LA Galaxy II (12-10-12, 48 points) defeated El Paso Locomotive FC (13-10-11, 50 points) in their 2019 USL Regular Season finale, sending Los Dos back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
LA Galaxy II booked the final place in the Western Conference playoffs with a 2-0 win over El Paso Locomotive FC to close the season on a winning note. Not taking long to settle in, the Galaxy II first scored after just 15 minutes when Kai Koreniuk lifted a well-placed ball to the back post for Ethan Zubak, where the forward rose above his challenging defender and nodded the ball down to the far post and in.
Keeping the slender lead through halftime, the hosts then doubled their lead in the 52nd minute when Koreniuk again provided a cross from a wide position that bounced through everyone to the back post where Mohammed Kamara was waiting to bundle it into an open goal to provide a two-goal cushion.
El Paso attempted to claw back though, and forward Josué Gómez put a scare in LA’s hearts when he latched onto a through pass heading away from goal but managed to rattle the post with a powerful shot that beat LA goalkeeper Justin vom Steeg. Seven minutes later, vom Steeg came up big again when he denied an acrobatic effort by Locomotive FC forward Omar Salgado that was destined for goal.
Seeing the match through, the Galaxy II finished off the season with all three points and finishes in ninth place in the Western Conference heading into the Play-In Round on Wednesday night.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Ethan Zubak 15’
LA – Mohammed Kamara 52’
Misconduct Summary:
ELP – Richie Ryan 27’ (caution)
LA – Nick DePuy 34’ (caution)
LA – Brian Iloski 36’ (caution)
ELP – Logan Ketterer 53’ (caution)
ELP – Omar Salgado 54’ (caution)
ELP – Alexy Bosetti 63’ (caution
LA – Carlos Harvey 64’ (caution)
Lineups:
LA Galaxy II: Justin Vom Steeg; Nate Shultz, Tomas Hilliard-Arce ©, Nick DePuy, Justin Fiddes; Carlos Harvey (Geoffrey Acheampong 79’), Brian Iloski (Jose Hernandez 45’), Jorge Hernandez (Omar Ontiveros 66’); Mohammed Kamara, Ethan Zubak, Kai Koreniuk.
Substitutions not used: Eric Lopez, Mauricio Cuevas, Ivan Gutierrez, Augustine Williams.
Head Coach: Junior Gonzalez
El Paso Locomotive FC: Logan Ketterer; James Kiffe, Andrew Fox, Chiró N’Toko ©; Brian Rebellón (Guillermo Diaz 77’), Richie Ryan, Louis Herrera (Sebastian Contreras 56’), Nick Ross, Alexy Bosetti (Jerome Kiesewetter 67’); Josue Gomez, Omar Salgado.
Substitutions not used: Jermaine Fordah, Drew Beckie, Makinde Moses, Yuma Monsalvez.
Head Coach: Mark Lowry
Referee: Greg Dopka
Attendance: 1,984
NOTES:
- LA Galaxy II (12-10-12, 48 points) defeated El Paso Locomotive FC (13-10-11, 50 points) in their 2019 USL Regular Season finale, sending Los Dos back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
- Ethan Zubak scored his eighth goal of the season for Los Dos.
- Mohammed Kamara scored his fourth goal for Los Dos since joining the team this summer.
- Los Dos are 6-4-4 since Interim Manager Junior Gonzalez has taken over.
- Kai Koreniuk leads LA Galaxy II with nine goals this season.
- Jose Hernandez now leads the team in assists (5).
- LA Galaxy II finished the 2018 USL season with a 7-6-4 home record and a 3-11-3 away record.
- LA Galaxy II enter the USL Western Conference playoffs as the 9th seed, and will face Austin Bold FC on Wednesday, Oct. 23 in Austin, Texas.
- For more information, visit www.lagalaxy.com/2.
