LA Galaxy II is a familiar side for Phoenix Rising, with the two teams meeting a total of 17 times since 2014 (including Arizona United games).
Los Dos were the stronger team in the earlier years, winning half of the first ten encounters and drawing two. Since rebranding to Rising, Phoenix has a 100% record over seven games, outscoring LA 18-8 in the process.
The last meeting of the two sides came in September 2019 at Casino Arizona Field. In the final game of Rising’s record-breaking winning streak, Rising took a three-goal lead in the first half thanks to a Solomon Asante penalty and brace from Junior Flemmings. Kai Koreniuk got one back for the visitors, but Ben Spencer cancelled it out just a minute later. Play was then abandoned early by referee Elijio Arreguin after objects were thrown onto the pitch, with the initial can reportedly coming from an LA fan.
Junior Gonzalez is the current head coach of Los Dos, having first taken on the job on an interim basis last summer. Gonzalez has previous experience as the head coach of Rio Grande Valley, and a spell as assistant with Chivas USA.
Gonzalez has faced Rising as a head coach four times in his career. The first was a 1-1 draw, followed by three losses (2-0; 3-2; 4-1). In each consecutive game, his side has conceded one more goal. If that pattern continues, it would mean five goals for Rising tonight.
Galaxy II travelled to Rio Grande Valley for their only game of the season to date. Gonzalez named just six players out of the possible seven to his bench, with three of those being academy players. That was no problem for Los Dos, though, with Koreniuk and Cameron Dunbar scoring before the break to give the visitors the advantage. Further goals from Augustine Williams, Mauricio Cuevas and a second from Koreniuk were met by just the one in reply, giving Los Angeles a commanding 5-1 victory.
SECOND TEAM SHORTCOMINGS
Los Dos’ squad is considerably thinner since that match, with five of the starting lineup (Eric Lopez, Diédié Traoré, Carlos Harvey, Cameron Dunbar and Kai Koreniuk) signing first team deals, along with sub Jonathan Perez.
Only two of those players (Lopez and Traoré) are fully registered according to MLS’ website on Friday, but an instagram post by Harvey and photographs of the team’s departure featuring Koreniuk imply that the remainders have travelled to Florida for the MLS is Back Tournament.
Kai Koreniuk will arguably be the biggest miss for Los Dos. He scored against Rising in his sole appearance against the club, one of 9 goals in 29 appearances last season. The winger also chipped in with four assists, as well as providing one for the first team in their Leagues Cup quarter final against Tijuana. Koreniuk was born in Florida, but represented the Netherlands at youth level. He signed for Galaxy II last season from AZ Alkmaar.
Carlos Harvey will also be missed badly. The Panamanian – who featured for both the senior national team and U-20 World Cup squad last season – came in 4th place in USL’s 2019 20 under 20. A defensive midfielder who can also play competently as a central defender, LA will miss his ball-winning skills come game time. He is currently on loan from Tauro.
US youth international Cameron Dunbar had been expected to get a lot of minutes with Los Dos this season. Making his professional debut, the 17-year-old recorded a goal and an assist on the wing against RGV. Dunbar was born in Carson, the same city as Galaxy’s stadium, and he’s been with the team’s academy since 2017.
WHO TO EXPECT
With multiple players on first team duty, Los Dos will likely be forced into calling up more academy prospects to supplement those who remained with the USL side.
Both Eric Lopez and Justin vom Steeg are in Florida, so the starting goalkeeping spot will probably fall to Abraham Romero. Romero was on the bench against RGV, and made four starts last season. In those games, he conceded a total of 15 goals – that’s an average of 3.75 each match.
Omar Ontiveros is in his second season with LA Galaxy II. Prior to that, Ontiveros played for RGV and for Luxembourger side Grevenmacher in the Ehrenpromotion (2nd tier). The defender is a solid tackler, wining 69.7% of tackles last season. He also put his 6-foot-2 frame to good use, winning 67.6% of aerial duels during his debut Galaxy II season.
Jorge Hernandez long been a prospect with Los Dos. He made his professional debut at 16 in April 2017, picking up his first assist in his third game. That means that the 19-year-old is now, impressively, in his fourth season in the professional game. The midfielder established himself in the starting lineup in the second half of last season after a spell with UC Irvine.
Augustine Williams is a familiar face in the Western Conference. This is the second season in LA for the striker from Sierra Leone, having previously played for Portland Timbers 2. He’s never been the most prolific of strikers, recording a career best of just seven goals in 29 appearances last season. However, the 22-year-old has a reasonable record against Rising/Arizona United, with four goals in nine games.
Mohammed Kamara might be looked to for goals more than Williams. The Liberian forward, who previously played for UCLA returned to California after time with Paderborn’s II team. In his ten USL appearances last season, he scored four times for LA, but was left out of the squad on both occasions against Phoenix.
From the Ashes Prediction: A weakened, young LA Galaxy II team will be easily brushed aside by Rising.
From the Ashes 