Mathieu Choinière's breakout performance keeps LAFC perfect through four games

LOS ANGELES -- Remaining perfect through four games, LAFC took care of St. Louis City SC, 2-0, thanks to Mathieu Choinière's brace on Saturday evening at BMO Stadium. The Black & Gold became the first team to reach the 12-point mark this season, staying unbeaten all-time against St. Louis (5-0-2).

Additionally, LAFC became just the third team in the last 10 years to win at least its first four matches of a season. They joined the company of St. Louis City (2023) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (2025).

"I think the coaches give us all the confidence that we need to continue forward," said Choinière after the victory. "We know that [Bouanga and Son] are going to attract people, so we're gonna have space in front of us."

Following a scoreless first 70 minutes of the match in which neither side managed to capitalize on its opportunities, Choinière finally broke the ice. The Canadian stormed down the pitch, making his way to the center of the box before drilling a right-footed strike to the bottom left of the net past the dive of St. Louis keeper Roman Bürki. 

Less than 10 minutes later, he was right back at it. This time, a clearance off the head of St. Louis midfielder Daniel Edelman landed at the feet of Choinière, who fired another strike past Bürki to the bottom left corner and doubled the lead for Los Angeles.

The last time that Choinière had scored was August 16 of 2025. He spoke following the victory about his preparation, which allowed him to drill two scores from similar spots on the pitch.

"It's something that I'm working on daily with the coaches since the start of preseason," he said. "It was a good day."

Hugo Lloris remained sharp in the victory, keeping St. Louis off the board and making four saves. Lloris earned his league-leading fourth shutout of the season in the process.

Dos Santos deployed a slightly different starting XI on Saturday, giving starting spots to Choinière, Ryan Raposo and Nathan Ordaz. Both Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga headed for the sidelines before the final whistle, giving Amin Boudri and 17-year-old Jude Terry minutes late in the match.

LAFC is back in action next Tuesday, returning to Concacaf Champions Cup play against Alajuelense in the Round of 16. The two sides fought to a 1-1 draw at BMO Stadium in the first leg, setting up a critical second leg in Costa Rica to decide who will advance.

"I think the most important thing at this club is winning trophies," said LAFC midfielder Ryan Raposo. "It's going to be a hostile, loud environment. We need to go there, be fearless and be a mature team."

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT.