The Los Angeles Football Club has one loss in the past 3½ months.
With 16 wins and three draws to go with a glaring 5-1 blip against the Columbus Crew that halted LAFC’s club-record unbeaten streak at 13, it’s been an impressive run from the second week of May on.
While the Crew seem to have LAFC’s number after beating them to take the 2023 MLS Cup before the blowout at BMO Stadium in mid-July, the shoe is firmly on the other foot lately when the Black & Gold have encountered the Seattle Sounders.
Familiar with playing consistently good soccer yet dropping results against a particularly tough opponent, Seattle is winless in its last eight meetings with LAFC, including all seven during Steve Cherundolo’s tenure as LAFC head coach.
The Sounders were not quite as dominant as LAFC over their last 20 games, but they’ve been solid. Still, a respectable 13-4-3 stretch included a 3-0 loss to LAFC a few weeks ago, upending the Sounders’ six-game winning streak. For LAFC it was the second three-point effort against Seattle in league play this year, piggybacking on a 2-1 opening day triumph back in February.
That is the backdrop as the MLS Western Conference rivals face off in a pair of high-stakes matches over the next two weeks.
After tussling in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal at Lumen Field on Saturday, the two meet again in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal affair on Aug. 28 at the quaint Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
Outscoring Seattle 10-3* for the past two-plus seasons (*this includes an own-goal), each of LAFC’s five wins against the Sounders since Cherundolo took over for Bob Bradley in 2022 opened with the first goal.
“They’ve executed in these moments and we haven’t,” Seattle forward Jordan Morris said. “And then they get up on us and sit back and make it difficult for us to score and get back in the game.”
Knotting up the teams’ knockout-match record at two wins apiece, that was the case a half hour into the Western Conference semifinal last November, when Denis Bouanga spoiled the Sounders’ party.
“Our difference-makers have made big plays and everybody on the field has brought the intensity and tactical discipline needed to beat a team like Seattle, especially in Seattle,” Cherundolo said.
For last year’s playoff match, LAFC started four defenders at the back. In Seattle last month, Cherundolo trotted out a lineup with three center backs flanked by a wingback on either side.
That flexibility keeps opponents guessing, said LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead, who called it a huge advantage.
“It gives us a little more comfortability without the ball having the five back,” he said, “but with the four back it allows our attackers and especially our center-mid to control the game a little bit more.”
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Regardless of formation – which is as much about finding space to operate and attack as it is denying opposing goal scorers like Seattle’s Morris – chasing the game has proven difficult for many LAFC opponents.
Because the Sounders finished a spot above LAFC in last year’s league standings they have a higher ranking in the Leagues Cup competition, allowing them hosting privileges on Saturday.
Success guarantees the victorious group two more Leagues Cup matches and either a chance to play for a trophy or a CONCACAF Champions Cup consolation prize in the third-place game.
LAFC AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, Wash.
TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – MLS Season Pass/710 AM, 980 AM
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