Galaxy taking US Open Cup quarterfinal vs. Sounders more seriously

CARSON — The Galaxy have won the U.S. Open Cup twice in its history (2001 and 2005) and made the finals two more times (2002 and 2006).

Aside from that, the club’s history in the touament is a lot of misses rather than hits, and Wednesday night the Galaxy have another chance to get over the quarterfinal roadblock.

The Galaxy will face Seattle in the quarterfinals of this year’s touament at 7:30 p.m. at the StubHub Center track stadium.

The wiers will advance to the semifinals Aug. 10.

“The results in the Open Cup for the Galaxy haven’t been good,” midfielder Mike Magee said. “It has not been good since I got here in 2009. It doesn’t make sense because we normally have the best team in the league or one of the best teams in the league and we’ve always had incredible amount of depth, so it doesn’t make sense and it must be an effort thing.

“He’s (coach Bruce Arena) definitely let us know that and like I said, I’ve sensed something different. And as a club, we’re taking this more seriously.”

Since Arena took over in 2008, the Galaxy have never been out of the quarterfinals.

There probably shouldn’t be much conce about a lack of effort with the Weste Conference rival Sounders across the field. The Sounders knocked the Galaxy out of the MLS playoffs last year. With a victory, the Galaxy can conceivably retu the favor and end Seattle’s season. The Sounders are in last place in the Weste Conference, so the Open Cup is perhaps their only shot at a trophy this season.

“In the past, they’ve taken Open Cup pretty serious and it is one of there main goals to win Open Cup,” Galaxy defender A.J. De La Garza said of Seattle. “We’re in the quarterfinals, you’re close to something at the end ... we didn’t come this far to not win it, so you’re going to see a team out there that’s hungry and that’s going to fight.”

One of the keys to having a successful Open Cup is relying on the depth of the team, allowing key members of the regular starting lineup to get rest for league games.

In the Round of 16 victory over Portland (June 29), the Galaxy were able to leave Giovani dos Santos, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes and Brian Rowe out of the starting lineup and still record a 1-0 victory.

A mix of starters and youth is expected for the lineup again, especially with a weekend league game — Saturday at Portland — on the horizon.

“When you get to this stage, the competition gets keener and the importance of the game is greater,” Arena said. “We have to try to piece together our team where we can win not only on Wednesday, but Saturday as well.”

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U.S. Open Cup

SEATTLE SOUNDERS at L.A. GALAXY

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at StubHub Center (track stadium)

Live stream available at U.S. Soccer YouTube page (youtube.com/ussoccerdotcom)

Update: The Sounders are in last place in the Weste Conference, so this is likely their only opportunity to play for a trophy. Seattle defeated Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks in the Round of 16. The Sounders are searching for their sixth trip to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. The Sounders have won the touament four times. The Galaxy have won the touament twice (2001 and 2005). The Galaxy defeated Portland, 1-0 in the Round of 16 on June 29. Raul Mendiola scored the wiing goal in the fifth minute. Parking is free. Fans are advised to enter through Gate I. Fans can enter stadium through the south end.