MORAGA, Calif. – Sunday’s match between Los Angeles FC 2 and The Town FC was a showdown between one of MLS NEXT Pro’s premier offenses and lockdown defenses.
LAFC2 entered the game with a whopping 17 goals in eight matchups, while The Town FC had only allowed eight goals all year, the second-fewest in the league. This difference would be proven crucial as both sides clashed and neither could capitalize on chances in regulation.
When it was all said and done, strong defense and missed offensive opportunities on both sides characterized the Western Conference bout, which finished with a scoreless draw in regulation, and a 6-5 shootout victory for The Town FC.
“It was a competitive game, back and forth,” said head coach Daniel DeGeer. “We had a good number of chances to score, but so did they, so I think a tie is fair.”
Once again, The Town FC was undermanned. Most notably, 2024 No. 13 overall draft pick defender Jamar Ricketts was sidelined, placing a heavy emphasis on the squad’s depth to step up and beat the rival.
“We’re a deep team,” said DeGeer. “For us, any time there are some injuries, or guys get called up to the first team, we have the ‘next man up’ mentality.”
Goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa — the eventual Adidas Man of the Match — made his season debut for The Town FC and didn’t disappoint. The 19-year-old had two critical saves in regulation and two in the shootout to secure the win for his team. Ochoa was The Town FC’s third different netminder in the last three games.
“I’m always confident in our team to bring it into penalty kicks,” said Ochoa. “I needed to make one save, and thankfully I made two, so glad we got the win.”
The first half ended with an offensive stalemate between the two clubs. The Town FC didn’t record a shot on target during the first 45 minutes, while LAFC2 only tallied one. LAFC2 even hit the right post in the 24th minute but just couldn’t seem to spark momentum on the attack at the same rate as its previous games. While the second half saw more offensive action, neither squad could find the back of the net in regulation. The Town FC finally recorded its first shot on goal in the 49th minute but it was to no avail.
The Town FC benefited from defender Aaron Edwards returning to the lineup from injury, as the 21-year-old led multiple attacks with his strong throw-in ability and crafty playmaking. The Bay Area side almost cashed in on chances as time started to run out, but had to settle for its fourth shootout appearance of the season and second of the homestand.
Both clubs traded successful shot attempts until Town FC defender Casey Walls was denied and LAFC2 forward Leonardo Flores, who had scored goals in the previous two matches, was met with a diving Ochoa to keep the game level. From there, The Town FC made the rest of its penalty kicks, with second-half substitutes midfielder Alexander Chow and forward Jermaine Spivey converting on the final two.
With a chance to extend the game, Christopher Jaime’s prayer shot attempt was blocked by Ochoa to give The Town FC the shootout win and two points in the standings.
“You have to want to win,” said captain Cruz Medina. “We don’t want to get scored on. It comes down to defending and not letting them score.”
The victory moved The Town FC up to sixth place in the Western standings with 15 points on a 3-2-4 record. Considering the abundance of injuries and absences of key players, gaining two points against third-place LAFC2 following a massive regulation win over North Texas SC on May 12 should give DeGeer’s bunch a jolt of confidence heading into the road trip.
Up next, The Town FC will head to the midwest to face St. Louis CITY2, the fourth-place team in the conference. A win for The Town FC would move the team up into the thick of the West’s best even further. The Town FC won’t play in the Bay Area again until June 11 against Tacoma Defiance at PayPal Park.
“We’ve got a great group of guys, and hopefully we continue to get more wins,” said Ochoa.
The Town FC’s battle with St. Louis CITY2 will commence on May 26 at 4 p.m. at CITYPARK and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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MATCH INFORMATION
2024 MLS NEXT Pro Season
The Town FC 0[6] – 0[5] Los Angeles FC 2
Saint Mary’s Stadium
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Scoring Summary:
Zero regulation goals
Misconduct Summary:
TTFC – R. Ibarra (Caution) 39’
TTFC – B. Leroux (Caution) 71’
TTFC – A. Cano (Caution) 77’
The Town FC: E. Ochoa (GK), R. Ibarra, C. Walls, A. Cano, S. Bilter, B. Leroux, E. Mendoza (J. Spivey – 87’), C. Medina (C), J. Donnery (A. Chow – 62’), E. Blancas, A. Edwards
Substitutes not used: J. Nicolson, D. Fregoso Bautista, C. Arseni Metelitsa, K. Oseguera, S. Navarrete
SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2
Los Angeles FC 2: D. Ochoa (GK), S. Nixon, D. Rosales (C), T. Nare, L. Bombino (J. Romero – 90’), M. Evans, T. Musto, M. Wanchope Quiros (C. Jaime – 62’), B. Darboe (Wibowo – 62’), L. Flores, C. Rosenthal (D. Guerra – 90’ + 3’)
Substitutes not used: J. Hernandez, A. Meono, A. Sanders
SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 13; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 3