3 quick thoughts from the LA Galaxy's 2-1 preseason loss to St. Louis City SC

Preseason games are finally here. My quick reactions from the game and what I'm looking forward to during the matches in Coachella.

LA Galaxy soccer returned to Dignity Health Sports Park for the first time on Saturday morning. Galaxy fans saw their team lose 2-1 to fellow Western Confrence rivals St. Louis City SC.

The visitors got on the scoreboard through Chris Durkin’s volley from outside the box in the first half. Diego Fagundez equalized in the second half through a well-placed cross from Mauricio Cuevas. Just minutes before the final whistle, Nokkvi Thorrison got in behind the LA Galaxy backline to score the winner

As a reminder: THIS IS JUST A PRESEASON GAME.

All of these observations are about a team barely getting into form and without some of its best players on the pitch (Riqui Puig, Gaston Brugman, Gabriel Pec, Dejan Joveljic). Now that we got that out of the way, here are some thoughts from this preseason game.

A good first impression

Second-round draft pick Tucker Lepley made his first impression to Galaxy fans Saturday afternoon - and it was good. The midfielder out of UCLA began the game with the first-team starters and didn’t look out of place.

His technical ability shined during the game as he could maneuver through City’s pressure. When on the ball, he drove forward with pace and became a connector on the pitch. He made the right decision with his passes and didn’t hold back the attack too much. There were more positives than negatives - generally a good thing in your first match in front of fans. On Fagudnez’s goal, Lepely had the hockey assist

Lepely could be a good depth piece on this roster and fight for a spot on the bench. With LA needing depth in the middle of the park this season, Lepley seems like a good fit as a backup. With the Coachella Valley Invitational (CVI) coming up, we’ll get to see more of what he can provide in different games against different playstyles. A bigger sample size will give us a good idea if he’s capable of playing at the MLS level instead of going straight to LA Galaxy II in MLS Next Pro to start the season.

Let the kids play

Midway through the second half, coach Greg Vanney pulled out all of the game starters and replaced them with academy products. Fans got to see what the LA Galaxy Academy has developed in recent years. The only MLS veterans on the pitch at the end of the game were John Nelson, John McCarthy, and Eriq Zavaleta.

SoCal is one of the most talent-rich areas in the country and LA has produced some quality first-team players in recent years - Jalen Neal and Julian Araujo come to mind. Giving these players time on the pitch against MLS competition is essential to push them to be better.

In this game, the young players seemed to flinch easily but found a way to settle into the match. Aaron Bibout scored but the goal was called off due to a foul. As with young players, there were more noticeable mistakes but also they showed some flashes of potential. Unfortunately, the backline didn’t do too great on the game-winning goal but that will be a major learning moment for the group.

I love it when the Galaxy gives young players time on the pitch and puts them up against MLS-level competition. I’m hoping we see more of these young players on the pitch as CVI comes this week.

Thoughts on the defense

New LA Galaxy right back Miki Yamane played in this match and fit well in the backline. Yamane is a seasoned professional and had some good moments defending and going forward.

City’s press during LA’s build-up was a good test for the defenders; especially the full backs since they tend to be the farthest away from goal. If the ball is lost, the opposition will have a moment of transition to capitalize on.

Yamane is still getting to learn the system and familiarize himself with the rest of his teammates. Not a super spectacular performance but a respectable one that should instill confidence in him.

The starting center back pairing was Maya Yoshida and Chris Mavinga. The two didn't have much so it feels kinda hard to asses with some weight. Mavinga had the defensive play of the night with a great recovery run and tackle to prevent Samuel Adeniran from getting a shot on goal inside the box. It’s all about making sure you prevent moments of transition so the two center backs don’t have to cover so much space.

Julian Aude had a mixed performance on the afternoon with not many notable moments. This was a match with a good amount of fouls early on and Aude was on the receiving end of many of the challenges. There are still questions about his physicality, especially since MLS is known to be a physical league. There is a lot of potential in the young Argentine so I’m expecting to see him be more influential in the next couple of games. If he can keep up with players physically and when making recovery runs, he’ll be just fine with the LA Galaxy