Son Heung-min scores 1st MLS hat trick in 4-1 LAFC win over RSL
by Caleb Turner kslcom · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Son Heung-min scored his first MLS hat trick in LAFC's 4-1 win over RSL.
- Denis Bouanga added a goal as LAFC defeated Real Salt Lake Wednesday.
- RSL's Zavier Gozo scored with a bicycle kick; RSL faces LAFC again Sunday.
SANDY — It took Son Heung-min six games in MLS to get a hat trick, and he did it in Sandy.
The South Korean superstar scored in the third, 16th and 82nd minutes on Wednesday at America First Field to reach five goals in his six MLS matches and move LAFC to three wins, two draws and one loss since his debut on Aug. 9.
Denis Bouanga added a final goal in the 88th minute to hand Real Salt Lake a 4-1 loss at home, keeping the Claret and Cobalt on the outside of the playoffs with five games remaining in the regular season.
"They're a team that took advantage of fortuitous moments," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "Obviously, Son, he's a killer, but I think from our standpoint, I think we've just got to be a bit more physical."
If by physical, Mastroeni means faster, it might've helped. LAFC used its speedy duo up top to launch dangerous counterattacks seemingly at will, catching RSL's back line flat-footed and behind the ball on three of the four goals.
The fourth goal resulted from Son receiving the ball at the top of the box, and no RSL defenders stepped up to stop his long-distance curler around keeper Rafael Cabral.
On the other side, RSL had more than its fair share of chances, putting up 20 total shots and four on goal — an interesting number considering the final score. The best chance came on a penalty in the 56th minute that Rwan Cruz hit off the post and into LAFC keeper Hugo Lloris' arms.
Perhaps the least likely chance of the night, however, resulted in RSL's lone goal. The ball dropped into the LAFC box in the 76th minute and Utah native Zavier Gozo launched his body into the air and finished an acrobatic bicycle kick into the far netting.
It was the 18-year-old's fourth goal of the season to put him in second place on the team behind Diego Luna.
In a sick twist of fate, RSL's next match is also against LAFC on Sunday on the road. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MDT on FS1 and MLS Season Pass.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Caleb Turner
Caleb Turner covers Real Salt Lake as the team's beat writer for KSL.com Sports. He also oversees the sports team's social media accounts.