LAFC2 fell 4-1 to Tacoma Defiance on Sunday night at Starfire Sports Complex, in Tukwila, Washington. Matt Evans gave the Black & Gold an early lead with a seventh-minute free kick, but Tacoma responded with three first-half goals and added a fourth in the 75th minute to take all three points.
After early pressure from LAFC2 produced a pair of corners, Evans opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a left-footed free kick from outside the box. Tacoma answered quickly, leveling in the 14th minute through Mark O’Neill before Charlie Gaffney put the hosts in front three minutes later. Yu Tsukanome added a penalty in the 22nd minute to make it 3-1 before halftime.
The Black & Gold continued to push after the break and created multiple chances through Tommy Mihalić, DeCarlo Guerra, Gavin Zambrano, and Skylar Kaplan, but could not find a way back. Tacoma added its final goal in the 75th minute when Tsukanome volleyed in his second of the game.
LAFC2 dominated the ball, finishing with 643 passes to Tacoma’s 309, and outshooting the hosts 20-10, but Tacoma was more efficient in front of goal, finishing four of their six shots on target.
LAFC2 returns to action on Sunday, May 3, when the club hosts Whitecaps FC 2 at USC’s Rawlinson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., and the match will be available on MLSNEXTPro.com.
