Robbie Keane’s hat trick paced the Galaxy past PSA Elite in the U.S. Open Cup
By Ivan Yeo
The U.S. Open Cup has not been kind to the LA Galaxy in recent years.
The Galaxy last won the USOC in 2005, and since then, the Galaxy have found success in the tournament elusive. In fact, LA has won just one game in the tournament in the last three years.
Wednesday’s match against PSA elite however may be a signal that the Galaxy might be taking this year’s edition of the tournament a little more seriously. Galaxy regulars such as Robbie Keane, Omar Gonzalez and Gyasi Zardes were in the starting 11 for the Galaxy’s US Open Cup match against the UPSL side. Keane was the man of the match for LA on the night, as his hat trick carried the Galaxy past PSA Elite 6-1 at Stubhub Center.
“I thought we did well tonight,” Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget said. “I thought we got the job done. We knew we had to win this game. I know in recent years, we haven’t won the first round of this game so we just have to jump in.”
PSA Elite put a little scare into the Galaxy in the 12th minute, as Jose Carrera-Garcia crossed into the penalty are and Michael Salazar came in and fired a shot that beat keeper Brian Rowe into the back net to give PSA elite.
However, the Galaxy responded in a huge way. LA tied the match in the 15th minute when Kenney Walker sent a corner into the six-yard box and Lletget fired a volley that crossed the goal line into the upper net to get the Galaxy on the board. LA then took the lead in the 19th minute, as Ignacio Maganto headed a ball into the penalty area, Keane chased it down and crossed into the six and Gyasi Zardes tapped the ball past PSA Elite keeper Jake McGuire to put the Galaxy in front. LA made it a two goal lead in the 29th minute, as Lletget played Maganto into the penalty area, Maganto found Keane, who then fired a shot that beat McGuire far post.
“You can do all the planning you want, but the most important is playing games and getting match fitness,” Keane said. “The more games I play, the fitter I get. I enjoy playing two or three games a week and I’ve been used to that all of my career, so I always feel better playing games.”
The second half was all Galaxy. Keane scored goal number two in the 53rd minute, as he headed a Jose Villarreal free kick past McGuire into the back net. Keane got the hat trick in the 70th minute, as Lletget floated a ball into the six and Keane again headed a ball past McGuire at his near post. LA capped off the scoring in the 77th minute, as Oscar Sorto crossed into the 18-yard box and Baggio Husidic fired past McGuire near post.
“We had a job to do and we had to do it to the best of our ability and do it in the right manner, treating the team with respect, whether it’s a semi-professional team or not,” Keane said about facing PSA Elite.
The Galaxy will resume MLS play on Saturday night, as they host the Philadelphia Union.
LA Galaxy 6, PSA Elite 1
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
PSA – Michael Salazar (Assisted by Jose Carrera-Garcia) 12’
LA – Sebastian Lletget (Assisted by Kenney Walker) 15’
LA – Gyasi Zardes (Assisted by Robbie Keane, Ignacio Maganto) 19’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Ignacio Maganto, Sebastian Lletget) 29’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Jose Villarreal) 53’
LA – Robbie Keane (Assisted by Sebastian Lletget, Raul Mendiola) 70’
LA – Baggio Husidic (Assisted by Oscar Sorto) 77’
Misconduct Summary:
PSA – Trevor Haberkorn (caution) 39’
PSA – Jamel Wallace (caution) 72’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Brian Rowe; Rafael Garcia, Omar Gonzalez (Dan Gargan 45’), Tommy Meyer, Oscar Sorto; Raul Mendiola, Sebastian Lletget, Kenney Walker, Ignacio Maganto; Robbie Keane (Baggio Husidic 71’), Gyasi Zardes (Jose Villarreal 45’).
Substitutions not used: Andrew Wolverton, Stefan Ishizaki, Juninho, Mika Vayrynen.
TOTAL SHOTS: 21; SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; FOULS: 4; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 2.
PSA Elite: Jake McGuire; Michael Salazar, Robert Amick, Jamel Wallace, Jose Carrera-Garcia, Henry Wingo (Christian Thierjung 61’), Trevor Haberkorn, Mats Bjurman (Norberto Orejel 68’), Nathan Smith, Corey Baird (Justin Dhillon 61’), Michael Sperber.
Substitutions not used: David Elias, Aaron Simmons, Grady Howe, William Raygoza.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3.
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal
Referee’s Assistants: Cameron Blanchard and Issam Ashkar
4th Official: Omar Muro
Attendance: 4,055
