Son Heung-Min needed just six matches to stamp his name on Major League Soccer, and he did it in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night in Sandy, Utah.

The South Korean star scored a hat trick to power Los Angeles FC past Real Salt Lake 4-1 at America First Field on Sept. 17, keeping Real below the playoff line with five games left in the MLS regular season.

Son, who joined LAFC in early August after a decade with one of England top-flight clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, now has 5 goals in 6 MLS games. Denis Bouanga added the final blow in the 88th minute, his 19th goal of the season, to seal a dominant night for the visitors.

RSL (10-15-4, 34 points) remains in 10th place in the Western Conference and outside the wild card spots. Despite a crucial win over Sporting Kansas City last weekend, the club’s postseason odds sit at just 48% for a wild card and 36% for a playoff berth, according to Opta’s TheAnalyst.com.

“We have to almost win out,” head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “We have to find ways to get maximum points these next few games to keep the momentum going.”

The challenge became steeper after Son wasted little time punishing Salt Lake’s defense. He opened the scoring in the third minute when Timothy Tillman slipped him through on a breakaway, and the forward calmly beat goalkeeper Rafael Cabral.

In the 16th minute, Ryan Hollingshead fed Son outside the box. Given time and space, the veteran curled a powerful low strike past Cabral to double LAFC’s advantage.

RSL continued to press despite the early deficit, tallying 20 total shots and four on target, but failed to find a breakthrough. The best chance came in the 56th minute when Rwan Cruz stepped to the penalty spot, only to rattle his shot off the post into the arms of LAFC keeper Hugo Lloris.

Salt Lake’s persistence finally paid off in the 76th minute. Eighteen-year-old Zavier Gozo, a Utah native, acrobatically connected on a bicycle kick inside the box to slice the deficit in half. It was Gozo’s fourth goal of the year, placing him second on the team behind Diego Luna.

But LAFC quickly silenced the home crowd. Bouanga burst forward on a counterattack in the 82nd minute, drew Cabral off his line and unselfishly slid the ball across to Son for a tap-in and his third goal of the night.

Six minutes later, Bouanga found his own reward. On another rapid breakaway, the forward sprinted clear and blasted a shot past Cabral, becoming LAFC’s all-time scoring leader with 94 goals, surpassing Carlos Vela.

“They’re a team that took advantage of fortuitous moments,” Mastroeni said. “Obviously, Son, he’s a killer, but I think from our standpoint, we’ve just got to be a bit more physical.”

Instead, RSL was caught flat-footed on 3 of the 4 goals, with LAFC’s pace exposing a young and inexperienced back line. The loss underscored the urgency of Salt Lake’s playoff chase, with matches remaining against LAFC, Austin, Colorado, Seattle and St. Louis.

“It’s not the easiest thing for a relatively young team to take on,” Mastroeni said. “But what gives me belief is the way the guys are executing, the way the guys are fighting for each other, the way the guys are solving problems on the field.”

RSL will get little time to regroup. The club travels to California for a rematch with LAFC on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT on FS1 and MLS Season Pass.

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