Austin: Son Heung-min recorded a goal and an assist to help Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) through to the next round in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Playoffs. LAFC, No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, defeated sixth-seed Austin FC 4-1 in the second match of their first-round showdown at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, LAFC, who had won the opening match 2-1 at home Wednesday, took this best-of-three series in two games and will next play Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the single-elimination conference semifinals at BC Place in Vancouver, either on Nov. 22 or 23. Seeded second in the west, Vancouver knocked off No. 7 seed FC Dallas in the first round, with a 3-0 victory followed by a 4-2 win on penalties.

Son scored his first MLS playoff goal in the 21st minute with some individual effort. After taking a through ball from his partner, Denis Bouanga, Son sprinted down the left flank, faked out midfielder Ilie Sanchez with a change of pace and slotted a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. Four minutes later, the South Korean superstar returned the favor to Bouanga. Son, attacking on the right side, pulled goalkeeper Brad Stuver outside the box on a fast-break chance, leaving multiple defenders scrambling. Son passed the ball to Bouanga on the opposite wing, and the forward scored to put LAFC up 2-0.

Austin FC wasted an opportunity to cut the lead in half in the 39th minute, when Myrto Uzuni's penalty, awarded on Bouanga's handball violation in the box, was denied by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Bouanga made Austin FC pay for that by extending LAFC's lead to 3-0 with a 44th-minute goal. Austin FC earned another penalty during stoppage time in the first half, and Dani Pereira beat Lloris this time to bring his side within 3-1.

Austin FC thought they had pulled within one when CJ Fodrey put one into the net off a free kick in the 72nd minute, only to see the American forward ruled offside. LAFC still held a 3-1 lead when Son was subbed out for Jeremy Ebobisse in the 88th minute, and Ebobisse netted the team's final goal during stoppage time. Son now has 10 goals in only 12 matches in all competitions for LAFC after joining them in August.

LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo expressed satisfaction with his team's effort. "I think overall, our technical approach and the implementation of that from our guys was really good," he said in his post-match presser. "I think we were dangerous with the ball going forward in transition but also out of possession, so I was happy with both. I was happy with the amount of possession as well. Even with the lead in the second half, we tried to step up and press at times and possess the ball."

Cherundolo noted the challenge of stopping a dangerous attacker like Son. "If you're going to make a play, make a play outside of the box," he said. "Against great players like Sonny, you're not going to stop them every time, but what you can do is you can minimize the probability of his chances or the probability of him scoring, and you can minimize the quality of his chances."

Lloris, a teammate of Son's for eight years at Tottenham Hotspur, said Son's ability to score with both feet makes him difficult to stop. The French goalkeeper also highlighted Son's contributions away from the pitch. "He has no problem to shoot with (both of) his feet, and that's why he's got all those personal records," Lloris said. "I think it's not only about what he's doing on the field. It's also off the field. He's been fantastic for the team, and I see him really ambitious and really hungry. You can transmit this desire to win to his teammates. So that's great."