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En Route: Los Angeles Galaxy claims 2011 U16 Development Academy National Championship
The Galaxy erupted in the second half to capture the U16 title over PA Classics with a heavy 4-1 win to cap a distinguished season.
Jul 17, 2011 12:48:00 AM
By J.R. Eskilson
J.R. Eskilson
MILWAUKEE – The Los Angeles Galaxy completed a distinguished season on Saturday with a 4-1 win over PA Classics in the 2011 Development Academy U16 National Championship. Goals from Sean Dhillon, Willie Raygoza, Justin Dhillon, and Drew Murphy were enough to overcome the feisty squad from Pennsylvania under the bright lights at Valley Field on the campus of Marquette University.
Sean Dhillon put the MLS academy on the board early when he hit a laser from distance only two minutes after the opening whistle. It was the fourth goal of the week for the older Dhillon brother, who recently returned to form after a facial injury earlier in the season.
PA Classics gained control of the game after the goal and enjoyed two chances on net before half. The most harrowing opportunity came on a service from Kyle Bitterman to the far post, where Connor Maloney left his feet for a diving header attempt but the ball sailed just out of his reach.
Galaxy pushed to open the lead in the final minutes of the half and was nearly rewarded when Sebastian Velasquez’s sublime dribbling broke through the Classics’ backline. Velasquez laid the ball back for Justin Dhillon, but the tall midfielder mishit his effort over the bar.
After the break, Classics were on the front foot with renewed energy and found the equalizer via Bitterman just 10 minutes into the second stanza. Christian Kaschak hit a well-weighted pass into the path of Bitterman, who beat his mark to the ball and slotted a shot into the lower far post to put the sides back on level terms.
The two teams exchanged chances over the course of the next dozen minutes before LA found the game-winning goal. Galaxy captain Willie Raygoza’s shot from 20 yards out took a fortuitous bounce off a couple defenders before wrong-footing the goalie and giving LA the lead for good.
Shortly after the second LA goal, Galaxy head coach Kenny Arena brought on Drew Murphy, who would be the spark that the team needed in the final third to take the wind out of the sails of the pesky opposition.
“Drew’s a great player,” Arena told Goal.com about the star of the game. “We needed someone to come in and just be on. I think in the 10 minutes he played, he might have been the best player we had all day.”
The substitute said that he was anxious to get on as the game was unfolding in front of him and that the coaching staff told him to just do his job.
“We just wanted to win whatever it took,” Murphy told Goal.com after the game. “Fortunately, I got on and did my job - got a goal and an assist. We are national champs!”
Murphy’s first impact on the game came only moments after entering the game when he hit a cross to the far post where Justin Dhillon was open and made amends for his miss earlier in the game with the third goal of the night for LA.
A few minutes later, Justin Dhillon provided the assist for Murphy with a cross to the far post that the substitute headed into the back of the net to put the game out of reach for the Classics. The substitute raced to the sideline after his goal, cleared the signboards, and hugged his coaches Alex Yi and Arena. The championship was only minutes away.
As the referee raised his arm and blew his whistle, the Galaxy bench ran for the Gatorade bucket and haphazardly drenched the coaches in the sports drink. The whole squad gathered in a circle and began an “LA . . . Galaxy” chant, while the preparations were made to award the squad from the SoCal Division with the hardware from Development Academy officials.
“Getting a championship is amazing,” Arena said. “It is recognition that our club and players deserve. They have worked tirelessly in details on how to get better and what to do.”
Even in the joy of the event, Arena never lost perspective on what the true end goal is for his academy.
“At the end of the day, my job is to produce guys,” the coach said . “If along the way, I can produce a couple championships too, that’s great.”
“It is amazing,” Murphy said, feeling the champion medal around his neck. “We are just ready to go, ready for next year.”
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Sean Dhillon put the MLS academy on the board early when he hit a laser from distance only two minutes after the opening whistle. It was the fourth goal of the week for the older Dhillon brother, who recently returned to form after a facial injury earlier in the season.
PA Classics gained control of the game after the goal and enjoyed two chances on net before half. The most harrowing opportunity came on a service from Kyle Bitterman to the far post, where Connor Maloney left his feet for a diving header attempt but the ball sailed just out of his reach.
Galaxy pushed to open the lead in the final minutes of the half and was nearly rewarded when Sebastian Velasquez’s sublime dribbling broke through the Classics’ backline. Velasquez laid the ball back for Justin Dhillon, but the tall midfielder mishit his effort over the bar.
After the break, Classics were on the front foot with renewed energy and found the equalizer via Bitterman just 10 minutes into the second stanza. Christian Kaschak hit a well-weighted pass into the path of Bitterman, who beat his mark to the ball and slotted a shot into the lower far post to put the sides back on level terms.
The two teams exchanged chances over the course of the next dozen minutes before LA found the game-winning goal. Galaxy captain Willie Raygoza’s shot from 20 yards out took a fortuitous bounce off a couple defenders before wrong-footing the goalie and giving LA the lead for good.
Shortly after the second LA goal, Galaxy head coach Kenny Arena brought on Drew Murphy, who would be the spark that the team needed in the final third to take the wind out of the sails of the pesky opposition.
“Drew’s a great player,” Arena told Goal.com about the star of the game. “We needed someone to come in and just be on. I think in the 10 minutes he played, he might have been the best player we had all day.”
The substitute said that he was anxious to get on as the game was unfolding in front of him and that the coaching staff told him to just do his job.
“We just wanted to win whatever it took,” Murphy told Goal.com after the game. “Fortunately, I got on and did my job - got a goal and an assist. We are national champs!”
Murphy’s first impact on the game came only moments after entering the game when he hit a cross to the far post where Justin Dhillon was open and made amends for his miss earlier in the game with the third goal of the night for LA.
A few minutes later, Justin Dhillon provided the assist for Murphy with a cross to the far post that the substitute headed into the back of the net to put the game out of reach for the Classics. The substitute raced to the sideline after his goal, cleared the signboards, and hugged his coaches Alex Yi and Arena. The championship was only minutes away.
As the referee raised his arm and blew his whistle, the Galaxy bench ran for the Gatorade bucket and haphazardly drenched the coaches in the sports drink. The whole squad gathered in a circle and began an “LA . . . Galaxy” chant, while the preparations were made to award the squad from the SoCal Division with the hardware from Development Academy officials.
“Getting a championship is amazing,” Arena said. “It is recognition that our club and players deserve. They have worked tirelessly in details on how to get better and what to do.”
Even in the joy of the event, Arena never lost perspective on what the true end goal is for his academy.
“At the end of the day, my job is to produce guys,” the coach said . “If along the way, I can produce a couple championships too, that’s great.”
“It is amazing,” Murphy said, feeling the champion medal around his neck. “We are just ready to go, ready for next year.”
Follow J.R. ESKILSON on
Follow Goal.com on
to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's page; be part of the best soccer fan community in the world!
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