LAFC had no margin for error heading into its regular-season finale Saturday.
To finish atop the Western Conference table, it needed to beat the San José Earthquakes, needed the Galaxy to lose in Houston and needed to overcome a two-score deficit to the Galaxy in goal differential.
It got all three, thanks to an improbable finish in Houston.
When LAFC defender Marlon came off the bench to score on a header in the first minute of stoppage time at BMO Stadium, sealing a 3-1 win over the Quakes, it left LAFC (19-8-7) and the Galaxy even on points and wins atop the conference table, but it also gave the black and gold a one-score edge in differential, the tiebreaker.
But while LAFC was celebrating in Los Angeles, the Galaxy’s Gabriel Pec scored on a penalty kick in stoppage time in Houston, seemingly setting up the Galaxy to secure a draw and the point it needed to secure the title and home-field advantage in the conference playoffs.
That, too, was only temporary because the Galaxy’s title was snatched away seconds later when former Galaxy defender Daniel Steres scored in the 11th minute of stoppage time, giving the Dynamo a 2-1 win and sending the title back to LAFC.
The first two LAFC goals came 11 minutes apart in the second half, the first from Denis Bouanga to tie the score in the 64th and the second from Eduard Atuesta to put his team ahead.
LAFC will open the postseason next week, facing the winner of a wild-card game between the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps in a best-of-three series. LAFC will play the first three rounds of the postseason at home, where it has the best record in MLS since entering the league in 2018.
Jackson Yueill’s first goal of the season accounted for San Jose’s only score. Defender Paul Marie set up the goal, pushing the ball into the box for Yueill, who reached out his right foot to control it, eluded LAFC’s Eddie Segura, then beat keeper Hugo Lloris cleanly from just outside the six-yard box.
Olivier Giroud appeared to tie the score for LAFC eight minutes later, rounding Quakes keeper Daniel and putting a right-footed shot into an empty net. But the LAFC striker was offside and assistant referee Felisha Mariscal was quick to raise her flag, disallowing the goal.
San José (6-25-3), which was eliminated from playoff contention five weeks ago, won just twice since mid-May but one of the Quakes’ early-season victories came against LAFC, and they once again gave the black and gold fits until Bouanga pulled his team even with his 20th goal of the season.
The sequence began with midfielder Timothy Tillman bending a cross toward Giroud in the center of the box. San Jose defender Rodrigues headed the ball away but it fell at Bouanga’s feet near the right edge of the penalty area and he did the rest, lining a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
The goal was the 76th the Quakes have conceded this season, most in MLS history. But it wouldn’t be the last with Atuesta putting LAFC ahead to stay, scoring from almost the same spot seconds after coming off the bench.
The goal, Atuesta’s second since March 30, gave him a career-high four for the season and set the stage of the stoppage-time fireworks.
With its 25th loss of the season, San José matches the 1999 MetroStars for most losses in an MLS season.
