LA Galaxy II routs Lights FC behind Ethan Zubak’s four goals

The Lights suffered their worst loss of the season Saturday night in Carson, California, falling to the Galaxy II 7-2 to continue their downward spiral. Las Vegas (2-4-4) is 0-4-3 in its past seven matches, with this latest loss tying USL-highs this season for goals allowed and margin of defeat.

“Personally, I’m wounded, hurt,” Lights coach Isidro Sanchez said. “In professional football, if you have so many mistakes and you are that far below the opponent, that’s what happens. They took perfect advantage of all of our mistakes.”

Zubak was at the forefront of the relentless onslaught for Galaxy II (2-6-4), as he recorded the fastest hat trick in USL history and finished with four goals, the most anyone has scored in a league game this season. The 20-year-old forward scored three goals in the first 18 minutes to make a 1-0 Lights’ lead quickly feel like a distant memory.

Zubak began by finishing a cross from midfielder Julian Buscher to equalize the match in the 10th minute. His second goal came six minutes later when Lights defender Joel Huiqui let another cross into the box go right through his legs, and the former member of the U.S. U19 team capitalized on the easy opportunity.

Zubak then clanged a shot from the top of the box off the far post in the 18th minute, completing his second hat trick of the season in a span of 8:20. Zubak still wasn’t done, as his fourth goal in the 54th minute brought his season total to seven, the second highest in the USL.

His teammates didn’t let up, either, with forward Ariel Lassiter scoring in the 60th and 89th minutes and Buscher in the 87th.

Las Vegas looked powerless by the end of the match, as the Galaxy II’s four-goal second half spoiled the return of technical director Jose Luis Sanchez Sola to the USL sidelines after his four-game suspension.

The Lights took the lead in the sixth minute after midfielder Daigo Kobayashi’s first goal of the season, which ended the club’s scoreless drought of more than 255 minutes in USL play. Kobayashi scored another goal in the 22nd minute after Zubak’s initial flurry to make it 3-2, but the team’s defense collapsed from there.

“We have to focus on everything (this week),” Sanchez said. “When you lose 7-2, it’s because you were bad in everything, physically, mentally, tactically and technically.”

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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.