LA Galaxy 2022 Player Postmortem: Players who didn’t see the pitch

Every season is full of ups and downs, and that’s certainly true for the The Galaxybut beyond the great intrigues of the team, each player had his own story in 2022.

With that, we’re kicking off the annual Player Postmortem series starting with players who haven’t seen competitive action with the first Galaxy team. From there, we’ll have an article on every player who played competitive minutes in the squad, but each of the players who didn’t feature – obviously – nevertheless have their own story for this season. And we’re leaving…

Jorge Villafana

USA TODAY NETWORK

It was a difficult year for Sueño, who missed the whole year with a knee injury. He was extremely good to start the 2021 season with the G’z, but a chronic problem appeared and he was hampered all the way. Head coach Greg Vanney said a hyperextension resulted in a bone bruise, which then appeared to be a cartilage problem in the knee. After minor surgery this spring, he failed to rebound, and LA opted to put him on the season-ending injury list by May, as he underwent another surgery to try and fix it. as described by Vanney.

I think Villafaña’s absence was and was not felt. Without him, Raheem Edwards started the season as a left-back and was effective at first, especially in attack. When Villafaña was ruled out for the year, the Galaxy traded for Chase Gasper, a defensive-minded left-back returning from personal issues, and it made a lot of sense. But I think the Edwards-Gasper peloton was really inconsistent. Sometimes the player there was fantastic, and sometimes he was the player who struggled the most on the pitch. That way, LA could definitely have used Villafaña’s experience and consistent play to even out the peaks and valleys.

Now 33, with plenty of miles on his legs outside of this year, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Villafaña. One of the greatest stories in American football, we’ll see what comes next in Sueño’s career and if it will be with the Galaxy.

Preston Judd

Judd, 23, played in Galaxy’s League Cup friendly against Chivas but after signing a first-team contract in April he never got the initial arc in MLS, which , I think, was expected.

Instead, the combative striker was a staple for LA Galaxy II, and had 13 goals and 4 assists in 25 appearances for Los Dos, leading the team in scoring at USL Championship level. He was named Galaxy II Player of the Year and has shown over the past two seasons that he can absolutely succeed at Division II level.

We will have to see if he can make the jump to MLS or if the USL championship is his ideal level. Los Dos has had some success with an advanced pipeline from Los Dos to MLS…when those players go on to other MLS teams. Ariel Lassiter has become a regular at Inter Miami as a supporting striker, while Ethan Zubak has had some game time this year at Nashville SC. And with Chicharito and Dejan Joveljić getting the minutes, it’s no shock Judd didn’t see the pitch for the first team. Even so, you’re just a few injuries away from looking for options, and we’ll see if Judd sticks around next season to fight for minutes, or head elsewhere for more consistent playing time. I definitely think MLS Next Pro won’t be as competitive, so sticking around to play Galaxy II probably isn’t the best move for his career. We’ll see what happens.

Marcus Ferkranus

The centre-back, now 19, started his second season as the team’s first player being assigned to Galaxy II again. Aside from a productive stint with the USA U-20, which won the Concacaf U-20 Championship, Ferkranus’ playing time at the club has been limited this year at all levels. He played just four games at USL Championship level with Los Dos, before being loaned to fellow USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC in late July. He made five appearances, two starts, as Phoenix limped to a surprisingly poor finish.

We don’t know what happened with Ferkranus. Did he ask to be loaned out to get more playing time, or did the Galaxy just send him away? Does this mean his days in the organization are numbered or will he be making a fresh start in 2023? We’ll have to see what the club’s end-of-season personnel decisions will be and go from there.

Richard Sanchez

Once one of MLS’s top goalkeeper prospects, Sanchez is now 28 and was the Galaxy’s 3rd-string GK in 2022. No surprise, with Jonathan Bond and Jonathan Klinsmann getting competitive playing time, the The road to first-team playing time was a long one for Sanchez, who signed a one-year contract this year.

As a result, he went to Galaxy II, starting 13 games in the USL Championship this year. He split his time with Eric Lopez, and while I wonder why Lopez was kicked out of the first team and yet brought back to Los Dos anyway, Sanchez’s stats weren’t as good across the board compared in Lopez. With Galaxy II being a reserve team, it’s obvious that cutting and changing lineups can disrupt a goalie’s flow, but that’s not the ultimate goal of a reserve team, it’s trying. things and give game time to the reserves.

We’ll see if Sanchez is back, but it’s tough out there for a 3rd string GK. So we’ll see what happens.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.