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Stoppage-Time Goal Sends Galaxy II Past T2

By CHRIS HOCKMAN - chris.hockman@uslsoccer.com, 10/08/17, 12:45AM EDT

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Payeras scores late winner in front of record crowd for Los Dos


Photo courtesy LA Galaxy II

CARSON, Calif. – A dramatic finish at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium on Saturday night saw the LA Galaxy II score in stoppage time to seal a 3-2 win against the Portland Timbers 2. Some poor defense gave T2 the opening goal after the Galaxy II failed to clear the ball fell to Giovanni Calixtro, allowing him to easily poke it home. Calixtro set up a chance in the 34th minute as he played through Omar Mohamed, whose first effort was denied by a strong Justin Vom Steeg save before the follow up was cleared off the line. Los Dos pulled level in the 52nd minute as Ariel Lassiter continued his impressive form, making a strong run at goal before shooting home powerfully as the effort took a deflection on the way in. Portland saw its hopes take a big hit in the 59th minute when Lamar Batista was shown a straight red card for violent conduct. The extra man finally told in the 73rd minute as young debutant Efrain Alvarez sent in a free kick which found Jack McBean, who just got it over the goal line before Kendall McIntosh could stop the ball to give the Galaxy II the lead. Despite being down a man, T2 got an equalizer through Max Ornstil in the 88th minute as he converted a simple chance after a strong run from Harold Hanson. But in stoppage time the Galaxy II took back the lead as Jeffrey Payeras got on the end of a ball into the penalty area, chested it down, and sent it across the face of goal and into the back of the net.

Scoring:
14’ – POR – Giovanni Calixtro
52’ – LA – Ariel Lassiter (Jaime Villarreal)
73’ – LA – Jack McBean (Efrain Alvarez)
88’ – POR – Max Ornstil (Harold Hanson)
90+4’ – LA – Jeffrey Payeras

Three Things That Matter:

  • 1. By making his debut for the Galaxy II as a halftime substitute, Efrain Alvarez became the youngest player in USL history. At 15 years three months and 19 days, Alvarez just beats out the old record, also held by a then 15-year-old Alphonso Davies for Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2. Alvarez got the perfect cap to his history-making debut when he provided the assist on Jack McBean’s goal, naturally making him the youngest player to record an assist in USL history.

  • 2. With a man-advantage for much of the second half, the Galaxy II controlled the match, managing 68.4 percent of possession throughout the whole game. Los Dos were determined to just pass T2 out of the match, managing 581 passes, 313 more than T2 with an impressive 87.4 percent passing accuracy rate. That proved crucial as the hosts' smart passing proved to be what opened T2 up for the winning goal.

  • 3. Coming into the match, T2 had a scoring chance conversion rate of 8.9 percent, the lowest in the USL, which has been a factor in what has been a disappointing season for Portland. While the conversion rate was much better in this match (two goals from eight shots for 25 percent), it did little to help T2 as it fell to another frustrating loss.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Jeffrey Payeras, LA Galaxy II – Leading from the front LA Galaxy II captain Payeras had a strong match, with his accurate passing leaving Portland Timbers 2 players chasing him all night, Payeras capped his performance with the stoppage-time winner.

Upcoming Games:
LA Galaxy II vs. Real Monarchs SLC - October 14, 9p.m. ET, Rio Tinto Stadium
Portland Timbers 2 vs. San Antonio FC – October 11, 8:30p.m. ET, Toyota Field

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