Robbie Rogers finally found the back net for the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night.
By Ivan Yeo
It was a moment long overdue for Robbie Rogers.
Ever since his much publicized return to Major League Soccer in 2013, Rogers has had a lot on his mind since joining the Los Angeles Galaxy. Aside from fitting with his Galaxy teammates on and off the field, Rogers has also carried the aspirations of the LGBT community, and Wednesday night against the Portland Timbers, Rogers made those voices heard loud and clear, as he scored his first goal in MLS in four years and his first ever in a Galaxy shirt.
“Going into the games, I don’t think, ‘I’m going to score tonight.’ But I’ve been close and finally scored this game when it was already 2-0,” Rogers said. “I didn’t think I was going to be so emotional and I didn’t think it was going to have the impact that it did have on me, so it was a great way to cap off tonight.”
Rogers made headlines on February 15, 2013 when shortly after leaving Leeds United, he announced he was gay and retired from professional soccer. Rogers however had a change of heart after speaking at an LGBT event in Portland, and shortly after started to train with the Galaxy. The Chicago Fire at first held Rogers rights, but the Galaxy acquired Rogers’ rights on May 24 2013 in exchange for Mike Magee. Rogers made his Galaxy debut on May 26, 2013 agains the Seattle Sounders, making him the first openly gay man to play in a top North American Sports League
Despite the significance of the event, the deal between the Galaxy and Fire was seen as a head-scratcher by some in the media and amongst Galaxy fans. Magee had developed into somewhat of a folk hero among Galaxy fans for his play in LA’s MLS Cup runs 2011 and 2012 and had started out well in the 2013 season. Sure enough, Magee ended the 2013 season with 21 goals and was named league MVP. Rogers however struggled in his return to MLS, as he was battled injuries, was in and out of the Galaxy lineup and struggled to make an impact for the Galaxy.
Rogers also battled injuries to start the 2014 season, but a position switch midway through the season set the stage for Rogers re-emergance. Rogers, a midfielder during his years with the Columbus Crew, was moved to the Left Back position by head coach Bruce Arena, and made his debut at the position for the Galaxy’s June 8 matchup against Chivas USA. Rogers soon became a staple at the position, and his play at both sides of the field was instrumental in helping the Galaxy reclaim the MLS Cup in 2014.
“Sometimes it has been tough for me and I’ve felt the pressure and from the moments like this and the [2014 MLS Cup] Championship,” Rogers said. “I never expected for me to find that pride or to be proud of coming from a community that doesn’t really have a huge footprint in sports. But to be a part of it… It’s a special moment.”
Rogers again battled injuries to start the 2015 season, but has now started to get healthy and his presence in the back line has coincided with the team’s recent hot streak. On Wednesday night, in the 33rd minute, fittingly on LGBT Pride night, Rogers finally got the moment that he and the Galaxy had waited so long for. It started when Robbie Keane split the Portland defense with a through ball to Rogers, who despite being a left back, struck the ball with his right foot and the shot got past Timbers keeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey into the back net at the 21,207 in attendance at the StubHub Center erupted.
“It was a great pass from Robbie [Keane] and I just ran,” Rogers said. “I don’t really know what the goalkeeper was doing, he came out way too early. Robbie [Keane] and the goalkeeper made it easy for me. I just saw him come out and he probably thought I would take a touch and that’s why he started sprinting at me, so I decided to first-time hit it.”
As great it was for Rogers to relieve that burden and finally score that first goal for the Galaxy, his teammates are just as happy for him that he finally got to relish that moment and are excited at the possibility of more goals coming fromt the left back spot.
“I think he was desperate to score a goal,” Keane said. “He’s been getting in great positions because he has so much energy. Going forward, he gets in the right spots. It was just unfortunate, that when he was getting the opportunities he wasn’t taking them. He took it tonight, so hopefully that will give him confidence, and he can start getting a few more.”
