An early lead didn’t last for Oklahoma City Energy Football Club as the soccer squad dropped its first game of the season to Los Angeles Galaxy II, 4-2, on Monday night in Carson, Calif.
After winning its first game in franchise history two nights earlier, OKC continued its California road trip with a match against the league’s top team in the standings.
As it did Saturday, OKC struck first with a goal in the eighth minute when Peabo Doue scored off a Kyle Greig cross.
“I think the overall energy and vibe from the team was great,” Doue said. “We showed a lot of fight.”
LA leveled the score just a few minutes later off a free quick, and Energy FC seemed to concede a lot of ground in the midfield that gave Galaxy II chances to score. LA grabbed the lead in the 35th minute and another in the 39th minute to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
“We dropped too deep right after that [first goal], and the distance between our midfield and forwards was way too big,” Coach Jimmy Nielsen said. “[LA] had a lot of possession around our box and we made some fouls. It’s not like they created chance after chance; they scored off three set pieces [in the first half].”
OKC got within one goal with a score from Pete Caringi in the 59th minute, but that was the extent of the scoring for Energy FC as LA (2-0-1) handed OKC (1-1-0) its first loss.
“I’m proud of the way the players reacted when they [went] down 3-1,” Nielsen said following the match. “We had the opportunity to score another goal or two.”
The loss dropped Oklahoma City one spot in the standings into a tie for fifth place with the Dayton Dutch Lions FC. Energy FC’s next match comes Saturday at 9:10 p.m. against Arizona United Soccer Club in Peoria, Ariz. Saturday’s road match will be the season opener for Arizona United SC.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2014.