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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Football Club advanced to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals for the second time in franchise history on Wednesday.
Goals by Timothy Tillman, David Martínez and Mateusz Bogusz propelled the Black & Gold to a 3-1 victory over the New Mexico United.
Beating a third consecutive USL Championship opponent in the 109th edition of the oldest soccer tournament in America, LAFC will visit the Seattle Sounders at the end of August with a spot in the final on the line.
LAFC jumped ahead in the sixth minute when Tillman scored for the first time since they stopped Loudoun United FC in their previous Open Cup appearance back in May.
Playing in front of an announced crowd of 7,846, roughly a third of BMO Stadium’s capacity, New Mexico goalkeeper Alex Tambakis knocked away a cross from Bogusz that was intended for Kei Kamara.
Tillman pounced with a first-time shot in front of roughly 500 traveling New Mexico supporters known as the “Curse,” who were clad in yellow and stood for the duration of the match.
Half an hour later, Martínez delivered a two-goal advantage for LAFC with what proved to be the game-winner.
Again Bogusz was in the middle of the action, feeding the 18-year-old Venezuelan a through ball into the box that bypassed several defenders.
Slated to earn his first MLS start for Sunday’s postponed match at Houston, Martínez immediately turned and drilled a hard first-time shot with his left foot before converting the rebound with his right inside the far post.
The story of the match remained the same until New Mexico provided its supporters some hope near the 1-hour mark with one of its rare chances on the night.
Greg Hurst, the top goal-scorer for the first-place team in the USL Championship’s Western Conference, made a move outside the box and beat Lloris with a dipping shot to the far post.
But LAFC added an insurance goal in the 77th minute when Bogusz made a strong run from inside the midfield line.
Darting past a handful of New Mexico players, the Polish attacker drove across the box before cutting back and delivering a 3-1 advantage that extended LAFC’s unbeaten streak to 13 games across all competitions, the most in its seven-year history.
More to come on this story.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/07/10/lafc-beats-new-mexico-united-to-reach-u-s-open-cup-semifinals/