Gyasi Zardes Plays Supersub In Match Impact Rating vs Whitecaps

The lone bright spot in another loss for the Galaxy was the headed goal of substitute and homegrown player Gyasi Zardes in the 86th minute (see it below). It showed in his Match Impact Rating (click here for more on MIR). Jose Villarreal sent a nice ball into the penalty area on the play but even that moment of life was snuffed out by Darren Mattocks' goal in stoppage time. Just as in the recent loss against the Houston Dynamo, the Galaxy managed two shots on the goal out of 14 attempts. The Vancouver Whitecaps put 57.1 percent of their attempts on goal, by contrast. Once again, LA simply didn't have what it took to win in the final third.

Zardes only played 23 minutes but recorded what you could call a staggering prorated Match Impact Rating of 166.8. The young forward took three shots and scored one goal during his time on the pitch but was on pace for 11.8 shots and nearly four points and four fouls suffered over 90 minutes.

A.J. DeLaGarza might be a surprise to some to finish second on the team with an MIR of 30 but he drew three fouls in his 90 minutes of play while committing none himself. Villarreal and Mike Magee tied for the third best performance for the Galaxy with an MIR of 29.8. Villarreal had an assist but also committed three fouls while Magee absorbed three fouls (all in the offensive half of the pitch).

After the top three were Marcelo Sarvas (13.1) and Sean Franklin (10.6), both of whom did not finish the match. Both players drew a foul but Sarvas did so in fewer minutes. Landon Donovan (10), Omar Gonzalez (10) and Juninho (9.8) were the only other Galaxy players to play at least 55 minutes and have an MIR for the match. None of those ratings are anything to write home about, but I think Juninho was robbed of the second assist on the Zardes goal due to a touch pass to Villarreal. Had he gotten it, his MIR would have jumped to a 39.5.

It's not all bad when two of the team's youngest players are doing good things. Hopefully that trend continues on the eastern road swing that's about to begin in Philadelphia.