Ousseni Bouda nets a brace as San Jose Earthquakes surprise LAFC.
LOS ANGELES — Ousseni Bouda netted two goals in the second half, ending Hugo Lloris’ scoreless streak at the start of the season at 593 minutes, as the San Jose Earthquakes surprised Los Angeles FC with a 4-1 victory on Sunday night in an early Western Conference clash.
San Jose (7-1-0) has climbed into a tie for first place with the Vancouver Whitecaps in both the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings in the Earthquakes’ second season under head coach Bruce Arena.
Daniel De Sousa Britto missed the opportunity to equal Lloris with a sixth clean sheet due to an own goal by Reid Roberts in the 74th minute. He recorded three saves.
Bouda capitalized on assists from newcomer Timo Werner — his third — and Beau Leroux to score in the 53rd minute following a scoreless first half.
Werner, who had been sidelined for the previous two weeks with a lower-body injury, received a pass from Leroux three minutes later and scored his first MLS goal, extending the lead to 2-0. Leroux’s assists bring his total to four, matching his tally from last season in 33 appearances as a rookie.
An own goal by Ryan Porteous in the 59th minute increased the score to 3-0 within a span of six minutes.
Bouda’s fourth goal of the season concluded the scoring in the 80th minute. Niko Tsakiris achieved a career-high fifth assist.
Lloris recorded two saves in a second consecutive loss for LAFC (5-2-1), who sit third in the West. Lloris did not play in a 2-1 defeat to the Portland Timbers.
San Jose has won all four of its away matches.
LAFC had been 6-0-1 at BMO Stadium across all competitions prior to this match, having outscored their opponents 17-1.
