"It's our Playoff, it's Our Year": LA Galaxy prepare for important Leagues Cup Quarterfinal against Pachuca
For a team short on consistency, one high-stakes night against Pachuca could define the Galaxy’s year.
Nothing has gone right for the LA Galaxy, but the Leagues Cup remains the lone beacon of hope for the reigning MLS Cup Champions.
The LA Galaxy has to put its 3-1 loss to Inter Miami behind them as the focus shifts to the Leagues Cup quarterfinal against C.F. Pachuca on Wednesday night. LA has a chance to win a meaningful trophy and book a spot in next season’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
“I think you can throw the whole season out the window. Tomorrow's a new game. It's a final for us. It's our playoff, it's our year,” said Diego Fagundez to reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
“We're only a couple of games away from lifting a trophy, so I think that's what we need to focus on. Everybody tomorrow needs to be prepared. Everybody needs to come to this facility, to the stadium, and bring their passion and their fight in them.”
LA finished inside the top four in the MLS League table to advance to this stage of the tournament. Wins against Xolos and Santos Laguna showed the Galaxy’s ability to score goals and be dominant, but they were challenged by Cruz Azul and lost in the penalty shootout to "Los Cementeros”.
“This game is everything to the next step of actually accomplishing something, whether that's a championship, Champions League, or something to take out of the season. This is pretty much all eggs in the basket tomorrow to try to move on,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney.
“I think everybody in our locker room over there understands the importance of the game and the importance for this particular group to try to make some statement this season about its ability to win a big game and win a big series like this or a big tournament,” he added.
The Galaxy will see the return of defender Emiro Garces on Wednesday night, but Maya Yoshida remains a question mark for this important matchup.
“We'll see how he responds after today, so we'll see. I'm not quite as confident in Maya, but I'm certainly more confident on the others,” said Vanney.
Pachuca comes into this match as the #2 seed in the Liga MX table. The Mexican side beat San Diego FC and Houston Dynamo, but lost to LAFC in a penalty shootout. In league play, “Los Tuzos” are at the top of the Liga MX table but suffered their first defeat of the season to Xolos over the weekend.
Los Tuzos are one of the better defensive teams in the early Liga MX season, with four goals conceded in five games. Fagundez mentioned the importance of taking advantage of goal-scoring chances and being better at closing out the end of games.
“I think tomorrow is not going to be any easier. I think we need to make sure that we finish our chances when we can and then when we see what time is left and how much time we need to dictate our pace of the game and make sure that we can finish the game strong,” said the 30-year-old midfielder.
“I know this team believes that we can win this game, and that's what's important. We're sticking together until the end. It doesn't matter what's happening, and I think that's a big thing that we're showing as a team, but at the end of the day, like we need, we need to show results, and tomorrow is going to be a big step.” he added.
“It's going to be a final for us.”
Knockout games provide an avenue for teams to throw form out the window. 90 minutes (or a penalty shootout) will determine if there will be more meaningful games or if the 2025 campaign is a wrap for the LA Galaxy. It’s a simple task for the Galaxy: survive and advance.