Alexander: USC reeling after second straight loss and a series of struggles

• October 22, 2023

LOS ANGELES – It probably is too simplistic, and maybe unfair, to say that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham owns Lincoln Riley. But after USC’s third straight loss to Utah Saturday night, this one in excruciating fashion, the thought came to mind that Whittingham not only owns him but might contemplate renting him out as an Airbnb during the summer.

Utah beat Riley’s Trojans twice last season, a 43-42 regular season thriller in Salt Lake City in October and a 47-24 rout in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas. Saturday night’s result was even more excruciating, a 34-32 Utah victory on Cole Becker’s 38-yard field goal as time expired, just 1:46 after USC had taken the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter.

USC’s shot at getting to the College Football Playoff is done, of course. It was probably done after last week’s rout at Notre Dame, but the Utes definitively slammed the lid shut. USC’s chances of getting back to the Pac-12 championship game are fading fast, too. The Trojans are 4-1 in conference but after facing Cal next week in Berkeley – presumably a breather, but you never know – they get Washington here and Oregon in Eugene. By the time they face UCLA in the Coliseum on Nov. 18 they could be playing for a spot in the LA Bowl.

Not exactly what anyone here expected, right? It’s definitely not what the high-priced, high-profile coach was expected to deliver.

Riley insisted that his team is still focused, though at times in his postgame remarks he discussed outside distractions, at one point saying, “When you get too focused on the outside things, which I think, at times, our team has been, then a lot of times you can miss an opportunity right in front of you.”

The question involved those national championship aspirations and the impact they can have on young athletes playing for a glamorous program in a glamorous city with seemingly limitless NIL opportunities. Certainly, those can be head-spinning.

But you can also make the case that the biggest outside noise generated here – even bigger than the weekly criticism of the Trojans’ defense – was of Riley’s own making a month ago when he attempted to bar SCNG beat writer Luca Evans from access to the team for two weeks. He reversed that decision after two days, but not before he and the USC program received a firestorm of criticism from coast to coast.

The attempt to control the narrative continues, incidentally. No players were made available following Saturday night’s loss.

As for this week’s defensive report, consider: Utah (6-1 overall, 3-1 in conference) entered Saturday night 122nd in the nation in passing offense, 149.5 yards a game. Bryson Barnes, who had thrown 66 passes all season for 79.6 yards a game, was 14 for 23 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, and Utah added 247 yards on the ground for a season-high 482 yards total offense. The other times they’d topped 400 this year were against Weber State and Cal.

Barnes and Nate Johnson have both played in the absence of Cam Rising, who is still recovering from multiple ligament tears suffered in last January’s Rose Bowl. Rising was No. 1 on the depth chart going into Saturday’s game, but Whittingham said afterward he’ll be shut down for the rest of the season and likely will seek a waiver to regain a year of eligibility.

“We’re six games in, (and he’s) not ready to play, nope,” Whittingham said. “We’ve been hoping for him each week, but the medical staff is the one to make those calls, and we’re not going to question that at all.”

Consider, also, that Whittingham maintained faith in his stopgap quarterback even after Calen Bullock’s 30-yard interception return for a score early in the fourth quarter. “Bryson is our guy, he’s our quarterback, and we have confidence in him,” Whittingham said. “We just keep moving forward with the guys that we have healthy.”

Bullock’s score brought USC within 28-23 on a night that its offense sputtered plenty after the first quarter, and made it close enough that two decisions by Riley to settle for Denis Lynch field goals – on a fourth-and-9 from the Utah 27 at the end of the third quarter, and a fourth-and-15 from the Utah 19 with 3:03 left – turned out to be significant. In an era where coaches can be foolhardy on fourth down, these were sane decisions.

Equally significant, if not more so: On the two touchdowns the Trojans did score in the fourth quarter, Bullock’s pick six and Caleb Williams’ 11-yard run on a quarterback draw with 1:46 left for a 32-31 lead – immediately following a 61-yard punt return by Zachariah Branch – they went for two both times and misfired on each.

Making either one would have meant that what turned out to be the game-ending kick would only have forced overtime. Come to think of it, kicking both extra points would have meant the same.

And it all went awry anyway, when Utah went 75 yards on 11 plays in the final 1:46, helped by two reviewed plays, three timeouts and three penalties, including a targeting penalty on Bear Alexander at the end of a third-and-9 play that moved the ball from the Utes’ 26 to their 49. The other key play was a 26-yard rush by Barnes on second-and-15 with 16 seconds left to get the ball to the Trojans 19, well within Becker’s range.

“It comes down to little things here and there, and we haven’t quite played clean enough here in the last couple of weeks to take advantage of it,” Riley said. “We have played very hard, and the guys really sold out. We got a lot better this week at practice, and our fight cannot be questioned.”

But it’s obvious that this has not been a well-oiled Trojan machine in recent weeks, with the second-half defensive collapse at Colorado, the far more difficult than necessary overtime win over Arizona, last week’s debacle at Notre Dame and Saturday night’s soul-crushing loss to the Utes. Even Williams, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, hasn’t quite seemed himself lately.

Maybe it’s an aftereffect of the Trojans’ major use of the transfer portal. Maybe the coaching staff isn’t quite getting through to these players the way it did initially. And maybe those distractions – self-inflicted and otherwise – have taken a toll. But something seems off.

Riley can say all he wants about practicing well, but the proof comes on the field – and on the scoreboard – on game day. And right now, harsh as it might sound, these Trojans don’t seem that much more disciplined than those of the Clay Helton era.

[email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County Soccer Club advances in USL Championship playoffs with win over El Paso

• October 22, 2023

Milan Iloski scored in the first minute of first-half stoppage time on a free kick and that was all that Orange County Soccer Club would need in Saturday’s USL Championship quarterfinal game.

OCSC, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, defeated El Paso Locomotive FC 1-0 at Championship Soccer Stadium at Orange County’s Great Park in front of a sellout crowd of 5,550. This was the sixth sellout this season for OCSC.

OCSC nearly took a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute, Bryce Jamison got on the end of a corner kick, but his attempted was turned aside by a diving El Paso goalkeeper Benny Diaz. A minute later, Diaz came up with another save to keep the game at 1-0.

Diaz would also get a red card, after he was caught out of position late and fouled Iloski, who was in on a breakaway.

Related Articles

El Paso didn’t record a shot on goal as OCSC booked a trip to next week’s conference semifinal, Oct. 28. Orange County will host either No. 3 San Diego Loyal SC or No. 6 Phoenix Rising FC.

Orange County missed the playoffs last season, finishing last in the Western Conference. In 2021, Orange County won the USL Championship final.

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA routs Stanford behind Steele’s three touchdowns, Garbers at QB

• October 22, 2023

STANFORD — Looking to steady an offense that has been up-and-down this season, UCLA made a rather surprise change at quarterback for Saturday’s game at Stanford, with Ethan Garbers taking back the starting reins. The result: A complete performance on both ends of the ball in a 42-7 rout, and a breakout game for running back Carson Steele.

UCLA coach Chip Kelly would not commit to a starting quarterback next week against Colorado. He said that true freshman Dante Moore — who started the last five games– was “banged up a little” in the early part of the week, and Garbers got most of the snaps during practice.

Garbers found out he’d be starting towards the end of the week, and Kelly said Moore’s struggles last week against Oregon State did not factor into the decision to start Garbers.

“Ethan earned the start this week from a practice standpoint, in terms of where we are,” Kelly said.

Kelly said who starts moving forward will depend on “who’s healthy and available” at the end of the week, and that he feels “really good about our quarterback situation.”

“We’ve got a couple of really, really good quarterbacks, so we’re excited,” Kelly said.

Steele scored three touchdowns in the first half as the Bruins jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead. The Ball State transfer has received the bulk of the carries over the last three weeks over TJ Harden, as UCLA (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) looks to replace the production lost with Zach Charbonnet departing for the NFL.

“Very rarely does the first person knock him down, and he’s got a great mindset when it comes to running the football,” coach Chip Kelly said of Steele. “He’s tenacious when he has the ball in his hands, so really productive.”

Steele’s three touchdowns seemed identical, with rushes of two, eight and three yards, finding creases through the Cardinal goal-line defense.

A more pressing issue, though, for UCLA to get back into Pac-12 title contention, is replacing another stalwart departed for the NFL: Dorian Thompson-Robinson – the quarterback who deftly guided Chip Kelly’s offense for the past five seasons. Garbers, the backup for the last two years, started the first game but Kelly went with the Moore for the next five — three of them against Top 25 opponents.

Moore, a five-star recruit, showed flashes of potential but also struggled with turnovers. His three picks proved costly last week against Oregon State, and Kelly turned to the veteran Garbers against a defense for Stanford (2-5, 1-4 Pac-12) that has been among the worst in the conference.

Garbers took advantage, leading a free-flowing offense down the field with ease. He began the game completing his first eight pass attempts, and scrambling for two first downs on his first drive. Before Stanford recorded a first down, UCLA was up a pair of touchdowns, courtesy of Steele, who also turned 21 on Saturday.

“It’s pretty cool,” Steele said of scoring three touchdowns on his birthday. “It’s awesome how little things like that kind of work, just being able to jump out in front and hold them down.”

Garbers finished 20 for 28 with 240 yards passing and two touchdowns and also ran for 51 yards.

Garbers said there were times the last couple of weeks when he felt like he wanted to quit. But he kept his head straight, knowing he had to be ready to come in at a moment’s notice.

“You’re always one snap away,” Garbers said. “So, I’ve got to still prepare like I’m the starter every week. That’s kind of the mindset I kept going, and it works out.”

Garbers said he didn’t talk to the coaches about burning a redshirt year, which he did by playing in a fifth game this season.

“My focus is on helping the team win when I can,” Garbers said.

Garbers’ efficient night included a 15-play, 97-yard drive that was capped off by a Steele touchdown. He also threw touchdown passes to J. Michael Sturdivant and Moliki Matavao to open up a 35-0 lead for UCLA in the third quarter.

With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, Moore, Chase Griffin and Justyn Martin each saw playing time.

In perhaps the final time UCLA will visit Stanford Stadium, the Bruins out-rushed Stanford 221-24 – the fifth time this season UCLA has held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing. The UCLA defense rebounded from allowing a season-high 36 points at Oregon State, keeping Stanford off the scoreboard until late in the third quarter. UCLA has held six of seven opponents this season to under 20 points.

“I think our effort is consistent,” said defensive back Alex Johnson, who had a blocked punt.

Kelly, unprompted at the end of his press conference, said he was sad that UCLA would probably not play at Stanford again – with the two teams moving to different conferences next year.

“This is a special place,” Kelly said. “I keep going down memory road when we’re here. And I’ve been on the other side of it here. It’s good to win here. It’s tough to win here.”

​ Orange County Register 

Anze Kopitar, Kings have celebration cut short by Bruins

• October 22, 2023

LOS ANGELES –– Saturday night had been earmarked to celebrate Kings captain Anze Kopitar and his record-setting tenure with the organization, but the Boston Bruins crashed the party and walked out of Crypto.com Arena with a 4-2 victory.

On the same evening that Kopitar played in his franchise-record 1,297th game and Drew Doughty competed in match No. 1100, rookie Alex Laferriere scored his first NHL goal before 25-year-old Carl Grundstrom tacked on an academic power-play goal. That effort bridged generations but did not exactly illuminate the scoreboard despite the Kings out-shooting and out-chancing Boston. Cam Talbot stopped 21 shots in defeat.

It was Boston’s captain, Brad Marchand, stealing the show by producing two goals and an assist, matching the three-point outing of David Pastrnak (a goal and two assists). Morgan Geekie also tallied and former Kings defenseman Derek Forbort contributed two assists. Backup Jeremy Swayman was resplendent in goal with 32 saves.

The fanfare for Kopitar included a video montage from the man whose record he broke, his closest friend and former Kings captain Dustin Brown (who had surpassed Dave Taylor, who drafted both players as the Kings’ general manager). While the tribute, which concluded with Brown jabbing that his buddy Kopitar (three years his junior) was getting old, was special, it wasn’t the highlight of the night for “Kopi.”

“That was the second-best, the best part was that my little guy [Jakob] came in here and read the starting lineup. That was pretty cool; he nailed it,” said Kopitar, whose wife Ines also surprised him by flying his father Matjaž in from Slovenia for the occasion.

Boston was mostly content to clog up the neutral zone and slow the pace in the third period, when both teams barely cracked double digits in combined shots on goal, though one was a roof-bound snipe from Marchand that tolled the Kings’ bell with just over two minutes to play. Grundstrom tipped in Matt Roy’s shot to make the final result a bit more respectable with 72 seconds left.

Early gains gave way to lingering pains in the second period, as the Kings killed off a double-minor penalty and tied the game before surrendering a pair of goals that left them with an uphill climb at the second intermission.

Less than a minute into the frame, an adroit defensive play garnered Phillip Danault a shorthanded breakaway. Though his shot beat the theretofore impregnable Swayman, the post and crossbar conspired against Danault.

The Kings solved Swayman and found their equalizer 6:28 into the stanza when Laferriere hit the blue line with speed, received a pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois and zoomed ahead for a goal from a wrist shot as he fell to one knee.

“It was great. We actually drive to the game together and I noticed today he was wearing a tie to the game. He switched it up and I’m pretty sure the tie’s going to be the fashion feature,” Kopitar said. “He didn’t get onto the scoresheet until tonight but he’s been doing a lot of stuff right.”

Laferriere attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. His father Rob grew up in New Bedford, Mass. before playing most of his college career for Boston College. That tethered their fandom to the Boston sports franchises, including the Bruins, even though the younger Laferriere grew up in New Jersey.

“My dad was a Bruins fan growing up, so it was a pretty special moment,” said Laferriere of his goal.

The Laferrieres’ excitement quickly transferred to two current Boston residents as the Bruins struck twice in 48 seconds.

With 5:15 remaining, Geekie capped off a shift with heavy sustained pressure and multiple puck recoveries by popping a Forbort-generated rebound past Talbot. The Kings then gave up their second goal Saturday following a defensive-zone faceoff loss when Marchand engaged in a bit of captain-on-captain crime: his shot hit Kopitar and trickled through Talbot’s legs.

“I saw some individual mistakes. Faceoff coverage. It’s as simple as that. We went through that before the game and we knew exactly what was going on, and we didn’t get it done,” Coach Todd McLellan said.

The Kings turned in a high-event first period that pushed Swayman to the brink intermittently. They hit the net three times in as many seconds at one point and Swayman also denied Dubois and top goal-scorer Adrian Kempe in instantaneous succession not once but twice.

Additionally, the Kings enjoyed nearly a minute of ultimately futile five-on-three time in the opening 20, whereas Boston needed just 13 seconds of man-advantage action to take the lead.

Related Articles

After Mikey Anderson was whistled for interference, the Bruins won the draw and Pastrnak opened the scoring. Marchand’s pass across the tops of the faceoff circles found Pastrnak, who changed his angle and flung a shot that was deflected by Vladislav Gavrikov before knuckling past Talbot.

In all, the Kings out-shot Boston and emphatically checked all the fancy-stat boxes as well: Corsi, Fenwick, high-danger chances and expected goals. Yet Boston came away with two points, and the Kings are still in search of their first victory at home this season.

“You’re going to play 82 games. There’s some games that we’re going to win that we’re going to come back in here and laugh and think that we shouldn’t have won,” Dubois said. “Then there’s some games like tonight, where it could have gone either way.”

​ Orange County Register 

Gallen loses battle of aces, Diamondbacks on the brink of elimination in NLCS

• October 22, 2023

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona sent out Zac Gallen for the first game in Philadelphia, hoping to get the NL Championship Series off to a good start.

The right-hander fell into an early hole and the Diamondbacks never recovered.

Arizona again turned to Gallen for Game 5 in the desert, anticipating a strong start that would give them a series lead heading back to Philadelphia.

Gallen labored early for the second time in the NLCS, putting the Diamondbacks on the brink of elimination.

Gallen came up short in a battle of aces with Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler and the Diamondbacks lost 6-1 to the Phillies on Saturday in Game 5 of the NLCS.

“The guys grind and do what they can. I just didn’t give them a chance tonight,” Gallen said. “They are just a good lineup. They capitalized on the mistakes I made.”

Wheeler shut down Arizona for the second game of the series, allowing five hits in seven scoreless innings. Gallen was again no match for his fellow ace, giving up a pair of homers — 905 feet in total — and four runs in six innings.

Unable to win with their ace, the Diamondbacks head back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Monday trailing 3-2 in the series.

“You’re gonna get a lot of good pitchers, guys this time of year that are really, really good,” said Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, who homered and scored three runs. “And that’s the advantage not missing pitches in the zone — being able to hit for damage or contact to put pressure on them as much as possible.”

Gallen put himself in the mix for the NL Cy Young Award with a stellar regular season, finishing 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA while earning the starting nod for the NL in the All-Star Game.

The right-hander was sharp in starts against Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the playoffs, allowing four combined runs in 11 1/3 innings.

The Phillies had Gallen’s number in the series starting with his first pitch, hit 420 feet by Kyle Schwarber for a homer. Gallen allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings in that 5-3 loss.

The Phillies jumped on Arizona’s ace again in Game 5.

Related Articles

Gallen gave up two runs and three hits in the first inning, putting the Diamondbacks in an immediate hole. He seemed to settle into a rhythm, retiring 12 straight, but gave up consecutive long solo homers to Schwarber and Harper that put the Phillies up 4-0.

Gallen allowed six hits, walked two and struck out one, putting the Diamondbacks in a deep hole as the series shifts back to Philadelphia.

“You look at some of some of the great pitchers in this game, they elevate their game to a different level this time of year,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I feel like Zach is very close to being able to do that, he just made a couple mistakes.”

Gallen’s mistakes cost the Diamondbacks a chance to take a lead to Philadelphia. Now they’ll need Merrill Kelly to pitch well in Game 6 to have any shot at extending the series.

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga scores 20th goal in 1-1 draw with Whitecaps

• October 22, 2023

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Dénis Bouanga scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season for LAFC, but Ali Ahmed answered in the second half for Vancouver as the defending champions and the Whitecaps played to a 1-1 draw in a regular-season finale on Saturday night.

Bouanga, who entered the final day of the regular season with a two-goal lead, wrapped up the Golden Boot Award when he took a pass from Ilie Sánchez in the 34th minute and scored to give LAFC (14-10-10) the lead.

Defender Ali Ahmed pulled Vancouver (12-10-12) even in the 58th minute, using an assist from Richie Laryea to score his second goal of the season and the second of his career. Ahmed has made 12 starts and 24 appearances over the past two seasons for the Whitecaps.

Maxime Crépeau totaled two saves in his seventh start of the season for LAFC. Yohei Takaoka saved six shots for Vancouver.

Related Articles

LAFC had already clinched a top-four seed in the West entering the match. Vancouver had already earned a spot in the playoffs but could have moved into the top four spots with a win and some help.

LAFC saw its first two-match win streak since June end with the tie, while the Whitecaps had a two-match win streak against LAFC end.

​ Orange County Register 

High school volleyball: Scores from Saturday’s CIF-SS playoff matches, updated schedule

• October 22, 2023

CIF-SS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

DIVISION 2

Second round

Edison def. Vista Murrieta 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 27-25

Orange Lutheran def. Aliso Niguel 3-2

Newport Harbor def. Santa Margarita 3-2

La Canada def. San Clemente 3-0

JSerra def. Rancho Cucamonga 25-22, 25-13, 25-27, 25-19

DIVISION 3

Beckman def. Marina 25-18, 25-9, 25-14

Dana Hills def. Redlands 3-2

Canyon def. Roosevelt 3-2

Long Beach Poly def. Crean Lutheran 25-14, 25-15. 25-18

Hart def. St. Margaret’s 3-1

Campbell Hall def. Trabuco Hills 3-0

DIVISION 4

El Dorado def. Crescenta Valley 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 25-19

Sunny Hills def. Agoura 26-28, 25-16, 25-20, 25-16

Capistrano Valley Christian def. Kennedy 3-1

DIVISION 5

Northwood def. Hillcrest 25-18 25-18 25-18

Irvine def. Sonora 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21

DIVISION 6

Moorpark def. Costa Mesa 25-19, 25-10, 25-23

Linfield Christian def. Calvary Chapel 3-1

La Mirada vs. Tarbut V’Torah, Monday, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 7

Wildwood def. La Quinta 15-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 9-15

DIVISION 8

Samueli Academy vs. Cal Lutheran — score not reported

Orangewood Academy def. Hillcrest Christian 25-19, 25-21, 25-18

DIVISION 9

Century def. Edgewood 3-1

Moreno Valley def. Acaciawood 25-15, 25-13, 25-16

SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, OCT. 24

DIVISION 1

All matches start 6 p.m. unless noted.

Pool-play format

Pool A, Round 2

#5 Marymount at #1 Mater Dei

Pool B, Round 2

#7 Los Alamitos at #3 Huntington Beach

SATURDAY, OCT. 28

All matches start at 6 p.m. unless noted.

Pool A, Round 3

#4 Sierra Canyon at #1 Mater Dei

Pool B, Round 3

#3 Huntington Beach at #2 Mira Costa

#7 Los Alamitos at #6 Alemany

DIVISION 2

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

All matches start at 6 p.m. unless noted

Edison at Orange Lutheran

Long Beach Wilson at Newport Harbor

JSerra at La Canada

DIVISION 3

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

Beckman at Village Christian

Dana Hills at Canyon

DIVISION 4

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

El Dorado at St. Lucy’s

Arcadia or Windward at Sunny Hills

TBD vs. Capistrano Valley Christian

DIVISION 5

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

Northwood at Corona Centennial

Irvine at Culver City

DIVISION 8

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

Villanova Prep at Aciawood

DIVISION 9

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Oct. 25

Century at Rosemead

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy wraps up season with loss against FC Dallas

• October 22, 2023

CARSON — The final chapter of the 2023 season was written Saturday night for the Galaxy.

It’s a book that they would soon like to burn.

FC Dallas (11-10-13, 46 points) scored three goals inside the first 30 minutes and never looked back, sending the Galaxy (8-14-12, 36 points) to another ugly loss, ending 4-1 in front of 22,491 in the regular-season finale.

“There were a lot of emotions today,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It’s been a challenging year, it’s been a grind. We had a lot of guys sacrifice physically for the course of the season.

“We wanted to be successful, they sacrificed. We try to stay as healthy as we could, they battled and did the best they could, but down the stretch we didn’t have enough. I wasn’t able to connect the new pieces and I will probably beat myself up for that.”

The Galaxy, who has struggled to keep opponents off of the scoreboard, tied their club record for most goals allowed on the season (67). That mark was previously set in 2017. That team finished in last place in the Western Conference.

The Galaxy closed the regular season with a streak of nine consecutive games allowing at least two goals.

Raheem Edwards scored the only goal of the game for the Galaxy.

“I’ve never seen a season like this with so many season-ending injuries,” Vanney said. “I hope we never duplicate this again.”

Riqui Puig came on as a second-half substitute, for his first appearance after suffering an ankle injury.

“This can’t happen again,” Galaxy defender Raheem Edwards said. “We didn’t do our job this season.”

The Galaxy started the 2023 season on the road against FC Dallas and suffered a 3-1 loss, so it seemed somewhat fitting, especially how this season has gone that things ended in the same fashion, but this time on Fan Appreciation Day at home.

“Last year, coming out of the playoffs and into this season, we felt like we had a core group and then for various reasons, between guys personal reasons, injuries, fines, then the group gets to be a little bit picked at, much more than we had anticipated,” Vanney said. “I think we have a lot of information on the players that we have and how pieces fit together and now it’s going to be really pointed in terms of who we add and what are the dynamics or the types of players quality that we really need to take our group to another level.

Related Articles

“One thing in our league, is that your best players need to be your best players and the best players need to be on the field. If you do that, you give yourself a good chance and you’re a lot less vulnerable to a season like this. You can’t always predict everything, but you want to do the best you can and make sure that’s consistent.”

FC Dallas’ win clinched seventh place in the conference and a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs.

For the Galaxy, the club still hasn’t made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2015-16.

“We never had any continuity on the backline,” Vanney said. “As a former center back, that’s your foundation. We conceded too many goals.”

​ Orange County Register