Gabriel Pec and Elijah Wynder Score, LA Galaxy Defeat FC Dallas, 2-1, at Home
MLS LA Galaxy

Gabriel Pec and Elijah Wynder Score, LA Galaxy Defeat FC Dallas, 2-1, at Home

Published on October 12, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LOS ANGELES - The LA Galaxy opened the scoring against FC Dallas Saturday night with a 42nd-minute goal by midfielder Elijah Wynder. LA carried the lead into halftime, but FC Dallas found the equalizer in the second half with a goal in the 52nd minute. Gabriel Pec scored from the center of the box in the 87th minute, with assistance from Emiro Garces, defeating FC Dallas 2-1 on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of 18,312 fans. The LA Galaxy will celebrate Fan Appreciation Night and close the 2025 MLS Regular Season with a match at home on Saturday, Oct. 18 against Minnesota FC.

LA Galaxy Against FC Dallas:

Saturday's match marked the 95th all-time meeting across all competitions between the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas, with LA leading the series 43-39-13. The Galaxy narrowly fell to Dallas 2-1 on Oct. 5, where Diego Fagundez scored his 79th MLS Regular Season career goal. Against Dallas, the Galaxy hold a 37-35-13 record in league play, a 2-1-0 record in the U.S. Open Cup, and a 4-3-0 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Goal-Scoring Plays

LA - Elijah Wynder (Gabriel Pec), 42nd minute: Running down the right side, Pec played a through ball in front of Wynder who was streaking towards the goalkeeper with a defender at his back. Wynder's shot deflected off the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

DAL - Anderson Julio (Samuel Sarver, Shaq Moore), 52nd minute: Sarver crossed the ball into the box from the right side and Julio finished it into the net.

LA - Gabriel Pec (Emiro Garces), 87th minute: Emiro Garces made a quick pass to Gabriel Pec and after a small scramble, Pec sent a shot off his left foot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Postgame Notes

Sixteen minutes into the match, Dallas' Farrington was shown a red card, allowing the Galaxy to play a man-up for more than 74 minutes.

Elijah Wynder scored his second MLS career goal in the 42nd minute, bringing his goal contributions to two goals and one assist in 2025 league play.

In the 77th minute, Emiro Garces beat Samuel Sarver in a foot-race breakaway to knock the ball away and save a potential goal scoring play.

The Galaxy recorded 14 shots (5 on target), over 690 passes, and 11 corner kicks while Dallas shot 9 (3 on target), 262 passes, and one corner kick.

Diego Fagundez will enter the final match of the regular season at 79 goals and 79 assists.

Next Game

The Galaxy will host Fan Appreciation Night and play its final match of the MLS Regular Season on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Dignity Health Sports Park. LA plays against Minnesota at 6 p.m. PT (MLS Season Pass). As part of Fan Appreciation Night, the first 15,000 fans in attendance on Saturday, Oct. 18 will receive a Dia de los Muertos bobblehead. Fan Appreciation Night will also include seat upgrades and postgame player autographs.

POSTGAME QUOTES:

Head Coach Greg Vanney

Defender John Nelson

Midfielder Elijah Wynder

LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney

On his thoughts on the game:

"In general, pretty well-played, pretty controlled. You like to be up by more than one if you can in that type of scenario. We knew coming in at the half that at some point they were going to push it. We talked about at the half; my guess was they were going to come back in a four, some kind of a 4-4-1 or something and try to extend a little bit and see if they can get back in the game. I thought we -- in the second half, I thought at times we were just impatient, and then making runs and leaving positions that we needed to stay in, control the game, control the transitions. Obviously we give up a goal. I have to see it because I was a little confused on how we got so pulled apart. We give up a goal, and then I think the mindset kicks in where you're up a man, and the feeling is, 'you can't draw a game when you're up a man for that long.' You have to win.

And I felt like we got really impatient. Guys were just running. You know, just running, and they end up building because now at 1-1, they are probably in a reasonable spot. They build a wall of five, six guys in the back line. Again we have guys, we are kind of just running aimlessly at times, and we are not where we need to be when the opportunity comes to try to break them and to try to create that final moment and it ends up in a transition. And because we are running we lose track of where they are transition players are, where our control spots are. And so we saw some fuzzy transitions that we had to deal with and Emiro [Garces] having to use his speed to deal with a couple on one or two. I felt we got a little bit impatient in ways and took ourselves out of important positions that we needed to just control the game in their half of the field and play our way. But we tried some different things to get a left-footed crosser on the field. So we were trying to get John [Nelson] at times into high positions. Then we came on with Tucker [Lepley] to keep John [Nelson] in transition positions because Sarver was hanging out waiting to transition so we wanted to keep John in control. So we were trying to get bodies in front [of] the goal with two strikers. We were trying to do different things to deal with the numbers they had behind the ball, and especially on the back line. So credit to the guys. Found a way to put it in the back of the net, and it became harder than we would have liked it to be. But you know when you have a team that's playing for their playoff lives, it's never going to be easy. They are going to throw it at you at some point."

On Elijah Wynder's progression over the season and his goal in the match:

"Yeah, we used him differently tonight. We set up in a 4-3-3 and told him to stay there at times, especially in the attacking half of the field, almost like a second forward. When they committed five in the back, we felt like we would commit at least two forwards into the situation. He was staying in some higher positions with a green light to break the line, to run through, yeah, to try to get into dangerous positions. And so I thought he found some really good moments. At times he was trying to feel out his positioning but especially in the couple transition moments and a couple others, I thought he was in really good spots for the guys to play off him or play with him but also for he himself to find some good spots. Good finish, because the keeper came out pretty quickly, and I'm not sure he knew exactly how close the keeper was. But he was able to get it under him. Again, I thought he had a really strong match, again, in a slightly different type of role than the double-pivot. We used him as a higher player today. We used his size a little higher in front and around the goal. I think, again, he's coming along, right. Especially playing for me, sometimes you get asked to do different roles than you did from the game before. You know, today I thought he did a nice job of adapting into the role."

On if Elijah Wynder has had the most growth this season compared to his teammates:

"Maybe. That's probably fair. He came in with some experience at the USL level, I think, early on. Again, actually functioning in a system versus functioning with freedom on the field was something that he was trying to wrap his head around early on. And then I think he grasped it. Other guys have come along this season. Mauri [Mauricio Cuevas] has come along and another step for him. Obviously guys like Sarver have come along and big steps for guys without that experience. But yeah, you definitely have to put Elijah up in that category of guys who have utilized this season in a positive way to move themselves forward to be ready for what's to come."

On if and how the red card in the first half changed the match:

"I don't know if it changed a ton the way we approached the game. I think because they didn't change a lot other than they dropped -- instead of playing with kind of two forwards, or more of a 4 -- whatever you want to call it, a 5-2-3, they ended up in a little bit more of a 5-3-1. It became harder for them to get out of their half of the field. It didn't change our setup at all because we were working against a 5 and we were trying to set up with a little bit extra numbers higher up the field. Again, in the first half I thought we were good about our positional play. It was just about timing, about execution. It was about things like that. We managed a lot of the transition moments a lot cleaner in the first half than we did in the second half. But I do agree that the start of the game was a little hectic and it was physical and it was -- free-for-all could be a word.

I mean, the red card is probably a red card because it's after the play and off the ball. I didn't see it specifically. But I felt like it kind of came out of nowhere in terms of what had been called up until this point. But when you act out, then you run the risk of that, I guess. Again, I didn't see the whole play, so I don't have an opinion on it. Yeah, the game -- Jair [Marrufo] let's the game play. He's never going to be one that's going to overblow the whistle, and then you have a team that's fighting for their playoff life; and for us, we are fight to go move up that table a couple spots if we can. So you get a highly competitive game."

On the current standings and getting out of the bottom spot in the Western Conference:

"Yeah, I mean, it's where we are. Again, the first 16 games or so put us in a really challenging spot. I actually think the second half of our season has been a lot more stable. We, in terms of league play, have been fairly stable. Haven't done much on the road, which you've got to do something on the road. We haven't done anything, really, on the road. But the second half of the season, including Leagues Cup run and including those games, we've been more stable. And outside of the road play, probably would be talking about a playoff spot if we were more consistent with that over 34 games. But when you don't get a win in like the first 16, you put yourself in a really difficult position. Yeah, so I mean, our position is our position. It hasn't changed a ton in the last long time. So I think for us down the stretch, to finish the season as we talked about, to finish with strong character, work hard, compete for every point out there, and yeah, we're playing a team that was battling for playoffs and a team that would be in the playoffs. So it's a good statement to be able to say that you can come away with big results against two teams that are right in there in the mix."

On if this win helps the team in next weekend's final match of the season:

"Yeah, we've talked about it all week. Legacy is legacy. When you win a championship, that's legacy. When you finish at the bottom, that's also a legacy that you don't want. I don't know what matters, if it's the Western Conference or the table or whatever, but I know that I don't want to be at the bottom of anything. The intention to be had come out and to compete to win against a team that is going to be preparing themselves for the playoffs. And because it's coming off an international break and they have been off for two weeks, I would expect them to really use our game as a preparation for what's coming for the playoffs. So it's going to be a really tough game."

On the approach against Minnesota United FC next weekend:

"I have to look at them again to be honest because we haven't seen them in a while. See if they are doing anything different. Again, depending on our availability, who we have over the next week, if anything changes, that may or may not play into that. But what we know is they are a team that doesn't need to have a ton of possession. They are a team that's going to be really difficult to break down. They will probably be sitting in a low block, and they are very, very good in the transition. And they are not incompetent in possession, but it's not something that they fancy as being too important to them. It's going to be like tonight, when you have a fair amount of the ball, you have to remain disciplined to your positions behind the ball and not go running forward for no reason because they have a ton of ability in the transition. You have to maintain your control positions, and you have to make sure everything is accounted for, underneath and behind attacks, and we're going to have been really good at that. But I haven't looked at them closely enough to give you much of an answer on that."

On the versatility of Mauricio Cuevas and what he brings to the lineup:

"Yeah, it's a little bit necessity, and you've seen Sarver do that over the last couple of weeks, who is also not really a winger. But they are natural wide players, I would say. So guys who are comfortable on the sideline or thinking about running in behind, trying to get into good positions, thinking about playing off the line. He's played some winger for us last year on occasion. He knows what he's doing. It's not probably his natural position. But given the group that we have, not having a Joe [Paintsil], not having, really, another true winger out there, especially if we use Diego [Fagundez] on the inside, then you know, those guys give us some flexibility that also at times we can drop into a five if we need to by using a fullback. I think at times it gives us a little flexibility but also gives us a guy who understands how to play on the outsides. A lot of our guys are more central in terms of -- we had three center backs on the bench. So we had a lot of guys who probably wouldn't be playing that position otherwise. It allowed us to stay in our shape and do some things that had been similar. But I thought he did a good job. Again, I think it's not his natural position. I thought in the first half he had some really good actions, good timings. He got to the inline once and he crossed with his left foot. Otherwise I thought he more wanted to cut back on his right foot and try to work off of that, and I felt like at times we needed to try to get deeper and put a left-footed ball in behind. That's why we were rotating him and John [Nelson] a little bit and who was taking the higher, wider position. He's done a good job. Tonight, like Elijah [Wynder], just had a different role that we asked him to do and some of it is out of necessity, and some of it is to create some flexibility for us out there in the game."

On if the team is positioning Diego Fagundez to help him reach the 80/880 Club:

"I wish we had that luxury to be able to say that. Last year, I would say we would be looking to do something like that. But this year, I think we are trying to put the ball in the back of the net as much as we can. I think everybody is mindful of it and everybody wants him to achieve it. And you know, you never know, if we have a penalty or if we have a free kick from outside, he may the guy who steps up in that type of situation. But I think in the run of play, guys are just trying to solve the moment and find the best solution. But his -- I mean, he's done so many different things for us over the course of the season, playing different positions. Yeah, he's been a leader for our group. He's played a ton of minutes. He's the guy in the locker room that just connects everybody. He's a valuable, valuable human being in the locker room, but also on the field just allowing us to do some things. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I thought in midseason our group settled and became a little bit more of ourselves when he became the second pivot next to Eddie [Edwin Cerrillo] and Marco [Reus] was in front of them, and then Nasci [Matheus Nascimento], Joe [Paintsil] and Gab [Gabriel Pec]; that combination of guys, when they were together, is when I thought we were on our best run for the season. I thought the connection amongst them was smooth and it was good. And it allowed some time for Elijah [Wynder] and some of the others to not be forced -- not be forced into roles but give them time to see how it should function and allow them to grow in it. Even talking to Elijah, he felt like he benefitted to be able to see that a little bit and understanding better what his role would look like."

On center backs off the bench:

"Thought about it. It's a tough one because it's a game where you're up a man. So the need for another center back, unless you take a center back off, unless you put Maya as a forward, which we're not afraid to do. It's not a game that for me felt like we needed to add a center back, per se. Should we take one off? We immediate Emiro's speed in transition. We saw that. And Maya's ability on set pieces to win something in the air and do something is important for us. I'm over there thinking through how I can use anyone and everyone in some of these situations and sometimes it's trying to fit a square peg in a round hole sometimes because it's not like-for-like, and so we are trying to work through some of that constantly."

On Julian Aude returning to the team:

"It's possible. We'll see how he progresses. Christian (Ramirez) is getting a little closer. I don't know where Marco (Reus) will be but I'm not fancying that he will be quite ready or the risk will be worth the award. But Julian might be ready. It's more he tweaked his ankle and he keeps aggravating it, and we'll see if we feel like he's far enough along."

On three center backs and then two wingbacks:

"Yes. We've done versions of that over the course of the season. Sometimes I'll do it using a fullback in that help position. Because if I think we don't really want to have three guys or five guys defending like that or if we don't want to have three guys in the build, then having a fullback in that type of role gives you flexibility to change into a four if that's something you want to do. You've seen over the last several weeks using Sarver in that type of role, it's almost like playing five in the back. It's just a matter of when we were in pressing positions, he was defending higher off the back line, and when we were in lower positions, he was more in the back line. There's a method to the madness. It kind of looks like it, but it's not five all the time. When we have Joe (Paintsil) and Gab (Gabriel Pec), it's interesting because Gab is a winger. Joe can do a little bit, but Gab is probably most comfortable coming in off the wing. So I also think about how it impacts the other guys that are in the group, as well."

LA Galaxy Defender John Nelson

On his versatility:

"I think wherever the coach wants me to play, I'll play. I think that shows I'm versatile. It's important for a team. If it's building on being more defensive, I think I'm really good at that. And tonight higher up on the pitch would be a good ball. I think it shows I'm a complete left back. Wherever the coach wants me to play, I'll play."

On this season:

"It's been a really, really tough season, obviously with the standings, but with these last two games, one more next week -- we don't want to finish last. It's been a tough season and a combination of everything, injuries, unlucky. Honestly, we didn't perform, look at the first 16, 17 games we just didn't perform. And our last, ten games, I thought it wasn't that bad. It's been a tough season. I think we are all just mentally, physically getting there. We want to finish it out on a strong note."

On his time in LA:

"Obviously, everything happened with St. Louis in 2023. So it was great to bounce back in a way I didn't think a lot of people expected me to. Maybe I impressed some people. Coming out to L.A., honestly, I never thought I would be playing for the Galaxy, and then obviously last year, my first year, I thought I came in and played really well. And of course, for us to win the MLS Cup, it was awesome.For me, a year I'll never forget for my performance, and then obviously for the team. I think I kind of bounced back with my career coming out to L.A."

On playing with Diego Fagundez:

"Well, first off, defensively, he works; he works hard, which I love as a fullback. You need that. But you can play him on any ball; he can get out of it. He's a good player, good leader. Always talking to me. Like you said throughout the year, I think we got a lot better getting more comfortable with each other, the combinations inside and out and getting up into the attack. I love it. He's a good leader, good guy in the locker room. Really, really positive and it's been a positive year for us."

On the LA Galaxy's last regular season match of the year:

"I would just say fight, like Vanney said tonight in the locker room. We don't want to come in last. That's no one's goal. Just fight. Fight for the fans. Fight. Obviously we are not making playoffs. Show these fans we still want to be out there and we want to fight, we really do. The results haven't gone our way this year. It's been tough for us, not fair for us, not fair for the fans. So, I would just say just fight. We're at home. We get three points, no other excuses. We get three points, I think we'll be fine and not finish last."

On the attacking side of his game:

"I think even last year, it's grown a lot. But this year, as well. I think that just comes with getting minutes, consistency, defensively I think I'm very strong on the ball and I build very good. I do think in this league, and maybe just in sports, you get a reputation as a player, and I've always been known as a defensive player only, which honestly I don't agree with. I think I can help the attack in different ways. If it's a nice through ball, if it's just very consistent, came on the ball and then starting the attack, and then last year and even this year, a good cross into the box, driving inside, making guys commit. I think I've grown a lot in the attack and I don't want people just to think I'm a defensive player. Maybe just because I'm very good defensively. But I don't want that reputation, I'm only defensive. I think a complete left back, a complete fullback, is what a team wants and it's what I want to be. So I'm getting there. Keep going."

LA Galaxy Midfielder Elijah Wynder

On what he thinks about playing in a higher position and a little bit about his goal:

"Like you said, it was a different position than I've been playing lately. It was higher up. But he talked to me thoroughly throughout the week, basically reading the centerbacks and then when to go in behind and when to check in. It was a lot of that, just reading it. I made more runs in my line than I've probably done all season, but he made it very clear when to go in behind, when to check in. So props to him for that. And my goal, the guy had a bad touch. Just gave it to Pec and I saw that I had the position on him and Gabby had hit an amazing ball to finish it."

On if he saw the goalkeeper's position on his finish:

"I saw that and thought about chipping or not and decided to go with the way I scored it."

On how this year has changed his outlook on who he is as a player and what he's capable of:

"It's really changed my outlook on who I am as a player. I think I've learned a lot this year. I mean, coming into this team with the system that Greg wants to play was very difficult for me at first because I wasn't used to the style he wants to play. But I think, like, the first six months, took it on to learn and they helped me out a lot with that. I think as of recently, I've learned a lot, gotten more comfortable in the system, and I can't wait to keep building on this."

On the biggest thing he's had to learn in the system:

"He likes to manipulate the opponents with the midfielders, and I was not used to, like, where to show up, when to get out of that. So I spent a whole lot of time with the coaching staff, like Nick, JB, with movements and when to do that timing and stuff like that."

On if there were times where he doubted himself:

"I don't think I doubted myself because I was in a similar situation on my old team three years ago, I was in and out of the team and wasn't playing, and I did what I did when I was with them which is learn what you can learn, control what you can control and work harder each day."

On what ways this year has broadened him as a player:

"I've talked to Greg about that, which is -- he told me, "If you can learn my system and feel comfortable in it, then it should open up more doors for you." So I think it's added on to what I've already been able to do, and now I'm feeling more comfortable in Greg's system."

On any other personal goals to finish out the year and if there are any team goals that you would like to see your teammates accomplish:

"I think my personal goal and the team goal is pretty much the same going into this last game, which is just to end the season on a high note, as high a note as possible with the season that we've had, which is go out next week and win the game and end the season with a win."

On what he's learned from playing with Diego:

"Diego is a veteran midfielder so I learned a lot from him with his advice he's given me in the games, after the games, during halftime, whether it's in training. I've also learned a lot watching him play, like picking up little things that he does. He's a very technical player, so he's good in tight spaces and good in the pocket. So I've picked up a lot from Diego in my time here."

On trying something new and if it was satisfying to succeed in it:

"It was definitely very satisfying, like you said. I made a lot of runs early in the in the game and didn't get the ball. But it not necessarily is for me the runs because it can open up space for other players. I was just going to keep doing those runs whether I got the ball or not.

On his experience watching his brother play for the US U-20 team:

"It's different from playing with him. It was probably the best year of my life when we got to play together. To see him grow and where he's going and where he's capable of going, I'm so proud of him that I can't wait to see what he does."

On if he's been watching the U- 20 team:

"Every game."

On his impression of the USYNT U-20 team:

"I mean, I can't like they have a game tomorrow. Good luck to them tomorrow and he's going to do his thing."

On if he's heard from his family about his goal for the night:

"My goal? I haven't checked my phone."

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 12, 2025


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