LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nkosi Tafari headed in Son Heung-Min’s free kick in second-half stoppage time and LAFC beat Toluca FC 2-1 on Wednesday night in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal.
The aggregate winner will be decided on May 6 in Toluca.
Timothy Tillman gave LAFC a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute with his second goal in 17 games across all competitions this season. Tillman chested down Heung-Min’s touch and sent it past a diving Luis García.
LAFC appeared to take a 2-0 lead three minutes later when Jacob Shaffelburg redirected Sergi Palencia’s cross at the back post, but it was called back for offsides after a lengthy review.
Toluca tied it at 1-all in the 73rd on a bending shot from the top of the box by Jesús Ricardo Angulo for his 12th goal of the season.
LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris kept the game scoreless in the first half with a double save. Lloris’ reaction save denied Nicolás Castro’s header from close range and it sent him to the ground to block Jesús Gallardo’s rebound attempt at the near post.
LAFC was without forward Denis Bouanga, who has five goals in the tournament, and defender Eddie Segura due to yellow card accumulation.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (1) makes a save during the first half of the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match against Toluca Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Fans celebrate a goal by LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman during the second half of the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match against Toluca Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LAFC defender Nkosi Tafari celebrates his goal during the second half of the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match against Toluca Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alexandre Texier broke a tie 1:06 into the third period and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.
Rookie Jakub Dobes stopped 38 shots to help Montreal move within a victory of advancing for the first time since losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.
Brendan Gallagher got his first goal in his first game this series and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens.
“It's obviously exciting,” said Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch the first four games. “It's been a fun series to watch. I tried to follow their lead and find a way to contribute and I did that.”
Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal, where the teams split Games 3 and 4. All five games have been decided by one goal, including overtime in the first three.
Dominic James scored his first career playoff goal and Jake Guentzel also connected for the Lightning. They are one loss from being eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight season.
Tampa Bay has lost 10 of its last 12 home games in the postseason despite 460 consecutive sellouts.
“We got no choice now. We got to show up or we're out,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said.
Texier took a long pass from Lane Hutson, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that bounced off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove and into the net for a 3-2 lead early in the third.
“I'm not a 50-goal scorer,” Texier said. “When I have a chance, I just try to put it on net and sometimes you're lucky it's in and sometimes not.”
The Canadiens jumped ahead three minutes into the game when Gallagher wristed in a rebound after Vasilevskiy kicked away Alex Newhook’s backhander. Gallagher, the 14-year veteran, spent time the first four games giving the young players advice.
“I was happy for him and happy for us,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said about Gallagher. “Really happy the way he's handled everything and not surprised the way he played.”
Seconds after James blasted a slap shot past Dobes on a 2-on-1 breakaway, the Canadiens regained the lead. Dach skated down the left side, went around a defender, lost the puck, kicked it from his skate to his stick in front of the net and put it in.
Dach deactivated his Instagram account after receiving online criticism because his defensive lapse led to the winning goal in overtime in Game 2. He had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s 3-2 overtime win the next game.
Guentzel fired a slap shot between Dobes’ legs on another 2-on-1 breakaway to tie it at 2 late in the second. Guentzel has the best playoff goal-scoring ratio among American-born players in NHL history with 43 goals in 79 games.
The Lightning killed off a four-minute disadvantage after Ryan McDonagh’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period. The Canadiens managed just one shot on net during the power play.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17) watches his shot get past Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) for a goal during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) plays a loose puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) beats Montréal Canadiens center Phillip Danault (24) to a loose puck during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Montréal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Montréal Canadiens players celebrate their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
