When the ball hit the crossbar in the waning seconds of extra time, then crashed off the left post, and subsequently came off the crossbar again, the pure MLS-ness of Saturday night’s Western Conference semifinal was confirmed.
The match between two of the best teams in the West and two of the league’s biggest stars — Son Heung-min and Thomas Müller — lived up to expectations. And then some.
Son scored one of the most memorable and clutch free-kick goals in MLS history. It was overshadowed by the fight and effort of nine-man Vancouver, and by players such as Sebastian Berhalter and Mathías Laborda, who threw themselves around the pitch to get the game to penalties and then buried their spot kicks to see the Whitecaps through to the MLS conference finals for the first time in their history.
“The brutal beauty of our game,” Müller told Apple TV. “I am so proud, so proud of the group.”
The conference semifinal, every bit of it, was what MLS (and especially the playoffs) can be at its very best — imperfect, but wild, star-driven and entertaining. The soccer isn’t always the best. LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris lamented the poor quality of the artificial surface at BC Place. But the second half and extra time delivered on entertainment value.
Vancouver, down two players and under constant siege, held off LAFC’s potent attack and, with the help of the frame of the goal, survived and won 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Thomas Müller celebrates with Sebastian Berhalter after the Whitecaps eliminate LAFC (Rich Lam / Getty Images)
“I don’t think we saw an excellent football match,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I don’t think the football was out of this world. I think we, both teams, can play better. (But) as far as excitement goes, I think that’s pretty, pretty damn good.”
The first half felt as though it might not be the type of back-and-forth heavyweight fight the neutrals were hoping for. Vancouver was firmly in control of the game, and it scored two goals in five minutes to go into the break with a solid lead. The first was far too easy from LAFC, with Emmanuel Sabbi sprinting past the back line and latching onto a long ball from goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, then chipping Lloris on the breakaway. Five minutes later, Müller’s header forced Lloris into a save, but the French goalkeeper only managed to push the ball to Laborda for an easy close-range finish.
LAFC came out far better in the second half. Son halved the lead in the 60th minute after a scramble in the box, overcoming the Whitecaps’ desperate defending. And then, in the fifth minute of added time, he had his hero moment.
As he prepared to take a free-kick from outside the left side of the box, Son stood patiently waiting for the wall to be set. When it finally was, he pushed onto his toes and then back onto his heels. Then he did it again. And one more time.
The seconds passing by felt like an eternity. Son was weighing the moment. Then the South Korean superstar curled his free-kick into the upper corner for a heroic 95th-minute equalizer.
SON HEUNG MIN FREE KICK EQUALIZER IN THE 95TH MINUTE! 😱🚨@LAFC // AUDI MLS CUP PLAYOFFS pic.twitter.com/LDF3RYWXsG
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 23, 2025
This was the type of moment we have come to expect in MLS. It was reminiscent of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut in Leagues Cup in 2023. It’s what the biggest stars tend to do in the biggest moments: when everyone stops to see if they can, they deliver.
“An amazing free kick from Sonny,” Müller said. “He’s a hell of a player.”
Of all of the things that happened in the semifinal, Son’s free kick — even in a losing effort — was enormously important. It was the type of moment that matters for MLS because it resonates beyond the league’s typical niche circles.
As much as the league wants to talk about its progress, it still has so far to go to truly matter in the greater sporting landscape.
As MLS considers how it wants to move forward into its next phase of growth, it has two important tasks to accomplish. The first is to close the quality gap. While MLS likes to say it has improved, that’s only if it measures progress against itself. The league’s on-field product has fallen further behind the best leagues in the world.
But, just as importantly, MLS has to close the perception gap. Sports fans in the U.S. with little idea about soccer mostly know MLS as lesser than. In order to convince people that MLS is worth watching, the league needs to bring fans into the product. That’s where star power still plays an important role.
The overwhelming popularity and commercial success of Messi in Miami was an eye-opener for league owners. No, Messi is not replicable. But it was a reminder that casual sports and soccer fans still want to watch their idols. It’s why, in part, LAFC and Vancouver chased Son and Müller respectively.
And it’s why Saturday night’s game was such an important moment for the league.
Two of its best teams lined up in a must-win knockout game. A sold-out crowd of 53,957 — an MLS-era attendance record for Vancouver — was in the building not just to watch Vancouver against LAFC, but also to see the German legend take on Son. Those stars made it a true must-watch game.
The stars — and the teams — delivered.
Son Heung-min celebrates after a heroic free kick in second-half stoppage time (Rich Lam / Getty Images)
These are the types of games the league needs to convince people to tune in. And they need more people to tune in for the league to have a real chance at meaningful growth.
“We should appreciate that the game was entertaining,” Son said. “That’s what we are looking for. As much as we’re playing for playoffs, we want to make good games so that people are coming to the stadiums, people are watching the good goals, people are watching for the victories. Today, unfortunately, it was for Vancouver, but I think generally the game for MLS, it was huge.
“What can I say, sometimes football is crazy like this. That’s why we love football.”
The hope will be that maybe a few thousand people who showed up at BC Place for the big-name stars and the spectacle of such a moment will be back for the conference final. Or will tune in to watch it — this time not just for Müller or Son or any other big name, but for the nine players left on the field that were pushing themselves to the absolute maximum to secure the result.
Their fight on Saturday night became the show.
Vancouver went down a man in added time of the second half when MLS Defender of the Year Tristan Blackmon was sent off. They went down another man, and key defender, in the 110th minute when Belal Halbouni left injured with the club out of substitutions. LAFC continued to throw everything at the Whitecaps. Somehow, the nine players left on the field fought it off, with Berhalter acting as an emotional catalyst for the crowd.
Sebastian Berhalter led the charge for Vancouver, with an emotional display for the sold-out crowd at BC Place (Rich Lam / Getty Images)
LAFC held 84 percent possession through the 30 minutes of extra time and had eight shots to Vancouver’s zero. And yet the Whitecaps held on. In penalties, Son smashed his penalty off the post on LAFC’s first kick and Mark Delgado put his over the bar, but Lloris’s save on Edier Ocampo wasn’t enough. Laborda’s penalty in the fifth round was decisive.
“This group is working so hard,” Müller said. “And when you look in the crowd, it’s unbelievable. We achieved this for us and for them.”
The Whitecaps have been this team for most of the season. They are a front-foot group, one that dispatched Messi’s Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup earlier this year, then added a Bayern Munich legend to the lineup. Now, they have a chance to truly push for a trophy.
“We all believe, and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Berhalter said on Apple TV. “When you have 26-27 guys on a roster believing, regardless of their role, it makes all the difference.”
After Saturday night’s performance, there’s more than just 26 or 27 guys on the roster believing Vancouver can make a title run.
