Decision Day always delivers.
LAFC players, staff and fans experienced a rollercoaster of emotions on Saturday as the regular season came down to the final seconds. They surpassed LA Galaxy with a 3-1 comeback win over the San Jose Earthquakes, giving the bitter rivals matching 19W-8L-7D records (64 points) and securing the Western Conference's top seed via the goal differential tiebreaker.
“We share tonight a great emotion, not only as a team but as a club,” said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
“At the end of the day, it's just being first in the regular season, there is nothing more to celebrate. It's good because I believe that it rewards a lot of effort and puts us in a good position for the playoffs, so that's a good feeling tonight.”
Second-half surge
Entering Decision Day, LAFC knew they needed Galaxy to lose at Houston Dynamo FC while picking up three points of their own and overturning the goal differential deficit.
With both teams down 1-0 at halftime, LAFC went to work and scored three goals – capped by their newest signing Marlon’s towering header. That flipped the goal differential in favor of the Black & Gold, putting them on top of the Western Conference table.
“I think I live my life with these emotions and it makes it a bit more tasty,” Marlon said.
“These emotions come at the top peak of the moment. For me, it was incredible. This group, this team deserved it, and I think at the end of the match we had that reward.”
Final moments
Continuing the high-speed emotional rollercoaster in Houston, stoppage time gave LA a chance to turn the tide back in their favor. Riqui Puig drew a penalty kick, which Gabriel Pec scored to reclaim the top spot in the West for Galaxy.
Of course, the drama wasn’t done. Dynamo defender Daniel Steres provided one final twist of the tale, sending home a game-winning header in the 101st minute to seal Houston’s 2-1 win and crown LAFC as the best team in the West.
“Right after Marlon scored the goal we were excited, so I checked on the bench. What's the score? Still 1-0 or not?” Denis Bouanga said.
“Then after [the game ended] we learned that the Galaxy tied and we stayed on the field and then Houston scored the second goal so there was great happiness. That's an emotional rollercoaster. You go from sadness to happiness, so a great feeling.”
With home-field advantage locked up throughout the Western Conference playoffs, Bouanga and LAFC set their sights on a third consecutive MLS Cup presented by Audi appearance and yet another trophy to add to their continually expanding cabinet.
They'll meet either Vancouver Whitecaps FC (No. 8) or Portland Timbers (No. 9) in their Round One Best-of-3 Series. The opponent is known after Wednesday's Wild Card (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
“I'm super happy to reach the 20-goals mark. It's always an objective,” Bouanga said. “[But I would] definitely rather win the MLS Cup than win the Golden Boot. That's something that matters for the team and that matters for me more than the individual trophy.”
