Kevin Kelsy scored in the 96th minute as the Portland Timbers handed visiting Los Angeles FC its first loss of the season, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon.
Kelsy headed in Brandon Bye’s headed cross from the right goal line for his first goal of the season, snapping a five-match winless streak for the Timbers (2-4-1, 7 points).
Jude Terry, making his MLS starting debut, scored for LAFC (5-1-1, 16 points). Cabral Carter, making his MLS debut after Thomas Hasal was injured in a collision in the 23rd minute, finished with six saves.
LAFC starting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has six clean sheets in six MLS starts this season, and league assist leader Son Heung-Min both didn’t make the trip to rest up for the second leg of the team’s CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal match with Cruz Azul in the high altitude of Puebla, Mexico on Tuesday. LAFC won the first leg, 3-0.
Hasal left due to concussion protocol after colliding with teammate Artem Smolyakov, who was shoved in the back by Timber defender Brandon Bye, as he bent over to grab a ball by the left side of the six-yard box.
Enter Carter, a 21-year-old charter member of the LAFC Academy from Loyola High School in Los Angeles, who played at collegiately at Pittsburgh and had made 21 appearances with LAFC2 in the MLS NEXT Pro League.
Two minutes later, he faced his first MLS shot, a right-footed blast from the top right edge of the box by Kristoffer Velde that went into the far left corner of the net to give Portland a 1-0 lead. That goal also snapped LAFC’s 572-minute shutout streak to start the season, a MLS record.
Carter bounced back to make a highlight-reel triple save in the 42nd minute, the final two while on his side by the edge of the six-yard box.
LAFC tied it, 1-1, in the 49th minute when the 17-year-old Terry whipped a right-footed shot from a couple yards above the left side of the box that curled into the far top right corner. Matt Evans and Denis Bouanga drew assists on the goal.
LAFC appeared to take the lead in the 87th minute when Ryan Porteous headed in a long cross by Timothy Tillman by the back post. However, the goal came off the scoreboard when a VAR review determined Tillman was offside, setting the stage for Kelsy’s dramatic game-winner.
Portland’s James Pantemis made four saves as LAFC attempted 19 shots, but only managed to put five on target.
–Field Level Media
