The Galaxy carried some much-needed momentum into Wednesday’s meeting with Sporting Kansas City, but walked out with a 3-1 loss against the league’s worst team.
“We certainly lost some momentum tonight,” coach Greg Vanney said. “It will be determined by how we respond to this game in the grand scheme of things if we can get back on track.
“The level at which I felt like we’ve been competing and playing the last few games wasn’t the level that we matched (Wednesday). So hopefully now we get a little bit of a quick wake-up call and say we’ve got to shake out of it and we’ve got to show up because we’ve got a tough game here in a couple days, and we want to finish this first part of the season as strong as possible.”
The Galaxy’s three-city tour rolls into a place where visiting teams struggle with momentum. The Galaxy face the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.
The Galaxy are winless in their last 11 trips to Seattle, with their last win coming in 2016. The Sounders are unbeaten at home this season (4-0-1) and are in third place in the Western Conference (7-1-3, 24 points). The Galaxy are on 16 points (4-5-4), but might come to rue the missed opportunity Wednesday.
“Energy-wise, commitment-wise, we need to be much better than (Wednesday) in Seattle because Seattle is going to be a really, really tough away game,” midfielder Erik Thommy said.
After Seattle, the Galaxy will return home and conclude the “first half” of the season heading into the FIFA World Cup break on May 23 against the Houston Dynamo.
Klauss placed on Injured List
The Galaxy announced Wednesday that they placed forward João Klauss on the Injured List. Klauss, who suffered a left foot injury April 24 and underwent surgery, will miss an additional six games and will be available for selection Aug. 1.
According to MLS rules: “a player expected to miss six or more regular-season matches due to injury may be placed on the Injured List and must sit out at least six league games while remaining ineligible for all competitions.
“If a Senior Roster player is placed on the Injured List, the club may receive an open roster spot, but no salary budget relief. If the injured player occupies an international slot, the replacement may also be an international player.”
Nascimento returns
The Galaxy received a bit of good news Wednesday with the return forward Matheus Nascimento, who had been sidelined since March 22 due to a hamstring injury.
Nascimento scored six goals with four assists last season, on loan from Botafogo in Brazil. His loan was extended through June, with a purchase option.
GALAXY at SEATTLE SOUNDERS
When: 6:15 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
How to watch: FS1, Apple TV