Galaxy hold on for home win over New England

CARSON — It’s not quite must-win territory for the Galaxy, but Saturday’s meeting against New England was definitely important given their current status in the Western Conference.

The Galaxy entered Saturday in 13th place, with 11 games remaining, looking for a late-season drive to a playoff spot.

Maybe that moment was Saturday.

The Galaxy (7-9-8, 29 points), fresh off a busy transfer window, got an early start against New England and closed out a hard-fought 2-1 win in front of 18,353 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The Galaxy held a shutout until a 96th-minute penalty kick by Carles Gil.

The win is just the second since MLS restarted on July 17 for the Galaxy.

Earlier in the week, veteran defender Maya Yoshida said the time for excuses was over.

“There’s no excuses anymore,” Yoshida said Thursday. “Now we have to get results. I’ve been 20 years as a professional football player, a lot of up and down. When there’s downtime, that’s the big test for myself: how I behave, how I do every day to improve myself, improve the teams. The last two years, as I say, we have been not great, especially after becoming champions in 2024. It’s a huge drop. I didn’t expect it, to be honest.

“Only we can change our situation on the pitch. Anything I say right now, in front of media or social media, it doesn’t make sense. We only can show our value on the pitch, so keep performing well, try to perform well, individually, as well as collectively to get better results.”

The veteran’s words proved wise on the night.

The Galaxy got on the board in the 11th minute on a successful penalty kick by Marco Reus. Kyogo Furuhashi was fouled in the area, and referee Drew Fischer immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Reus calmly stepped up and converted for the lead.

The Galaxy weren’t finished in the first half.

In the 33rd minute, Robert Taylor, who replaced Joseph Paintsil in the starting lineup, finished a collection of passes that started back at the feet of goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski. By the time the ball got to midfield, it was a dream scenario for Galaxy coach Greg Vanney. Newly acquired Sergi Roberto played ahead to Reus, who then connected with Chucky Lozano. Lozano’s cutback pass met Taylor, who deked one defender and scored on the second move for a 2-0 lead. It was the Galaxy’s first two-goal lead since a 2-0 win over Seattle on May 16.

The goal was Taylor’s first since July 26, 2025 when he was with Austin FC.

In the second half, the Galaxy had withstood the Revolution’s push. The Revolution finished with 25 shots, but put up just eight. Marcinkowski finished with six saves. New England didn’t help its cause, hitting the crossbar in the first half and hitting two posts in the second half.

The Galaxy are certainly in the playoff chase, but the field in the Western Conference remains crowded. There are just four points separating seventh place from 13th place.

“We still have 10 (games) to go,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “I know it’s really tight in the west, you’ve just got to get on a little bit of a run. Each of these players (added during the transfer window) has experience, has a high-level of feel and game awareness, I feel like that think that gives you the best chance to get this thing rolling as quickly as possible.”

The Galaxy have a busy week ahead, with a midweek trip to Vancouver Wednesday and then back home Saturday to face the Seattle Sounders.