Derby boys: Orange County SC 3, LA Galaxy II 4

LA Galaxy II nearly squandered a two-goal lead, but a late goal meant they left Saturday’s 405 Derby against Orange County SC with a 4-3 win at Championship Soccer Stadium.

LA started hot and played a strong first half, but had to weather a furious comeback from Orange County before regrouping and finding the 88th-minute winner.

Junior Gonzalez ran with a familiar XI in this game:

Los Dos got on the board just five minutes in, as Preston Judd capitalized on an error in the back by Orange County to make it 1-0.

It got better, as Josh Drack opened his account as a pro with a goal in the 14th minute to give Galaxy II a 2-0 lead early on.

Orange County got a goal back in the 33rd minute, courtesy of Chris Wehan, to make it 2-1.

It was only six minutes later that Los Dos got an insurance goal, however, this one from the penalty spot, courtesy of Jorge Hernandez. That’s where it ended at halftime, with a solid two-goal lead for LA at the break.

Orange County pushed to get back in the game in the 2nd half, and put LA under major pressure. OCSC scored just before the hour mark, courtesy of Eero Markkanen, to make it 3-2.

Then Orange County tied up the game in the 67th minute, with Mikko Kuningas hitting a looping cross that fooled everyone and trickled right by Justin Vom Steeg in goal.

Jonathan Perez came off the bench and smashed a shot in the 84th minute that clanged off the bottom of the crossbar before bouncing away. While he didn’t get the winner, another sub, Sebastian Nava, did, in the 88th minute, to take all three points for the visitors.

So it was another shaggy performance, but unlike the disappointing results the last two games for Los Dos, this time they buckled down and got the late goal to win it. Given the way the game went, they’ll happily take that and move on, I’m certain.

Los Dos are next scheduled to play on Friday, when they’ll take a very long road trip to play Charleston Battery. Will the left coast get the upper hand in the cross-conference clash? We’ll see what happens.

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