Los Angeles FC defeated the Portland Timbers 3-2 Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. LAFC will move on to face the Houston Dynamo — who beat Sporting Kansas City to advance — in the semifinals, scheduled for early August.
The two sides met just days prior in a 0-0 draw Sunday afternoon, but the U.S. Open Cup match had all the goals that Sunday’s match did not.
The scoring opened in the 33rd minute, as a cross on goal was deflected into the net off Portland midfielder David Guzman to put LAFC ahead 1-0. Carlos Vela extended LAFC’s lead in the 38th minute after dribbling to the penalty spot and putting away a curling ball off a Walker Zimmerman cross.
The Portland Timbers looked lively in the end of the first half, as Julio Cascante slotted away his opportunity in the second minute of stoppage time. He and the rest of his teammates quickly reset after the goal in hopes of continuing their momentum, but the referee blew the whistle to end the half at a 2-1 scoreline in favor of LAFC.
The second half started off with a bang. LAFC struck early and looked like it would easily dominate the half. Marco Urena tapped away a pass from Jordan Harvey in the 51st minute to put Los Angeles ahead 3-1.
Portland quickly had an answer, as Vytautas Andriuškevičius put the Timbers within one goal in the 52nd minute.
>>>Watch a full replay of the match here<<<
Los Angeles looked to extend its lead multiple times in the second half, but had multiple chances called offside. However, LAFC held Portland off to finishing with the 3-2 win and keep their tournament run alive.
Looking ahead, LAFC will travel to take on Minnesota United FC on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT. For U.S. Open Cup play, Los Angeles FC will take on the Houston Dynamo either August 7th or 8th, with the draw in the upcoming days to decide the host.