LAFC suffered its first loss of the season, falling 2-1 to the Portland Timbers on Saturday afternoon at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. The result leaves LAFC’s record at 5W-1L-1D in MLS regular-season play, and ends the Black & Gold’s reign as the last unbeaten team in the league and the last team to concede a goal.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos started a rotated roster ahead Tuesday’s critical Concacaf match, with goalkeeper Thomas Hasal, defenders Kenny Nielsen and Artem Smoliakov, and teenage midfielders Jude Terry and Matt Evans making their first MLS starts of the year. For Evans and Terry, it was also their first start in an LAFC shirt.Â
Goalkeeper Cabral Carter came on in the 30th minute to replace Hasal, who had to depart the match following a collision in the penalty area. It was Carter’s LAFC debut as well as his first MLS appearance.
Kristoffer Velde scored for Portland in the 32nd minute to end LAFC’s MLS-record shutout streak to open a season at 571 minutes. Moments earlier, that streak had set a new LAFC record for consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, surpassing a 549-minute scoreless streak in 2024.
Carter responded with an acrobatic three-save flurry in the 42nd minute to keep the deficit at 1-0 at halftime.
Terry scored on a curler from 20 yards out in the 49th minute to even the score and register his first career MLS goal.
Kevin Kelsy scored the matchwinner for Portland in the sixth minute of stoppage time to rescue three points for the hosts and hand LAFC its first defeat of 2026.
Next up for LAFC is a trip to Puebla, Mexico, for the second leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals matchup against defending champions Cruz Azul. LAFC leads the tie 3-0 on aggregate goals headed into Tuesday’s deciding match. The winner on aggregate goals advances to the CCC Semifinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday, April 14; the match will be broadcast live on FS2 (English) and TUDN (Spanish).
LAFC returns to MLS regular-season play on Sunday April 19, when it hosts the San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Stadium at 4:00 p.m. PT. All MLS matches are broadcast live on Apple TV, with local radio coverage on ESPN LA 710 AM, the ESPN LA app, KFWB La Mera Mera 980 AM (Spanish), and K-Radio 1230 AM (Korean).
NOTES:
- With the result, LAFC is now 5W-1L-1D for 16 points in MLS play. In all competitions, LAFC is 9-1-2 and has outscored opponents 28-5.
- Portland’s goal in the 32nd minute ended LAFC’s season-opening shutout streak at 572 minutes. It was the longest shutout streak to start a season in MLS history and set a new club record for longest shutout streak in regular-season play.
- Homegrown players Matt Evans and Jude Terry each made his first career start for LAFC.
- Evans made his debut for the first team as a second half substitute in the team’s opening match of the season, a 6-1 road win against Real España in Concacaf Champions Cup on Feb. 17, while Terry followed suit a week later in the second leg of that series, coming on at halftime of LAFC’s 1-0 win on Feb. 24.
- Goalkeeper Thomas Hasal made his first league start of the season. He previously started LAFC’s 1-0 win against Real España in Champions Cup play on Feb. 24, saving a penalty in the 90th minute to preserve the victory and earn a shutout.
- Cabral Carter made his MLS debut for LAFC, coming on in the 30th minute after Hasal was injured.
- Defender Artem Smoliakov made his first start of the season for LAFC across all competitions. He previously saw action as a substitute in two Champions Cup matches.
