Necaxa Unfriendly in Galaxy Win

Two goals in a four-minute span early in the second half by midfielder Pete Vagenas powered the Galaxy to a convincing 3-1 victory over Necaxa of Mexico on Friday night in an international soccer friendly at the Home Depot Center.

“Friendly” was a relative term, however, as Necaxa proved by having midfielder Marco Capetillo and goalkeeper Ivan Vasquez ejected in the second half, leaving it to play two men down for the final 16 minutes.

Capetillo was tossed for a foul on Galaxy forward Alejandro Moreno, and Vasquez was red-carded for handling the ball outside the penalty area.

The Galaxy was short-handed too, but not because of any actions by referee Kevin Stott.

Offensive stars Carlos Ruiz, Cobi Jones and Jovan Kirovski missed the match, as did Coach Steve Sampson. Nonetheless, the Galaxy turned in a performance in front of an announced 8,049 that would have come in handy during the Major League Soccer playoffs.

Goals that wouldn’t come then came with apparent ease, as Necaxa, which failed to make the Mexican league playoffs, underestimated its opponent.

It took only seven minutes for Los Angeles to take the lead, with defender Tyrone Marshall heading in a corner kick from rookie Josh Gardner.

A couple of saves by goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, the first off a shot by Necaxa’s Rodolfo Espinoza and the second when he came out to thwart forward Sandro Sotillo, served to discourage the Mexican team.

Three minutes before the break, Vasquez made a save of his own, stopping Moreno’s point-blank shot off a cross from defender Chris Albright. The Galaxy took control in the second half, with Vagenas scoring in the 52nd and 56th minutes.

Sampson missed the game while in Buenos Aires scouting players. Ruiz missed it for “personal reasons,” and Jones and Kirovski were injured.