Starting XI

Jon Kempin; Nathan Smith, Dave Romney, Jelle Van Damme ©, Hugo Arellano; Rafael Garcia, Jaime Villarreal; Bradford Jamieson IV, Jose Villarreal, Ariel Lassiter; Jack McBean.

Bench

Clement Diop, Bradley Diallo, Josh Turnley*, Joao Pedro, Emmanuel Boateng, Jack McInerney, Gyasi Zardes

Match preview

· Match Preview: https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/06/13/match-preview-la-galaxy-prepare-open-us-open-cup-against-orange-county-sc

Storylines

• 10 of the 11 starters Wednesday night have either been products of or spent significant time with LA Galaxy II in previous years, in addition to Head Coach Curt Onalfo.
• Wednesday night’s game is a good showcase of the success of the Galaxy’s launch of LA Galaxy II and how it is coming full circle: the very same players that developed and were signed through Galaxy II’s USL system are now the ones the first-team is relying on in their first match of the U.S. Open Cup. Playing in the Track & Field Stadium is a nice additional emphasis on that point.
• Specifically, six players were signed directly from LA Galaxy II (Nathan Smith, Dave Romney, Hugo Arellano, Jaime Villarreal, Ariel Lassiter, Jack McBean) and four players have all been regular contributors to Los Dos throughout the past three years (Jon Kempin, Rafael Garcia, Bradford Jamieson IV, Jose Villarreal).
• The team, led by former Los Dos Head Coach Curt Onalfo, is playing in StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium, the home of LA Galaxy II, against a USL side.
• Wednesday night will mark the first-ever time that Jose and Jaime Villarreal will be on the same field as first-team members of the LA Galaxy. Both have played together for LA Galaxy II, but tonight is the first time the duo will represent the first team together. Two brothers who grew up in Inglewood have worked their way up the system – Academy, Galaxy II to first team – and will represent their hometown team together for the first time.
• Hugo Arellano will make his competitive debut for the LA Galaxy. The talented homegrown player has captained various youth U.S. National sides and will make his first-ever appearance for the first team after excelling as a member of the Academy and with LA Galaxy II.
• A young starting XI. Only two players (Jelle Van Damme, Rafael Garcia) are over the age of 24. The lineup shows the readiness and commitment of the Galaxy’s younger players, and the trust head coach Curt Onalfo has in them.

Open Cup Info

• The Galaxy have recorded a 30-16-1 all-time record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
• They have entered the Open Cup every year since 1999, winning the tournament in 2001 and 2005 while reaching the Open Cup Final on two other occasions.
• Last year, the Galaxy fell to FC Dallas in the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
• LA face Orange County SC, who earned a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Wolves on May 31 in the U.S. Open Cup Third Round at Azusa Pacific University to advance to the fourth round contest against the Galaxy.
• How many episodes of The OC on FOX has Joe Tutino seen? Did Joe Cohen think Seth (played by Adam Brody) was the right man for Summer (played by Rachael Bilson)?

Quotable

Curt Onalfo
On the match:

“We know that we’re playing against a team that that is going to put everything on the line. It’s a huge game for them and us. We’re confident that we’re going to do what we need to do to get the three points.”

On rotating the squad:

“You have to have a vision and have things planned. We look at all those things,” Onalfo said. “Regardless of whoever we put on the field, we believe that we’re going to win the game.”

If you’re into this, here are the lyrics to Hotel California from the Eagles:

Hotel California – Eagles

On the dark desert 405, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of tacos, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night.
There they stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
'This could be heaven or this could be Hell'
Then they pumped up the game ball and they showed me the way
There were voices down the StubHub halls,
I thought I heard them say:
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here

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