LAFC Reaches 50-Point Milestone In 2-0 Win Over San Jose
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Walker Zimmerman scored two goals and LAFC became the third MLS franchise to reach 50 points in its first season with a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Banc of California Stadium.
LAFC (14-7-8) is unbeaten in its last six matches. It joins the 1997 Chicago Fire (56) and 2017 Atlanta United (55) as the only teams to reach 50 points in an inaugural season. The win moves LAFC into a tie for second in the Western Conference with Dallas with five matches remaining. The top two teams in each conference earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
"It's good to get to 50 points, but we had a team meeting where the goal is to get to 60," LAFC coach Bob Bradley said. "We have five games left to get 10 points. Hopefully we can keep pushing ourselves as we go."
Zimmerman came into the game with no goals this season but scored a pair off of Carlos Vela's corner kicks. The first came in the 41st minute when Zimmerman was in the center of the box and headed in Vela's cross to the top left of the goal past keeper James Marcinkowski in the 41st minute.
He added another in the 68th minute when he was unguarded in the middle of the box and headed the ball past Marcinkowski.
LAFC outshot San Jose 8-1. Tyler Miller made one save for his ninth shutout of the season. Marcinkowski had six saves in the loss for the Earthquakes (4-18-8).
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