The Los Angeles Football Club suffered their first loss of the 2023 MLS season on Saturday evening, falling 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The defending MLS Cup Champions record now stands at 5-1-3 (17 points) after San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute to break a tie and give the Quakes the win. It was LAFC’s fifth straight loss to the Quakes on the road in San Jose.
San Jose got on the board first in the eight minute when Espinoza found the back of the net, but LAFC’s MVP candidate Denis Bouanga tied the match in the 30th minute, slotting in a rebound off a rocket of a shot from Mateusz Bogusz. Bouanga continues his dominant scoring run throughout all competitions in 2023, registering his league-leading eighth MLS goal.
He now has 18 combined goals and assists this season in 15 games across all competitions.
The Black & Gold return to action on Tuesday, May 9 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Monterey Bay FC of the USL on the road, and continue the MLS season on May 13 with a road game vs. Real Salt Lake at 6:30 p.m. PST. (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV/710 AM/980 AM)
