Coachella Valley, California—Neither side fielded their first-choice lineups in the balmy breezes of Cochella Valley. The Galaxy controlled the flow for much of the first half, patiently breaking the Austin press and attacking aggressively in the offensive third. Austin created quality chances off Galaxy turnovers that forced keeper Micovic to make three fine saves. Wholesale changes by both sides resulted in a disjointed second half, and the affair ended in a 1-1 draw.
In the eighth minute center-back Emiro Garces and debutant midfielder Elijah Wynder won the ball in midfield. Wynder combined with Miki Yamane who darted past three defenders with the ball at his feet. The Galaxy players responded instinctively, reminiscent of similar highspeed transition attacks during the 2024 MLS Cup championship run.
Driving to the top of the penalty box, Yamane stroked a pass to Diego Fagundez, making a diagonal run from the left toward the middle. From his midfield position, Ruben Ramos overlapped toward the left post, collecting Fagundez’s through ball at the end line. His cross through the mouth of the goal evaded forward Miguel Berry but found Gabriel Pec ghosting from the right flank for a tap-in, 1-0 Galaxy.
The sequence epitomized Vanney-ball-plus, patient possession to create overloads, plus the electric transition game developed around Puig in 2024. LA controlled the game with possession, won the ball on the repress, seized opportunities to attack space, made dynamic runs off the ball, and finished plays by aggressively attacking the goal. Only four first-choice players started the game, a testament to the training and development of the squad over the last few years.
Wynder arrived last week on a 400 thousand dollar transfer from Louisville City in the USL Championship. He maintained good defensive positioning in the double pivot alongside Edwin Cerrillo, moving the ball relatively quickly. Attacking play out of the midfield fell to Ruben Ramos in what appeared to be a 4-2-3-1.
Wynder did not display anything near the box-to-box multifaceted workrate and dynamism of the departed 2024 starter Mark Delgado. It remains to be seen if he will learn to make dynamic off the ball runs and speed up the attack himelf, or pick a quick progressive pass when given the opportunity.
Coach Greg Vanney rolled out a lineup filled with new arrivals in the second half, featuring only starters John McCarthy and Julian Aude. Lacking the high-tempo passing and dynamic movement of the first half, the Galaxy ceded possession to Austin. They managed to maintain solid defensive shape, forcing Austin to the flanks. Austin maintained control of the game, moving the ball around the back and attempting long balls over the defense. The Galaxy created a few opportunities with longer line splitting passes into the offensive third.
In the seventy-first minute LA showed some signs of a rythm. Good passing on the left flank between Lepley and Aude opened up Parente in the middle Shrugging off his defender Parente ripped a swerving rocket just right of the post.
Austin won a corner kick in the seventy-eighth minute. In the seventy-night minute. Aude arrived late to pressure the short corner and Wolff beat him off the dribble toward the endline. Essengue fluffed his clearance on the low pass deflecting it into the middle of the penalty box. The ball bounced around, and Osman Bukari lashed it past McCarthy into the roof of the net, 1-1.
The goal rattled the Galaxy and energized Austin, as the impatience that plagued LA at times in 2024 reared its head again. Austin nearly scored a minute later, catching LA out of position with a long pass to Bukari who lobbed the ball to Baudry in the center of the box. Winger CJ Fodrey clipped it off the top of the crossbar preserving the draw.
The inexperienced Galaxy players fashioned a few good sequences but lacked the precision and understanding to threaten the goal. The twenty-year-old forward Aaron Bibout held up the ball and made some quality runs in the final third, but his teammates failed to find him. He fluffed a golden opportunity after a promising sequence late in the second half.
A championship season in MLS comes with a heavy cost. The championship bonuses and performance incentives for individual players all count against the salary cap. Both Gabriel Pec and Dejan Jovelic aged out of their young player contracts further exacerbating the problem. The resulting roster moves included selling Dejan Joveljic to Sporting Kansas City and trading Mark Delgado to LAFC, in addition to moving Brugman.
The Galaxy acquired veteran midfielder Sean Davis in a trade for Gaston Brugman to clear salary cap space. In a recent interview Davis admitted having never played on a possession team. At age thirty-one defended well enough but struggled to find his positioning and rhythm in the high-tempo Galaxy possession game. Time will tell if he can draw on his 211 MLS starts to morph into a three-sixty degree midfielder, or whether he will serve as a defensive-minded backup for Edwin Cerrillo.
Once again, new players must acclimate to the culture and learn Vanney’s demanding style of play. The Galaxy controlled the first half with players largely familiar with Vanney-ball. But for poor cornerkick defense in the second half, they logged a defensive performance worthy of a clean sheet. Backup keeper Novak Micovic made three fine saves and distributed the ball well in the first half.
As usual, first-choice John McCarthy sent one pass out of the back directly to Austin, recovering in time to prevent the goal. He could do nothing to stop the point-blank shot off the corner kick. Still basking in the afterglow of the first MLS Cup victory in ten years, the Galaxy faithful must be patient as General Manager Will Kuntz massages the roster, and Vanney introduces the newbies to the Galaxy championship culture.
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