LAFC drop critical battle to San Diego FC in Son's home debut

LOS ANGELES -- The lights were bright. The stadium was packed. The drama was undeniable. However, LAFC did not have enough to pull out a crucial victory, falling 2-1 to San Diego FC on Sunday evening at BMO Stadium.

It was a marquee test for the Black and Gold, with the heavyweight clash giving them a chance to earn their signature win of the season. Despite grabbing the early lead, San Diego came up with two unanswered scores to steal the match on the road and cement their status as perhaps the most dangerous club in MLS.

"We don't like losing," said head coach Steve Cherundolo after the loss. "Especially not at home and especially against teams ahead of us on the table. We created enough chances to win this game tonight so there was nothing wrong with the performance."

Denis Bouanga provided the opening score in the first-ever battle between the two sides at BMO Stadium, taking advantage of a brilliant feed from David Martínez and chipping one over the reach of San Diego goalkeeper Carlos Dos Santos. It was the 15th score of the year for Bouanga, snapping a two-match drought to give LAFC a much-needed tone-setter. 

From that point on, things seemed to shift. San Diego brought forth an increased intensity, and it paid off quickly.

Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano brought them even in the 33rd minute, using an excellent feed from Anders Dreyer to find open space in front of Hugo Lloris and fire one to the back of the net. The two sides headed into the locker room at halftime even at 1, with the tension continuing to rise.

Son Heung-min, playing in front of the 3252 for the first time, nearly found his first home goal in the opening minutes of the second half. His shot towards net was denied on an athletic save from Dos Santos, keeping the game knotted.

Dreyer, the point leader thus far in San Diego's inaugural season, then had his moment. The midfielder got behind the defense, collected a perfect through ball from Jeppe Tverskov, and maneuvered around both Artem Smolyakov and Eddie Segura to somehow drill the go-ahead goal.

Following Dreyer's 14th goal, Los Angeles looked to dig deep and find the critical equalizer. Numerous moments throughout the final 20 minutes saw them come close, including a flurry of chances from Son.

He was turned away twice in a span of four minutes, with a 74th-minute attack being snuffed by Dos Santos before a 78th-minute try clanged off the post. The collective groans of disappointment from the crowd told the story as LAFC desperately searched for the late answer.

"I was happy to play in my home debut but obviously the results were not ideal," said Son. "I'm still very proud of the team...it was very unlucky today to not get three points."

Son once again freed himself for a chance from the top of the box in stoppage time, taking a feed from Bouanga and firing it towards net. Once again, he was turned away as Dos Santos leaped to make a diving save.

The San Diego keeper finished with three saves, using an admirable effort to limit LAFC's damage to one across their 16 total shot attempts. Hugo Lloris made just two saves in the contest as San Diego fired off only six shots overall.

With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 11-8-7, remaining fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind Seattle for a coveted top-four spot. San Diego, on the other hand, improved to 17-5-7 and extended their point advantage over second-place Minnesota to five. 

Following a nearly two-week break, LAFC will be back on the road to battle the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, September 13. Currently hanging on to the ninth and final playoff spot in the West, San Jose has lost twice in their last three matches to drop to 9-8-12.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT.