Official: 2018 LA Galaxy II Season

4-1 win. Goals from Aguilar, Zubak (PK), Engola, and Lopez. Three goals gifted by the Sacramento defense, and bad set piece defending on Engola's goal. Requejo scored an own goal.

Munoz subs :

- 55th minute (score was 4-0) : Aguilar out, Jonathan Hernandez in.
- 80th minute (4-1) : Lopez out, Dhillon in.
- 91st minute (4-1) : Vera out, Alvarez in.

What's the point of not using two of your most promising young players when you're leading 4-0, and instead subing in two mediocre USL players? We play two games next week and everyone will get playing time, this is the only reason I can see.

When I look at the G2 roster (not counting the first team players like Alvarez, Lassiter, THA..., and the Academy players), the only players I can see having an impact for the first team one day are Diedie Traore and the GK Eric Lopez. Munoz seems to be stuck with his mediocre USL players this year...

As for the game, another very good game from Sylvestre. Shultz had maybe his best G2 game ever. Solid from Engola too. Requejo is more suited for this 3-5-2 than for a 4-man backline but I'm not sure it will be enough at a higher level.

I definitely prefer Zanga as a CB, he's terrible when it comes to going forward. Acheampong had his best game in a G2 uniform. Lopez is full of confidence and it's fun to watch him attacking the backline without any fear ; he drew a PK and scored a goal after a high pressing on a Sac defender.

 

Earlier this week, 1-1 draw at home against a mediocre Rio Grande Valley FC team. To sum up the game : boring first half, then Efrain Alvarez came.



The three defenders all made individual mistakes multiple times, Shultz being the culprit on RGV goal. Engola and Shultz are meh at the USL level so nothing new, jury is still out on Fiddes but so far he has looked something between "meh" and "OK". Diedie Traore was back on the bench after his injury so hopefully he will have playing time soon. Very solid save from Vom Steeg in the last seconds, still not great but he looked better during the last couple of games.

Alvarez played the last 35 minutes and while he missed some short passes, his long balls were beautiful and created some dangerous situations (if only we had better strikers...). At 16 he's making things nobody in this team can do.

Goal from Dhillon on a great through pass by Alvarez, and beautiful turn and shot from Justin (not closed enough by former G2 defender Castellanos by the way). Dhillon still holds an OK record at the USL level, I think he coud have a career here.

And in the same time, Jorge Hernandez was kept on the bench (and has played 9 minutes this season so far) while mediocre players like Vera, Aguilar, Jonathan Hernandez, Zanga or Acheampong still start.

Next game is today against Western Conference leaders Real Monarchs SLC. Hopefully it won't be a bloodbath.

 

Alvarez starting at SLC. Worth a look, Galaxy fans!

 

4-0 for Real Monarchs at halftime, it's indeed a bloodbath. THA was having a solid game but was terrible during the last ten minutes or so. Efrain Alvarez had almost zero impact and had the lonely Galaxy chance of the first half, but his attempt was saved and SLC scored on the counter. Frank Lopez and Dhillon looked horrid, but to be fair nobody looked good during this half.

I go to bed, no need to stay to watch the end of this massacre.

 

Final score : 4-0. As you can expect, not an interesting second half. Alvarez managed to create a few chances but that's all. Diedie Traore was subbed in in the 71st minute (along with Jorge Hernandez, who had zero impact... Thank you Munoz it was clearly the best game to pull him in!), and as usual brang some sparks.

The GK Eric Lopez made a few fine saves but could have come off his line on the first goal.

As for THA, inconsistent game from him. A few blocks, a few fine tackles, but was sometimes caught out of position and his clearances left to be desired. I like him, he was described as a winner and I won't disagree with his comment, but he was also described as "MLS-ready". Watching him struggle against a good USL side is a little bit worrying.

Next game is on Saturday, at home against the Colorado Switchbacks, who currently stands just ahead of Los Dos in the standings (they're 12th with four more points but one more game played).

 

3-1 win against the Colorado Switchbacks. Not surprising given we started a few MLS players and our most promising youngsters.

Lassiter Zubak
Alvarez
Requejo Vera Acheampong Williams
Traore THA Zanga
Lopez
​

First goal by THA on a powerful header after a good cross by Acheampong, then Lassiter scored two goals with two solid finishes. Ari also missed a couple of easy opportunities to have a goal or an assist. This game summed up well what I think of him : very good for the USL, but lacks something a the higher level. And his best spot will always be striker. I think he's gone at the end of the year to pursue a better opportunity (likely in Costa Rica).

Zubak was as bad as he can sometimes be. Alvarez was very inconsistent but managed to have a beautiful assist on the third goal.

Williams had a meh first half, was OK in the second half with a good hustle to recover the ball on the third goal. But I understand why he's not playing more with the first team. THA was once again solid.

Not the best game from Traore, who lost his man on the Colorado goal, and didn't do much going forward. He's a very good dribbler and you can feel the confidence in him, but sometimes he tried too hard things. Overall I'm very surprised how much Traore and Zanga were going forward in this game, too dangerous IMO when you play with three defenders.

And solid game from Lopez, who has been a little bit afraid to come off his line recently.

Next game on Saturday at Las Vegas, a team we beat 6-2 earlier in the season, but sits just three points behind us. Rafa Garcia just signed there, and Raul Mendiola is their leading goalscorer.

 

Oh, and I would like to say just "thank you" to the people who sent me kind messages about my "work" on G2. Very appreciated. Feel free to ask questions or comment the G2 games if you watch them (though I'm not sure many of you are actually watching).

 

2-1 win at Las Vegas in a very wild game. LV started the game on the front foot and scored an early goal. Surprisingly, we commited a lot of fouls against a team coached by Chelis. Then we scored two quick goals : Lassiter on a PK following an impressive run by Aguilar, and Efrain Alvarez scored a beautiful chip after a great pass from Ari. These goals against the run of play shocked them a little bit and they were way less dangerous after. LV drew a PK in the last minutes and something I never saw in a professionnal soccer game happened : a player put the ball on the spot and it was another player who actually made the run and took the PK... Which was saved by Vom Steeg!



Defense was a hot mess in the first 20 minutes then settled a little bit, THA and Traore did OK.

Vom Steeg had a bizarre game : he made a few fine saves (including on the PK) but also made a few mistakes : he didn't manage to catch a shot on the first goal and the second goal came on a ball he punched away while he could have caught it. Very unusual game from him.

I thought we looked better after Emmanuel Appiah came. He's clearly better at winning balls and maintaining possession than Vera and Acheampong (who are litteraly terrible at this). Good game from Aguilar, who's having a decent season so far.

Alvarez scored a beautiful goal but also missed an easy one. Overall I thought he looked a little bit selfish and tried to many long range shots. But God I want so hard to see him in a better team. Ari Lassiter is still good for the USL, and Dhillon was trash.

Las Vegas defense is terrible but this team is very fun to watch if you're a neutral : they are just here to entertain you. And look what happened at HT :

Mendiola didn't do much and was subbed off at HT, Garcia was OK.

Next game is on Wednesday at home against OKC.

🚨 SICK GOAL ALERT 🚨@efrain_alvarez1 pops one over the keeper. pic.twitter.com/ePzi9nvrBG

— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) September 9, 2018

 

3-1 loss at home against Oklahoma City last week in a midweek game.



Great first 25 minutes by G2, who scored a goal through a Frank Lopez PK (he also drew the PK) then defense decided to let us down. We knew Zanga and Engola will never be good enough for the MLS level but Diedie Traore also had a bad game, and his recent performances have overall been disappointing. Appiah had his worst game in a G2 uniform, and Acheampong is definitely not good enough to be a CM.

Good game from Alvarez, but the MVP was Miguel Aguilar, who was a constant threat on his left wing, he's really having a solid second half of the season. Eric Lopez despite three goals conceded made a couple of fine saves.

 

1-0 loss at Reno last weekend. They scored on a beautiful long range shot in the top corner.



Not an entertaining game. I'm not a fan of playing with Alvarez behind a lone striker because :
- we look previsible. The plan is to recover the ball, pass to Alvarez, who tries a long ball to a running striker. Then, we hope Lopez can control the ball and finish. Hard plan.
- Vera and Acheampong can't dominate any midifield in the world. Not a bad idea to add some bite with Zanga or Appiah but it's useless to keep three CMs in this case.

Speaking of Alvarez, he did some good things in the first half but was completely off in the second. Put him back in the CAM position please.

I praised Aguilar after last game, he was terrible against Reno. As for Traore, he lost his man a few times and didn't look particularly good. But he was switched to the left wingback position for the last twenty minutes and looked much, much better. He reminded me how good he was when I saw him playing with the Academy a few months ago, and he was playing fullback...

Interesting notes : last week two Academy players born in 2002 made their debut : Kobe Hernandez (defender) played the last minutes against Oklahoma City, and Adam Saldana (midfielder) played one hour against Reno. He played as a DM and looked decent, and had notably a last second save on Tommy Thompson (I believe it was him) in the second half. Both are USNT U-17 players.

Home game tomorrow against the Real Monarchs. Playoffs race is over, hopefuly we'll see some young guns...

 

6-1 win against Real Monarchs, one of the best teams in USL (who is in a terrible streak TBH). Score is a little bit flattering but offense was clicking.

Take a look at tonight's #LosDos XI: E. Lopez, Traore, Hilliard-Arce, Engola, Shultz, Vera, Acheampong, Saldaña, Aguilar, Alvarez, Zubak (c) | #LAvSLC pic.twitter.com/mZrJbpXH8M

— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) September 23, 2018

Alvarez was the easy MVP. He wasn't perfect, but still the best player for G2. And it's amazing while still being good but not great, he managed to score a hat trick. He's so mature and so talented, he could already be first team ready.

Diedie Traore was the other player who participated to the goal fest with two assists from his wingback position (which is definitely his best position IMO). He's another player who looks more mature than his age (he's amazing at drawing fouls when you think he may lose the ball), but still lacks discipline. Sometimes he leaves too much space behind him and sometimes he tries to do too much (forcing some dribbles or shots), I think he will benefit from another year with G2 but he's clearly a rough diamond.

Everything went Galaxy way : Zubak and Lopez had chances and scored with solid finishes. Lopez has 11 goals in 25 games but he's all about hustle, it's a good thing but he's already 23 and I don't think it will be enough for MLS. Zubak is younger (20 years old, 11 goals in 28 games), more talented but too much inconsistent. 2019 will be hit or miss for him.

In the midfield, 16 years old Adam Saldana was OK, but very (too much?) conservative. That said, in the final minutes, he had too amazing nutmegs in less than a minute. Confidence is growing. Acheampong had a lot of recoveries, very solid game from him.

SLC scored a goal after a bad first touch from THA. It's a constant thing from him : he's full of confidence but lacks a little bit of skills. Could be a defender for the future but I won't hold my breath. Arellano also came back from injury but didn't look particularly good. Eric Lopez did once again OK.

I beg you to have a look at the highlights. Next game is next week at last place Seattle. Playoffs race is over for G2.

 

2-2 draw at Seattle. Entertaining game where G2 rallied from a two-goal deficit, and could have won it all.



Diedie Traore was the MVP. Despite once again trying to make too complicated runs through the defense, one of his runs drew the free kick (actually it was beautiful) that lead to the first goal. He assisted Lopez on the second goal and is now the current leader in assists among G2 active players, with five assists in eleven games (Buescher had six), which is a solid amount for a defender.

Another goal for Frank Lopez. Credit to him, he works hard to create opportunities, but how many are actually missed? A lot.

Good game from Appiah, who scored a beautiful free kick and made the team more balanced.

Very solid fifteen minutes cameo from Jorge Hernandez, who notably initiated the second goal in a 10 position.

Seattle scored on two beautiful shots but the first goal came after a play which sums up Eric Lopez weakness : he's a little bit afraid to come off his line and when he does, he doesn't catch the ball enough IMO.

First game played for G2 for the highly rated RB Julian Araujo (17 years old), who made this very good play on his very first ball :

17-yr-old RB Julian Araujo got his USL debut tonight for LA Galaxy 2, subbing on in the 88th minute. Got involved immediately, winning a ball in the air and combining down the wing. Could/should have been an assist for the game-winner. pic.twitter.com/MwF6fqGSI9

— scuffed (@scuffedpod) October 4, 2018

Next game is tomorrow against Sacramento. It's the last home game of the season. I would love to see Hernandez starts in place of Acheampong and Araujo in place of Shultz. Please Munoz, make it happen!

 

1-2 home loss to Sacramento in the last home game of the season.

Zubak Lopez
Traore Vera Appiah Acheampong Shultz
Arellano Engola Zanga
Lopez
​

Not a lot to say about this game. Horrid first half, team was better in the second. Overall, mediocre performance from a mediocre team.

Solid shift by the GK Eric Lopez, who stopped a PK in the second half and made a few fine saves. But in the other hand, his bad clearance led to the first goal. I won't question his reflexes, he can sometimes make amazing saves, but coming off his line and playing with his feet must improve. Unfortunately, I don't think he improved a lot from last season.

On the other hand, it's amazing how bad Arellano has been this season. Very worrying for a player signed to a first team contract.

And another game which is confirming that Traore is a diamond to polish.

Last game of the season on Sunday at Swope Park Rangers.

 

1-5 loss at Swope Park Rangers for the last game of the season.



Terrible performances from Zanga, Arellano, Appiah, Zubak, Traore, and also Alvarez, who had his worst game for G2 this year.

Hard to find any positives... THA looked very decent for the amount of times he had to save us. Vom Steeg made a couple of good saves despite conceding five goals.

Best moment of the game : Jorge Hernandez scoring a great goal :

😱 Simply sensational from Jorge Hernandez.#SPRvLA: https://t.co/u5V9IJS9YK pic.twitter.com/YpPhSkHJE1

— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) October 14, 2018

Worst moment of the game : Acheampong went down early, Munoz chose to play Alvarez as a 8 (odd... But why not?) and sub in Dhillon, a striker, to play as a CAM, when we had Jorge Hernandez on the bench.



I will soon make a review of the season, with players appreciations. Teaser : apart from Alvarez, I don't think Los Dos will produce a lot of first team players for 2019.

 

I begin my review of the G2 season tonight, with the goalkeepers :

- Eric Lopez (1999) : a serious contender for the 2017 MVP title, it seems Lopez hasn't progressed this year. He's capable of some amazing saves but needs to be better at coming off his line and with his distribution.

- Vom Steeg (1997) : like I said all year, he will not make many mistakes, but can't be decisive enough to win games all by himself. Looked average all year like he did in 2017, though he was better the last couple of games this season.

- Hamilton (1994) : I don't know what to think about Hamilton. He came as a completely anonymous guy, and had a couple of amazing games at the beginning of the season, and then disappeared (and wasn't even on the bench... Injury?). He looked better than both Vom Steeg and Lopez, with a 71% saves rate (59.7% for Lopez, 58.3% for Vom Steeg). Numbers don't lie.

- Sylvestre (1992) : nobody knows this guy is with the first team. He played two games for Los Dos this year and had two amazing performances. I don't know what his future with us could be but I just wanted to say he was very good in a limited time for the second team.

Overall, I didn't like what we did with our GK corp recently. We have a very solid prospect with Lopez who looked good last year, we chose to bring another youngster with Vom Steeg and gave him a first team contract, though he never looked better than Lopez. And then we signed a guy 4.5 years older than Lopez who didn't pan out in Portland, and started him instead of Lopez.

Result : our main prospect played more games last year than this year (which is amazingly terrible) and hasn't progressed. Vom Steeg didn't look as a competent number 2 for the first team, and two unlikely guys looked better than the two youngsters.

What I would do next year? Sign a veteran behind Bingham, Vom Steeg down to number three in the depth chart and playing time for Los Dos is shared between him and Lopez (and only them).

 

GK is not the top priority this offseason, and Bingham would be expensive for a backup. I would like three to four new starting defenders before thinking about a new GK.