There's a famous quote by Carlos Miloc, a former player and coach for Mexico's Tigres: "The goal is the tactic of soccer." This is reference to the goal changing the style of of play of a team or the course of the match.
For LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo, that seems the be right on point.
The Black & Gold have 13 wins thus far this season and 10 of those victories have come when LAFC scores the first goal. That's no coincidence, as Cherundolo has found ways to manage results with his in-game adjustments and second half substitutions. The first-year head coach has exceeded expectations by having his team top of the table in the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings but knows that the job is not finished.
Securing leads
Check out this crazy stat. LAFC has a perfect 10-0 record in 2022 when scoring the first goal in games. Whether that's because of halftime locker room talks, second half substitutions or tactical adjustments from Cherundolo, the Black & Gold have been excellent at managing results consistently this season.
Against Nashville on Sunday, it was about shutting down any kind of momentum their opponents could build after getting the equalizer late in the first half. After Jose Cifuentes scored the eventual game-winner in the 46th minute, Cherundolo was not afraid to slow the tempo of the match and turned to his bench to make changes in order to keep the energy levels high.
"In the second half, our press and our defensive structure had a little more energy to it, which I think made the difference in the game," Cherundolo said to the media after the match.
With 30 minutes remaining, Eddie Segura replaced a fatigued Giorgio Chiellini in the backline to raise the energy levels that Cherundolo referred to. If that wasn't enough, Latif Blessing came onto the field for Ilie Sanchez, who was one yellow card away from missing the next match due to yellow card accumulation. And last but not least, Gareth Bale made his MLS debut after entering the match for Cristian Arango in the 72nd minute.
It was a masterful display of game management by Cherundolo, who has earned his players' trust to lead this team to ultimate success.
Second half dominance
Check out this other crazy stat. LAFC has scored 27 its 40 goals in the second half of games this season, most in MLS. That's 67% of the team's offense! Not only that, the Black & Gold have only allowed four goals all year in the second half of games, the fewest in the league. It doesn't end there. In 2022, 12 goals have been scored by LAFC substitutes this year, most in MLS.
Where is all this second wind coming from? How are players able to come out of the locker room for the second half and seemingly know what it takes to get the win? Cherundolo seems to have the answer.
"It's important for players to get into a game, feel the game, kind of sniff out the opponent and then we can help them at half and make adjustments," Cherundolo said. "And once they figure out, okay, this is how to break them down, this works, this doesn't work, they feel very comfortable going out and win games in the second half. This is a great quality of ours, one we know we have and try to use."
Cherundolo and his coaching staff deserve major credit for the work they've done this season. To ensure young players like Diego Palacios and Jose Cifuentes reach their full potential has been a testament to their efforts with LAFC. To be able to get a group of guys to trust in the process when the competition for minutes is fierce and everyone wants to be on the field is incredible.
The roster depth is another important factor that has helped LAFC in finding success in its second half performances. On Sunday against Nashville, the bench played a major role in securing the three points once again.
"For us, throughout the entire season, we have relied on our depth, on our bench, and we did again tonight. That will be important moving forward," Cherundolo said.