Galaxy loses to Carolina RailHawks, 2-0, in U.S. Open Cup
Robbie Rogers was cheered in his first road game with the Galaxy.
Rogers, the first openly gay man playing in a U.S. pro league, entered as a substitute in the 62nd minute of the Galaxy’s 2-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks on Wednesday night in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Galaxy was primarily using reserve players.
He received polite applause from the RailHawks’ record crowd of 8,121, at Cary, N.C., with some shouting cheers of encouragement.
Rogers made his Major League Soccer debut three nights earlier at home. The first MLS road game for Rogers is Sunday at New England.
Also on Wednesday, officials confirmed that the Galaxy and Real Madrid are among four teams that will play in a doubleheader Aug. 3 at Dodger Stadium as part of a new international soccer tournament.
Juventus of Italy and Everton FC of England also will participate in the first soccer matches ever held at the 51-year-old stadium.
The games are part of the inaugural Guinness International Champions Cup, an eight-team tournament overall that mostly will be played in the United States.
In the first round Aug. 1, the Galaxy will play Real Madrid in Phoenix and Juventus will play Everton in San Francisco.
The winners of those two games will then meet in the second round at Dodger Stadium. On the same day, the first-round losers also will play each other there.
All eight teams move to the final rounds at Sun Life Stadium near Miami on Aug. 6 and 7 to determine the champion.
“When we heard [the tournament] was a possibility, we got very interested right away,” Dodgers President Stan Kasten said, adding that seeing the four teams on a single day in Southern California was “an extraordinary opportunity.”
The other four teams in the event’s Eastern bracket are AC Milan, Inter Milan, Valencia and Chelsea.
AC Milan plays Valencia in the first round in Valencia, Spain, and Chelsea plays Inter Milan in Indianapolis. Those teams then play their second-round games Aug. 4 at MetLifeStadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
