LA Galaxy II (11-10-12, 45 points) drew 2-2 with Fresno FC (16-8-9, 57 points) in dramatic fashion on Saturday night in central California.
A 92nd-minute header from Mohammed Kamara helped the Galaxy II come back to earn a point against the Foxes at Chukchansi Park.
The hosts opened the scoring 22 minutes into the contest when left back Elijah Martin made his way down the left wing and picked out Diego Casillas with an inch-perfect cross, allowing the forward to head home into the bottom-right corner.
LA Galaxy II responded eight minutes later through Emil Cuello, who tried his luck with a volley from just outside the box and saw it deflect off a Fresno defender on its way past goalkeeper CJ Cochran.
The visitors nearly took the lead in the 34th minute when Jorge Hernandez slipped Kai Koreniuk in on goal and the forward tapped a shot around an onrushing Cochran, but Fresno defender Zachary Ellis-Hayden did superbly to race back towards his own goal and slide the ball clear before it found its way into the net. Koreniuk had the ball in the back of the net less than 60 seconds later after settling Omar Ontiveros’ ball over the top and sweeping a finish past Cochran, but this time the forward was denied by the assistant’s flag for offside.
Casillas was denied a second goal of the night at the other end by the same flag in the 39th minute as the two sides went to the break level. The scoreline remained that way until the 85th minute when Fresno’s Juan Pablo Caffa converted from the penalty spot after Ontiveros was ruled to have fouled forward Qudus Lawal in the box. There was still one last twist in the tale though, as Mauricio Cuevas picked out Kamara with an in-swinging cross from the left and the forward headed past Cochran in the 92nd minute to earn his side a crucial road point.
Scoring Summary:
FRS – Diego Casillas 22’
LA – Emil Cuello 30’
FRS – Juan Pablo Caffa 85’ (penalty)
LA – Mohammed Kamara 90’+2’(Assisted by Mauricio Cuevas)
Misconduct Summary:
FRS – Emir Alihodzic 45’+3’
LA – Kai Koreniuk 52’
FRS – Huroki Kurimoto
Lineups:
LA Galaxy II: Justin Vom Steeg; Nate Shultz, Mauricio Cuevas, Omar Ontiveros, Nick DePuy; Adam Saldaña, Jorge Hernandez (Brian Iloski 73’), Emil Cuello; Ethan Zubak (Augustine Williams 62’), Mohammed Kamara, Kai Koreniuk (Jose Hernandez 83’).
Substitutions not used: Eric Lopez, Geoffrey Acheampong, Justin Fiddes, Abdallah Shaibu,.
Head Coach: Junior Gonzalez
TOTAL SHOTS: 15; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3.
Fresno FC: C.J. Cochran; Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Elijah Martin, Raomon Del Campo, Michael Daly; Hiroki Kurimoto, Devann Yao (Diego Casillas 13’), Emir Alihodzic, Jemal Johnson (Renato Bustamante 82’); Christian Chaney (Qudus Lawal 62’), Juan Pablo Caffa
Substitutions not used: Sam Howard, Sam Strong, Seth Moses, Jaime Chavez,
Head Coach: Adam Smith
TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 6.
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski
Attendance: 7,742
NOTES:
- LA Galaxy II are 5-6-6 on the road in 2019.
- Emil Cuello scored his first goal of the season for LA Galaxy II.
- Mohammed Kamara scored his third 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 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 will finish the 2019 season on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. against El Paso Locomotive FC at Dignity Health Sports Park Track & Field Stadium.
- For more information, visit www.lagalaxy.com/2.
