A stunning first MLS goal by Son Heung-min was matched by a Logan Farrington equalizer just shy of the quarter-hour mark as host FC Dallas and Los Angeles FC played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.
LAFC (11-6-8, 41 points) captured its third straight unbeaten result (1-0-2) and seventh in its last eight matches (4-1-3) and ended the evening in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Dallas (7-11-9, 30 points), who drew for the second straight match, pulled within five points of Austin FC for the ninth and final playoff spot in the West.
Son, starting for the second straight match, ensured his first MLS goal was a memorable one.
After Los Angeles was awarded a free kick not far from the outside of the box, the South Korean international laced a blistering shot past Dallas goalkeeper Michael Collodi for a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute.
The Los Angeles lead lasted about seven minutes, though, as Farrington tied it in the 13th minute. The Dallas forward collected a Patrickson Delgado pass, ventured into the scoring area and fired it past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to tie things up. It was Farrington’s fifth goal of the season.
Los Angeles, seeking back-to-back wins, had several chances to produce a match-winner late in the second half. In the 88th minute, Denis Bouanga’s shot deflected off a Dallas player and off the crossbar. Then, in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time, Collodi made a spectacular diving save on David Martinez’s attempt on goal.
Collodi finished with five saves for Dallas. Lloris was credited with one save.
Petar Musa, Dallas’s leading scorer (13 goals), was a second-half substitute after leaving at halftime of his team’s 1-1 draw at Austin FC on Aug. 16.
Igor Jesus was forced to exit in the 24th minute for LAFC after an apparent leg injury. Los Angeles will also be without Ryan Hollingshead (yellow-card accumulation) for its match against San Diego FC on Aug. 31.
–Field Level Media
