MLS LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy Earn 3-1 Win over FC Dallas at Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday Night

Published on July 8, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LOS ANGELES - Playing the second of two games in four days, the LA Galaxy earned a 3-1 win over FC Dallas at Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday night. Rayan Raveloson and Kévin Cabral tallied their first career goals for the Galaxy, while Ethan Zubak notched his first goal of the 2021 campaign.

LA Galaxy Against FC Dallas

Wednesday's match marked the 75th MLS regular-season meeting between LA and FC Dallas, with the Galaxy leading the series 35-28-12. In 38 all-time regular-season meetings at home against Dallas, LA holds a 26-7-5 record.

LA Galaxy Firsts

Raveloson and Cabral both tallied their first career MLS regular-season goals for the Galaxy in the 3-1 win over Dallas. Zubak notched his first goal in his fourth start of the 2021 campaign. Augustine Williams made his MLS and Galaxy debut, logging 19 minutes as a second-half substitute. Additionally, Daniel Aguirre and Josh Drack both made their MLS and Galaxy debuts as second-half substitutes in stoppage time. Notably, fourteen different players have made their Galaxy debut this season under Head Coach Greg Vanney.

Goal-Scoring Plays

LA - Rayan Raveloson (Víctor Vázquez), 17th minute: Following Vázquez's in-swinging corner kick delivery into the six-yard box, the ball fell to Raveloson, whose looping header found the top corner of the net.

LA - Kévin Cabral (Sebastian Lletget, Samuel Grandsir), 27th minute: Working down the right flank, Samuel Grandsir played a pass towards the right edge of the penalty area to Sebastian Lletget, who beat his marker to the end line and delivered a sliding pass to the center of the box. Cabral was first to the centering pass and slotted his shot into the bottom right corner.

LA - Ethan Zubak, 52nd minute: Following a failed back pass just outside the 18-yard box, Ethan Zubak intercepted the ball, dribbled around the goalkeeper rolled his shot into the empty net.

DAL - Franco Jara (Jesus Ferreira), 71st minute: Jara latched onto a long ball over the top of the defense, taking a touch inside the penalty area before rolling his shot in from a tight angle inside the penalty area.

Postgame Notes

Following the result, LA is 8-4-0 (24 pts.) this season, sitting in third place in the Western Conference standings behind only first place Seattle Sounders FC (8-0-5, 29 pts.) and second place Sporting KC (8-3-2, 26 pts.).

Wednesday's match marked the 75th MLS regular-season meeting between LA and FC Dallas, with the Galaxy improving to 35-28-12 in the all-time series.

Notably, Wednesday's match was the 798th all-time MLS regular-season match for the LA Galaxy dating back to the 1996 season.

In 38 all-time regular-season meetings at home against Dallas, LA holds a 26-7-5 record.

LA improved to 5-2-0 in seven games played at Dignity Health Sports Park in league play this year.

Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney improved to 2-4-0 record in six MLS regular-season games managed against Dallas as a head coach in MLS.

Following the win, Jonathan Bond leads all MLS goalkeepers with eight wins in 2021.

Rayan Raveloson notched his first career goal for the Galaxy.

Kévin Cabral tallied his first career goal for LA.

Sebastian Lletget registered his third assist of the season.

Samuel Grandsir notched his second assist in three games played dating back to June 26.

Ethan Zubak tallied his first goal of the 2021 campaign.

Augustine Williams made his MLS and LA Galaxy debut, logging 19 minutes off the bench.

Daniel Aguirre and Josh Drack both made their MLS and LA Galaxy debuts, appearing as second-half substitutes in stoppage time.

Fourteen players have made their Galaxy debut this season under Head Coach Greg Vanney.

Next Game

Next up, the Galaxy play the first of three consecutive road matches in a row when they travel to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Saturday, July 17. The July 17 match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT and features a regional television broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet.

LA Galaxy (8-4-0, 24pts) vs. FC Dallas (2-5-5, 11pts)

July 7, 2021 - Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

LA Galaxy 2 1 3

FC Dallas 0 1 1

Scoring Summary:

LA: Raveloson (Vázquez), 17

LA: Cabral (Lletget, Grandsir), 27

LA: Zubak, 51

DAL: Jara (Ferreira, 71

Misconduct Summary:

DAL: Twumasi (caution), 54

DAL: Cerrillo (caution), 57

LA: DePuy (caution), 66

DAL: Jader Obrian (caution), 83

Lineups:

LA: GK Jonathan Bond; D Julian Araujo, D Rayan Raveloson, D Nick DePuy, D Jorge Villafaña; M Sebastian Lletget (Daniel Aguirre, 90+3), M Sacha Kljestan, M Victor Vázquez © (Adam Saldaña, 54); F Samuel Grandsir (Cameron Dunbar, 90+2), F Ethan Zubak (Augustine Williams, 71), F Kévin Cabral (Josh Drack, 90+3)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; M Jonathan Perez

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Ethan Zubak, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Kévin Cabral Samuel Grandsir, 3); FOULS: 7 (Samuel Grandsir, 2) OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 3

DAL: GK Jimmy Maurer; D Justin Che, D Bressan ©, D Nkosi Burgess, D John Nelson (Jader Obrian, 45); M Edwin Cerrillo, M Bryan Acosta (Quignon, 45), M Ema Twumasi (Franco Jara, 65), M Jesus Ferreria (Paxton Pomykal, 77), M Ryan Hollingshead; F Ricardo Pepi (Szabolcs, 75)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Phelipe; M Andres Ricaurte, M Brandon Servania; F Dante Sealy

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Jesus Ferreira, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Ricardo Pepi, 2); FOULS: 15 (Bryan Acosta, Edwin Cerrillo, 3) OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2

Referee: Alan Kelly

Assistant Referees: Jeremy White, Jeremy Kieso

Fourth Official: Michael Radchuk

VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.

Weather: Clear, 67 degrees

Attendance: 16,453

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GREG VANNEY

On the game:

"I thought in the first half the ball movement was good. I thought the guys played with intention and purpose to get behind, to attack and to create chances. [There were] a lot of similarities to the last game except we put the ball in the back of the net and we rewarded ourselves for the opportunities that were created. It was great to get one off of a set piece. Rayan [Raveloson] came in and worked hard to get to that ball and buries it, which was good. Kévin [Cabral] had a great header early in the game off of a fantastic run and a ball in that the goalkeeper makes a fantastic save, but great for him to actually put one away. I know he's felt a little bit of pressure and has been feeling the mounting pressure of not finishing or getting some of these chances put away that he's wanted. I had a little word with him yesterday about just relaxing in his mind and when the moment gets there to just see the goal and put it in the goal. He got to a great spot and it was a great cutback cross that he steered into the right spot. I was really happy for him just because I know how hard and how much he wanted that one to get him on the scoreboard. [Samuel] Grandsir had some great chances where he was just a little off and really unfortunate to not put one in the back of the net. I thought the first half was well played and the rewards were there because of the way we played. In the second half... It was good to get that goal third goal. It was a little bit against the play. It was just some hard work from Ethan [Zubak] to track one down and put the center back under a little bit of pressure. It was a misplay to the goalkeeper and E [Ethan], because he put in the shift; he got the opportunity to put it away. That was an important goal because it allowed the guys to steady and just see out the half and defend a little bit. We weren't great with the ball. I think a little bit of that was tired legs and against an opposition that was desperate and pressing. We weren't moving as fast as they were and so sometimes we were making some tired mistakes. But in the end it was a great effort just to see the game out by the guys. It was a tough turnaround and a good bounce-back game from the other day."

On what this win means with a limited bench...

"I think it's great. Obviously it's a group that has learned to win quickly this year and to win in some slightly different ways with some slightly different mixes. I don't know if we've ever put the same lineup out on the field twice. We've had some that are relatively close to others and we've had very different benches from game to game. We're still trying to build our group and now we have, between injuries and suspensions and international call-ups... That's what an MLS season is all about. You've got to get something from everybody and that's why it's important to keep everyone in the mix and keep everybody ready to play. That was excellent. It was a group I thought rebounded off of a good performance in a bad result. We had a good first half, got in front of the game and then saw a game out, which is great just for the team morale and for the guys that we're going to need as the year continues. Now we lose Seba [Sebastian Lletget] coming up for the Gold Cup, so more guys are going to continue to have to step up during this stretch."

LA GALAXY FORWARD ETHAN ZUBAK

On working hard all season and getting tonight's goal:

"Since I was kid, that's always been my mentality. The thing that I can give every game, even if my quality is not there, is hard work, and trying to give that for the guys around me because they do the same for me so today my mentality was, I'm going to go out there and work, do my best to help this team win the game and the goal was the cherry on top."

On feeling pressure to score playing the position he plays:

"I don't feel the pressure, I wouldn't say that's the right word for it. I think that the guys have a lot of faith in me when I do come in for Chicharito [Javier Hernandez]. And Chicha is one of the most supportive teammates you could ask for. He's injured but he doesn't ask or make the situation any awkward or anything for me. He just positively encourages me and helps me in every way possible and he's a great mentor to have."

On bouncing back from losses and what that says about the group:

"I think it says a lot about the team chemistry. This group of guys gel so well, and we know we want to fight for each other every game. We made goals at the beginning of the year and one of the goals was to not lose two games in row. We think that is championship team mentality, we go out there to play like brothers every single time and I think that because we do that, we don't lose many games and when we do, we don't lose consecutive ones, so I think that's a good mentality from all the guys on the team and it's really professional for us to do."

On whether that resilient mentality is something Greg Vanney has instilled on the team:

"I think Greg [Vanney] is the head of it all. I think he is a guy that pays very close attention to detail so that when we do lose a game, we are analyzing exactly what we did wrong, why we lost that game, what we can do better the next time. And then move on to the next team that we are playing. But he makes it easy for us. He does his due diligence, we do a lot of film, we do a lot of tactics and analysis and training so we are well prepared before every game and he instills also a sense of pride to be able to go out there and compete and win every game and that's what championship teams do in my opinion."

On his goal:

"It was definitely a spur of the moment. It was one of those things where you have seen defenders make that mistake in games and it almost seemed like I was down his back and that it was a tight pass with the goalkeeper so I knew that it could be something to where a mistake could be made, so right when I saw him go down, it's tough to get that much pace on the ball when the ball is coming in that direction and you have to try to whip it, but yeah you can tell that he couldn't get it so it was more of me being prepared and reading the situation. And obviously when I took the touch past the goalkeeper, it was a tight angle, but I saw the angle and I just went for it."

On what he has learned from teammate Javier Hernandez:

"I have learned a great deal both on and off the pitch from Chicharito. I would say just how strong he is mentally is one of the things. He went from one of the toughest years in his life off and on the pitch, obviously mutually affecting each other. So, I've learned that a professional mentality and resilience is necessary, and to never give up on anything. He is the player that he is today because of his experiences. But I've learned a great deal on the field as well, every game, even when he's injured, when I'm playing or when I'm playing with him, I'm constantly learning things. He's one of those guys where you watch him practice or you watch him play and instantly you know that he knows these small things that give him these small advantages during a game so, I mean it's just a wonderful experience for me to have as a somewhat younger player and I'm just grateful to have him around the team with me."

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