Kei Kamara passes Landon Donovan for 2nd-most MLS goals during LAFC’s 6-2 romp over the Earthquakes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kei Kamara scored in the first half to pass Landon Donovan for the second-most goals in MLS history, and Mateusz Bogusz scored twice in Los Angeles FC’s 6-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
LAFC was already ahead 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Kamara rose above the San Jose defense to head home the 146th goal of his MLS career, surpassing Donovan’s career total. LAFC is the 11th MLS club for the 39-year-old Kamara, who arrived in Los Angeles in March and has now scored goals in back-to-back games.
“I was just enjoying the moment, and that’s what I’ve always done in my career, just to enjoy this journey,” Kamara said. “To come from Sierra Leone as a Muslim refugee to this country, becoming a U.S. citizen and having this opportunity to do what I love, and then to come back to LA, it’s full circle. And I won’t stop now, because I feel too good.”
Kamara emigrated to the U.S. from Sierra Leone as a teenager, eventually settling in nearby Hawthorne, California, and attending Cal State-Dominguez Hills. The Quakes are one of Kamara’s 10 former MLS teams, thanks to a 12-game stay in 2008. Kamara is in his 19th professional season, including 17 in MLS.
Only former San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski (171) has scored more MLS goals than Kamara.
Wondolowski was at Chico State while Kamara was at Dominguez Hills, and Kamara has always looked up to him as an example of a non-Division I player who reached the highest levels of the U.S. sport.
“I don’t want to pass Wondo,” Kamara said with a grin. “He just kept setting the bar higher and higher for me every year. So to be 1 and 2, it’s just a dream. I just want to be 1 and 2, just me and Wondo. It’s a good day.”
Bogusz, Denis Bouanga, Kamara and Ryan Hollingshead scored in an overwhelming first half for LAFC, which is unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches across all competitions. Hollingshead also had three assists, and Bouanga had two.
Bogusz scored again shortly after halftime for LAFC, which is unbeaten in eight straight MLS matches to move even with the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake atop the Western Conference standings with 37 points apiece. LAFC has one game in hand.
“We finished out a good week,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “(From) two away games and a home game, seven points is really good. I was really, really happy with the start of the game, almost the entire first half until the last action. I was very pleased. That’s a lot of what we’ve been working on, and it’s fun for coaches to watch when it works
Tomás Ángel added his first MLS goal in the final minutes for LAFC.
Rodrigues and Benjamin Kikanovic scored for the MLS-worst Quakes, who have lost four straight. San Jose is winless in eight consecutive matches across all competitions since May 11.
LAFC scored four times on 10 shots during the first half, showing off the back-to-back Western Conference champions’ potency on offense even before the anticipated arrival of French scoring star Olivier Giroud next month.
Ángel came on as a late substitute, and the 21-year-old Colombian forward quickly drove home his first goal in his fourth match for LAFC. Ángel is the son of Juan Pablo Ángel, who scored 72 goals over six prolific MLS seasons with the New York Red Bulls, the Galaxy and Chivas USA.
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