EDINBURG, Texas – The LA Galaxy II rallied to earn a 1-1 draw against Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday night at H-E-B Park as Los Dos held on late despite being down to 10 men inside the final 10 minutes. The first big chance came to the Toros in the 19th minute when Todd Wharton got in behind the Galaxy II defense, but the midfielder sent his finish wide of the left post. The first half didn’t see many clear-cut chances for either side, but the Toros took the lead nine minutes before the break when Emilio Garcia found Kyle Murphy on the left side of the penalty area, and Murphy rifled home a shot to the near post. The Toros looked to add to their lead in the second half, but off an attacking free kick for RGVFC the Galaxy II struck quickly on the counter-attack as Justin Dhillon notched his second goal in as many games. RGVFC had a big chance with six minutes to go as Ruben Luna shot wide of the left post from 15 yards, and while the Galaxy II were reduced to 10 men when Alejandro Covarrubias was shown his second yellow card, a big goal line clearance by LA’s Bradford Jamieson IV denied Eric Bird a stoppage-time winner as Los Dos claimed a point.

Scoring: 
36’ – RGV – Kyle Murphy (Emilio Garcia)
72’ – LA – Justin Dhillon (Ethan Zubak)

• #RGVvLA: Full Match and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. Rio Grande Valley entered the game with two wins in as many games, and could have taken a third had it been crisper in the final third against a resolute Galaxy II defense. The Toros should have taken the lead through Todd Wharton in the 19th minute on a breakaway, but asked too few questions of LA goalkeeper Clement Diop overall during the game as they recorded only two shots on target out of 11 overall as the Galaxy II defense recorded three blocked shots of their own.

• 2. For the second time in as many games, Justin Dhillon’s introduction off the bench for the Galaxy II had the desired effect as the rookie notched his second goal of the season off a perfect counter-attack. Los Dos hadn’t recorded a shot on goal until Ethan Zubak sprang forward on the break with 18 minutes to go down the left and delivered the perfect sucker-punch to the Toros as his low pass picked out Dhillon for a first-time finish. As in their game last week in New York, LA sleepwalked through the first half, but the side showed its decisiveness when given the chance in the second half.

• 3. The Toros took 10 points from their five-game home stand, a decent return that has put the side solidly in the Western Conference playoff positions. The home stand has shown the Toros at their best, and at time at their most frustrating, but one quarter of the way into their season Rio Grande Valley is looking like another good bet to be in the playoffs positions at the end of the season as they hit the road to Sacramento for the next outing.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Justin Dhillon, LA Galaxy II – Dhillon again had a big impact off the bench as he recorded the equalizer for the Galaxy II to earn four points from the team’s past two road games.

Upcoming Games:
Rio Grande Valley FC at Sacramento Republic FC – June 3, 11 p.m. ET, Papa Murphy’s Park
LA Galaxy II vs. Phoenix Rising FC – May 27, 10:30 p.m. ET, StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium