MLS LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy Play to 1-1 Draw Against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2023 Home Opener at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday Night

Published on March 19, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LOS ANGELES - The LA Galaxy earned a 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2023 Home Opener in front of 23,122 fans at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night.

LA Galaxy Against Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Saturday's match marked the 32nd meeting across all competitions between the Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with LA leading the all-time series 15-10-7. Against Vancouver, the Galaxy hold a 14-10-7 record in league play and a 1-0-0 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the last meeting at Dignity Health Sports Park between the two teams, LA earned a 5-2 victory over the Whitecaps on Aug. 13, 2022. In 17 matches played at home against Vancouver, the Galaxy hold a 10-4-3 record, outscoring the Whitecaps 29-12.

LA Galaxy In Home Openers

Since MLS' inception in 1996, the LA Galaxy hold a 17-8-3 record in 28 MLS home openers played at Dignity Health Sports Park and the Rose Bowl Stadium. In 21 MLS home opener's contested at Dignity Health Sports Park, LA holds a 12-6-3 record. In their last six home openers played dating back to March 4, 2018, the Galaxy hold a 4-1-1 record.

Debuts at Dignity Health Sports Park

Six players made their first regular-season appearance at Dignity Health Sports Park for the Galaxy: Jalen Neal, who started and played 90 minutes, Tyler Boyd, who started and played 86 minutes, while Chris Mavinga, Memo Rodríguez, Uri Rosell and Preston Judd each appeared as second-half substitutes in their home debut.

Goal-Scoring Plays

VAN - Tristan Blackmon (Julian Gressel), 14th minute: Julian Gressel's free-kick delivery from outside the box found Tristan Blackmon, whose header from close range was fired in at the far post.

LA - Kelvin Leerdam, 45+4th minute: Raheem Edwards floated a cross into the box that was spilled by Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka and the rebound was turned in by Kelvin Leerdam.

Postgame Notes

Saturday's match marked the 32nd meeting across all competitions between the Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with LA leading the all-time series 15-10-7.

Against Vancouver, the Galaxy hold a 14-10-7 record in league play and a 1-0-0 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the last meeting at Dignity Health Sports Park between the two teams, LA earned a 5-2 victory over the Whitecaps on Aug. 13, 2022.

In 17 matches played at home against Vancouver, the Galaxy hold a 10-4-3 record, outscoring the Whitecaps 29-12.

Since MLS' inception in 1996, the LA Galaxy hold a 17-8-3 record in 28 MLS home openers played at Dignity Health Sports Park and the Rose Bowl Stadium.

In 21 MLS home opener's contested at Dignity Health Sports Park, LA holds a 12-6-3 record.

In their last six home openers played dating back to March 4, 2018, the Galaxy hold a 4-1-1 record.

Tyler Boyd made his first MLS and Galaxy start, logging 86 minutes against Vancouver.

Making his first league appearance since Sept 18, 2021, Jonathan Klinsmann made his 2023 debut for the Galaxy, logging 65 minutes and making two saves against Vancouver.

Mark Delgado made his 250th career MLS regular-season appearance in the match against Whitecaps FC.

Kelvin Leerdam, who scored his first goal of the 2022 campaign, tallied his first goal in MLS regular-season play since scoring for Seattle Sounders FC against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 10, 2020.

Riqui Puig finished the match with a game-high six successful dribbles.

Dejan Joveljić finished the match with a team-high four chances created and two shots on target.

Martín Cáceres recorded a game-high nine clearances and won eight of nine duels.

LA Galaxy Head Coach and Sporting Director Greg Vanney holds a 6-5-3 record in 11 career regular-season matches coached against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Next Game

Up next, the LA Galaxy travel to face the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday, March 25. The match on March 25 kicks off at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcasted live on MLS Season Pass and FOX.

2023 MLS Regular Season

LA Galaxy (0-1-2, 2pts) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (0-2-2, 2pts)

March 18, 2023 - Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

LA Galaxy 1 0 1

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 0 1

Scoring Summary:

VAN: Blackmon (Gressel), 14

LA: Leerdam, 45+4

Misconduct Summary:

VAN: Veselinovic (caution), 17

VAN: Brown (caution), 43

VAN: Raposo (caution), 70

VAN: Laborda (caution), 87

LA: Edwards (caution), 90+2

Lineups:

LA: GK Jonathan Bond (Jonathan Klinsmann 25); D Kelvin Leerdam (Chris Mavinga, 86), D Martín Cáceres, D Jalen Neal, D Raheem Edwards; M Mark Delgado, M Gastón Brugman © (Uri Rosell, 86), M Riqui Puig, M Efraín Álvarez (Memo Rodríguez, 65), M Efraín Álvarez, M Tyler Boyd (Preston Judd, 86), F Dejan Joveljić

Substitutes Not Used: D Calegari, D Eriq Zavaleta; M Daniel Aguirre, M Jonathan Pérez

TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (Dejan Joveljić, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Dejan Joveljić, 2); FOULS: 13 (Raheem Edwards, 3); OFFSIDES:1; CORNER KICKS: 13; SAVES: 2

VAN: GK Yohei Takaoka; D Ranko Veselinovic, D Tristan Blackmon, D Javain Brown, D Ryan Raposo (Mathias Laborda, 74); M Julian Gressel (Sebastian Berhalter, 75), M Andres Cubas, M Ryan Gauld ©; F Sergio Cordova (Pedro Vite, 43), F Cristian Dajome (Alessandro Schöpf, 61), F Brian White

Substitutes Not Used: GK Thomas Hasal; D Ali Ahmed, M Russell Teibert; F Deiber Caicedo, F Simon Becher

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Javain Brown, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Tristan Blackmon, Adrian Cubas, 1); FOULS: 15 (Ranko Veselinovic, Brian White, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4

Referee: Victor Rivas

Assistant Referees: Jose Dasilva, Mike Rottersman

Fourth Official: Corey Rockwell

VAR: Geoff Gamble

Weather: Clear, 69 degrees

Attendance: 23,112

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH AND SPORTING DIRECTOR GREG VANNEY

On overall on the night, and if it was a frustrating night:

"Yeah, frustrating night. Frustrating night. There were definitely some good moments in the attack. We got in some good areas. We got to the endline several times. Obviously scored one first half. Offside. We give away a goal off of a set piece, that, we have, I think one guy, who steps up when the play is happening instead of staying with the group. So, we kind of open up a little window there for them. We give up that goal. We have some good possessions. Still not perfect, for sure. And, ultimately, the game comes down to one play. It really does. And the play was a non-handball. I just don't understand for the life of me how the referee, who is 25-yards behind the play, and directly behind the attacker, sees handball. Because even when you watch it on replay, it's not a handball. And you have all the angles in the world, potentially, in VAR. Let them make the call if it's a handball. You're guessing from 25-yards behind. I watched it back. To me, it doesn't look like a handball at all. But once he makes the call, it changes everything. And, so, it's a big guess by him. And it impacts the game. And, we could have played better. We had some good moments. But, football games come down to plays. They come down to moments. And that was a big moment in the game."

On where the ball hit the player, specifically it looked like it hit him in the body, on the chest:

"Yeah. And if you don't have arms... maybe. But, everybody has arms. And it didn't hit his arm. It was about... in this position. It hit him right here. You can ask Dejan [Joveljić]. I think he would know. But, also, watching the video is very... for me, it's obvious. But, again, the referee was behind the ball about 25-yards and behind the player. But, somehow say it. So, I just don't understand why we're there in the world of VAR. We don't need that guess."

On Tyler Boyd and his first start, and what he saw from him on the field tonight:

"I'm pleased. Dynamic. Competitive. Feisty. Got some good 1-on-1 action where he can show he can imbalance people on the 1-on-1. He has some pace to get in behind. Some good movements. He's got some quality in the service, for sure. So, it was good to get him going. Again, he showed up late, so, physically, we got him into a good spot now. And you see how he can help impact our group. And, defensively, his work was good. Getting him connected with everybody is another step, as he's had a kind of short window of time. But, some good moments."

On Dejan Joveljić's performance, and if he got what he wanted out of him on the field, and his confidence:

"I thought he was good at linking up plays. I thought he brought guys into the game at times. When balls were played into him, he was able to hold and set it back to Riqui [Puig] or guys coming on, and we were able to continue our attacks. So, that's good. He was able to get into some spots in front of the goal. We didn't always hit the right crosses or at the right times, sometimes we took an extra touch, lost a little time, then tried to play it across. And I think we need to whip it in a little bit faster. But, I thought in general, helping the group, he was more involved. And we got more involved today then we did the first two games. Yeah, better."

On Riqui Puig's game developing and becoming more confident in the attack, making runs, getting involved:

"Yeah. I mean, we would like to continue to see moments like that. Again, I think it's... for us, over the course of the night, there's still a few too many balls that we lose going straight down the middle instead of getting our wide players involved in the game more often and better. But we force some plays in the central areas. There's times where I think we can drop down, get the ball, build some speed going forward and then Riqui [Puig] can arrive as the play continues going forward. Because he's good at picking things up, playing forward and then building some momentum into the attack like he did in that particular situation. So, I think some of these moments just need to be more consistent. I think they're... not just for Riqui, but for the group as a whole, there are things that are working for us as a group on the field and we need to recognize those and be more consistent with those things that are working. And then they'll have to close them down. And when they close them down, then we go to the next thing. But I think there's a lot of moments and things that were very particular, that were working through the game, that we need to get back to those things more frequently. And when we did, we were dangerous. Sorry, your question was about Riqui. But, I think there was, inside of that, the midfield, decisions and stuff like that. One of the things."

On Jonathan Bond's status:

"Kind of jammed his shoulder up. So we won't really know until they have a scan. They don't think anything is too serious, involved with it. But it was more of a kind of jamming. The joint in there a little bit. So, I'll know more on Monday, before I can really get anywhere. I mean, obviously he left in a sling, which isn't a great sign. But, he also wasn't in excruciating pain and he was able to get up pretty quick. And, when you really do a shoulder, I don't think you want to move anywhere too fast. So, we're hoping, for us, that it's minor and nothing too big."

On how you evaluate the team where it is now, missing so many key pieces, and this being half his line-up and how he sees the squad at the current moment:

"We have to keep budling. The season is a process. And, every game is an opportunity to continue to see where we're at and improve. The guys that we have, that are in, are responsible for getting results, as we all are. They're trying to give their best performances to stake their claim on positions when they're getting opportunities. At the end of the day, we want to be in this thing for 50 plus games, and, so, everybody is going to be necessary and needed. And, in MLS, I think, you know, most teams going through their moments in the course of an MLS season, where you're missing somebody, you have some things... we're happening to go through it right at the beginning. Hopefully we won't have any more of these down the stretch. But, we're going through our phase of a couple of big injuries, along with some guys that we're still trying to get in the doors and get integrated into the group. So, the guys that are here, it's a process of keep getting better every game. And try to get points along the way. And, today was one of those opportunities, and next week will be another."

On Dejan Joveljić and being able to see him dictate more in the box, and his international call up to the Serbian National Team:

"Again, as I've said all week and the last couple of weeks, Dejan [Joveljić], Javier [Hernández], our strikers, are going to be as good as our team is in terms of creating attacks, building attacking movement around them. That's the kind of players they are. They're finishers. They're not guys who create goals out of nowhere. They're guys who, in the collective movement of things, are finishers. And, so, Dejan will be more effective when the team is more effective. And, tonight, we were more effective than we were in the last couple of games, and that opened up some things for him, for sure. And, so, that's going to be the case for any of our guys that are up there, because that's who they are. So, we need to keep being efficient as a group and making good decisions and smart movements, and if we do that, then our guys will get chances and they'll put things in the net. Relating to Dejan's call up, it's fantastic for him. We'll miss him. But, you know, call ups like this for a young player are huge for confidence, exposure and opportunity for him. So, it's... it excites him. Because, any time you come to MLS as a European player, I think for your national team to have their eyes on you, call you in, that's an important thing for a young player. And he has an opportunity to go there, and hopefully, put on a good performance and keep stating his claim for a position there."

LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER JONATHAN KLINSMANN

On being ready to play and his thoughts when he saw Jonathan Bond go down:

"I think it is exactly like you said. You always have to be ready and even on the warmup, you have to do it like you are going to play. I think I was very happy with my warmup today and I think me and Kevin [Harman] touched on that a little bit before the game too, so I was ready to go and as far as how I played, I think it was okay. I think I did the best I could and I think I did it well. I think there was maybe one save in the last minute where it was a little bit dangerous but other than that, I think it was an okay game, a decent game. And now we move on."

On whether he felt comfortable today and if he thinks Greg Vanney has put together a system that makes him feel comfortable:

"Totally. We have trained our system over a couple of years now and I have been lucky to have been part of the team for those couple of years, so I think jumping in for me as far as the system goes, I think it was seamless and it was easy. The guys that are in front of me, I have full confidence in."

On his save he had off the corner and before on a ball that split the center backs and he came out and it was a wide shot and how he saw those plays develop:

"That last one, it was just, again, you just have to be ready because the ball can come at you at any time. I think it was just a decent reaction save to put over the bar and then we had to get ready for the corner kick. As far as the slipped ball through, I think I could have done that a little bit differently. Stayed and had my center backs force them a little bit more wide or next time, I think our center backs, we're very confident in them so maybe letting them force them a little bit wide or letting them catch up or something like that. Luckily it all worked out in terms of those two."

On always being ready even if the call doesn't come, and what the mental aspect is like:

"That is definitely the tough part about being a goalkeeper. Your time may come now, it may come in a year or a couple of years from now but you have to be ready. And I think the one thing that helps me through all of that is believing in myself and being angry every time I drive to the stadium and I am not playing. Like today, it was a shitty drive. I want to play so bad and then obviously 20 minutes in you get the chance and you are like 'okay, you have to go now.' And that is the attitude, that is how you stay ready. And that's how I will do it in the future."

LA GALAXY DEFENDER KELVIN LEERDAM

On his goal tonight:

"I don't remember actually how the play went I just know Tyler [Boyd] got on the ball I believe and put a cross in and I was already in front of the defender and luckily the goalkeeper made a mistake and I was there to basically tap it in."

On whether the second disallowed goal was a handball:

"I've seen the video I don't think it was a handball but that is just my opinion. We are humans. I believe that it was a goal, a clean goal, but somebody had to make the decision and in this case it was against us."

On being involved in the attack:

"The spaces had opened up in the game. I was actually playing a little bit more controlled next to Jalen [Neal] and Martin [Caceres] but sometimes opportunities are there and in my younger days I was going a lot, a lot forward. I was scoring a lot of goals as a defender so I was not lost in the box. I have to take those opportunities, I'm an older player. Greg [Vanney] gives me a lot of confidence to make my own decisions and to help the younger guys so whatever comes I take. Sometimes I have to take a little bit more, but today unfortunately it was only 1-1 but we have to keep building."

On whether leaving some gas in the tank for the end of the game is now a veteran move for him:

"No, I am not here to save gas. I just want to win games. And sometimes you have to take more initiatives. That's not only for me, that's for everybody. I think players who take initiatives can open up the game. We have a lot of players like Riqui [Puig], Efrain [Alvarez] who can take a lot of initiative and open up the game for us. Sometimes we have to do it in different ways, guys without the ball and stuff and today it was moving without the ball and luckily the ball dropped there in the second post and I was there to tap it in. You see with Deki [Dejan Joveljić] in the box and Riqui. Unfortunately the goals were taken off but it's all taking initiative getting there and getting the last touch on the ball. Unfortunately 1-1 is not enough."

On what it felt to score a goal:

"For me scoring a goal, it takes me back to when I basically started playing football when I was four or five years old. You play to score goals. Nobody starts to play football just to defend. You get the excitement from scoring goals, so for me I am always happy. That is why you see when guys score goals, they celebrate because it takes you back to when you are younger and for me it was the same. I didn't celebrate because I didn't know if I was offside or not and you never what happens, it happened two times today, but it always takes me back to the younger Kelvin."

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Major League Soccer Stories from March 19, 2023


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