LOS ANGELES — Prior to last weekend, the Los Angeles Football Club was a perfect 14-0-0 this season when it grabbed the lead first.
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But on Saturday in Vancouver, LAFC finally dropped points in that situation. And five days later, in different circumstances, it happened again.
Hosting Chivas de Guadalajara for the opening match of Phase One of the Leagues Cup, LAFC did not hold the lead once Denis Bouanga put his team on the scoreboard in the 38th minute.
Chivas forward Roberto Alvarado, who delivered three assists in five starts for Mexico during the recent World Cup, responded in the 42nd minute.
Tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, the match headed to a penalty shootout.
LAFC walked away with two points when 17-year-old Jude Terry stepped up to hit the decisive kick (5-4). Chivas, which has never advanced to the Leagues Cup knockout stage, earned a point for its effort.
Though the match took place at BMO Stadium, the atmosphere was heavily in Guadalajara’s favor. Among Mexico’s most successful and popular clubs, Chivas appeared to have at worst a 70/30 supporter advantage in the stands, which held an announced crowd of 22,132.
LAFC’s support came primarily from the north end, where the raucous 3252 supporter group was unusually drowned out for much of the night.
Bouanga’s goal momentarily quieted Chivas fans who showed up in droves wearing the 120-year-old club’s red-and-white striped jersey.
Starting in place of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Thomas Hasal delivered a beautiful outlet to Timothy Tillman at the Chivas end of the field. Tillman dished it to David Martinez, and the young forward patiently waited as Bouanga entered the box from behind the play.
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Bouanga’s first-time strike off Martinez’s cross was his competition-best 14th goal and 20th goal contribution.
Whatever noise the 3252 mustered in the aftermath of Bouanga’s finish paled in comparison to the Chivas supporters following Alvarado’s equalizer, which came when the forward bolted up the middle of the field unmarked and hit a rolling ball with his left foot low inside the far post.
Alvarado was one of four Chivas starters on Wednesday who were selected for the Mexican national team during the World Cup. joining No. 1 goalkeeper Jose Rangel, midfielder and Chivas captain Luis Romo, and forward Armando Gonzalez.
A fifth Mexican national team player, midfielder Brian Gutierrez, replaced former Galaxy prospect Efrain Alvarez with 20 minutes remaining in the match.
A year to the day after landing in Los Angeles after signing with LAFC, the red-hot Son Heung-min made his Leagues Cup debut as part of a first-choice lineup save Lloris and played 86 minutes.
In Lloris’ place, Hasal made five saves – not including a denial of Romo’s PK attempt, which set up Terry for the midfielder’s most prominent moment with LAFC.
Rangel stopped four shots for Chivas.
For LAFC, the round-robin portion of the 36-team MLS vs. Liga MX tournament continues on Saturday when top-ranked Toluca FC, which eliminated the Black & Gold from the CONCACAF Champions Cup in May before winning the whole thing, visits BMO Stadium. Toluca earned three points on Wednesday, defeating the Seattle Sounders, 3-0, in Mexico.
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More to come on this story.