LAFC Drops First Game of the Season, 2-1, at Portland Timbers
MLS Los Angeles FC

LAFC Drops First Game of the Season, 2-1, at Portland Timbers

Published on April 11, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release


Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) suffered its first loss of the season, falling 2-1 to the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday afternoon. Jude Terry scored his first goal for the Black & Gold in his first start for the club.

The defining moment of the first half was preceded by a collision between LAFC defender Artem Smoliakov and goalkeeper Thomas Hasal that caused Hasal to be withdrawn due to injury in the 30th minute. In his place, LAFC sent on Cabral Carter for his MLS debut, only to see Kristoffer Velde open the scoring for the Timbers two minutes later.

Down 1-0 entering the second half, two of LAFC's Homegrown players combined to draw the Black & Gold level. Matt Evans, making his first start for the team, laid the ball off for Terry, who curled a magnificent shot from outside the box into the far, top corner in the 49th minute.

LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos emptied his bench throughout the second half and nearly reaped the rewards when a cross from Timothy Tillman was met by fellow substitute Ryan Porteous, but the resulting goal that would have given the Black & Gold a late, 2-1 lead was called back for offside in the build-up.

Instead, it was the Timbers that stole three points with a last-gasp, headed goal by Kevin Kelsey in the sixth minute of stoppage time, giving Portland the 2-1 win.

LAFC next travels to Puebla, Mexico for the second leg of its quarterfinal series against Liga MX giants Cruz Azul in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday, April 14. The elimination match is scheduled to kick off from Estadio Cuauhtémoc at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday evening and will be broadcast on FS1 (English) and TUDN (Spanish) in the United States, OneSoccer in Canada, ConcacafGO and Coupang Play in Korea. Local radio coverage will be available on 710 AM ESPN LA (English), 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish), and K-Radio 1230 AM (Korean).

NOTES:

With the result, LAFC is now 5-1-1 for 16 points. In all competitions, LAFC is 9-1-2 while outscoring opponents 28-5.

Portland's goal in the 32nd minute ended LAFC's season-opening shutout streak at 572 minutes. It was the longest shutout streak to start a season in MLS history and set a new club record for longest shutout streak in regular-season play.

Home-grown players Matt Evans and Jude Terry each made their first career start for LAFC. Evans made his debut for the first team as a second half substitute in the team's opening match of the season, a 6-1 road win against Real España in Concacaf Champions Cup action on Feb. 17, while Terry followed suit a week later in the second leg of that series, coming on at halftime of LAFC's 1-0 win on Feb. 24.

Goalkeeper Thomas Hasal made his first league start of the season. He previously started LAFC's 1-0 win against Real España in Champions Cup play on Feb. 24, saving a penalty in the 90th minute to preserve the victory and earn a shutout.

Cabral Carter made his MLS debut for LAFC, coming on in the 30th minute after Hasal was injured.

Defender Artem Smoliakov made his first start of the season for LAFC across all competitions. He previously saw action as a substitute in two Champions Cup matches.

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 11, 2026


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