LAFC2 earned two points on the road Saturday night, playing North Texas SC to a 2-2 draw at Mansfield Stadium before winning the postgame penalty shootout, 4-1.
The Black & Gold built an early two-goal advantage, with Christian Díaz opening the scoring in the 19th minute. Díaz headed Liam Lambert’s corner kick into the lower-left corner for his first goal of the season. Charlie Kosakoff doubled the lead three minutes later, finishing from the
center of the box off an assist from Ernesto Rodriguez.
North Texas pulled one back in the 53rd minute when Edouard Nys scored from a Nicholas Simmonds assist. LAFC2 came close to restoring its two-goal advantage in the 85th minute, but Tommy Mihalić’s attempt struck the crossbar. After a late foul by the Black & Gold in the
second minute of second-half stoppage time, Simmonds converted a penalty to level the match and force a shootout.
DeCarlo Guerra, Sebastian Nava, Mihalić, and Kosakoff converted all four of LAFC2’s attempts from the spot. Benjamin Failla, who replaced starting goalkeeper Ethan Scally in the 32nd minute, saved Enzo Newman’s penalty before Daniel Baran struck the crossbar, allowing Kosakoff to seal the shootout victory.
LAFC2 finished regulation time with a 16-7 advantage in shots, including six attempts on target, and earned eight corner kicks to North Texas’ three. The result moved the Black & Gold into fifth place in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference standings with 31 points from 19 matches.
LAFC2 returns to action on Friday, July 31, when the club hosts Colorado Rapids 2 at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, CA. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., and the match will be available on MLSNEXTPro.com.
