LAFC wins Leagues Cup opener against Chivas in PK shootout

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Football Club emerged victorious against C.D. Guadalajara in its opening match of Phase One of the Leagues Cup on Wednesday night after a hard-fought 1-1 draw pushed the match to a penalty kick shootout at BMO Stadium. 

While Denis Bouanga's goal in the 38th minute put the home side ahead temporarily, it was 17-year-old Terry who secured LAFC’s first win of the tournament, stepping up to convert the team’s final penalty kick before 22,132. 

“In a tournament like this where every point matters, I think it’s important for me to step up and help the team in any way I can,” said the young midfielder. “Tonight I did it.”

Bouanga fired up fans with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner off a cross from 20-year-old David Martínez. The strike marked Bouanga's 14th Leagues Cup goal, tying him with Lionel Messi for the top spot all-time.

“The goal is a golazo from us,” LAFC Head Coach Dos Santos said.

It was a necessary lead, although it did not last long. 

Chivas forward Roberto "Piojo" Alvarado responded in the 42nd minute, sending a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner off an assist by Bryan González.

Alvarado is one of six Chivas players called up to the Mexican National Team during the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup, delivering three assists in five starts for Mexico. He's scored two goals in two matches for Chivas this season. 

Despite three shots on target for LAFC and five for Chivas, the second half was scoreless, closing out regulation time with a 1-1 draw. LAFC's goalkeeper Thomas Hasal ended the night with seven saves, not including a denial of Romo’s penalty. 

“I was watching penalties all morning trying to get an inkling, get a feeling, but at that moment in time it was more a feeling,” Hasal, who filled in for Hugo Lloris, said of his stop. “He [Romo] was staring at me, I was staring at him, just to see who would flinch first.”

The stop set up Terry perfectly. Both teams had each missed one penalty kick when Terry positioned himself 12 yards from the goal line. 

“I’ve been kicking penalty kicks since I was a little kid,” said Terry, who entered for Timothy Tillman in the second half. “Nothing really changes. Now there’s a bit of fans behind the goal, so I just had to step up and hit the ball and see where it went.”

“We didn’t shift well so we left a big gap in the middle,” Dos Santos said. “But look, it was a great show for the fans. Good attitude from our guys. And then winning in penalties. This extra point can be important.”

An Undeniable Atmosphere 

Down to the last penalty kick of the night, the energy was palpable. 

Chivas’ devoted fanbase filled the stands in waves of red and blue jerseys, with team banners and Mexican flags. Chivas chants drowned out the usually unmissable sounds of LAFC's 3252 supporter group. 

“[We are] the most popular club in Mexico, with fans all over the world, and we never feel alone; they are always there for home games, and we always feel our people's presence at away games, so we want to thank them for their support in this match,” said Chivas Head Coach Gabriel Milito. 

"Only big clubs bring this amount of fans and supporters,” said Dos Santos. “It takes a lot of energy to play a team like Chivas."

“We have the 3252,” Dos Santos said. “That is the heart of the club. You take that away, man, maybe the environment in the stadium dies a lot. It’s boom, boom, like a heart. We need to grow more outside the 3252, but the fan base has grown a lot throughout the years of LAFC. Chivas is a club with many more years of history. Mexico is a country with much more culture in the game. We still have steps to do in North America. But we felt at home today.”

Something to Prove

The two powerhouse franchises stepped onto the pitch Wednesday night, facing each other for the first time in history. Each with a unique weight on their shoulders. 

Mexican side Chivas hoped a win on Wednesday would be a sign the squad could make it to the second phase of the tournament for the first time. 

Liga MX’s Apertura season began following the finish of Mexico’s run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the Chivas de Guadalajara have not had a dream start. Three games into the season, the Mexican side has a 1-1-1 record and currently sits 12th in the league standings.

On the other end of the stadium, facing its bustling supporters section, Los Angeles Football Club entered the night with expectations to deliver.

LAFC (10-4-5, 34 pts.) is one of the top teams in Major League Soccer at the moment, sitting second in the Western Conference standings and tied points-wise with first-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 

Historically, the Los Angeles side has fared well in Leagues Cup competitions as one of the only two MLS teams to advance to a quarterfinal in two of the past three tournaments and holding a tournament-best +23 goal differential in 14 matches played.

In the Leagues Cup, going to a penalty shootout means the winning team takes home two points while the other walks away with one. 

Now LAFC will continue its round-robin portion of the 36-team tournament at home against Toluca FC, which eliminated the Los Angeles side from the CONCACAF Champions Cup in May. Top-ranked Toluca will head into the matchup with one more point than LAFC after defeating the Seattle Sounders, 3-0, in Mexico on Wednesday, but there is confidence within the locker room. 

“Saturday is going to be very demanding for us,” Dos Santos said, “[Our guys] never stop."