Recap: LA Galaxy 0, Orlando City SC 1

Phil West

Facundo Torres scored his first-ever MLS goal to propel Orlando City SC to an early lead that held, as the visitors bested the LA Galaxy 1-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday afternoon.

The match's only goal came early and yet decidedly against the run of play; Ercan Kara cruised down the right flank on a counter and found Torres in space inside the box. The Uruguayan forward headed home in just the 9th minute to open his MLS account and put the visitors on the board. That 1-0 scoreline remained through halftime, despite the Galaxy's continued positive play resulting in a 10-3 first-half shot advantage.

The Galaxy continued to heap pressure on in the second half, with Efrain Alvarez spelling Douglas Costa at halftime to add some mettle. But Pedro Gallese and the Lions' defense put up a force field to keep the hosts from scoring, including a wicked close-ranger from Alvarez in the match's late stages that left Gallese needing some recovery time on the turf, and Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez's three shots that went for naught.

Goals

9' – ORL – Facundo Torres | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: For the Galaxy, this second loss of the season after back-to-back wins is a bit of a crash back to terra firma – particularly given that they couldn’t produce a goal despite what ended up being a 20-6 shot advantage and a 2.3 to 0.5 xG advantage. For Orlando, who got their first win since Opening Day, this was remarkably (as OptaJack noted) the first match they’ve won in the Pacific Time Zone in six years.

2 - @OrlandoCitySC has won an @MLS match in the pacific time zone for the first time since April 2015 at Portland, the team's sixth match in MLS. Coast. pic.twitter.com/KiF7r1EsRY
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) March 19, 2022

MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Clearly, the goal was a moment of magic for the Lions and one that Torres won’t soon forget. He joined from Uruguay's Penarol this offseason as a Young Designated Player for a reported $7.5 million.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Though a number of the visitors had moments of quality, Gallese was strong in goal, keeping a clean sheet despite a stunning volume of shots that the hosts delivered.