Each minute that ticked away in the second half of Friday’s scoreless MLS playoff game with the Vancouver Whitecaps brought LAFC closer to what could have been the end of its season.
Without a goal, the best the team could hope for was a penalty-kick shootout, soccer’s version of a coin flip. Yet LAFC’s offense had shown little sign of life or urgency, going more than an hour without so much as a shot on target.
But that pressure produced poise, not panic. It inspired confidence, not confusion. And that was rewarded when Mateusz Bogusz’s goal in the 62nd minute gave LAFC a 1-0 win and a spot in the Western Conference semifinals for a third consecutive season.