Los Angeles FC walked out of Shell Energy Stadium with a win for the first time since 2019, defeating the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Saturday night. The Black and Gold are currently 2-0-0 in Major League Soccer (MLS) competition and have won four straight in all competitions in just 12 days.
“After last year’s season ended, I thought we wanted to play as many games as possible,” forward Ryan Portis said. “We’re off to a really good start, but we know we’re not going to win anything in the first 12 days of the season. I think we’re very grounded… We’re going to stay very humble.”
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While the star duo of Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min lacked a scoring spark, Marc Delgado and Stephen Eustaquio stepped up to contribute in the second half. Son Heung-min was still making his presence felt, picking up two red cards against Antonio Carlos and Agustin Bouzat, leaving Houston without two men in the 76th minute.
“I thought, regardless of the red card, we pretty much controlled the game,” Portis said. “We knew it was going to be a tough spot and a tough game for us. It was a really good performance.”
In the 56th minute, Delgado scored for LAFC with a curling shot that bypassed Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.
In the final minutes, Eustaquio scored his first goal for Los Angeles with a timely goal. The 29-year-old midfielder joined the club in the off-season, ending his time at FC Porto.
Long-range strikes from Delgado and Eustaquiao were enough to send LAFC over the line, with Dynamo reduced to nine men. Son Heung-min made several attempts to extend the lead late in the game, but failed.
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Hugo Lloris made three saves to kick off the 2026 MLS campaign with his second game-winning performance. The 39-year-old has conceded just one goal in his first three games this year.
After splitting a season series with Houston last season, Los Angeles picked up its first win in two games against the team this year and its first loss. The historical head-to-head record is currently 8-5-6, with the Black and Gold winning.
LAFC will take six days off before resuming action with their home opener against FC Dallas on Saturday, March 7 at BMO Stadium. Dallas is off to a 1-1-0 start so far.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.
