CARSON, Calif. – The absence of four of the LA Galaxy’s most important players due to national team duty has left holes in the team's roster, and head coach Curt Onalfo is filling the gaps with members of the USL affiliate LA Galaxy II.
Presently five Galaxy II players have trained with the first team at some point this preseason: Adonis Amaya, Josh Turnley, Jaime Villarreal, Nathan Smith, and Justin Dhillon. According to Onalfo, the opportunity to train with the first team is a valuable experience for the young players and in some cases, could lead to opportunities with the squad.
“Right now, we’re missing four players with the national team, and I like to have at least 20 players to be training. When players are gone, we call players from Galaxy II,” said Onalfo, “It’s an opportunity for these players to get acclimated with the first team, and also, in some cases, they’re vying for positions to make our roster and the depth of our roster.”
In addition to the Galaxy II players, the Galaxy have also invited goalkeeper Jon Kempin into training camp while incumbent starter Brian Rowe trains with the U.S. National Team. Kempin spent the six years with Sporting Kansas City, while also making stops at OKC Energy FC, Orlando City SC, and Sporting’s USL affiliate Swope Park Rangers.
Onalfo stated that the club is simply “looking” at the goalkeeper for the preseason and revealed that any further additions to training camp will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
