CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy II dropped their final home match of the regular season on Wednesday, but Los Dos are still hopeful that they can rebound ahead of the USL postseason.
Galaxy II’s losing streak was extended to three games when they suffered a 1-0 result against Portland Timbers FC 2 in front of a packed crowd at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium. Despite being the better of the two sides for the majority of the match, an Oscar Sorto own goal in the opening minutes of second half doomed Los Dos to yet another defeat.
“You can’t fault the effort. I thought our guys performed well, but we just didn’t execute in the final third. We were sharp everywhere but where it mattered most,” Galaxy II head coach Curt Onalfo told LAGalaxy.com. “I told the guys that at this level when you get chances you need to put them away… The difference between winning and losing is so slight that you can’t get too high when you win or too low when things aren’t going your way. There were a lot of good things that we can build on.”
One such positive was the bevy of chances that Galaxy II created in the second half after a stale opening 45 minutes. As soon as second-half substitutes Travis Bowen and Ari Lassiter entered the match, Galaxy II began to press the Timbers defense. However, neither were able to make the breakthrough.
In the dying moments of the match, Bowen and Lassiter each had numerous opportunities to find the equalizer in a frantic goalmouth scramble, but neither could find the back of the net.
“We didn’t execute in front of the net and that’s why we lost. An inch here or an inch there, and it could have been a completely different game,” said Lassiter. “Individually and collectively, we just need to forget about this game. We’ve got to look forward and train hard during the week. We have another game this weekend and we just have to focus on that.”
Galaxy II will now switch gears for the final match of the USL regular season against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Saturday in Colorado. As they look to rebound from their recent skid, Onalfo is confident that Los Dos will get back on track in time for the postseason.
“I feel good. We’ve played well all year,” said Onalfo. “Some of the results haven’t fallen our way at times, but we’re confident. Maybe we go into the playoffs as an underdog, and that’s not that worst.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyinsider@Gmail.com
