LAFC earned a point from its 2025 Leagues Cup opener on Tuesday night at BMO Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw with Liga MX side Mazatlán before falling 11-10 on penalties. LAFC’s David Martínez and Mazatlán’s Fábio Gomes traded goals midway through the first half and neither team was able to break the deadlock in the second half, sending the match to a shootout. The visitors prevailed in the 12th round of kicks from the spot, winning 11-10 to claim an additional point.
LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo made seven changes to the team that lost 1-0 in the league against Portland on Friday night, including a new front three of Jeremy Ebobisse, David Martínez and Yaw Yeboah. Those three each came close to scoring in the opening 25 minutes with Yeboah nearly getting on the end of a Martínez cross in the 9th minute, Ebobisse seeing a shot from the center of the box saved nine minutes later, and Martínez hitting the crossbar from a similar position in the 23rd minute.
In the 29th minute, Martínez broke the deadlock for LAFC. The 19-year-old forward raced onto a long ball down the left wing from Timothy Tillman and poked it past the onrushing Mazatlán goalkeeper and into the corner of the net, making the score 1-0.
However, the lead lasted just two minutes before Fábio Gomes equalized for the visitors. Gomes got on the end of a Luiz Teodora through ball in the box and hit a low, right-footed shot that went in off the far left post, tying the score at 1-1.
The score would stay that way until the end of regulation, giving each team a point and sending the match straight to a shootout. With the shootout tied 4-4 after five shooters - and each goalkeeper having made one save - the next six shooters scored for each side before Nicolás Benedetti converted his team’s 12th attempt (his second of the shootout) to give Mazatlán an 11-10 advantage. Denis Bouanga, who converted LAFC’s first penalty, fired his team’s 12th attempt over the bar, giving the visitors the shootout victory.
LAFC will continue Leagues Cup action on Friday, August 1 when the club hosts Liga MX club Pachuca at BMO Stadium. That game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. PT and can be seen live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with radio coverage available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, and 980 AM La Mera Mera.
NOTES
- With the draw in regulation, LAFC is now 7-2-2 all-time in Leagues Cup, including 2-1-1 against Liga MX opposition.
- LAFC has lost both shootouts that it has taken part in during Leagues Cup, having also lost to Vancouver in the group stage last year following a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes.
- In 12 games against Liga MX clubs in Leagues Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup, Campeones Cup and FIFA Club World Cup Play-In Game, LAFC is 6-5-2.
- Steve Cherundolo made seven changes to his starting lineup from the 1-0 loss to Portland on Friday night. Kenny Nielsen, Artem Smolyakov, Nkosi Tafari and Timothy Tillman each remained in the starting lineup, where they were joined by captain Eddie Segura, David Ochoa, Frankie Amaya, Adam Saldaña, David Martínez, Jeremy Ebobisse, and Yaw Yeboah.
- Martínez, Segura, and Tillman were the only three LAFC starters who had appeared in a Leagues Cup game for the club previously.
- David Martínez scored LAFC’s only goal of the game in the 29th minute. That was his first-ever Leagues Cup goal. He appeared in five games in the competition last year, tallying one assist.
- Martínez now has nine goals in his LAFC career, including four this year in all competitions.
- Martínez is the 11th different player to score for LAFC in Leagues Cup.
- Tillman, who was starting his first-ever game in the competition, was credited with the assist on that goal.
- Tillman has now registered an assist in the MLS Regular Season, the MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and Leagues Cup.
- Despite failing to score after coming on as a second-half substitute, Denis Bouanga remains the all-time leading goal scorer in Leagues Cup with 12 goals in 11 games.
- Bouanga and Sergi Palencia are the only two players to have appeared in all 11 Leagues Cup games in LAFC history. Ryan Hollingshead had appeared in the first 10 Leagues Cup games in LAFC’s history but was an unused substitute tonight.
- On the season, LAFC is 12-3-3 at home in all competitions.
