Raul Mendiola shines in Galaxy’s U.S. Open Cup win

Raul Mendiola scored the Galaxy's lone goal in a 1-0 win over Portland in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy @LAGalaxy/Twitter)

Raul Mendiola scored the Galaxy’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over Portland in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Hana Asano // LA Galaxy)

Raul Mendiola‘s goal in the fifth minute against Portland was enough to send the Galaxy through to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup as L.A. held on for a 1-0 win on Wednesday at Providence Park.

The homegrown player subbed off for Mike Magee in the 64th minute after a productive shift both offensively and defensively. He has a goal and an assist in his two U.S. Open Cup appearances for the Galaxy this season.

“I just do my job,” Mendiola told reporters. “The coach tells me to start, and I just do my job like anyone else. I work for the team. I don’t have to score, I don’t have to do anything, I just work for the team. I want to out-compete everyone and just help my teammates.”

Said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena: “He’s a hard-working kid. He was aggressive getting forward. He’s a very competitive player. You can see tonight that he wasn’t bothered by the environment and the challenge for us.”

The Galaxy will host Seattle on July 20 in their second straight U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal appearance. The team continues MLS play on July 4 at home against Vancouver.

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