Austin FC look to put loss in rear-view mirror vs. winless Galaxy

Austin FC will look to get back on track when they host the surprisingly winless Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday afternoon.

Austin FC (4-3-1, 13 points) head home after their most uneven match of the season, a 5-1 loss in Vancouver last weekend. The Texas contingent allowed two more goals than it had in its first seven matches of the season combined.

Dani Pereira recorded Austin FC’s lone goal in the 90th minute, and goalkeeper Brad Stuver stopped six shots to keep the score from getting any worse. The loss snapped Austin’s four-match undefeated streak.

“This was a perfect time in our season for this to happen to us,” Austin FC center back Brendan Hines-Ike said of the blowout loss to the West-best Whitecaps. “We were in a moment where we needed to realize that we cannot show up to games — no matter if it’s the top team in MLS or one of the teams that’s at the bottom fighting for points — and not give everything we have.”

The Galaxy (0-5-3, 3 points), the defending MLS champions, have suffered through a calamitous season that sees them still looking for their first win. Los Angeles came from behind and was a man down when former Austin FC midfielder Diego Fagundez scored in the 57th minute to pull the Galaxy into a 1-1 draw at home against Houston last Saturday.

The draw snapped a two-match losing streak for the Galaxy.

Los Angeles has been outscored 15-6 this season but has produced two of its three points on the road. A season ago, the Galaxy scored 69 goals, the most in the MLS Western Conference.

“We’ve got to clean it up — clean up putting ourselves in a hole and the not-so-good starts,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Those are the biggest things. Because after that, I feel like we find ourselves back into the game and we look all right.”

–Field Level Media