By Tim Peterson
(Los Angeles) – LAFC found themselves down by two goals late in the first half to a team that was just one point out of last place in the Western Conference coming in to the match. But Carlos Vela (who else?) scored a couple minutes later and Jose Cifuentes found the back of the net in the 71st minute to salvage the tie. Although a tie is considered tantamount to kissing your sister, given the alternative LAFC will take a 2-2 draw with Vancouver Saturday night at Banc of California Stadium.
Vancouver broke the ice with a goal in the 25th minute when Deiber Caicedo scored off of a center pass from Cristian Dajome.
LAFC had an opportunity earlier but Cifuentes’ shot from distance was saved by Whitecaps goalkeeper Thomas Hasan in the 13th minute.
After Dajome’s goal Carlos Vela couldn’t connect on a pass in front of the net in the 36th minute and the ball was knocked away.
The Whitecaps took the 2-0 advantage in the 38th minute as Dajome beat LAFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero in the box. LAFC immediately responded however when Vela took a forward pass from Eduard Atuesta, controlled it and fired it home two minutes later to cut the lead in half.
Three minutes of additional time were put on the clock but neither team could score and Vancouver took a 2-1 lead into the break.
LAFC had just two shots on target in the first half while Vancouver had three. Time of possession was nearly even. LAFC held a slight advantage at 51 percent to 49 for Vancouver.
In the second half Vela had another chance in the 64th but he was stopped by Hasal right in front.
LAFC got the tying score in the 75th minute on a bullet off the foot of Cifuentes. A pass by Diego Palacios set it up with a nice dish and Cifuentes handled it in the air and rammed it in for his fifth goal of the season.
Dajome scored what appeared to be the game winner for Vancouver in the 84th minute but his goal was disallowed after a review determined that a Vancouver player was standing in front of LAFC keeper Romero.
Two minutes of additional time in the second half were added but neither side could break through and the game ended in a draw.
LAFC is currently sitting in fifth place in the West after the tie with a record of 6-5-4. Vancouver is 3-7-5.
Next up for LAFC is a home game Wednesday night against Minnesota United FC.
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