Gabriel Pec, Riqui Puig combine for 2 goals, 3 assists as Galaxy beat Whitecaps 4-2

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Gabriel Pec scored a goal with two assists, Riqui Puig added a goal and an assist on Saturday night and the LA Galaxy beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-2.

Vancouver (13-9-7) defender Ranko Veselinović poked the ball away from the Galaxy’s Dejan Joveljic near the corner of the 6-yard box but Pec ran onto the loose ball and scored on a one-touch shot to make it 1-0 in the 35th minute.

LA (17-7-7) took a 2-0 lead on an own goal by Vancouver’s Sebastian Berhalter in the 50th but Brian White put away a feed from Behalter in the 63rd minute.

Pec slipped behind the defense and ran onto a ball played by Pulg, from well-beyond midfield, at the edge of the area and the tapped a cross to Joseph Paintsil for the finish for point-blank range into a wide open net in the 69th.

Puig scored on a feed from Pec in the third minute of stoppage time to give the Galaxy a 4-1 lead before Sam Adekugbe, a 29-year-old defender in his seventh season with Vancouver, capped the scoring with his first MLS goal about 4 minutes later.

Gabriel Pec, Riqui Puig combine for 2 goals, 3 assists as Galaxy beat Whitecaps 4-2 | iNFOnews.ca — Los Angeles Galaxy’s Miki Yamane, right, dribbles past Vancouver Whitecaps’ Edier Ocampo during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

LA is the first team in MLS history to have four players score at least 10 goals in the same season: Joveljic (14), Pec (13), Puig (11) and Paintsil (10).