CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy II head into the 2016 USL Playoffs with unfinished business.
A year ago, Galaxy II were seconds away from completing a dramatic run to the title before a late collapse saw Los Dos fall in extra time to the Rochester Rhinos in the USL Championship game. The sting of that late defeat hung with the team heading into the 2016 campaign and now on Friday, they’ll have a chance to erase that memory.
Like last season, Galaxy II will open the playoffs on the road as the No. 5 seed when they take on Swope Park Rangers (5:30 pm PT, LAGalaxy.com), a team that won the first and only meeting between the two sides back in August.
“We’re extremely hungry. We were right there on the doorstep last year, and now we’re in the playoffs. We’re setting ourselves up every single game to get back to the final again and this time, bring home the trophy,” Ari Lassiter, who scored Galaxy II’s only goal in their Championship game loss, said. “Playoffs is win or go home, we all have to want it. We have to fight like dogs.”
As head coach Curt Onalfo prepares his squad to catch lightning in a bottle once again, he’s taking a page out of the Bruce Arena playbook and simply refusing to look past Swope Park.
“We just have to win the game. If we can win, then we got another working week where we can get better,” Onalfo said. “The way to do that is to focus one play at a time, one game at a time and getting a result.”
Standing in Los Dos’ way will be a talented Swope Park Rangers squad that finished with a 14-10-6 record in their first season in the USL. Rangers were particularly successful at home in their expansion campaign, with a 10-4-1 record at Swope Soccer Village, including a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Galaxy II on Aug. 27.
Led by attackers Mark Anthony Gonzalez (nine goals and four assists) and Kris Tyrpak (seven goals and one assist), head coach Marc Dos Santos’ side ended the season with six victories in their final seven games to qualify for the playoffs. Rangers also include a familiar face in two-time MLS Cup champion Tommy Meyer, who played in Galaxy II’s 2015 championship defeat as a late game substitute.
“They have crafty players," Lassiter said. "They’re fast up top, and they’re a solid team, but they’re still an opponent that we can play against, and we know that we can win. Anytime that we step on the field against anyone in the USL, we believe that we’re going to win.”
Added midfielder Jamie Villarreal, “We can’t lose concentration against them and we have to stay focused for 90 minutes. Defensively, we have to do all the little things right, and the rest will come.”
If Galaxy II can repeat their road form from the 2015 playoffs, Lassiter is confident that the Los Dos can replicate earn a return trip to the championship match.
“We just have to continue on the same rhythm that we’re on right now. We’ve been playing well and getting results over the last couple of games,” Lassiter said. “We’ve got to go on the road and do the same. We did that last year, and now we’ve got to do that again.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
