Ventura County FC left Titan Stadium on Saturday night with 2 points from a penalty shootout against LAFC 2 and a spot in the MLS Next Pro Playoffs.

VCFC struck first in the third match up between these teams this season. Mason Vanney linked up with VCFC’s latest signing, Danny Ittycheria, in the 29th minute. Ittycheria, previously a forward for Whitecaps II, laid the ball of for Vanny on the right flank to drive into the box. Vanney took his space and struck it to the bottom left corner to make it 1-0. This was Mason Vanney’s second goal this season and Ittycheria’s first goal involvement as a VCFC player.

LAFC responded in the 36th minute to make it all square. A cross into the VCFC box deflected and fell to LAFC forward Giuliano Whitchurch. From yards away, Whitchurch slid it past Sebastian Conlon to tie the game.

HALFTIME: VCFC 1 – LAFC 1

With both teams unable to find the winner in 90 minutes, the game went to a penalty shootout. Julian Placias and Vinny Garcia scored their penalties, while LAFC’s second and third shooters missed and had their shot saved, respectively. Enrique Martinez stepped up to take the fourth penalty for VCFC and made no mistake. 

The result meant VCFC had locked in a spot in the 2026 MLS Next Pro Playoffs. With just three games left in the regular season, VCFC will look to secure a top 4 spot for a home playoff match.

FINAL SCORE: VCFC 1 (4) – LAFC 1 (2)