Bradford Jamieson IV was one of the stars for the LA Galaxy against Sacramento Republic FC on Wednesday night.
By Ivan Yeo
The LA Galaxy have been making full use of its roster these past few weeks.
Head coach Curt Onalfo has reached deep into his roster to keep guys fresh while juggling MLS regular season and U.S. Open Cup duties. For Wednesday’s round of 16 match against Sacramento Republic FC, Onalfo again went with a roster mostly comprised from LA Galaxy II.
It took a while on Wednesday night, but the moves paid off in a strike of lightning. Goals from Ariel Lassiter and Bradford Jamieson IV inside the first five minutes of the second half were more than enough for LA to advance to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win.
“Rotating a roster is a luxury, it shows depth,” Onalfo said. “It feels good to be able to use the entire roster because that was a fifth game in a very busy stretch, and we got two more to go.”
After a scoreless first half, the Galaxy got the breakthrough in the 47th minute. The Galaxy got a foul from about 20 yards out, Lassiter stepped forward and sent a left-footed free kick over the Republic wall and past keeper Evan Newton, beating him to the upper right corner to give LA the lead.
“I knew he (Newton) couldn’t see the ball if I hit it over the wall,” Lassiter said. “I just focused on connecting it well and keeping it on target and it went in the net.”
The Galaxy weren’t done quite yet. Newton sent a goal kick across midfield, LA’s Hugo Arellano headed a ball to Jamieson, who side-stepped a Sacramento defender and right away sprinted for goal. Jamieson made it inside the 18-yard box and sent a shot that beat Newton into the back to double the Galaxy advantage.
“Training field stuff actually kind of plays out a goal, moves that I kind of do in quick succession and reps help,” Jamieson said.
The Galaxy’s next opponent in the US Open Cup is the same team that they will see this Saturday, the San Jose Earthquakes, and that match will also be in San Jose, on July 10. The only difference is that while this weekend’s match will be at Stanford Stadium, the US Open Cup match will be at the Quakes’ regular home, Avaya Stadium.
