Since MLS began awarding the Supporters’ Shield to the team with the best regular-season record in 1999, a bizarre trend emerged: those teams often failed to win MLS Cup. Critics dubbed it the “Supporters’ Shield curse.”
That changed in 2022, when LAFC shattered the jinx. After finishing the regular season with the best record (21 wins, 4 losses, 9 draws), they hosted Philadelphia Union in a legendary MLS Cup Final that ended 3–3 after extra time — including a stoppage-time header from Gareth Bale, who had just arrived from Real Madrid.
The game went to penalties, where LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy, a former Union player himself, became the unlikely hero with two crucial saves. LAFC won the shootout 3–0 and clinched their first MLS Cup title.
The match is still widely considered one of the greatest games in MLS history, and LAFC became the first team in a decade to win both the Shield and the Cup in the same season. The curse? Officially broken.
