Sounders end Galaxy’s Leagues Cup campaign in Round of 32

The Galaxy’s time in the Leagues Cup comes to an end after a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the Round of 32.

From the opening whistle it looked like the Galaxy left whatever juice they had from last week’s victories over the Earthquakes and Chivas back in California as the Sounders scored on successive set pieces in the opening minutes.

”It just felt like we lost around the field, in the boxes, we lost too many physical duels. Including the two that get us down 2-0 right off the bat. And now you’re chasing the game on the road, against a team that’s very good in transition,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said.

First it was Yeimar Gomez, who was able to head one past John McCarthy, who made his return to the starting XI after not getting minutes in the group stage. 

Three minutes later, Seattle had a corner kick from the exact same corner they scored the first one from and the result was nearly identical. This time Jackson Ragen finished a tap-in after Jordan Morris’ header bounced off McCarthy’s face.

Set pieces plagued the Galaxy in the early stages of 2024 and the team had made an emphasis on defending them, but Seattle was able to resurface those issues on the backline.

”We started off the season poor with set piece defending,” Vanney said. “We went through a lot of games where I thought we were strong in that space. Today we weren’t.”

Just before halftime, the Sounders dug the Galaxy into a hole they would not be able to climb out of. Alex Roldan’s shot from outside of the box curled past McCarthy’s outstretched arms to make it 3-0.

”Giving up that goal at the death of the first half is a real difficult one, but I think the guys came out and showed resiliency in the second half,” Vanney said.

Gabriel Pec scored in the closing minutes after receiving a great assist from Riqui Puig, but it was too little, too late for the Galaxy’s hopes of a comeback.

Following this disappointing exit after topping their group, the Galaxy will pivot their focus towards the final stretch of the MLS regular season and gear up for the postseason.

”We have to take it as a wake-up call, a reminder that we have eight matches left and then the playoffs,” Vanney said. “We have to be at a higher level if we want to be successful when we get to the next knockout competition, which would be the playoffs.”

Novak Micovic was not on the Galaxy’s game day roster against Seattle. Following his strong performances against San Jose and Guadalajara reports emerged that Micovic requested a transfer out of LA.

Vanney went onto say Micovic “will be fine,” and explained his decision to start McCarthy.

”John has been our starting goalkeeper all year and I didn’t want him to go five weeks without a competitive match before we restart league play. Nowhere in the world would a starting goalkeeper be sitting on the bench for five weeks before you enter the most important part of the season.”

Next, the Galaxy will return to MLS action at Dignity Health Sports Park against Atlanta United on Aug. 24.