LAFC's MLS Cup bid ends in shootout loss

Son's second goal forces OT but he fails on a penalty kick, blaming a leg cramp.

- STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

SON HEUNG-MIN reacts after missing a chance to score against Vancouver during extra time Saturday.

(Darryl Dyck Canadian Press)

LAFC's Son Heung-min led a heroic effort to force extra time, but an ill-timed cramp helped thwart the team's push to extend its season in penalty kicks.

Defender Mathias Laborda scored a first-half goal before delivering the winner in a penalty-kick shootout, and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat LAFC 6-5 in a Western Conference semifinal Saturday night before a club-record crowd of 53,957 at BC Place.

It was the final match for LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, who led the team to the MLS Cup final twice in his first three seasons, winning the championship in 2022, and fell just short of the title game this year. He said in April that this season would be his last.

"I feel terrible for our players," Cherundolo said. "They really put everything into the second half and put themselves in a great position to win the game. I'm just really gutted for them. It's just a tough one to accept."

The second-seeded Whitecaps advanced to their first Western Conference final after the clubs played to a 2-2 draw through regulation and 30 minutes of overtime.