Reid Roberts' Last-Gasp Rocket Earns Earthquakes 2-2 Draw With 10-Man LAFC

Reid Roberts admitted afterward that shooting is not exactly his specialty. On Saturday at Levi's Stadium, with the eighth and final minute of stoppage time almost gone, the San Jose Earthquakes center back decided to try anyway, and his low, left-footed strike from the top of the box got past a diving Hugo Lloris and into the bottom right corner.

That shot earned San Jose a 2-2 draw with 10-man LAFC, completed a comeback from two goals down and turned Denis Bouanga's record-setting night into a split decision. Nobody won. One locker room certainly felt like it had.

Son Strikes, Long Sees Red

In front of 40,518 fans, per the Quakes, LAFC landed the first punch in the 34th minute. Mark Delgado found Son Heung-Min, and the forward ripped a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner for what LAFC counted as his sixth goal of the MLS regular season.

Two minutes later, the whole match tilted. Aaron Long was sent off by referee Drew Fischer for denying Niko Tsakiris an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, leaving LAFC to play the rest of the night with 10 men. Head coach Marc Dos Santos answered at halftime by sending on center back Nkosi Tafari for attacker Armindo Sieb, while Bruce Arena threw on Preston Judd and Vítor Costa for San Jose.

Bouanga Makes History, Then the Siege Begins

Short-handed or not, LAFC still had a counterpunch. In the 53rd minute, Son carried a fast break through the middle and slipped the ball across for Bouanga, who finished with his right foot into the bottom left corner. It was Bouanga's 79th regular-season goal for LAFC, moving him past Carlos Vela (78) and into first place on the club's all-time MLS regular-season scoring list. Per the club, it was also his 14th MLS goal this season.

Then San Jose turned the field into a one-way street. Lloris stopped a Benji Kikanovic header in the 60th minute, then made back-to-back saves on a Judd header and an Eduard Löwen drive in the 63rd. The breakthrough finally came in the 70th, when second-half substitute Timo Werner delivered from the right and Judd rose to head it into the bottom right corner. According to the Quakes, it was his team-leading 13th goal of the season.

Three minutes later, LAFC thought they had their cushion back. Son's shot deflected off Roberts and over Angus Gunn, but according to the Quakes' recap, VAR wiped it out for a Sergi Palencia foul on Costa in the buildup. Delgado and Palencia were both booked within the next few minutes.

From there, it was Lloris against the world. He denied another Judd header in the 80th minute, Paul Marie in the 81st and Werner in the 82nd, and Werner fired another try just wide in the 90th.

Eight minutes were added. LAFC sent on former Quake Jeremy Ebobisse for Son and nearly saw it out. Nearly. Beau Leroux laid the ball off to Roberts at the top of the box, the defender took a touch and drilled it low into the corner. Two-all, with seconds left on the clock.

The Stars

Reid Roberts finished with two shots, both on target, and a goal that will live on Quakes highlight reels for a long time. Per the club, it was his third goal of the league season and of his career, and he was named San Jose's man of the match.

Hugo Lloris made seven saves and was the main reason LAFC were still ahead deep into stoppage time. Even the opposing coach gave him his flowers. "He made two or three very good saves," Arena said.

Denis Bouanga needed exactly one shot. One shot, one goal, one spot atop LAFC's regular-season scoring list. Per LAFC, he now has 79 goals in 127 career MLS regular-season appearances.

Son Heung-Min scored one and set up the other. LAFC say his assist was his 13th in the MLS regular season, tying Lionel Messi for the league lead. Fun subplot: Werner, who set up Judd's goal off the bench, is Son's former Tottenham Hotspur teammate, per the Quakes.

Preston Judd was a menace in the air. All three of his shots were headers, and all three hit the target.

The Turning Point

Long's red card. LAFC had been ahead for all of two minutes when he went off. After that, the match became a test of how long a 10-man block could survive against a team that finished with 21 shots. The answer, it turned out, was until the 98th minute.

Arena framed the comeback as a character check his team passed. "The fact that we went down two goals and came back and got a point out of the game is a tremendous test of character and competitiveness on our part," he said. He also gave the night a glowing review: "This was a really good MLS game today. A lot of quality out there."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: San Jose 21, LAFC 3. The Quakes put nine on target; LAFC put two on target and scored on both.
• Possession: San Jose held 68.9 percent and completed 566 passes to LAFC's 227.
• Saves: Lloris 7, Gunn 0.
• Corners and crosses: San Jose won 15 corners to LAFC's three and sent in 30 crosses.
• Defending: LAFC made 33 clearances and 19 interceptions trying to protect the lead.

What It Means

San Jose moved to 12-6-8 with 42 points, and the Quakes said the result keeps them fifth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of sixth-place LAFC. The draw stretched their unbeaten run to five league matches, and the club noted it was the first time all season they had erased a two-goal deficit after going 0-4-0 in that spot. They also secured the season series, having won 4-1 at BMO Stadium on April 19.

LAFC are 11-8-8 with 41 points and have just one win in their last seven league matches. They visit FC Dallas on Sept. 26, while San Jose host the Portland Timbers that night.

The Closing Take

Roberts said he had been eyeing shots from that spot all night and kept talking himself out of it. Then instinct took over. Every heist movie has the moment when the quiet member of the crew does the thing nobody planned, and on Saturday the Quakes' center back finally beat a keeper who had made seven saves. "I'm super happy I took the shot," Roberts said. So is everyone wearing black and blue.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by SJEarthquakes.com and LAFC.com.