Son Heung-min Celebrates Historic LAFC Milestone with Heartfelt Gratitude
Son Heung-min didn't hesitate to display his brilliance in Major League Soccer, needing only six matches in America to claim his inaugural hat trick while wearing LAFC colors.
LAFC dominated Real Salt Lake during Wednesday evening's encounter. Demonstrating the full extent of their offensive capabilities, the Black and Gold crushed their Western Conference rivals 4–1 away from home.
Son required merely 16 minutes to net twice, though the South Korean star wasn't finished. During the 82nd minute, he sealed the victory by completing his treble.
"Yeah, it's incredible to achieve my first hat trick in MLS," Son commented following the match. "Extremely, extremely pleased. Thankful to everybody. Fantastic pass from Timmy [Timothy Tillman] for the opening goal, second strike Ryan [Hollingshead] and final goal Denis [Bouanga].
"I'm extremely, extremely appreciative. But also the defenders who performed exceptionally well. So yeah, delighted to earn us three points."
"Whether I find the net or not, I'm relishing playing for this organization and achieving positive results on the road. Naturally I want to contribute to the squad. I'm savoring every single second, every single moment and every single practice session as well as every single match," Son continued.
Since appearing for slightly more than 30 minutes during his MLS premiere on Aug. 9, Son has netted five times and recorded one assist across his following five outings for the team. Counting his recent performances for South Korea's national squad, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur player has found the back of the net in four straight contests.
With Son partnering alongside Bouanga, who scored LAFC's fourth goal to establish himself as the franchise's record goalscorer, Steve Cherundolo possesses two of MLS's finest forwards to orchestrate a significant playoff campaign.
Following their triumph over Real Salt Lake, LAFC climbed to fourth place in the Western Conference table while maintaining two games in reserve.