SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano provides his Three Things We Learned from the Galaxy’s 3-1 win over Fresno FC at Harder Stadium.
CHRIS PONTIUS FINDS THE BACK OF THE NET
Chris Pontius had an emotional trip back to Santa Barbara.
The UC Santa Barbara alum, who helped his school win the College Cup in 2004, scored a goal on his old stomping ground in Thursday’s 3-1 win over Fresno FC. Pontius scored the game-winner early in the second half in front of a giant banner honoring his past achievements for the Gauchos.
Pontius was brought in during the offseason to bring veteran firepower to the Galaxy, and his goal at Harder Stadium will help his case as he tries to earn minutes.
SIGI GETS A LOOK AT TWO NEW PLAYERS
Sigi Schmid got a good look at some new players during Thursday’s match.
Schmid leaned on his reserves as well as a group that included trialists, academy players and representatives from Galaxy II in Santa Barbara. Two notable additions were trialists Cordell Cato and Julian Buscher who each played second-half minutes against Fresno FC.
With another match this weekend, Schmid will have another chance to check out the two trialists against the San Jose Earthquakes.
ARIEL LASSITER MAKES PRESEASON DEBUT
Ariel Lassiter received his first minutes of the preseason in the Galaxy’s victory over Fresno FC.
Lassiter has dealt with injury through much of training camp but returned to the training field ahead of the contest in Santa Barbara. The 23-year-old went 20 minutes in the contest for his first action of 2018.
The striker faces an uphill battle for minutes in Schmid's side, but given the Galaxy’s thin numbers up top, he’ll have additional opportunities to state his case as the preseason wraps up.
