LOS ANGELES (Saturday, Oct 19, 2024) – In the 2024 MLS Regular Season finale, the LA Galaxy were defeated 2-1 on the road by the Houston Dynamo and finish the campaign in second place in the Western Conference standings. The Galaxy trailed 1-0 at halftime after Houston opened the scoring in the 44th minute. Joseph Paintsil looked to tie the game early in the second half, but the Ghanaian’s goal was ruled out for a foul by Maya Yoshida in the buildup to the goal. The Galaxy eventually equalized in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time when Gabriel Pec converted a penalty kick. But, Daniel Steres headed home the game-winning goal for the Dynamo in the 11th minute of stoppage time to win the game for the home side, 2-1.
The Galaxy will play the No. 7 seed Colorado Rapids in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best of 3 Series.
LA Galaxy End 2024 MLS Regular Season with 64 Points
The LA Galaxy finish the 2024 MLS Regular Season with 64 points, three shy of the club’s record of 67 points (2011) in the post-shootout era. Gabriel Pec concluded the season as the Galaxy’s top scorer in league play with 16 goals and 14 assists for a team-high 30 goal contributions. Riqui Puig led the Galaxy in the MLS Regular Season with 16 assists as part of his 29 goal contributions. The Galaxy scored the most goals in the Western Conference with 69 goals for. The Galaxy’s place in the standings was enough to guarantee the club berth to the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2025.
LA Galaxy Enter Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs
The LA Galaxy will be the second seed of the Western Conference and secure homefield advantage through the Western Conference Semifinals. The Galaxy will play the Colorado Rapids in the Round One Best-of-3 Series with the winner facing either Real Salt Lake or Minnesota United. The Galaxy defeated the Rapids 3-1 in their most recent match against one another on October 2 in Colorado. The Round One Best-of-3 Series will feature at least one game at Dignity Health Sports Park, where the Galaxy are unbeaten this season. Tickets for Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Galaxy home games are on sale now at www.lagalaxy.com/playoffs.
LA Galaxy Against Houston Dynamo FC
Saturday’s MLS Regular Season finale at Shell Energy Stadium marked the 44th all-time meeting across all competitions between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo FC, with LA still leading the series 18-15-11 after the defeat. In the first meeting between the Galaxy and Houston this season, the Galaxy won 2-1 to remain unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park. Both Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig scored goals in that meeting between the clubs on Saturday, May 25, 2024. Against Houston, the Galaxy now hold a 14-15-11 record in league play, a 1-0-0 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and a 3-0-0 record in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. In two meetings between LA and Houston during the 2023 campaign, the Galaxy held a 0-1-1 record (0 GF, 3 GA).
Goal-Scoring Plays
HOU – Ezequiel Ponce (D. Steres), 44: Hector Herrera’s free kick from the right channel drops into the six-yard box where Ezequiel Ponce stabs home the opening goal with his right foot
LA – Gabriel Pec (penalty), 90 +6: Gabriel Pec converts the penalty kick with his left foot, striking the ball to his right side while Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark dives the opposite direction.
HOU – Daniel Steres (G. Dorsey), 90 +11: Greg Dorsey crosses the ball into the box from the right wing, finding Houston defender Daniel Steres, who heads home the game-winner.
Postgame Notes
- The LA Galaxy finish the 2024 MLS Regular Season with a 19-8-7 record (69 GF, 50 GA; 64 points) and head into the playoffs in second place in the Western Conference standings.
- Both Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig enter the final match of the season with 29 goal contributions this season. No team in MLS history has had two players record 30 goal contributions in a single season.
- Goalkeeper John McCarthy made his 99th start and 100th appearance in a Major League Soccer Regular Season game.
- Gabirel Pec’s goal brings the Brazilian to a team-leading 16th in MLS Regular Season play in his first season.
- Gabriel Pec’s goal is his fifth straight game with a goal for the Galaxy. He has six goals in the last six games.
- Saturday’s match between the LA Galaxy and Houston marked the 40th MLS Regular Season matchup with the Galaxy holding a 14-15-11 record.
- The Galaxy finish the MLS Regular Season 13-1-3 at home (only loss was at Rose Bowl, unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park) 6-7-4 away from home.
- The Galaxy finished third in MLS in goals scored (69) behind only Inter Miami CF (79) and the Columbus Crew (72).
- Gabriel Pec (30) and Riqui Puig (29) each have recorded at least 27 goal contributions this season, only the second pair of teammates to reach that mark in a single season in the last 20 years after Robbie Keane (33) and Landon Donovan (29), also for the Galaxy, in 2014.
- Riqui Puig finishes the MLS Regular Season with the most assists for the Galaxy (16).
2024 MLS Regular Season Finale
LA Galaxy (19-7-7, 64 pts) vs.Houston Dynamo (10-9-14, 39 pts)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. PT (Actual Kick: 6:15 p.m. PT)
Location: Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
LA Galaxy 0 1 1
Houston Dynamo FC 1 1 2
* Scoring Summary: *
HOU: Ponce (Steres), 44
LA: Pec (penalty), 90+6
HOU: Steres (Dorsey), 90+11
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Bassi, 8 (caution)
LA – Paintsil, 55 (caution)
HOU – Raines, 90+6 (caution)
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant Referees: Brooke Mayo, Ben Pilgrim
Fourth Official: Timothy Ford
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 83 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GREG VANNEY
On a tough end to the regular season:
"The game as a whole we knew it's not an easy place to play. They are good in possession. They get into good spots. We wanted to try to stay connected. We didn't necessarily want to be as deep as we were in good chunks of the game. I thought in possession we were fine but after our attacks, I just felt like our presence in the midfield area was not sufficient. And so especially in the first half whenever the ball transitioned, they were able to get to our half of the field relatively easily. And we recovered back and were in lower block positions for a while, and then we would transition out and be really fast. And if you're going to do that, you have to take advantage of some of those moments, and we have got to get goals when we are in those situations. We have to do a better job of controlling transition moments, for sure, so that the game doesn't get so end-to-end and we aren't defending so deep in our box. I felt like that became and defined much of the first half. We had some good attacks. We had some things that were looking promising. I felt like just in terms of the overall control and where we wanted the game to be played, I just didn't love where that was happening. Then we gave away a foul, a set piece goal that we don't win the first touch, and the second one kind of bounces off some people and falls to their player. He taps it in. Again, another moment where again a ball crossed in the air; we don't deal with it, which ends up playing I guess a role in our season at the end. We end up in the second half, I feel like just a little more aggressive. Defensively a little bit more proactive which in times I think worked out for us in terms of recovering balls in better areas and not ending up so deep so much. We started attacks in slightly better areas. I felt like we were able to get a chance. Obviously Joe scored. We get that called back. You know, we get ourselves back into it with the penalty, and then it's just about seeing the game out. One play at the end of it, and you know, a cross from the sideline where we've got enough numbers to defend the box, and we get beat to the spot and the header finds it's way into the back corner. So one play at end of the season, when there is a season of a ton of plays, but the one play being the last play of the season, just really, it hurts for everybody. As I said to the group, let this be a lesson, this one today, it hurt us and it cost us first place, but the next one like that will cost us our season. So we need to be able to mature from the moments and be ready. Because the tournament starts now in a week and every moment like that is critical. When we say we have to play every moment and we have to deal with every situation, that's a good example of it right there."
On players potentially not being mentally locked in until the final whistle:
"I think it's a fair assessment. I don't know if that was necessarily what was going through their head, but I certainly think it's a fair assessment because as I said, playing every play is kind of my point that guys can't dribble through us. And to start attacks, we have to be able to create density in the middle of field and make sure that we are connected and make sure that we are taking away all dangerous areas and that that we can deal with stuff. We were a little bit -- a touch disconnected. In the end, we still had the bodies to make the play, but I don't like that they are able to get to that spot two times. They got there once, and then we forced them back out, and then they got there again at the end for a chance that ended up costing us the goal. This is the moment, especially where any moment can kill you, and that was exactly what happened. We have to recognize it, grow up from it and recognize it. We take a play slightly off or don't get all the way to where we need to be and we don't do the things we need to do, it can be the end of our season really fast. It's a harsh lesson, and it's not like our first lesson of this year, but it's a harsh lesson, and we'll certainly make example of it. The guys feel like crap right now, as everyone should at this moment, with the way that it ended. But at the same time, the tournament and the Cup is in front of us, and now we have to make sure that these things don't happen again."
On losing momentum:
"I don't think it's a momentum thing. I think you come back home, our fans are going be to be there. They are going to be roaring and ready to go. It's the Cup, which is what everything is about in our league. I think it's a harsh reminder when you have a group of guys who are competitively haven't had a ton of these moments together as a group; that we have guys that have had these moments, but together as a group, this is a reminder of how quickly it can potentially end. I think when you are not a super competitive, mature group that has a lot of positive things going for it, sometimes you forget there's a dark side on other side if you don't get your stuff done correctly all the way through the game. Now tonight was a harsh reminder that there was a dark side. We should have a healthy level of fear that we can be out of the playoffs in a hurry. But we've got to use that motivation, and now the momentum and the energy of being at home and the Cup starting to get ourselves going, and I feel like that's how this group is going to respond, and they have all year."
On scoreboard watching tonight:
"Second half we were keeping track of it. You know, even when it was 2-1 up until pretty late, we knew by goal differential that we still had the West won, even though we weren't winning the game. As I was trying to get message to the group, with a certain level of calculation, we want to try to go get the goal back and get the draw, but we shouldn't be exposing ourselves in a way that we're opening up ourselves to give away maybe potentially that goal that would separate the goal differential one more. That's kind of a position that was happening for a little while, and trying to get that across. Then, obviously, there was a goal that happened on the other side, and then it became, okay, we've got to really push and we've got to try to maybe throw caution at the wind a little bit and see if we can't get the balls in front of the goal. That's about the time the penalty happened, and now we're back in the game. Now it's a quick shift into now you've got to protect yourself. So we were playing a little bit on it the last, say, ten to 15 minutes maybe, but nobody was really thinking about it before that."
On Joseph Paintsil's overturned goal and stoppage time:
"I didn't see the challenge. I don't have a position on the foul or not foul. I do know and feel like there was probably three or four more of those challenges throughout the game where center backs were being aggressive in trying to recover balls like that that weren't always called. Without having seen it specifically, to take a goal back, seems a little bit harsh. But I didn't have specific eyes on that play. It was a great finish by Joe (Joseph Paintsil). I love that he hit the back of the net. I wish it would have counted because he could have used that for momentum and everything just for him. But the group stayed in it and got the goal back. Unfortunately the play at end cost us a lot. As far as the extra minutes, yeah, was told it was going to be three. Three would get you to about 110. I wish they would have called it right at 110 because I don't think the ball was quite in the net yet. Maybe, maybe not. But whenever there's like an attack on the way, I just don't think they are going to blow the whistle. I didn't see the clock specifically where it was at any given time. But I certainly wish they would have blown it a little bit earlier. But we still have to see the play out. That's the way it's going to be in these nail-biting, sort-of-end-of-the-season-playoff-time stuff. You've got to do whatever you've got to do until the final whistle, period."
LA GALAXY DEFENDER MAYA YOSHIDA
On tough end to the regular season:
"Yes, it's difficult to accept that kind of end as a center back. I would not apologize. I will not have head down in front of the media, in front of the fans, there's no point. Because we have only one week to go for the playoffs and we need to prepare well. We need to recover well. Of course it's difficult as a defender to end like this, and, well, I will not be able to sleep tonight on the way back. What I can promise is I will give it back to the club fans and the squad and through the playoffs. I am being tested now. You know, sometimes in life, people think, why did this happen, why. Why do these kind of things happen to me, and you think and think and think. But this kind of difficult moment is always a test. I will react and you will see how I react. I will contribute and go through the final and get the title. This is my target from now on."
On tonight's loss serving as a warning ahead of the playoffs:
"This is kind of like a playoff game today. Probably Greg (Vanney) mentioned already but this is not the end of the season. This is the end of the regular season, and then we have still playoffs. I will try to prepare well as much as possible to give my everything as always, and this is up to me, up to the team, how we react from now on. You know, I've been a long time in the football stride, so I know what I need to do."
On additional stoppage time:
"No, there was no extra time. It was seven probably, and then we had a penalty. So I was thinking probably extra three minutes. Actually, it's like a hundred minutes, right. We need to close the game much, much better, of course. There's no excuse."
