Robert Taylor's First Galaxy Goal and a Marco Reus Penalty Lift LA Past Revolution 2-1

The New England Revolution took 24 shots at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. They hit both posts within two minutes of each other. They forced JT Marcinkowski into six saves. And they still flew home with nothing, because LA Galaxy did the one thing the Revs could not: they finished their chances early.

Marco Reus converted an 11th-minute penalty, Robert Taylor scored his first Galaxy goal in the 33rd, and LA held on for a 2-1 win despite being outshot 24 to 8. Carles Gil's penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time cut the margin to one, but it came far too late to matter.

Reus From the Spot, Taylor From the Middle

The Galaxy's opener came out of nothing. In the 10th minute, Kyogo Furuhashi burst past Mamadou Fofana into the box, according to the Revolution, and Will Sands was penalized for a foul that also earned him a yellow card. Reus, the Galaxy captain, stepped up a minute later and buried a right-footed penalty into the bottom right corner. 1-0.

New England responded the way they would all night: lots of volume, not much finishing. Dor Turgeman missed twice in the 17th and 18th minutes, Peyton Miller had a shot blocked in the 20th, and Gil forced a save from Marcinkowski with a curling left-footer in the 23rd. Turgeman had another effort blocked from inside the six-yard box in the 31st.

Two minutes later, LA showed them how it is done. According to the Galaxy's site, Sergi Roberto found Reus down the left, Hirving Lozano cut the ball back, and Taylor finished from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. It was Taylor's first goal for the club and Lozano's first Galaxy assist, a week after he scored his first goal for LA. 2-0.

The Revs pushed hard before halftime. Marcinkowski saved from Gil in the 41st minute and from an Ethan Kohler header in first-half stoppage time, and Jack Harrison was booked in the 44th. The Galaxy went to the locker room up two.

The Turning Point: Two Posts in Two Minutes

New England came out of the break swinging. In the 46th minute, Harrison drove a left-footed shot at Marcinkowski, and a minute later the keeper also stopped Turgeman, who had followed up the rebound, according to the Revolution. Alhassan Yusuf then fired high from the center of the box.

The real heartbreak came midway through the half. In the 66th minute, Yusuf smashed a shot from outside the box off the right post. Two minutes later, Miller beat two defenders, per the Revs, and rattled the left post with a left-footed effort. If either one goes in, it is a completely different finish. Neither did, and the Galaxy's lead survived the most dangerous stretch of the night.

Greg Vanney had already started reshaping his midfield, sending on Lucas Sanabria and Pablo Ruiz in the 57th minute, with Ruiz making his club debut less than 72 hours after joining from Real Salt Lake, according to the Galaxy. Isaiah Parente and Joseph Paintsil followed in the 73rd. Marko Mitrović countered with Dániel Gazdag, making his Revolution debut, in the 75th minute and later added Wilson Harris, Ilay Feingold and Luca Langoni.

Langoni, back after missing five matches with an injury according to the Revs, eventually produced the consolation. After Marcinkowski saved his shot early in the five minutes of stoppage time, Langoni drew a foul in the box from Harbor Tarczynski-Miller, and Gil slotted the penalty into the bottom left corner. That was the final kick of note.

Who Stood Out

JT Marcinkowski made six saves and was the clearest reason LA won. New England put seven shots on target and he stopped all but the penalty.

Marco Reus scored the opener and, per the Galaxy, also had a hand in the second goal as part of the buildup.

Robert Taylor needed one shot to score one goal. "Playing for the Galaxy is a huge honor. Everyone knows how big of a club it is," he told the club's site.

Sergi Roberto made his first start and home debut for LA, according to the club, and Vanney raved about him afterward. "There's a lot to like. He's a top player. Composure on the ball, finding solutions," the coach said.

Dor Turgeman and Peyton Miller each took five shots, the most of anyone on the field, and the Revs say Miller's total matched his career high. Turgeman was making his 25th MLS start, and on another night one of those looks goes in.

Carles Gil led New England with three shots on target and scored the penalty. The Revs say he is now 22 for 25 from the spot in his MLS career, tying Diego Valeri for the seventh most penalty goals in league history.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: New England 24, LA Galaxy 8.
• Shots on target: New England 7, LA Galaxy 3.
• Saves: Marcinkowski 6, Matt Turner 1.
• Woodwork: New England hit the post twice, through Yusuf and Miller.
• Possession: New England held 52.2 percent of the ball.

What It Means

LA Galaxy improve to 7-8-9 with 29 points, their first win since Aug. 19 against the San Jose Earthquakes. Vanney was blunt about what comes next. "It's not over. We still have ten to go. I think it's really tight in the West," he said. LA have a busy week ahead, visiting the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday before hosting Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday.

New England fall to 11-4-8 with 37 points in the second game of a four-match road swing. Gil's goal gave him strikes in back-to-back games, per the club, and the Revs head to New York City FC on Wednesday knowing their attack is creating plenty. They just need the finishing to show up.

Closing Take

New England's night looked like a brutal round of Wordle: green squares everywhere, two posts, six saves, and somehow the answer never landed until the clock had already run out. The Galaxy needed only a penalty and one clean finish. Sometimes soccer rewards the volume shooter. On Saturday, it rewarded the team that cashed in first.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by lagalaxy.com; club notes from lagalaxy.com and revolutionsoccer.net.