The Los Angeles Galaxy look to extend their unbeaten streak to eight matches when they visit the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
The Galaxy (5-9-7, 22 points) are coming off consecutive wins, following a 2-1 victory over rival and defending MLS champion LAFC on July 4 with a 3-1 triumph over defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia last Saturday.
The Galaxy, who are 3-0-4 in their past seven MLS matches, haven’t lost a league match since May 27, though they were dealt a 3-2 setback by Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup on June 7.
“There’s a rhythm to our game now that I felt like didn’t exist in some of the stretches before and I felt like that was partly because we were just battling for a win.” Los Angeles coach Greg Vanney, whose team opened the season 0-4-3, said. “There’s a lot of confidence, there’s a lot of joy. I mean, dare I say it’s a 180 a little bit from where we were?”
Los Angeles played one of its best matches of the season against the Union.
After Tyler Boyd gave the Galaxy a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute, Mikkel Uhre tied the match in the 36th minute. But the Galaxy regained the advantage with an own goal in the in the first minute of first-half stoppage time and Riqui Puig secured the win in the 76th minute.
Boyd has scored a team-high four goals this season for the Galaxy, while Puig has three, and the latter’s six assists are tied for the team lead with Douglas Costa.
The Whitecaps (7-7-7, 28 points) are coming off a 2-1 win over visiting Austin FC on Wednesday to end a two-match slide.
Sergio Cordova’s first goal of the season in the 72nd minute proved to be the difference. Cordova entered the match as a substitute just two minutes earlier.
The decisive goal was Cordova’s first tally since signing a Designated Player deal with Vancouver in the offseason then went scoreless in his first 14 regular-season matches with the Whitecaps.
“I felt no stress or pressure, I felt the responsibility to help the team,” Cordova said. “I hope it’s the start of a good run for us and myself on a personal note.”
Pedro Vite’s goal 29 seconds into the match gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead before Rodney Redes tied the match for Austin in the 47th minute.
Brian White has a team-high seven goals for the Whitecaps, while his three assists rank third. Ryan Gauld, who assisted on Cordova’s match-winner, is second on the team with five goals to go along with a team-leading six assists.
–Field Level Media