
Los Angeles, CA – After a six-match road trip to start the season, the Los Angeles Football Club finally came home to open play at the Banc of California Stadium.
The sellout-crowd of 22,000 went wild as Laurent Simon’s free kick got passed Seattle goalkeeper Stephen Frei in the final minute of extra time to give LAFC a 1-0 win over the Sounders on Sunday.
“When I saw everybody marked, I just decided to hit it as hard as I can,” Ciman said, “There was a lot of excitement and everybody felt it.”
Seattle was intent on being physical with LAFC’s front line. Carlos Vela was roughed up and finished the match with six fouls. However, the final foul proved costly as it resulted in the game-winning free kick.
“Maybe the game was not the most fun to watch, but in the end, we won,” Vela said. “We played really hard from the back, and we scored in the last minute.”
It was a historic day for the Black and Gold as they won their first home game in club history. LAFC coach Bob Bradley said it’s nice not to inaugurate this wonderful place with 0-0.
“It’s amazing,” Bradley said. “All night long; not enough quality when we needed it and then Laurent steps up and nails one.”
LAFC is back in action Saturday, May 5 as they will host FC Dallas at 1 p.m.