Before we go any further, Denis Bouanga will be making the two-hour, 20-minute flight to Denver well in advance of Saturday’s contest between LAFC and the Colorado Rapids (6:30 p.m. PT, MLS Season Pass). By all accounts, he will arrive at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at a reasonable hour.
Perhaps equally as important, so will everyone else. The international window is over, bringing José Cifuentes and Diego Palacios back to a fully stocked and healthy Black and Gold squad.
LAFC’s win over the weekend matched the start by a defending Shield winner through four games since FC Dallas in 2017. Three points this weekend would be the best five-match start to a Shield defense in league history.
The CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals are just around the corner, but before LAFC attempts to conquer the Whitecaps, they must first tame the Rapids.
On staying patient
Steve Chereundolo used his opening statement following LAFC’s 2-1 win over FC Dallas last weekend to share a few of his concerns with their performance on the night.
Most were what you’d expect to hear – “a bit sloppy,” “a bit off rhythm,” – but one stood out from the crowd, one that might rear its ugly head on Saturday night in Denver.
“Impatient,” was the word he used to describe their attacking organization. He said they “couldn’t find the right windows to break Dallas down more frequently” than they did.
The Rapids are near the bottom of the league in goals allowed and goals scored, both of the expected variety and in reality. Saying it’s been a struggle on both ends for Colorado is a massive understatement.
“They’ve just come up a little short,” Cherundolo said. “They’re a tough team to beat defensively, hard working, very physical.”
As bad as they look on the surface, that does bear itself out in the numbers.
The Rapids are in the middle of the pack in expected assisted goals at one flat per 90 minutes. There’s no denying goals to be had, but disorganizing that 3-4-3 is not a walk in the park.
Colorado ranks similarly nearly the middle in opponent touches in the attacking third and in successful challenges. Impatience will not be rewarded against this Colorado side, and Kellyn Acosta reiterated that they don’t want to get caught chasing the game on Saturday.
LAFC has more than its fair share of gamebreakers who can – solo or with a partner – create goals in an instant. But, as Cherundolo noted, that eagerness can get the best of this team at times.
Despite the lack of results, it takes a patient attacking effort to undo this Colorado side, a lesson LAFC will need to have absorbed come 6:30 p.m. PT.
Chasing history
In the non-shootout era of MLS, the fastest coach to reach 25 regular season wins is Frank Yallop, who reached the milestone after 46 games in charge. Cherundolo won his 24th last weekend against FC Dallas in just his 38th attempt, leaving him one shy of history with seven cracks at the record.
Barring disaster, Cherundolo will reach the 25-win mark faster than any coach in modern MLS history.
“I love to win games,” Cherundolo said. “I’m not a huge fan of records, either for the team or personal records. I think for me, success is always based on maximizing our potential.”
It’s hard to do better than the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double in your first year, but there’s now more to win in year two. Between CCL contests, a disappointing U.S. Open Cup exit to rectify and the introduction of the new Leagues Cup, the expectations have adjusted accordingly from the top down.
Cherundolo attributed his success to the standards and buy-in at all levels of the club, something that filters all the way down to the players – a group Acosta referred to has a “special” when asked about the success of the last 12 months.
“For us,” Cherundolo said, “getting a good start to the season is exactly that – we are playing to our potential… The expectations of this club are high, as they should be, because we have good players. I think our mindset and the organization are also built for sustained success.”
It’s a tenure marked by remarkable consistency, especially given an abnormally abundant number of threats posed against it in his short time at the helm. He took over a new-look squad at the start of last season, had to reorganize it all after a plethora of mid-summer moves and is now navigating a congested early-season schedule.
Despite it all, the Black and Gold have only dropped three points from winning positions under Cherundolo and no team has earned more points or won more games since he took charge in LA.
“Everything seems so regular in our everyday,” Ilie Sánchez said. “You don’t feel any pressure. All you feel is confidence coming from the bench.”
Don’t call it a trap game
You can’t win a championship in April, but you can certainly lose one.
The season is still in its infancy, and with the expanded playoff format, it’s even younger at this stage than ever before.
The Rapids are just two points out of a spot in the MLS Cup Wild Card, but with nearly 15 percent of the season in the rear view, that hardly does the concern justice. Those two points are the worst in the league, as are their two goals scored and minus-8 goal differential.
LAFC is yet to lose a league contest this season. Looming on the horizon is a pair of CCL quarterfinal matches with Vancouver. But Colorado won this fixture a season ago, handing LAFC its first loss in over a month. Saturday night has all the makings of the perfect trap game, but don’t tell that to the man in charge.
“I have a very clear stance to thoughts like that,” Cherundolo said. “They don’t exist for me. For us, the most important game in the world is Colorado right now because it’s our next game.”
Of course, no coach or player would ever admit their upcoming contest is a “trap game,” much less confess to having their focus aimed further down the schedule. That was always going to be Cherundolo’s response, but at least for this weekend, you should take him at his word.
Cifuentes and Palacios are back, Bouanga will be with the team for more than just the 45 minutes prior to kickoff, and the likes of Tim Tillman, Stipe Buik and Sergi Palencia have more than proved their worth in their absences.
LAFC is a team back at full strength, buoyed by an increased confidence in the depth that lies behind it. Everyone’s healthy, and it’s the most restful stretch this squad has had all season. But most of all, they have a ship to right.
Cherundolo said his team was “not happy” with its team’s performance last weekend despite the result against Dallas. There was patience to be found, sloppiness to clean up, a “rhythm” to find. They have something to prove this weekend, a chance to shift into a higher gear ahead of the CCL quarterfinals.
Ask Cherundolo. Ask Acosta. Ask Ilie Sánchez. (Spoiler alert, we did). They’ll all tell you there is no such thing as a trap game, and while many believe that generalization to be false, don’t expect Saturday to be your evidence.
