LA Galaxy II

LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team currently competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the United States soccer league system.[1] The team were runners up in the 2015 edition of the USL championship in which the Los Dos lost to the Rochester Rhinos.

LA Galaxy II
Nickname(s)Los Dos
FoundedJanuary 29, 2014 (January 29, 2014)
StadiumDignity Health Sports Park Track & Field Stadium
Carson, California
Capacity5,000
OwnerLA Galaxy (AEG)
ManagerJunior Gonzalez
LeagueUSL Championship
20208th, Western Conference
Playoffs: Quarterfinals
WebsiteClub website

Purpose

About forming the reserve team, Galaxy President Chris Klein said, “The creation of LA Galaxy II, through USL PRO, provides the Galaxy with a fully realized, in-house player development program starting with the Under-12 Academy through the LA Galaxy first team. The investment of AEG and the Galaxy for LA Galaxy II will allow us to continue to develop the best players in Southern California while closing the gap between the Galaxy Academy and the LA Galaxy.”[1]

History

It was announced on January 29, 2014 that the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer would be fielding their own team in the USL Pro to serve as their reserve team beginning with the 2014 USL Pro season. The Galaxy chose to create their own team in the league instead of affiliating with a current USL Pro team after the two leagues formed a partnership the previous year. The current assistant coach of the senior squad, Curt Onalfo, would become head coach of the reserve squad. The club would play its home matches at Dignity Health Sports Park's Track & Field Stadium, a 1,200-seat stadium near the main stadium, home to the senior club.[1] Onalfo had led the Galaxy's previous reserve squad to two consecutive MLS Reserve League West Division titles.[2] In the process, the LA Galaxy became the first MLS club to own and operate its own USL Pro side.[2]

2014 season
Main article: 2014 LA Galaxy II season

The club's first match took place on February 13, 2014 as they defeated Fresno Fuego of the USL Premier Development League 2–1. Travis Bowen scored the teams first-ever goal.[3] The team made its USL Pro debut on March 22, 2014, defeating the league's other LA club, the Orange County Blues FC, 3–1 at home. Charlie Rugg scored their first goal in USL Pro competition.[4][5] In the regular season, the Galaxy II earned third place in the league's standings, having a 15–6–7 (W-L-T) record, qualifying for the playoffs. The Galaxy II had faced against the Rochester Rhinos during the quarter finals, who they defeated and advance to face Sacramento Republic FC in the semifinals. The Galaxy II were defeated against Sacramento Republic therefore being eliminated, and ending their inaugural season.

Daniel Steres was named captain, and was named Defender of the Year.[6][7]

2015 season

Los Dos finished 5th in the Western Conference during the regular season of the newly formatted USL. During the playoffs, The Galaxy II defeated Sacramento Republic in overtime, advancing to face first seeded OKC Energy in the Conference Finals. Los Dos became Conference champions, after defeating OKC Energy, and went on to face Rochester Rhinos in the USL championship. The Galaxy II were defeated in the championship game.

Daniel Steres was again named Defender of the Year.[6][7]

Stadium

The team currently plays in the Track & Field Facility at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The field has 2,000 permanent seats, but can be expanded to hold as many as 20,000 fans.[8] The main stadium at Dignity Health Sports Park holds 27,000 attendees and is the home of the LA Galaxy first team.

Players and staff

The squad of LA Galaxy II is composed of an unrestricted number of first-team players on loan to the reserve team, players signed by Galaxy II, and LA Galaxy Academy players. Academy players who appear in matches with LA Galaxy II retain their college eligibility.[1]

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of August 16, 2019.

No. Position Player Nation
40 Goalkeeper Anthony Ramos ([B])  United States
41 Goalkeeper Carlos Zuñiga ([B])  United States
46 Defender Isaac Bawa  Ghana
48 Forward Augustine Williams  Sierra Leone
49 Midfielder Adrian Vera  United States
53 Defender Jorge Hernandez  United States
54 Forward Andre Ochoa ([B])  United States
58 Defender Mauricio Cuevas  United States
62 Defender Jesús Vázquez (on loan from Atlante)  United States
  1. ^
    Signed to first team contract with LA Galaxy.
    2.
  2. ^
    LA Galaxy Academy player.
    3.

Coaching staff
Role Name Nation
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez  United States
Goalkeeper Coach Claine Plummer  Costa Rica

Team records
As of October 10, 2020

Year-by-year
Year Division League Regular Season W-T-L Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Avg. Attendance Top Scorer Goals
2014 3 USL 3rd: 15–6–7 Semifinals 3R 597 Chandler Hoffman 14
2015 3 USL 5th, Western: 14–3–11 Runner-Up 2R 969 Ariel Lassiter 11
2016 3 USL 5th, Western: 12–11–7 Conference Quarterfinals Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 1,211 Jack McBean 15
2017 2 USL 13th, Western: 8–5–19 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 1,215 Justin Dhillon
Adrian Vera		 6
2018 2 USL 14th, Western: 10–7–17 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 1,048 Frank López 13
2019 2 USLC 9th, Western: 12–12–10 Play-In Round Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 881 Ethan Zubak
Kai Koreniuk		 9
2020 2 USLC 8th, Western: 8–2–6
2nd Group B		 Conference Quarterfinals Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) N/A Augustine Williams 13

Head coaches
All time LA Galaxy II Coaching Stats
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinLossDrawWin %
Curt Onalfo  United States January 29, 2014 December 13, 2016 95 46 29 20 048.42
Mike Muñoz  United States January 12, 2017 July 19, 2019 85 23 42 20 027.06
Junior Gonzalez (Interim)  United States July 19, 2019 January 8, 2020 15 6 5 4 040.00
Junior Gonzalez  United States January 8, 2020 present 16 8 6 2 050.00

Honors

Player honors
Year Player Country Position Honor
2014 Chandler Hoffman United States Forward All-League First Team
André Auras France Midfielder All-League Second Team
Daniel Steres United States Defender All-League Second Team
2015 Daniel Steres United States Defender All-League First Team
2016 Jack McBean United States Forward All-League First Team
2018 Efraín Álvarez Mexico Midfielder Young Player of the Year
2020[9] Augustine Williams Sierra Leone Forward All-League First Team

References
  1. "LA Galaxy Place Team in USL PRO". USL Pro. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  2. "LA Galaxy announce they will form their own USL PRO franchise named LA Galaxy II". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  3. "LA Galaxy II victorious in first ever match with a 2–1 win over Fresno Fuego". LA Galaxy. February 13, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  4. "LA Galaxy II announce USL PRO schedule". LA Galaxy. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  5. "LA Galaxy II win inaugural match over Orange County Blues 3–1". LA Galaxy. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  6. "Getting 2 know Galaxy II: Defender Daniel Steres". LA Galaxy. 15 April 2015.
  7. "Daniel Steres LA Galaxy:Profile". Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  8. "Track & Field Facility". Dignity Health Sports Park. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  9. "USL Championship Reveals 2020 All-League Teams". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
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