CARSON, CA - The Los Angeles Galaxy were defeated by the MetroStars, 3-1, in a preseason match on Thursday morning at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University - Dominguez Hills. Los Angeles Galaxy forward Mike Enfield scored the club's lone goal, while MetroStars forwards Seth Stammler and Thiago Martins and midfielder Jordan Cila notched a goal each in the victory.
Under intermittent showers, the Galaxy and MetroStars battled to gain control of the match, but the advantage fell to the Metros as they excelled with a very direct style of play that suited the wet field turf surface. However, Los Angeles created the first scoring opportunity as rookie midfielder Marc Burch was played into the box, but Burch's hard low shot saved by MetroStars goalkeeper Jon Conway.
The MetroStars' Stammler would strike first on a well-struck shot from 25-yards out in the 15th minute, beating Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin. The MetroStars' luck took a turn for the worse in the 42nd minute, when Metros defender Jeff Parke was shown his second yellow card of the match for a dangerous tackle on the Galaxy's Marc Burch.
During halftime, the Galaxy allowed the MetroStars to replace the ejected Parke for the second half. Back to eleven, the MetroStars doubled their lead in the 48th minute, when midfielder Eddie Gaven provided a perfect pass for Thiago to slot home the easy goal from four yards out.</p>
Los Angeles would pull back a goal in the 65th minute, as Enfield was fouled inside the box by Metros defender Taylor Grahame. Enfield stepped up to take the penalty kick himself and blasted a low shot inside the right post as the Metros' Conway dove the wrong direction. </p>
In the 80th minute, Metros midfielder Jordan Cila sealed the match for his club off a quick counter-attack that caught the Galaxy off guard. Slicing between two Galaxy defenders at the top of the box, Cila took a single touch before firing a hard shot past second half goalkeeper Josh Saunders. </p>
Scoring Summary:
MET - Seth Stammler (Unassisted) '15
MET - Thiago Martins (Eddie Gaven) '48
LA - Enfield (penalty kick) '65
MET - Cila (unassisted) '80
MetroStars Lineup: Conway; Parke (Jolley '46), Grahame, Mendes; Lisi, Camp, Vide, Arvizu, Gaven; Thiago, Stammler.
Los Angeles Lineup: Cronin (Saunders '46); Albright, Veris, Dunseth, Benditson; Villar (Sturgis '64), Gonzalez (Villar '67), Paladini, Burch (Gardner '64); Enfield, Gordon.
Los Angeles 2006 Season Tickets are on sale now. For more information or to order tickets, please call the Galaxy toll-free at 1-877-3-GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com.</p>
