Reid Roberts’ 90+8' equalizer finally rewards San Jose pressure in 2-2 draw with LAFC

LAFC struck first while San Jose owned the ball

San Jose’s frustration began in the 34th minute, when Son Heung-Min put LAFC ahead with a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner, set up by Mark Delgado. It was the kind of moment that can make a possession-heavy side feel oddly vulnerable: the Earthquakes were seeing far more of the ball, but LAFC found the cleaner early finish.

The second blow landed at 53'. Son turned provider this time, releasing Denis Bouanga for a right-footed finish from the center of the box to make it 2-0 following a fast break. That gave LAFC two goals from their two shots on target, a brutally sharp return in a match where their involvement with the ball was otherwise limited to 31.1 percent possession and 297 total passes.

Meanwhile, San Jose kept building pressure by accumulation. The Earthquakes finished with 68.9 percent possession, 649 passes, 17 shot assists, 30 crosses and 15 corners, numbers that describe a team spending most of the night in the attacking half. Hugo Lloris’ seven saves tell the same story from the other direction: LAFC were being asked to survive wave after wave.

The comeback finally found its finishers

The first opening San Jose converted came in the 70th minute. Timo Werner supplied Preston Judd, and Judd headed home from the center of the box to the bottom right corner. It was a deserved breakthrough for a side that had kept knocking, and Judd’s individual line backed it up: three shots, all three on target, and the goal that pulled the Earthquakes back into the match.

Even then, San Jose still had to keep forcing the issue. Eduard Löwen took five shots, Werner added three, and the Earthquakes kept recycling attacks instead of settling for hopeful possession. LAFC’s 33 clearances and 19 interceptions capture just how much emergency defending the visitors were doing to protect that one-goal edge.

The equalizer arrived in stoppage time, and it came from a player who made every touch count. At 90+8', Beau Leroux set up Reid Roberts, who hit a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner. Roberts finished with two shots, both on target, and his strike turned San Jose’s territorial control into something tangible before the final whistle.

Our take: the draw praised San Jose’s persistence and questioned both teams’ control

Our take: San Jose earned this point, but the match also showed why big possession totals do not automatically become comfortable nights. The Earthquakes had 21 shots and nine on target, yet they spent most of the evening trailing because too many promising situations stalled before the final action. The clearest area to sharpen is in delivery and access: only four of their 30 crosses were accurate, and eight of their shots were blocked. When a team owns that much of the ball, cleaner service and quicker shooting windows are the difference between a comeback and a chase.

Our take: LAFC can feel good about the finishing and still understand the warning inside the result. Son delivered a goal and an assist, Bouanga scored with his only shot, and Lloris stood up under sustained pressure. But a line of 31.1 percent possession, three total shots and just three corners suggests this was less a case of control than endurance. A 2-2 draw can hold two truths at once: San Jose will view it as overdue justice after a 21-3 shot advantage, and LAFC will know that living that close to their own box for that long is a difficult way to protect any lead.

Scoring moments

1. Period 1 · 34'

   Son Heung-Min scored for Los Angeles Football Club in minute 34. The assist went to Mark Delgado.

2. Period 2 · 53'

   Denis Bouanga scored for Los Angeles Football Club in minute 53. The assist went to Son Heung-Min.

3. Period 2 · 70'

   Preston Judd scored for San Jose Earthquakes in minute 70. The assist went to Timo Werner.

4. Period 2 · 90'+8'

   Reid Roberts scored for San Jose Earthquakes in minute 90'+8. The assist went to Beau Leroux.