VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Defender Matias Laborda scored a first-half goal and the winning goal in a penalty shootout, and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Los Angeles FC 6-5 in the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday night in front of a club-record crowd of 53,957 at BC Place.
The second-seeded Whitecaps advanced to their first Western Conference finals after both clubs tied the game 2-2 after regulation and 30 minutes of overtime.
Son Heung-min, who scored twice in the second half to tie LAFC, hit the post with a shot to spark a penalty shootout, with Sebastian Berhalter scoring for the Whitecaps with his first shot. LAFC’s Dennis Bouanga and Vancouver’s Jayden Nelson exchanged goals, and Marco Delgado fired a shot over LAFC’s goal. Ryan Gold’s goal gave the Whitecaps a 3-1 lead, but LAFC tied the game before Laborda found the net.
Vancouver advanced to the conference finals for the first time since joining the league in 2011. We await the winner of Monday’s game between expansion sides, top-seeded San Diego FC and fourth-seeded Minnesota United.
Vancouver took a 1-0 lead on a goal by the goalkeeper in the 39th minute. Yohei Takaoka kicked the ball in three quarters. It reached the length of the field for Emmanuel Sabbi, who scored his first postseason goal in his third appearance.
The Whitecaps entered halftime with a two-goal lead thanks to Laborda’s unassisted goal in the first minute of stoppage time. It was Laborda’s first postseason goal in seven games over the past three seasons.
LAFC cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second half with Son’s unassisted goal in the 60th minute. Son Sung-soon, who scored nine goals in 10 regular season games, scored his first goal in the postseason in just his third game.
Son scored his second goal with an unassisted free kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time, tying the score.
Takaoka totaled six saves for the Whitecaps. Over the past three seasons, he has allowed a total of 12 goals in nine postseason starts.
Hugo Lloris of No. 3 seed LAFC saved four shots in his seventh playoff start over the past two seasons.
The Whitecaps have lost in the last two semifinals, in 2015 and 2017.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
