Atlanta United 2 defeated LA Galaxy II 3-1 Sunday night in Dignity Health Sports Park. The club earned its first comeback road win of the season after scoring three unanswered goals in the second half.
Galaxy II opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Remi Cabral sent a pass across the box for Cameron Dunbar, who shot toward goal and forced a save out of Vicente Reyes; however, Dunbar was there to sweep up the rebound past Reyes.
Nick Firmino almost equalized on a corner in the 28th minute but his header rattled off the crossbar. The woodwork denied the visitors from an equalizer once again in the 59th minute, as Toni Tiente connected with Raimar’s cross with a diving header. The defender’s effort struck the post.
After creating many scoring opportunities in the second half, Tristan Trager leveled the scoreline in the 75th minute with his seventh goal of the season. A ball fell to the feet of Erik Centeno, who sent a cross into the Galaxy II box. Crashing the back post was the Air Force Academy graduate, who headed past goalkeeper Eric Lopez from close range.
Atlanta completed the comeback in the 87th minute with Trager’s second goal of the match. A pass from Jonantan Villal saw Raimar bearing down on goal. The Brazilian squared a pass in front of net for Trager, who finished despite heavy contact from an LA defender.
Reyes made multiple saves on the night, none more crucial than a save on a Cabral header from the edge of the six-yard box in stoppage time. The save was the 18-year-old’s 10th save of the night, tying the club’s single-game record set by himself.
Villal scored the third and final goal in the last moments of the match. The midfielder intercepted a pass before playing one of his own to Darwin Matheus and making a run toward goal. Matheus placed a perfect through pass into the path of Villal, who finished the breakaway opportunity by placing a right-footed shot past Lopez.
ATL UTD 2 (6-22-5, 23 points) concludes its season at Wild Horse Pass Stadium in Chandler, Arizona, taking on Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, Oct. 15 (10:30 p.m., ESPN+).
MATCH INFO
Los Angeles 1, Atlanta 3
Dignity Health Sports Park
Carson, California
STATS
Shots: 29-21 LA
Shots on Target: 11-8 LA
Corner kicks: 9-7 LA
Fouls committed: 15-10 LA
Offsides: 2-1 LA
Possession: 51-49 LA
Passing Accuracy: 86-84 LA
SCORING SUMMARY
LAG – Cameron Dunbar 8’ (unassisted)
ATL – Tristan Trager 75’ (Erik Centeno)
ATL – Tristan Trager 87’ (Raimar)
ATL – Jonantan Villal 90+7’ (Darwin Matheus)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
LAG – Adrian Gonzalez 4’ (yellow)
ATL – Ajani Fortune 25’ (yellow)
LAG – Cameron Dunbar 90+4’ (yellow)
ATL UTD 2 STARTING LINEUP
Vicente Reyes; Bryce Washington, Toni Tiente (Nelson Orji – 63’), Noah Cobb; Luke Brennan (Erik Centeno – 63’), Nick Firmino, Ajani Fortune © (Alan Carleton – 87’), Darwin Matheus, Raimar; Jackson Conway (Jonantan Villal – 63’), Tristan Trager (Efrain Morales – 89’).
Substitutes not used: Nash Skoglund.
LA GALAXY II STARTING LINEUP
Eric Lopez; Owen Lambe, Dante Campbell, Liam Doyle ©, Joshua Drack; Adam Saldaña, Adrian Gonzalez (Duhaney Williams – 83’); Axel Picazo (Paulo Rudisill – 74’), Remi Cabral, Cameron Dunbar; Taylor Davila.
Substitutes not used: Alan Solorio, Axel Essengue, Brandon Tellez, Juan Calderon, Victor Valdez.
OFFICIALS
Adam Kilpatrick (referee), Stephen McGonagle (assistant), Bennett Savage (assistant), Joseph Salinas (fourth official)
NOTES
- ATL UTD 2’s victory over LA Galaxy II is the club’s first comeback win on the road this season
- Tristan Trager recorded a brace, his third of the season
- Jonantan Villal scored his first professional goal
- Vicente Reyes made 10 saves, tying the club’s single-save record set by himself
