LA Galaxy Should Let Young Midfielder Start on Friday against the Vancouver Whitecaps | OneFootball

At the beginning of the season, new player Christian Ramirez was the focus of most of the offense early on. Gabriel Pec provided the team's first goal of the 2025 MLS regular season.

It just so happens that the same team Pec scored against is the LA Galaxy's next opponent on Friday. The defending MLS Cup champions will host the Vancouver Whitecaps during the evening on the 4th of July.

Ramirez has not seen much action in the past few months. In fact, more than once this season, he did not even take the field, including in the 1-1 tie against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Pec along with Joseph Paintsil have suffered multiple injuries preventing them from playing in every game for the LA Galaxy, too. Midfielders Diego Fagundez and Marco Reus have had to play more up top, lining up as a forward in the hopes of sparking one of the MLS Western Conference's lowest scoring offenses.

So Why Not Start Tucker Lepley?

The Charlotte, North Carolina native is stuck between sitting on the bench for the LA Galaxy first team and not playing for their second unit, Ventura County FC.

He was taken in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft (64th overall pick). After playing just 47 minutes over the course of three games last season, Lepley has tripled that number while playing almost 350 more minutes thus far in 2025.

The combo midfielder-forward is in his second year with the LA Galaxy. Listed at well under six feet, this midfielder started with Sporting Kansas City's youth program before coming to the West Coast.

As a member of the UCLA Bruins, Lepley appeared in 45 games during his four seasons. He also scored 11 goals during his collegiate playing career.

In his lone game for Ventura County FC, the former UCLA Bruin played all 90 minutes while having a passing completion percentage of 89%.

The likes of Pec and Reus have scored multiple goals in one game. Why can't Lepley be the next one for the LA Galaxy?

The 23-year-old midfielder was among the best scorers for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the preseason. At the Coachella Valley Invitational, Lepley scored both goals against Minnesota United FC in mid-February.

In his nine games this season with the main roster, Lepley has maintained a passing completion of 88% per game. That's up there with Reus, Fagundez, Zanka, and Julian Aude.

The LA Galaxy aren't fighting for a playoff spot heading into the second half of the MLS season. Instead, their focus should be giving young players such as Lepley reps on the field against teams vying for a playoff spot (such as the Whitecaps) and let them have at it.

Afterall, what harm could it do? The LA Galaxy only have one win to their name and are at the bottom of the MLS Western Conference. Regroup for next year and hope players like Lepley thrive in this system.