CARSON, Calif. – Former LA Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made timely and acrobatic saves to shutout his former teammates and help expansion Montreal Impact beat the LA Galaxy 3-0 at The Home Depot Center on Tuesday. The loss was Galaxy’s third straight loss of the preseason.
WATCH: Full Match Highlights
An unlucky deflection on a shot by Sanna Nyassi led to the Impact’s first goal of the game in the 37th minute.
The Galaxy’s best chance in the first half came from David Beckham, who hit the crossbar on a free kick late in the 41st minute.
At halftime, Bruce Arena made three changes to his starting lineup— this was a departure from the coach’s subbing strategy the first three games of preseason in which he would play the second half with an entirely different team.
Six minutes into the second half, former Chivas USA defender Zarek Valentin double Montreal’s lead with right-footed shot from outside the box. The score stunned everyone, even Valentin, who promptly put his hands over his mouth as teammates celebrated around him.
Jack McBean and Pat Noonan came close to scoring for the Galaxy from separate corner kicks in the second half, but were thwarted by Ricketts each time, who made quick and timely reaction saves to keep the clean sheet.
In the final minutes of the game, Evan James, who came on for Davy Around in the 74th minute, put away a cross from Miguel Montano to add the third and final score of the game.
The Galaxy will be back in action on Thursday, February 16 when they host rival Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. This game will be played behind closed doors.
MATCH PHOTOS
LA Galaxy 0, Montreal Impact 3
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
MON – Sanna Nyassi (Unassisted) 37’
MON - Zarek Valentin (Unassisted) 51'
MON - Evan James (Miguel Montano) 92+
Misconduct Summary:
MON – Sanna Nyassi (Yellow Card) 56’
LA – Jack McBean (Yellow Card) 68’
MON – Felipe Martins (Yellow Card) 86’
Lineup:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders (Nick Noble 46’); Bryan Jordan (Justin Davies 51’), A.J. DeLaGarza, Tommy Meyer (Bryan Gaul 62’), Todd Dunivant (J.T. Murray 62’); Kyle Nakazawa (Hector Jimenez 46’), David Beckham (Dan Keat 62’), Marcelo Sarvas (Kenney Walker 62’), Michael Stephens (Jack McBean 62’); Paolo Cardozo (Pat Noonan 46’), Edson Buddle (Adam Cristman 62’).
Subs Not Used: Bill Gaudette, Andrew Boyens, Rafael Garcia.
Referee: Daniel Radford
