CARSON, Calif. — LA Galaxy’s search for consistency hit another setback Wednesday night as St. Louis CITY SC earned a 3-1 road victory at Dignity Health Sports Park, extending its unbeaten run while claiming three valuable Western Conference points.
St. Louis took control early, capitalizing on its opportunities in the opening half. Defender Lukas MacNaughton opened the scoring, giving the visitors an early advantage before Marcel Hartel doubled the lead before halftime to put the Galaxy in a difficult position heading into the break.
The visitors continued to dictate the pace after halftime and stretched their lead to 3-0 in the 68th minute. Simon Becher finished off another well-worked attack, giving St. Louis a comfortable cushion and silencing the home crowd.
The Galaxy found a late response in the 86th minute when Troy Elgersma scored to spoil St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki’s bid for a clean sheet. The goal provided a brief spark for Los Angeles, but it wasn’t enough to ignite a comeback as the visitors remained composed through the closing minutes.
Frustrations boiled over late in the match after play continued while Galaxy captain Marco Reus was down with an injury. The sequence led to heated exchanges between both sides, and defender Emiro Garcés was shown a red card, forcing Los Angeles to finish the match with 10 men.
St. Louis finished with a slight edge in chances, outshooting the Galaxy 14-10 while taking advantage of defensive lapses to secure all three points. The victory extended CITY SC’s unbeaten streak to six MLS matches and strengthened its push toward a Western Conference playoff spot.
For the Galaxy, the loss marked another disappointing result during a challenging stretch of the season. Despite Elgersma’s late goal, Los Angeles was unable to recover from the early deficit and will look to regroup as it continues its push for points in the second half of the MLS campaign.
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