A defensive battle between MNUFC2 and LAFC2 on Wednesday night at USC’s Rawlinson Stadium left little room for scoring chances on both sides, but it was ultimately the Black & Gold who capitalized on a penalty-kick attempt, giving the home side the eventual 1-0 victory. The Twos now return home on short rest to face Tacoma Defiance on June 28.
40’ - LAFC2 created the first dangerous scoring opportunity of the night when midfielder Sebastian Nava took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box, but his strike was met with a diving save by MNUFC2 goalkeeper Kristers Bite. Bite then collected a contested rebound and the play ended in a foul conceded against the home side.
48’ - LAFC2 had a second opportunity as Josh Santiago played Charlie Kosakoff, near the penalty spot. Kosakoff headed the attempt but the ball went wide of the right post.
64’ - First Team forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith took a close-range shot from a tight angle on LAFC2’s right flank, but his shot curled just wide of the far post.
65’ (0-1) - MNUFC2 committed a foul inside their penalty area, awarding LAFC2 a penalty kick. Decarlo Guerra stepped up to the spot and placed his attempt into the bottom-right corner to find the back of the net.
84’ - Adebayo-Smith had another close call when he headed an attempt sent from the right side but the attempt went just wide of the left post.
88’ - The Twos pushed for a late equalizer through Luke Hille after firing an attempt outside the penalty area, forcing goalkeeper Cabral Carter to dive, but the shot sailed just wide of the left post.
90’ - LAFC2 had a last-minute opportunity as Marius Omotoye Aiyenero broke through the defensive line and found himself one-on-one with Kristers Bite but his attempt sailed over the crossbar.
GOALS
0-1 LAFC2 - Decarlo Guerra (penalty kick) - 66’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
LAFC2 - Ernesto Rodriguez (caution) - 23’
LAFC2 - Skylar Kaplan (caution) - 38’
MNUFC2 - Jadan Bernard (caution) - 42’
LAFC2 - DeCarlo Guerra (caution) - 44’
TEAM LEADERS (Updated through June 24, 2026)
Goals – Marcus Caldeira (10)
Assists – Darius Randell (5)
Saves – Kristers Bite (28)
Wins – Kristers Bite, Keane Perkins (3)
Shutouts – Kristers Bite, Keane Perkins (2)
NOTABLE STATS
1 – Defender Mo Bojang and midfielder Hector Cruz made their first MLS NEXT Pro and MNUFC2 starts tonight against LAFC2.
1 – Defender Sully Maynes made his MLS NEXT PRO and MNUFC2 debut coming in the 75th minute as a substitute in tonight’s match.
LINEUPS
MNUFC2 XI: GK Kristers Bite; D Jadan Bernard (Sully Maynes 75’), Anderson Farris, Jack Clarkson, Mo Bojang (Jordan Adebayo-Smith 61’); M Max Harwood (Luke Hille 75’), Luciano Pechota ©, Jakob Friedman (Will Maynes 75’), Hector Cruz (Jabari Kibisu 61’), Troy Putt; F Marcus Caldeira
Substitutes Not Used: GK Keane Perkins
LAFC2 XI: GK Cabral Carter; D Skylar Kaplan (Erick Diaz 79’), Giuliano Whitchurch, Luke Goodman, Josh Santiago (Miles Ozar 79’); M Decarlo Guerra, Sebastian Nava, Eduardo Villeda (Liam Lambert 61’); F Tommy Mihalic © (Marius Omotoye Aiyenero 61’), Charlie Kosakoff, Ernesto Rodriguez (Christian Diaz 86’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK James Romero; D Travis Babineau; M Bryan Moyado; F Nathan Mardaresco
