Gabriel Pec scored one early goal and two late in the game, leading the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 3-0 win over Mt. Pleasant FA on Wednesday at Carson, Calif., in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup round-of-16 series.
The two-game, total-goal set will conclude on March 19 in Kingston, Jamaica. The series winner will move on to face either San Diego FC or Toluca FC in the quarterfinals.
Pec logged the hat trick four days after he received a red card for drawing two yellow cards in the Galaxy’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids in MLS regular-season play.
In the sixth minute on Wednesday, Los Angeles’ Mauricio Cuevas beat a Mt. Pleasant defender to the end line before cutting the ball back to Pec, who fired a left-footed shot from 12 yards out inside the far post.
Miki Yamane’s layoff set up Pec for another 12-yard, left-footed goal in the 89th minute.
Pec capped his hat trick by flicking in Joao Klauss’ pass in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.
The Galaxy finished with a 12-1 edge in shots on target.
Inter Miami 0, Nashville SC 0
Nashville SC dominated statistically but came away with a scoreless draw against visiting Inter Miami.
The series will wrap up on March 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The team that advances will oppose either the Philadelphia Union or Mexico’s Club America in the quarterfinals.
The host Boys in Gold wound up with a 15-8 edge in total shots, including a 5-1 advantage in shots on target. Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was credited with five saves.
Nashville’s Brian Schwake stopped just one shot, an effort by Lionel Messi in the 57th minute. Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title and Inter Miami to the 2025 MLS Cup championship, among his many accomplishments, remains stuck on 899 career goals for club and country.
San Diego FC 3, Toluca FC 2
Despite taking two red cards and allowing a pair of penalty-kick goals, host San Diego FC held on to beat Toluca FC in the first round of their round-of-16 series.
The matchup will finish in Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico, on March 18.
San Diego was reduced to 10 players when Marcus Ingvartsen got a red card in the 12th minute for violent conduct on a foul in the 18-yard box. Jesus Gallardo converted the ensuing penalty kick to put Toluca a goal and a man up.
However, SDFC battled back with goals from David Vazquez in the 32nd and 46th minutes and Anders Dreyer in the 53rd.
In the 85th minute, Manu Duah was whistled for a handball in the penalty area, and a video review led to Duah receiving a red card. Helinho’s penalty kick sliced Toluca’s deficit, but the visitors couldn’t find an equalizer.
–Field Level Media
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