Playing their 11th match on the road during the 2022 MLS Regular Season, the LA Galaxy fell 4-2 on the road to Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night.
Goal-Scoring Plays
SKC – Erik Thommy (Roger Espinoza, Daniel Salloi), 10th minute: Erik Thommy chested down Roger Espinoza’s pass into the penalty area and volleyed his shot into the far corner of the goal.
SKC – William Agada, 40th minute: After initially having his shot from point-blank-range saved by Jonathan Bond, William Agada was first to the rebound and fired a shot that crossed the goal line.
SKC – William Agada, 45+5th minute: Daniel Salloi latched onto a pass down the right wing and delivered a cross towards the back post to Agada, who converted from close range.
LA – Chicharito (Efraín Álvarez), 83rd minute: Cutting inside from the left wing, Efraín Álvarez slipped a pass behind the Sporting defense to Chicharito, who quickly turned and fired his shot from just outside the six-yard box through the legs of John Pulskamp for his first goal scored in league play dating back to July 4.
LA – Chicharito (Penalty Kick), 90+2nd minute: After Sporting KC was whistled for a penalty, Chicharito stepped up to the spot and powered his shot past Pulskamp.
SKC – Daniel Salloi, 90+5th minute: After intercepting a pass inside the penalty area, Daniel Salloi’s curling effort from the left side of the penalty was tucked into the far corner of the goal.
Postgame Notes
Following the loss to Sporting KC, the LA Galaxy (9-11-3, 30 points) fell to ninth place in the Western Conference standings, three points behind the seventh place Portland Timbers (7-6-12, 33 points).
Saturday’s match marked the 66th MLS regular-season meeting between the Galaxy and Sporting KC, with the all-time series tied 26-26-15.
LA has scored multiple goals in the second half in six of their last 10 matches played dating back to May 29.
The two-goal performance from Chicharito marked his first brace for the club dating back to a 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers on April 3, 2022.
Chicharito’s six career braces ranks tied for sixth-most in LA Galaxy regular-season history.
With nine goals scored in league play this year, Chicharito is tied with Dejan Joveljić for the most goals scored on the team.
It marked the third time this season when Chicharito and Joveljić have started in the same match.
Efraín Álvarez notched his fifth assist in league play in the loss to Sporting KC.
Julián Araujo played 45 minutes as a second-half substitute in his 95th career appearance (84 starts) across all competitions for the Galaxy.
Adam Saldaña made his first appearance for the Galaxy in regular-season play dating back to Oct. 21, 2021, logging nine minutes off the bench.
Three LA Galaxy Academy graduates appeared in the match against Sporting KC, with Álvarez, Araujo and Saldaña all appearing as second-half substitutes.
Kévin Cabral appeared in his 50th career regular-season match with the Galaxy in the match against SKC.
Mark Delgado finished the match with a team-high four tackles won.
Next Game
Up next, the LA Galaxy play host to Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, Aug. 13. The Aug. 13 match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT and features a regional television broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet.
