San Antonio, TX – The entire Los Angeles Galaxy organization has to be feeling good right about now. The senior squad are on a long unbeaten run across all competitions and are playing good soccer at the moment. And so are LA Galaxy II. With their 3-2 win over San Antonio FC, LA Galaxy II have not lost in nine matches. Those three points move the young G’s to first in the Western Conference, but Vancouver has a match in hand.
San Antonio scored in just the second minute of the match on Saturday night in what was a perfect start for the hosts. The hosts won a free kick about 25 yards away and up stepped Rafa Castillo. Castillo unleashed a bullet of a shot that squeezed by Clement Diop. It was quite unfortunate because Diop did get a hand on the ball, but the ball still got by.
But moments later, there was an equalizing goal, with the Villarreal brothers linking up. Jaime Villarreal won possession in midfield and busted forward. He then played a square ball to his older brother, Jose Villarreal. The eldest Villarreal hit a one-time shot that found the bottom left corner of the goal.
In the 20th minute, Los Dos found their second of the night. Denzel Slager slid an excellent pass to Jack McBean at the top of the 18-yard-box. McBean had his initial shot saved, but put his rebound goal into the back of the net.
The onslaught continued. Fifteen minutes after the second goal, the younger Villarreal scored the third. Jaime Villarreal played a ball wide to Josh Turnley. Then, Turnley returned the favor by passing it right back to Villarreal. Because the San Antonio goalkeeper came off his line, Villarreal had a wide open net to shoot at. Even though he took a little stumble, Villarreal did not miss, securing the third goal of the half.
With six minutes remaining until halftime, the visitors could have found their fourth goal. Jose Villarreal lined up a free kick and sent it sailing towards the frame of the goal. His shot, though, bounced off the right post.
Even though San Antonio managed to score one later on, the boys did enough to get the win. They played extremely well on the offensive side but do have to be careful with their focus late.
Los Dos continue their road trip next weekend with a short bus ride to take on the Orange County Blues on Saturday night.
SCORING SUMMARY:
- LA – Jose Villarreal 5′ (Assisted by Jaime Villarreal), Jack McBean 20′, Jaime Villarreal (Assisted by Josh Turnley, Jaime Villarreal)
- SAFC – Rafa Castillo 2′, Stephen McCarthy 84′
LINEUP:
LA Galaxy II: Clement Diop; Josh Turnley, Jeffrey Payeras, Lee Nishanian, Oscar Sorto (Ryo Fujii 61′); Bryam Rebellon, Alejandro Covarrubias; Jose Villarreal (Adonis Amaya 81′), Jaime Villarreal, Denzel Slager (Bradford Jamieson IV 45′); Jack McBean
Substitutions not used: Bennett Sneddon, Alex Ramos, Adrian Vera, Ethan Zubak