LA Galaxy II (10 wins, 9 draws, 8 defeats) currently sits in 7th spot in the Western Conference table with 39 points from 27 games. That’s 29 points behind Rising (21 wins, 5 draws, 2 defeats), having played a game less.
Los Dos are one of the dirtier sides in the Championship. They trail only Vegas and Tulsa for fouls conceded (419).
Nevertheless, Galaxy II aren’t too bad away from home – and haven’t lost any of their last six road matches.
The team is most likely to find the net shortly after the half-time break.
When it comes to conceding goals on the road, time doesn’t seem to make much difference for the visitors.
LAST MEETING
The two sides last met just over a month ago at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Los Dos took a first half lead through Ethan Zubak, before Efrain Alvarez doubled the advantage from the spot seven minutes after the break.
Rising then began one of the greatest comebacks in the club’s history. Solomon Asante got the visitors off the mark in the 58th minute, and Junior Flemmings equalized with 16 minutes to go. Joey Calistri then scored the winner in the 83rd minute to send the 80+ traveling fans into ecstasy,
Rising had the majority of possession (59.3%) and dominated the aerial game (63.9%). However, Galaxy II had one more shot (19-18), with seven on target apiece.
The hosts committed more than twice the number of fouls (21-10), but still only received two yellow cards to Rising’s one.
MOST RECENT XI
LA Galaxy II lined up in a 4-3-3 formation for their last game – a 3-1 home victory over Real Monarchs last Saturday
Eric Lopez started in goal. Lopez made his debut with Los Dos back in 2016, but was first signed professionally at the age of 15 the season before. He’s played ten games this year, including the last seven. Two of those ten have been clean sheets, which is the highest season tally of his career. He also has a 69.6% save success rate.
Nate Shultz is in his second season with Los Dos. The full-back signed as a draft pick, and has featured in all but one of the team’s matches this year. He’s pretty good at winning the ball back, leading the team in total number of tackles (35 with a 67.3% success rate) and duels (150 with a 52.6% success rate). He also doesn’t give up too many fouls (35) compared to the number he wins (31).
Justin Fiddes played as a left-back in the last game against Monarchs. Originally from Georgia, Fiddes played in San Diego before joining the IMG Academy in 2011. He joined the Whitecaps out of college, but when that didn’t work out, signed for Los Dos in August 2018. Like Shultz, he’s fairly decent at tackling (67.7% success rate). Don’t expect a great deal out of him in front of goal, though. He has had just two shots all year, both of which missed the target.
Tomas Hilliard-Arce is the captain from the heart of defense. Hiliard-Arce joined Los Dos after finishing his studies at Stanford. He’s the best reader of the ball at the back, leading the team in blocks (14) and interceptions (46), but also in clearances (110). Hilliard-Arce has been up-and-down with the first team this year, but has still made 19 appearances, and remained in USL since late July.
Central defender Omar Ontiveros has been in and out of the team this season, but has looked decent when in the squad. His tackle successs rate is 72.2%, and he’s won 68.5% of balls in the air. He’ll be out of the squad this weekend, though, as he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Monarchs.
Midfielder Geoffrey Acheampong is back in the squad after returning from four months off through injury. Originally from Ghana, Acheampong played alongside current teammate Nick DePuy at UC Santa Barbara. He was considered a top prospect, and signed for Bastia – a French team known for giving several top African players their professional debuts. He left Corsica in summer 2017, when Bastia was demoted four tiers due to financial irregularities. He moved to Veracruz (Mexico), but failed to make a single appearance before joining Los Dos. Despite his absence for most of this season, Acheampong has two goals and one assist from eight appearances.
Carlos Harvey isn’t unfamiliar with the Valley. It’s where he made his senior international debut back in January for Panama against the United States. The midfielder also traveled with his country to the U-20 World Cup back in May, resulting in him missing several league games. Harvey is on loan from Panamanian side Tauro, and has featured in 15 games for Los Dos this season. He has two goals, and boasts a decent passing accuracy of 82.2%, but is yet to record an assist.
José Hernández is also no stranger to the Grand Canyon state, having played in RSL’s Arizona academy. Hernández actually made his professional debut against his current team with Monarchs, but left Utah after the 2018 season. He’s been in the matchday squad for every Galaxy II match this season, but was an unused sub for four of them. He has two goals in 2019, plus four assists.
Dutch-American winger Kai Koreniuk is in his first season with LA’s second team. He previously played for the reserve sides at Vitesse and AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands. Koreniuk leads the squad with seven goals, and also has two assists.
Sierra Leonean Augustine Williams is having his best season of his career up top. He’s scored six goals in his debut Los Dos season, after failing to top five in the previous three years with Timbers 2. All of Williams’ goals have come inside the box, scored with his right foot or his head. He was named to the 2017 USL Twenty under Twenty list.
Mohammed Kamara is a recent acquisition to the squad. He previously played for Paderborn’s second team, in the Oberliga Westfalen (German 4th tier). This isn’t his first spell in the City of Angeles – he played for UCLA last fall. In his first four games with Los Dos, he’s managed to find the net once.
Tanzanian defender Abdalla Haji Shaibu was an unused sub against Monarchs. He joined Los Dos on a season-long loan from MFK Vyskov (Czech Republic) in mid-August. The 20-year-old 6ft-2 defender has also previously played for Young Africans S.C. in the Tanzanian Premier League. Shaibu made his debut as a sub in a 2-2 draw in New Mexico on August 17, but has been left on the bench ever since.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Elijio Arreguin is the referee for tonight’s match. A substitute teacher from the Bay Area, Arreguin has officiated at the second-tier level since 2017. He took charge of Rising’s 5-0 victory over Tulsa earlier this season. Arreguin doesn’t shy away from making the big calls – he sent off four players in a clash between Bethlehem and Birmingham in late August, and pointed to the spot twice in last week’s game between Fresno and Reno. Given Los Dos’ high number of fouls conceded, that might not be a bad thing for Phoenix.
From the Ashes Prediction: Rising to scrape a win with a penalty.