Araujo lifts Galaxy to MLS playoff win
CARSON ❯❯ Julian Araujo joked that when he was younger he was a goal scorer like his teammate Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
Since he's been with the Galaxy, Araujo had just one goal during his four years with the club – until Saturday.
The defender's second goal came in a big way, a game-winner in the 60th minute to give the fourthseeded Galaxy a 1-0 win over fifth-seeded Nashville SC to open the MLS Cup Playoffs in front of 22,280 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The win sends the Galaxy into the Western Conference semifinals to face local rival and top-seeded LAFC at 7 p.m. Thursday at Banc of California Stadium.
This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the teams. They split their regular season games and the Galaxy won the meeting in the U.S. Open Cup.
Saturday's home playoff game was the first for the Galaxy since 2016.
“We had maybe 10-20 minutes left in the game and I knew we needed a goal,” Araujo said. “With the subs coming in, we had a lot of energy. I got into the box, saw the play develop, I went back post and I was hoping Sam (Samuel Grandsir) would get it there.
“I gave a pass to Mark (Delgado) or Douglas (Costa) there and I knew they were going to create a triangle and if go up (near goal), someone would cover for me. I saw Douglas on the ball, Sam was outside of him. Sam went to the endline, I went to the back post and I was hoping to get into of the outside back and I just positioned my body to hit back across the goal.”
Minutes earlier, Araujo was in on two near-goal chances for the Galaxy. First, in the 51st minute, Hernandez scored off a feed from Riqui Puig, but referee Armando Villarreal went to the VAR and wiped the goal off due to Araujo's foul on Nashville's Hany Mukhtar that started the attack.
Later, Araujo came down the right wing and hit a cross that ended up looking more like a shot as it managed to get over Nashville's goalkeeper Joe Willis' head and hit off the post.
Araujo made his way to the first team in 2019 after signing with the Galaxy at 17 years old. This season, he was the youngest in Galaxy history to reach 100 career MLS appearances and has his sights set on the making the Mexican national team for next month's World Cup.
“He's a massive talented player,” Hernandez said of Araujo. “He's matured a lot and I think he has something that I've seen around the world. This humbleness and acceptance that you don't know everything and you don't want to live on your talent only. His work rate has improved so much.”
The game went into halftime scoreless. In the second half, Nashville had the first opportunity, but Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was on the spot to stop a shot from Mukhtar.
“The second half, in the transition, we scored the goal that they decided to call back, but I think that just loosened up the game a little bit for everybody,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “That gave you the feeling that somebody can win this thing and somebody can lose this thing, so even though the ball hits the back of the net, it changes the emotions of things.
“The game starts to stretch a little bit and then opportunities start to show up. I'm really proud of our guys because we haven't had a ton of shutouts. I think our last one was in June. So to dig down, this is how you win playoff games. Sometimes they're not so fluid and they're not as perfect as you would like them to be, sometimes you have to dig, find your opportunities and you defend at the end when the opposition throws a lot of things forward.”
Cincinnati advances
Brandon Vazquez scored on a breakaway in the 86th minute to help fifth-seeded Cincinnati beat the fourthseeded New York Red Bulls 2-1 on Saturday in Harrison, N.J., for its first playoff victory in franchise history.
The Lions, making the club's first appearance in the MLS playoffs, advance to play top-seeded Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals.