Austin FC routed by LA Galaxy: Team goes to international break in fourth place

Austin FC will head into the international break on a bit of a down note.

El Tree lost on the road to the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-1 Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park with all five goals being scored in the second half.

Diego Fagúndez gave Austin FC a lead a few minutes after halftime on a clinical shot from inside the box, but Galaxy supersub Dejan Joveljic had a brilliant one-touch assist on Javier Hernández’s tying goal, then scored twice to give the hosts a 3-1 lead.

EfraÍn Álvarez finished a breakaway for the contest’s final goal.

More: Austin FC midfielder Owen Wolff already earning high praise from club's captain

Here are some observations from the game as Austin FC, which is now in fourth place in the Western Conference, will not play an official match again until June 18, when it visits Montreal.

Back line struggles on the road

The Galaxy scored all of their goals in the final 29 minutes, with Joveljic having a tremendous impact when he came on in the 57th minute.

After Hernández’s score, a subpar clearance by Zan Kolmanic led to Joveljic’s first goal, and the play was a representation of the game’s performance by El Tree's defense as a whole.

It wasn’t terrible, but the Austin FC back line — outside of goalie Brad Stuver — certainly wasn’t good.

Coach Josh Wolff has rotated his outside defenders most of the season, but it might be time to stick with Nick Lima and Jon Gallagher in starting roles to go along with center backs Ruben Gabrielsen and Julio Cascante because that foursome seems to be Austin FC’s best defensive group.

Fagúndez still one of the most important players

Fagúndez’s goal was a thing of beauty as he hit it with the inside of his right foot from a standing position in the box. The amount of power he got on the shot was impressive, but credit has to be given to Owen Wolff on the assist. Wolff hustled to win the ball back after a faulty first touch and then played the ball back to the middle of the box, where Fagúndez was waiting.

More: With 'strong improvements,' Austin FC's Julio Cascante now the rock for team's defensive line

Fagúndez has proved he’s one of the most important players to the team, so it was a bit strange to see him being subbed off in the 75th minute with El Tree trailing only 2-1.

Sure, he might have been leg-heavy, but if he’s able to stay on the field the entire game, that needs to happen.

With penalty save, Stuver continues to excel

Stuver continues to show he’s one of the better goalkeepers in the league.

Guessing correctly to his left, Stuver made a brilliant diving save with his outstretched left hand on Hernández’s penalty attempt in the second minute. He saved Austin FC from having to play from behind early for the second straight match.

Stuver has received a ton of recognition locally — and rightfully so — for his performance the past 15 months with the club, but he still hasn’t garnered much attention on the national scene.

Strange as it may sound after a game in which Austin FC yielded more than two goals for the first time all season, it’ll be interesting to see how long that lasts. And as noted before, don’t be surprised if Stuver is the target of some European clubs in the transfer window this summer.

Slow starts now a trend?

This first half was an interesting one, as El Tree looked out of sorts for the first 15 minutes, then seemed to dictate the game’s run of play the next 20 minutes before a goal by Hernández was disallowed when VAR determined the ball had touched his arm while he tried to settle it.

More: Austin FC striker Danny Hoesen's emotional goal culmination of long road back from injury

Slow starts are starting to become a trend for the club, and that’s something it will want to avoid going forward.

Club shows off alternate uniform

If you’re wondering about the jerseys the team wore Sunday with the pink lettering on a white base, they were special uniforms as part of a leaguewide initiative to raise awareness of plastic waste in oceans.

The uniforms were made from recycled material and ocean plastic.

Toughest month just completed?

At the unofficial halfway break for MLS, Austin FC sits in fourth place in the Western Conference and is only one point out of second.

Sunday wasn’t a great performance by El Tree, but if you had said before the season that this is the position the club would be in at this point, any fan unquestionably would have taken it.

There’s also an argument to be made that Austin FC just finished its toughest month of the year.

While the rest of the season won’t be easy, as nearly every team in the West looks to be good, El Tree should be in the playoff race all the way through October.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC loses to LA Galaxy to drop to 4th place in Western Conference