VIDEO SHOWS: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS VS LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB IN MLS CUP PLAYOFFS WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS AT BC PLACE RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: (SOCCER UNITED MARKETING - Editorial use only. No more than 30 seconds per match. Must on screen courtesy 'MLS on Apple'. No use after December 31, 2025. No resales. No sublicensing. No monetisation) FIRST HALF 1. OPENING KICKOFF 2. GOAL - YOHEI TAKAOKA PASSING TO EMMANUEL SABBI WHO SCORES WITH LEFT-FOOTED SHOT FROM CENTER OF BOX IN 39TH MINUTE, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 1-0 LAFC 3. SABBI CELEBRATING 4. REPLAY OF SABBI'S GOAL 5. GOAL - MATHIAS LABORDA SCORING IN FIRST-HALF ADDED TIME WITH RIGHT-FOOTED SHOT FROM RIGHT SIDE OF BOX FOLLOWING CORNER, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 2-0 LAFC 6. LABORDA CELEBRATING WITH TEAMMATES 7. VANCOUVER FANS CELEBRATING 8. VANCOUVER PLAYERS CELEBRATING 9. REPLAY OF LABORDA'S GOAL SECOND HALF 10. GOAL - SON HEUNG-MIN SCORING WITH LEFT-FOOTED SHOT FROM CLOSE RANGE IN 60TH MINUTE, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 2-1 LAFC 11. SON HEUNG-MIN CELEBRATING 12. VANCOUVER FANS LOOKING DISAPPOINTED 13. RED CARD - VANCOUVER'S TRISTAN BLACKMON FOULING DENIS BOUANGA AND RECEIVING SECOND YELLOW CARD 14. VARIOUS REPLAYS OF BLACKMON'S FOUL 15. GOAL - SON HEUNG-MIN SCORING FROM FREE KICK WITH RIGHT-FOOTED SHOT IN SECOND-HALF ADDED TIME, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 2-2 LAFC 16. SON CELEBRATING 17. LAFC MANAGER STEVE CHERUNDOLO 18. LAFC TEAM CELEBRATING 19. SON CELEBRATING 20. VARIOUS REPLAYS OF SON'S GOAL 21. MARK DELGADO 22. DELGADO MISSING PENALTY / VANCOUVER GOALKEEPER YOHEI TAKAOKA / DELGADO 23. VARIOUS REPLAYS OF DELGADO'S MISSED PENALTY 24. LABORDA 25. LABORDA SCORING PENALTY 26. VARIOUS OF LABORDA CELEBRATING STORY: Mathias Laborda scored the decisive penalty and a pivotal first-half goal as the nine-man Vancouver Whitecaps edged past Los Angeles FC 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday (November 22) following a 2-2 draw. Sebastian Berhalter, Jayden Nelson, and Ryan Gauld also converted in the shootout to propel Vancouver to its first Western Conference Final in the club's 15-season Major League Soccer stint, overcoming a second-half comeback from LAFC. The No. 2-seeded Whitecaps will face the winner of Monday's (November 24) semifinal between top-seeded San Diego and No. 4 Minnesota. Emmanuel Sabbi opened the scoring for Vancouver in the 39th minute, looping a chip over LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris following a precision longball from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. Laborda doubled the lead just before halftime, reacting first to a rebound after Lloris parried Thomas Muller's header. LAFC's Son Heung-min led a resurgence for the visitors after the interval, scoring in the 60th minute on a third effort through a crowded Whitecaps defense and then curling a spectacular stoppage-time free kick into the top corner to force extra time. The dramatic equalizer came after Vancouver's Tristan Blackmon was sent off for a second yellow card, awarded for a foul on Denis Bouanga that set up Son's free kick. Vancouver went down to nine men during extra time after defender Belal Halbouni exited injured with all substitutions already used. LAFC pressed for a winner but was held at bay despite hitting the goalframe three times in quick succession, including two strikes by Bouanga and one by David Martinez. In the penalty shootout, Son hit the post with LAFC's opening attempt, and Mark Delgado fired wide late on. The result marked the final match under outgoing LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo. Vancouver controlled much of the first half, outshooting LAFC 7-1 overall and 5-0 on target. Sabbi and Laborda capitalized on that dominance with their goals, but LAFC recovered momentum after halftime with Son's efforts. Still, the Whitecaps held firm under immense pressure to secure their place in the conference final. (Production: Suramya Kaushik) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
