Portland, Ore. – The LA Galaxy claimed their second consecutive draw in the MLS Reserve League, playing to a 3-3 tie with the Portland Timbers at JELD-WEN Field on Thursday night. Miguel Lopez gave LA a 1-0 first half lead while Ryan Thomas and Paolo Cardozo added second half goals as the Galaxy picked up their fifth point of the season, going to 1-5-2 on the season.
Watch: Match Highlights
Lopez scored his first Reserve League goal of the season just before halftime to send his side into the break with a 1-0 lead. A long throw from Ryan Thomas was flicked on by Jack McBean, into the path of Lopez who settled the ball and then fired a shot past Adin Brown from 20 yards out, putting LA in front.
Just after the halftime break, Portland’s Bright Dike equalized, getting on the end of an Eric Alexander pass to make the score 1-1 in the 50th minute.
The Galaxy would pull back in front 16 minutes later when Ryan Thomas scored his first goal in a Galaxy uniform. Galaxy captain Jovan Kirovski, making his first appearance in a month because of an ankle injury, set up Thomas, who beat Brown from long range to put his team up 2-1.
It was 3-1 six minutes later as Paolo Cardozo scored his first goal for the Galaxy, finishing off his own rebound to give his team a 3-1 lead with less than 20 minutes still to play.
However, Darlington Nagbe, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, scored twice in the game’s final 15 minutes, beating Brain Perk with a header off a Rodrigo Lopez cross to make it 3-2 and then finishing off a Dike rebound in the second minute of stoppage time to earn his team a share of the points.
This was the second and final meeting of the year between these two sides, with the Timbers winning at The Home Depot Center back in April. The Galaxy, who are now 1-5-2 on the season with two games remaining, return to action against San Jose at home on October 3 before closing out the season with a home game against Chivas USA on October 10.
LA Galaxy (1-5-2, 5 pts.) at Portland Timbers (4-4-2 14 pts.)
September 1, 2011 – JELD-WEN Field
Scoring Summary:
LA – Miguel Lopez 1 (Jack McBean 3, Ryan Thomas 1) 42’
POR – Bright Dike 2 (Eric Alexander 1, Darlington Nagbe 1) 50’
LA – Ryan Thomas 1 (Jovan Kirovski 1) 66’
LA – Paolo Cardozo 1 (Unassisted) 72’
POR – Darlington Nagbe 2 (Rodrigo Lopez 4) 78’
POR – Darlington Nagbe 3 (Unassisted) 92+
DOWNLOAD: RESERVE LEAGUE STATS
Misconduct Summary:
LA – Michael Stephens (Yellow Card) 43’
POR – Freddie Braun (Yellow Card) 65’
LA Galaxy – Brian Perk; Bryan Jordan, Dustin McCarty, Kyle Davies (Javan Toure 61’), Ryan Thomas; Hector Jimenez, Jovan Kirovski, Michael Stephens, Paolo Cardozo (Jose Villareal 88’); Jack McBean (Mario Rodriguez 90’), Miguel Lopez
Subs Not Used: Kevin Guppy, Jeff Payeras
Portland Timbers – Adin Brown; Chris Taylor, Mark Lee (Tracy Hasson 85’), Douglas Ryame (Alex Nimo 89’), Taylor Meuller; Rodrigo Lopez, Freddie Brown, Peter Lowry, Eric Alexander; Bright Dike, Darlington Nagbe
Subs Not Used: Jake Gleeson, Mike Chabala
Referee: Artem Sher
Asst. Referees: Oscar Rivas, Desmond Miller
Fourth Official: Cesar Tercero
