LAFC comes out on positive end of penalty shootout

LAFC’s second match of the 2025 Leagues Cup tournament against Pachuca played out almost the same way as its first match did.

Just like Tuesday’s match, LAFC jumped ahead early in the first half, only to see the visitors equalize and eventually, the match went into a shootout. The difference this time on Friday night, both sides finished the match a man down, but perhaps the most important difference for LAFC; the result of the shootout went LAFC’s way. LAFC Keeper Thomas Hasal was the difference, as he denied two penalties and LAFC turned a 1-1 regulation draw to a 4-2 shootout victory.

“I was very pleased with the mentality and the ideas that the group had, and that mentality is still trying to win the game, even though we had only 10 men,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said.

Denis Bouanga found the back net for LAFC, ditto for Elias Montiel of Pachuca. The three points gained on Friday night were huge for LAFC, as they are deadlocked with a bunch of MLS side in its quest to advance out of the knockout stages. Only the Columbus Crew, the tournament’s reigning champions, have more than three points.

Again, LAFC got off to a good start. Marky Delgado intercepted a goal kick from Carlos Moreno, Delgado right away sent the ball forward to Nathan Ordaz, who then played Bouanga into the penalty area, Bouanga took a quick touch, then slotted a right-footed shot past Moreno to put LAFC in the lead.

However, the pendulum quick swung back towards Pachuca. LAFC held the ball deep inside Pachuca’s side of the field, then in the 26th minute, referee Bryan Lopez stopped play and eventually initiated video review. What Lopez saw was that Ordaz took a shot at Sergio Barreto’s stomach just outside the six-yard box, Lopez reached into his back pocket and issued a straight red card to Ordaz, forcing LAFC to play a man down.

Pachuca eventually capitalized on the man advantage. Pachuca’s Luis Quiñones crossed into the penalty area, LAFC center back Eddie Segura cut off the cross and passed to Delgado, but could not clear the ball out of danger. As a result, Alexei Dominguez won back possession for Pachuca, passed to Montiel, who then unleashed a left-footed volley just outside the penalty area that beat Hasal far post to level the match.

The tide however switched back to LAFC late in the second half. It started in the 79th minute, as Pachuca held the ball deep inside LAFC’s side of the field. Pachuca’s Jhonder Cadiz held the ball inside the penalty area with LAFC’s Nkosi Tafari marking him. Cadiz chipped a ball up, then attempted a scissors kick at goal, but not only did he miss, but also kicked Tafari in the head. LAFC went on a counterattack, which was snuffed out, but referee Lopez soon got another call for VAR, which confirmed Cadiz’s actions, and Cadiz was sent off, evening back the playing field for LAFC.

I really liked the way the team approached the game, started the game up until the red card,” Cherundolo said. “Very dominant, very dangerous and no threats in the other direction, and with the exception of 10 minutes after the red card and their goal, I thought we were the more livelier team and the aggressive team.”

In the shootout, all of LAFC’s penalty takers, Bouanga, Delgado, Shane Palencia and Segura converted their penalties, but Hasal held up his end of the bargain between the pipes, denying Pachuca’s first taker, Javier Eduardo Lopez, and stopping its fourth taker, Alan Bustista, to clinch the match for LAFC.