Los Angeles – The Los Angeles Galaxy is perfect at home.
After a hard-fought 2-1 win over Austin FC at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, the Los Angeles Galaxy ended their home campaign unbeaten in a match that unofficially signalled the start of playoff soccer.
It leaves them just one point away from clinching the top seed in the Western Conference and having home-field advantage for the duration of the postseason unless they face Inter Miami in MLS Cup.
Gabriel Pec opened the scoring for LA to extend his scoring run to four games in front of 26,574 fans. He was a menace throughout, with only a reflex save by Austin Goalkeeper Brad Stuver preventing Pec from bagging another goal at the end of a dizzying solo run that took out four Verde defenders.
In the final regular season home game for the Galaxy, fans were sent home happy after Dejan Joveljić’s winner cancelled out Sebastian Driussi’s equalizer. The striker brought home the three points for LA with a deft touch, turn, and cannon of a shot that Stuver could do nothing about.
Now the Galaxy will face a two-week wait to wrap up their season and a first Western Conference crown since 2011 on Decision Day, a final match against Houston that will determine their playoff future.
But if the game against Austin is any indication, the playoffs are already here.
LA Galaxy Post Match
The Playoffs Come Early
In a game that was much more difficult than the Galaxy anticipated, they withstood poor officiating and Austin’s physicality to win a match that felt like it was plucked from the postseason.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, as they were playing to keep their season alive, but Austin came out with energy and vigour. Los Verdes’ game plan seemed to be to slow down the Galaxy with their rough play. If the visitors were hoping the Galaxy would lose their heads, initially, it worked.
Puig, in particular, was targeted and found himself on the ground more than once. For his troubles, he received a yellow card for dissent after protesting to referee Ted Unkel.
Despite the problems it posed LA, Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney actually welcomed the conditions of the match.
“I just think it was actually probably good for us to have this type of game right now because the playoffs do have the potential to look like something like that. You know, when the team gets down a goal, and they have everything to play for and start throwing numbers high, start pressing high, and a lot of things can come out of that,” Vanney explained.
“It’s important that we learn from this experience.”
Defender John Nelson echoed the sentiment. Nelson has tasted the postseason with three different teams and agreed with his coach that the Galaxy needed this type of game to prepare for the postseason.
“It was for sure a playoff feel. I’ve played in a few playoff games now in my career, and it was that chippiness, that edge, and Austin, they were fighting for their life,” the Galaxy defender shared.
Austin’s desperation in fighting for their lives boiled over into dangerous play when Verde defender Guilherme Biro took out Puig with a tackle more apt for the WWE than MLS. The Galaxy bench immediately came to Puig’s defence, and Biro received his marching orders with a red card.
The sour moment had a silver lining, however. It illustrated this team’s sense of togetherness.
“I thought it was good for us to get into that to prepare us for the playoffs. Obviously, it was a close game, fight is breaking out, we’re backing each other up. That’s what it’s about. I’m proud of the boys tonight,” Nelson told media in a post-match press conference.
The Galaxy will need that group unity every step of the playoff journey.
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More Work To Do
It was a night to remember, with the Galaxy continuing to make history by becoming the first Galaxy team to go undefeated at home in 13 years. But the big prize is the top seed in the Western Conference, and the Galaxy are one huge point away from clinching it.
That’s why, even though LA was in celebration mode, they didn’t let themselves get carried away. Players and coaching staff are focused on the task at hand. Anything less than a point would be a huge letdown for a team that’s been less than strong on the road.
Nelson shared the team’s mindset going into that critical fixture.
“Yeah, we just talked for a little. Celebrated, but not too much because the job is not done, like you said. This team is focused, and I think the best thing we’ve done this year; we are not complacent. No one is comfortable, and I think (Greg) Vanney has done a really good job to put that on us, no complacency. We are not comfortable. The job’s not done. We’ve got to go to Houston and get a result, so we’ll be ready.”
Vanney will be pleased that he, Nelson, and the team are singing from the same hymnal. Even though he was pleased with what’s been achieved, a result vs. the Dynamo will be the validation the team needs after a long, mostly successful campaign.
“The [Houston] game has plenty of significance and importance, the way I look at it. It’s a critical game. We have to go there prepared, and we’ve got to be able to handle Houston and being on the road in the right way and get something out of there,” Vanney conceded.
All the Galaxy’s good work throughout the year depends on them doing so.
Is This One of the Best Galaxy Teams of All Time?
Results at the end of the year will solidify their place in lore, but the 2024 LA Galaxy might go down as one of the best Galaxy teams of all time.
At home, they’ve made the Digz a fortress once more.
“I think the team is a contender,” Vanney said of the Galaxy. “I think the team certainly looks to be back. We’ve had a very consistent year. When we’ve had down moments, we’ve bounced back with positive moments and wins. I think those are signals of good teams. We have made home field, like you said, a fortress, which is a symbol of a good team.”
LA has won 11 consecutive league matches played at home dating back to May 25, outscoring opponents 31-14 in that stretch. This season, they set club records for most wins at home (13) and most points at home (42).
Even Galaxy fans are setting records. Saturday night’s sell-out crowd helped beat the team’s regular-season average attendance record set in 1996. This means the Galaxy is now drawing the equivalent of some La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga clubs.
They witnessed Puig become the fifth-fastest player in LA Galaxy history to reach 50+ MLS goal contributions (66 games) with his two assists. They also saw Pec and Joveljic become the first pair of Galaxy teammates to score 15 goals each during a single MLS regular season for the first time since 2014 in the home win.
On the way to going undefeated at home, LA also tied its modern-era record of 19 wins, set in 2011. The Galaxy is also one win away from tying its best points haul in the post-shootout era, set the same year with 67 points.
Center back Maya Yoshida conceded that all the accolades set mean little if the team isn’t successful in the postseason.
“If we don’t win MLS Cup, none of this matters,” the Galaxy captain confessed.
The road to the Galaxy’s sixth title and a shot at being called one of the best Galaxy teams of all time starts in Houston.