LA's advancement into the Round of 16 did not come without controversy. The Galaxy faced a local amateur team, La Maquina, at the StubHub Center in the fourth round and somewhat shockingly, the game went all the way into extra time. LA broke the deadlock in the 96th minute after Jose Villarreal was brought down and seemed to be injured. Instead of waiting for him to get up, Baggio Husidic played a ball to Dave Romney in the box and the defender finished past the opposing goalkeeper. The Galaxy would go on to win the game 4-1. Some felt that this was a cheap move by the Galaxy, with others pointing to the fact that LA were playing within the rules of the game. Either way, LA will be looking to prove that they belong here on Wednesday.
2 in 2?
After lifting the MLS Cup last season, there's no doubt that that the Timbers will be looking to have a similar celebration this season. Their first chance comes with the US Open Cup. They got by San Jose Earthquakes in the only all-MLS matchup of the fourth round and now face a Galaxy side that relied heavily on reserves in the last round. Could they make the quarterfinals for the third time in four years?
Lineup advantage
The Galaxy played an amateur side in the last round, so it is no surprise that Bruce Arena put out a starting XI that included just a couple regular starters. Under Arena, the Galaxy have not made it past the quarterfinal stage of the US Open Cup and the MLS coaching legend has not taken home the US Open Cup since 1996. During this same round last season, Arena put out a reserve-heavy lineup that ended up beating the Earthquakes before falling to Real Salt Lake in the next round. The Timbers did not play a full-strength XI in the last round but they did start a healthy amount of regulars including Liam Ridgewell and Diego Valeri. Whoever plays the stronger side should have the advantage at Providence Park.
