CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, June 11, 2014)— LA Galaxy II saw their three-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to the Rochester Rhinos at StubHub Center.
Jonny Mendoza and Alex Dixon scored in the first half for the Rhinos while Rafael Garcia tallied the lone goal for Los Dos. With the defeat, which was their first at home since April 15, Galaxy II fell to 8-3-3 in their inaugural USL PRO campaign.
The match started poorly for Los Dos as a defensive breakdown in the ninth minute allowed Mendoza to slip in behind the Galaxy II defense and tap a shot past goalkeeper Cody Laurendi at the near post. Immediately after the goal, the home side pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but yet another mistake in the back led to a second goal for Rochester.
In the 29th minute, Los Dos center back Bradley Diallo coughed up the ball in the penalty area which was subsequently picked up by Dixon who slotted a shot past a helpless Laurendi to double Rochester’s lead.
Galaxy II appeared to have scored in the 71st minute when Charlie Rugg had the ball in the back of the net but assistant referee Eduardo Mariscal had his flag up for offside.
But Los Dos cut the Rhinos’ lead in half just four minutes later.
After a foul on Raul Mendiola at the top of the penalty area, Garcia stepped up and curled a lovely free kick into the near post past Rhinos goalkeeper John McCarthy.
Following the goal, Los Dos pushed forward but could not find an equalizer despite dominating possession.
Garcia came closest to leveling the score late, but his stoppage time blast from beyond the 18-yard-box sailed narrowly wide as Rochester held on for the victory.
LA Galaxy II will return to action when they face the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday, June 14 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The match against the Battery will be the start of a three-game road swing for Los Dos.
LA Galaxy II Season Ticket Membership begin at just $6 per game. For more information on LA Galaxy, LA Galaxy II membership, or group and single tickets, visit www.lagalaxy.com or call 877-3GALAXY (342-5299).
LA GALAXY II 1 – ROCHESTER RHINOS 2
ROC: 9’: Jonny Mendoza (Assisted by Alex Dixon)
ROC: 29’: Alex Dixon (Assisted by Minh Vu)
LA: 75’: Rafael Garcia (Unassisted)
LA Galaxy II: Cody Laurendi; Logan Emory, Bradley Diallo (Travis Bowen 82’), Tommy Meyer, Oscar Sorto (Andre Auras 66’); Raul Mendiola, Rafael Garcia©, Kenney Walker, Bradford Jamieson IV (Aleksandar Đoković, 86’); Jack McBean (Charlie Rugg 65’), Chandler Hoffman
Substitutions not used: Nicholas Shackelford, Dragan Stojkov, Kyle Venter
Head Coach: Curt Onalfo
Rochester Rhinos: John McCarthy; Babacar Diallo, Kyle Hoffer, Pat McMahon, Tony Walls; Minh Vu (Onua Thomas Obasi 71’), Mike Garzi (Patrick Slogic 90’), Jonny Mendoza (Lance Rozeboom 85’), Alec Sundly; Alex Dixon (Tyler Rosenlund 61’), JC Banks (Colin Rolfe 45’)
Substitutions not used: Luis Soffner, Levi Houapeu
Head Coach: Bob Lilley
Disciplinary Summary:
ROC: JC Banks (caution) 44’
LA: Oscar Sorto (caution) 45’
LA: Jack McBean (caution) 50’
LA: Andre Auras (caution) 68’
ROC: Onua Thomas Obasi (caution) 72’
ROC: Colin Rolfe (caution) 90’
