St. Louis CITY SC Earn First-Ever Win Over LAFC as Totland and Santos Score in 2-1 Upset

Seven tries, zero wins. Then came Wednesday night.

St. Louis CITY SC beat LAFC 2-1 at Energizer Park, the first win in club history over the Black and Gold. Tomas Totland scored in the fourth minute, substitute Rafael Santos doubled the lead in the 64th, and Roman Bürki made the save of the night to protect it after David Martínez pulled one back. LAFC's own recap put it in plain numbers: it was St. Louis' first win over the Black and Gold in eight all-time meetings.

A Dream Start

The 22,423 fans had barely settled in when St. Louis struck. In the fourth minute, Eduard Löwen picked out Totland, and the midfielder finished with his right foot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. LAFC's recap described it as a tap-in at the back post off a low cross from Löwen, and St. Louis also credited Marcel Hartel with an assist on the move. The club says it was Totland's first goal of the 2026 regular season.

The early joy came with a scare. Jaziel Orozco went down in the eighth minute, and two minutes later Santos replaced him because of an injury. Nobody in the building knew it yet, but that forced change would decide the night.

From there, LAFC slowly took over the ball. St. Louis created only scattered looks, with Hartel missing to the left in the 22nd minute and Daniel Edelman firing wide in the 34th. LAFC's pressure built late in the half: Son Heung-Min forced Bürki into a save toward the bottom left corner in the 44th minute, Ryan Raposo sent an effort just over a moment later, and Nkosi Tafari headed over from very close range in first-half stoppage time. According to St. Louis, LAFC managed only one shot on goal before the break.

The Turning Point

LAFC kept coming after halftime. Tafari headed wide off a corner in the 54th minute, and Bürki stopped Eddie Segura from outside the box right after. Denis Bouanga sent one high and wide in the 63rd.

Then St. Louis landed the counterpunch. In the 64th minute, Santos, the injury replacement, found himself in the right place, and his right-footed shot from the center of the box went into the bottom left corner. LAFC's recap said he collected a loose ball after a counterattack and fired through traffic. It was Santos' first goal of the season and the fourth of his MLS career, according to St. Louis. LAFC had been knocking on the door. Suddenly they were down two.

LAFC Pushes, Bürki Answers

LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos went to his bench in the 70th minute, sending on Martínez for Tyler Boyd, and it took three minutes to pay off. Tafari launched a through ball over the top, and Martínez finished with a left-footed shot from outside the box. LAFC's recap says the Venezuelan lifted a one-touch effort over the onrushing goalkeeper for his fourth goal of the regular season. Tafari's assist was his first of the 2026 regular season, per the club.

Dos Santos then threw on Jacob Shaffelburg, Stephen Eustáquio and Nathan Ordaz in the 77th minute, and the visitors piled on the pressure. The big moment came in the 81st. Martínez had a shot from distance blocked, and Aaron Long fired from the center of the box toward the top right corner, only for Bürki to make the stop. LAFC's own recap called it a terrific reaction save. That was the equalizer that never was.

Star Turns

Roman Bürki. Three saves, per ESPN, and the one on Long was worth a point by itself. The St. Louis captain made the difference on a night his team was badly out-possessed.

Rafael Santos. Thrust into the game in the 10th minute, he took two shots, put one on target and scored the winner.

Tomas Totland. The opening goal, plus a yellow card in the 49th minute for good measure.

Eduard Löwen. The assist on the opener, and per the club, it made him the first player in St. Louis history to record 30 regular-season goal contributions at Energizer Park.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: LAFC held 62.3 percent of the ball and completed 597 passes to St. Louis' 348.
• Shots: LAFC outshot St. Louis 16-8 and put four on target to St. Louis' two.
• Saves: Bürki made three. Hugo Lloris did not have to make one, because both St. Louis shots on target went in.
• Clearances: St. Louis made 38 clearances to LAFC's seven.
• Corners: LAFC earned eight corners to St. Louis' two.

What It Means

St. Louis improved to 3-3-6 with 12 points and have now won back-to-back league games after a 1-0 victory at the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. It was also their first home win since a 3-1 victory over the New England Revolution on March 21, and it came after a 2-0 loss to LAFC in Los Angeles on March 14. Revenge served at home.

LAFC fell to 6-3-4 with 21 points and are winless in three league matches, including Sunday's 4-1 home loss to the Houston Dynamo. For a team that opened the season with four straight wins, that is a worrying slide.

St. Louis visit D.C. United at Audi Field on Saturday, May 16, for the first time, according to the club, while LAFC head to Nashville SC on Sunday, May 17.

Closing Take

This felt like the classic underdog movie where the scrappy team gets outplayed for 80 minutes and wins anyway. LAFC had the ball, the shots and the star power, including Son and Bouanga up front. St. Louis had two finishes, a goalkeeper in the right spot and a 10th-minute substitute who turned a bad break into the winner. After eight tries, CITY SC finally have a happy ending against LAFC.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from St. Louis CITY SC's and LAFC's official sites. No postgame quotes were published on the official pages reviewed.