One of the areas for MLS teams to accumulate talent is through its youth academies.
The LA Galaxy’s youth academy has been among the most successful. Players such as Gyasi Zardes, Jose Villarreal and Julian Araujo have passed through the academy, and a current player, Efrain Alvarez, is continuing his development on the senior side.
Well, if Saturday’s match against Sporting Kansas City is any indication, you could soon add another player, defender Jalen Neal, to that list. Neal, a 6-3 defender from Lakewood, got his first start on the Galaxy back line, partnering with Martin Caceres in the center of the defense, and his play was crucial in the Galaxy leaving Children’s Mercy Park with the scoreless draw and with it, a point on the road.
“With Jalen in particular, I don’t know if I can keep saying as many good things about the kid,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. “It’s going to start going to his head at some point. He’s been outstanding from the day he played a preseason game with the U.S. team, two in a row, I thought he looked very composed and looked like he fit in. We’ve always been super high on his talent and his ability. Tonight he showed it a little bit different side, which is just the grittiness defensively and making some plays in the box by doing some of that side.”
It’s a fast rise for Neal, who was signed by the Galaxy in 2021, but had played sparingly for the team’s senior side. Then again, maybe Neal’s appearance should’ve been forthcoming, as he trained with the United States National Team during its January camp and featured in both matches the USMNT played in Los Angeles.
“Right after our lunch, actually. Greg [Vanney] pulled me to the side and told me, just quickly, I’m getting the start today, just wanted to let you know, butt I could kind of feel the anticipation before,” Neal said of the events leading up to his first start. “But then, after, I texted my mom. I texted her, yeah, I’m starting tonight. She sent me a voice memo, which she never does, but, yeah, she was yelling, she was crying. A lot of emotions in that voice memo. But I felt good out there. I wasn’t nervous, I was confident. Especially after my debut last weekend in Dallas. But, yeah, I mean, I anticipated the start today. And I felt good out there.”
Neal’s first touch came three minutes into the match, as he cleared a ball out of the penalty area. Kansas City recovered a ball and Neal found himself one-on-one with Daniel Salloi inside the penalty area on the right side, Neal however stood his ground, refusing to concede any sightlines and thus forced Salloi to play a cross, Khiry Shelton headed the cross well over goal. Another big moment for Neal came in the 27th minute, as he found himself one on one with Erik Thommy at the same right side, but again, Neal did not give Thommy any good looks at goal, thus Thommy took a shot that was parried over the end line by Bond.
“This whole week we’ve been talking about working on defending the transition play,” Neal said of facing Kansas City. “We knew that was going to be a part of the game today. Playing in a place like a Kansas City, it’s hard to play. You can’t expect to keep the ball the entire game. And they’re a lively team. They’re quick. They like to look for balls in behind. They’re a direct team. So, you know, we were prepared for it. And, yeah, they had a lot of shots off, but, I mean, I think we did good defending the transition for sure.”
The other star for the Galaxy was Bond between the pipes. Bond’s first big moment came in the 32nd minute, as Thommy sent a corner kick into the penalty area, Roger Espinoza flicked a header for the near post, but Bond calmly caught the ball at the end line. Bond came through again in the 43rd minute, as Remi Walter launched a volley from about 23 yards out, but Bond leaped and parried the ball with his right hand over the crossbar.
The Galaxy will return home for its long-awaited home opener, as they host the Vancouver Whitecaps at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night.
