LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ousseni Bouda scored two goals in the second half, ending Hugo Lloris’ scoreless run to begin the season at 593 minutes, and the San Jose Earthquakes stunned Los Angeles FC 4-1 on Sunday night in an early Western Conference showdown.
San Jose (7-1-0) moves into a first-place tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield races in the Earthquakes’ second season under head coach Bruce Arena.
Daniel De Sousa Britto missed a chance to tie Lloris with a sixth clean sheet on an own goal by Reid Roberts in the 74th minute. He had three saves.
Bouda used assists from newcomer Timo Werner — his third — and Beau Leroux to find the net in the 53rd minute after a scoreless first half.
Werner, sidelined the past two weeks with a lower-body injury, took a pass from Leroux three minutes later and scored his first MLS goal for a 2-0 lead. Leroux’s assists gives him four, matching his total last season in 33 appearances as a rookie.
An own goal on Ryan Porteous in the 59th minute made it 3-0 in a span of six minutes.
Bouda’s fourth goal of the season capped the scoring in the 80th minute. Niko Tsakiris notched his career-high fifth assist.
Lloris finished with two saves in a second straight loss for LAFC (5-2-1), third in the West. Lloris sat out a 2-1 road loss to the Portland Timbers.
San Jose has won all four of its road matches.
LAFC was 6-0-1 at BMO Stadium in all competitions entering play, outscoring its opponents 17-1.
Up next
LAFC: Hosts the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday..
San Jose: Hosts Austin FC on Wednesday.
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