CARSON - Following Tuesday morning's completion of the Second Annual LA Galaxy Open Tryout, the club selected goalkeeper Vito Higgins to continue training with the first team. Higgins, who played four years at Gonzaga University, will begin training under the tutelage of goalkeeper coach Ian Feuer on Wednesday.
"Vito had an outstanding career at Gonzaga and was somebody whose talents we were well aware of in advance of this week's Open Tryouts," Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo said. "He came into the tryouts and impressed us with his play and has without a doubt earned his chance to train with the Galaxy."
The 22-year old Hawaii native appeared in 69 games during his four years with the Bulldogs, including 38 in his last two seasons when he played every minute of every game for the school. As a senior in 2007, Higgins compiled a 9-6-4 record along with a 0.70 goals against average, which is the second best single season mark in club history. Higgins helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament last year and recorded a career-high 14 saves in the Bulldogs 1-0 loss to SMU, with the game's lone goal coming via a late penalty kick.
Higgins will train with the Galaxy for the rest of the week in the hopes of earning a spot on the club's trip to Honolulu as part of the inaugural Pan Pacific Championship, which begins on February 20. After that tournament, the Galaxy will head to Korea and China for Asia Tour 2008 presented by Herbalife before returning to the U.S. in mid-March.
The Galaxy opens their 13th season of play on Saturday, March 29 against the Colorado Rapids at 6:30 p.m. (PT), live on Fox Soccer Channel from Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. LA will play their home opener five days later on Thursday, April 3 when they host former head coach Frank Yallop and the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. at The Home Depot Center.
The 2008 MLS season is just around the corner and the LA Galaxy are now accepting deposits for the 2008 season. A non-refundable deposit secures your place for each 2008 Galaxy regular season game, plus great benefits including exclusive events with the team, special season seat holder gifts, and much more! Call 1-877-3GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com for more details or to purchase your 2008 Galaxy season seats.
