LAFC Set MLS Record With Fifth Straight Season-Opening Shutout in 0-0 Draw at Austin FC

Myrto Uzuni thought he had done it twice. Once in the 63rd minute, when the ball hit the back of the net and the VAR monitor took it away. Then again in stoppage time, when his long-range strike looked headed for the top corner and Hugo Lloris flew across to say no.

LAFC and Austin FC played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday night at Q2 Stadium, and the scoreline was history for the visitors. LAFC became the first club in MLS history to open a season with five consecutive clean sheets, according to the club, and MLS said the shutout run now stands at 450 minutes. Austin, meanwhile, became the first team to take points off LAFC in MLS play this season.

Austin Holds the Ball, LAFC Holds the Line

Austin had the ball for 62.1 percent of the night and completed 613 passes to LAFC's 363. What the home side did not have was a clear look at goal. Uzuni fired over from the center of the box in the fourth minute and had a shot blocked in the 14th, and that was about it for the opening stretch. Austin's wide play was busy but blunt all night: 23 crosses, only six of them accurate.

LAFC created the better first-half chances. Timothy Tillman dragged a shot just wide in the 12th minute after a Son Heung-Min pass, Son had shots blocked in the 24th and 34th minutes, and in the 40th Denis Bouanga headed wide from very close range off a Tillman cross. It was the kind of miss that usually comes back to haunt you.

The half got feisty, too. Tillman and Eddie Segura were booked for LAFC, and Jon Bell picked up a yellow for Austin in first-half stoppage time.

The Goal That Wasn't

Bouanga broke out on the left in the 50th minute and, as LAFC put it, his shot rolled across the face of goal. Then came the night's biggest moment. In the 63rd minute, Uzuni put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review. LAFC's recap said the referee ruled that an Austin player had been offside; Austin's recap called it a volley that was disallowed following a video review. Uzuni was booked two minutes later.

That is the turning point. LAFC's recap said the record for consecutive minutes without conceding to start a season fell moments later, at 428. If Uzuni's finish stands, Austin leads, the record dies, and the final half-hour looks completely different.

Late Drama at Both Ends

Both coaches turned to their benches, and the game opened up. Christian Ramírez headed a Facundo Torres cross wide in the 78th minute, Uzuni fired over again in the 80th, and LAFC substitute Amin Boudri pulled a shot wide in the 81st.

Then LAFC nearly stole it. In the 85th minute, Mark Delgado cracked a shot from outside the box off the crossbar. In the first minute of stoppage time, Bouanga finally forced Brad Stuver into a save from the left side of the box, LAFC's only shot on target all night.

Austin got its matching moment three minutes later. Uzuni took aim from outside the box, and Lloris made what MLS described as a diving stop to tip the ball over the bar. Torres headed over in the final minute of stoppage time, and the record was safe.

The Standouts

Lloris made only one save, but it was the one that mattered. His head coach, Marc Dos Santos, made it clear the goalkeeper's value goes beyond that moment. "He's a leader, not only with the save. The save is one big moment, but then he communicates with the back line really well," Dos Santos said.

Nkosi Tafari, the center back alongside Ryan Porteous, was LAFC's voice afterward. "It's a wonderful thing. I mean, before anything else, I am a center back," he said. "We don't always get the goals, and more times than not, we definitely don't get the credit. It's mostly just the blame."

For Austin, Uzuni was the most dangerous player on the field: four shots, one disallowed goal and the stoppage-time effort that Lloris had to be at his best to stop. For LAFC, Bouanga and Son took four shots apiece, but only Bouanga's late effort tested Stuver. Austin's Stuver, meanwhile, made his 119th consecutive league start for the club, which Austin said is now the second-longest start streak in league history.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Austin 62.1 percent, LAFC 37.9 percent.
• Shots on target: One each, from 10 Austin shots and 12 LAFC shots.
• Saves: One each for Stuver and Lloris.
• Clearances: LAFC 26, Austin 12.
• Interceptions: LAFC 13, Austin 6.

What It Means

LAFC is 4-1-0 with 13 points, and its own recap said the club stands alone in first place in the Western Conference. The draw ends a perfect four-match start, but LAFC said it is now 7W-0L-2D across all competitions. After the international break, LAFC hosts Orlando City on April 4 before a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal against Cruz Azul, according to MLS.

Dos Santos credited the whole unit, not just the back line. "The midfielders have been really aggressive in front of the back four," he said.

Austin is 1-2-2 with 5 points. The draw ended a two-match losing streak, and the home side is still unbeaten at Q2 Stadium this season after a 2-2 draw with Minnesota and a 1-0 win over D.C. United. The club said the crowd of 20,738 was its 91st consecutive MLS home sellout, extending the league's longest active streak. Austin visits Inter Miami on April 4.

Closing Take

Records like this are usually built on boring nights, and this one was boring right up until it wasn't. A disallowed goal, a crossbar and a flying Lloris save later, LAFC's defense has its name in the MLS history books. Tafari summed up the ambition. "We absolutely want to be champions," he said. Five games, zero goals allowed: it's a decent opening argument.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com; additional notes from LAFC and Austin FC.