Missed chances cost Austin FC in 2-0 road loss to LA Galaxy

LOS ANGELES (KXAN) — The early season blues continued for Austin FC on Saturday, falling to the previously winless LA Galaxy 2-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

As one of the best goal-scoring teams in Major League Soccer last season, it hasn't carried over to this season. Austin FC has come up empty on the scoresheet for the third consecutive match. Verde and Black haven't scored since Jon Gallagher's goal in the fifth minute against the Colorado Rapids on March 25.

Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said the club isn't taking the opportunities they get to score.

"You have to be resourceful when the opportunities come. You truly do," Wolff said. "It doesn't matter if it's LA Galaxy, or if it's in Salt Lake or anywhere else on the road. You got to take those opportunities and we need to create more chances."

Not having midfielder Diego Fagundez certainly didn't help matters, and he'll be on the self for around a month after a groin injury in a previous match against Vancouver. Losing a player who is good at creating chances and goal-scoring opportunities when the team is already lacking in that department just magnifies the problem, and Austin FC had just two shots on goal against LA.

It looked as if Austin FC would take control in the first half, but Ethan Finlay's point-blank shot was stopped by Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann in the ninth minute. In the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, what would have been a Sebastian Driussi goal was disallowed due to an offside call.

Wolff said some of the decision-making from the referees was "tough to stomach," and while he called center official Chris Penso "one of the best in the league," he certainly didn't agree with the offside call among other decisions in the match.

"We were told Seba impeded the player, that's what we were told on the field," Wolff said. Driussi was in an offside position when the first pass was made, but he was not involved in the play until he was back onside and received the second pass.

"It was tough to watch tonight," Wolff said. "Refereeing is very challenging, but these don't seem like real hard ones. I thought he was poor, extremely poor on the night."

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Riqui Puig scored for the Galaxy in the second half. Chicharito's goal was his first of the season, and the longtime Mexican great went unmarked by Austin FC and Dejan Joveljic found him at close range. Chicharito hammered a shot by Brad Stuver just outside the 6-yard box to give the Galaxy the lead in the 54th minute.

Riqui Puig scored 10 minutes later on a counterattack after an Owen Wolff turnover following a corner kick. Mark Delgado raced down the right side to lead a 3-on-2 break, and then he slid it across the field to Puig, who dribbled into the 18-yard box and then fired a shot past Stuver's left side.

With eight points in eight matches so far this season, Austin FC is on the outside looking in of the MLS expanded playoff picture where the top nine teams in each conference will advance. It's still very early in the season, but in order for Verde and Black to not fall flat after such a terrific year in 2022, Stucer said the club, "needs to connect all the dots."

"I think we're getting the ball in good areas, guys are in good areas," Stuver said, "but at the moment the ball just doesn't want to get in the back of the net."

Austin FC will host San Jose at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.