OC Blues not feeling at home
CARSON — The Orange County Blues FC had a chance to go from the bottom to the top of the United Soccer League.
The Blues, who finished second-to-last a year ago, won the Western Conference regular-season title this year and earned an opening-round bye in the playoffs and the right to play their first postseason match at home in club history. The contest turned out to be on the road and on the field of the top-seeded Blues’ semifinal opponent on Saturday night.
Orange County’s history with that club, the Los Angeles Galaxy II, has been shaky. The Galaxy II had never lost to the Blues the previous four times the two sides have met at the StubHub Center’s Track and Field Stadium.
Los Angeles continued its success against the Blues, pushing through the semifinals with a 2-0 win. The Galaxy II’s season ended in the semis last year, but the No. 5 seed got a gift in terms of playing in front of its fan base.
A scheduling conflict with the UC Irvine men’s and women’s soccer teams this week prevented Orange County from playing host to the Galaxy II, and then the Blues’ second venue, Yorba Linda High, wasn’t adequate enough because it features artificial turf, football markings, and the field was not wide enough for USL regulations.
The two clubs and the USL, a third-division professional soccer league in North America, agreed to move the semifinal to StubHub Center’s Track and Field Stadium. The venue was sold out and the majority of the 2,047 fans backed the Galaxy II.
Ariel Lassiter, who missed the Galaxy II’s 1-0 opening-round win at Sacramento Republic FC because of a red card he received in the regular-season finale, got the faithful going early on. The Costa Rican scored the first of two goals in the 14th minute.
The striker was motivated to contribute to Los Angeles in the playoffs. He helped Los Angeles advance to next week’s Western Conference final. The Galaxy II will play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between No. 2 OKC Energy FC and the No. 3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
“These are the games that I get up for and these are the games that count,” Lassiter said. “We got to step up and play.”
Lassiter rose to the occasion early on against the Blues, who are now 1-7-1 all-time against the Galaxy II.
Lassiter had a great chance to put one away in the seventh minute. Joe Franco’s throw-in went right to Jack McBean in the box. McBean, a former Corona del Mar High standout, somehow got in between two defenders and headed the ball back to a wide-open Lassiter, whose left-footed shot went wide left.
Lassiter finished his second opportunity seven minutes later. He received a great pass from midfielder Raul Mendiola, who stole the ball near midfield from Christopher Santana. Mendiola took a couple of dribbles before finding Lassiter near the top of the box, where he broke free and delivered.
In a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Pepe Miranda, Lassiter struck the ball with his left foot to the right to put Los Angeles up, 1-0. The first half belonged to the Galaxy II.
Six minutes into the second half, the Blues avoided a two-goal deficit. Miranda got the left side of his arm on Lassiter’s right-footed blast, which came close to the six-yard box, and knocked it to his left. The ball rolled to Galaxy II forward Bryan Olivera, who quickly crossed it to Kenny Walker. The shot by Walker was a couple of yards back from where Lassiter had taken his shot, but Walker’s header barely went over the crossbar.
Three minutes later, Lassiter found the back of the net for the second time. The 21-year-old beat Miranda in another one-on-one situation set up by Mendiola’s through ball. Lassiter, just inside the box, put the ball away with his left foot in the 54th minute.
The Blues’ best chance to cut the deficit in half was in the 73rd minute, right after Santana drew a penalty kick. Didier Crettenand took the penalty, but keeper Clement Diop denied the Swiss midfielder’s shot to the left.
The Blues’ first postseason match in two years ended in a shutout.
“That had nothing to do with it,” Blues Coach Oliver Wyss said of having to travel to Los Angeles, instead of playing host to the semifinal match. “That’s no excuse. We were very much prepared to come and play here. I’ve got to give the Galaxy credit today. They were better off at the beginning. About the time we got into the game, we were unfortunately 1-0 or 2-0 down, and it’s hard to come back.
“Our goal was to win the USL championship. We came up [three wins] short [of] that.”
