Underdog mentality: LAFC, featuring a 'second-team' lineup, beats Monterey Bay in PKs

Many LAFC fans saw rotation to second-team players for the club’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 tie against Monterey Bay FC as waving the white flag. The youngsters from LAFC2 proved those opinions invalid for 120 minutes plus penalties on Tuesday night in Seaside, emerging victorious with a 5-4 PK shootout win after dueling to a 2-2 draw. 

Goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic was the only player on the pitch for LAFC on Tuesday who hasn’t played minutes for the MLS Next Pro side as well. Nonetheless, a few recognizable faces featured such as Erik Dueñas, Nathan Ordaz, Christian Torres, and Daniel Chrisostomo. 

Tactically, LAFC played almost exactly as the first team would, with the exception of conceding an exorbitant amount of possession to Monterey. Otherwise, the 4-3-3 shape, rotating front three, and tactically flexible midfield shape were identical.

Rotation does not mean giving up

Just as if it were the first team, the second team players were switched on with a great understanding of tactical roles. While sitting in a mid-block most of the game, LAFC was able to stay compact. This only allowed Monterey space in the wide areas of the pitch where they looked to cross from repeatedly.

Performances from forward Nathan Ordaz and center-back Noah Dollenmayer especially stood out for the Black and Gold. 

Ordaz had a fantastic understanding of the fluid front three system LAFC employs, while being integral to counter-attacks. He was constantly getting stuck into tackles, competing for loose balls, and drawing fouls. His linkup with Christopher Jaime often allowed LAFC to release the pressure and move into the attacking phase. 

Dollenmayer was a rock at center back all night. Whether in the ground or in the air, Dollenmayer was there to clear the ball out of danger for LAFC. The 23-year-old ended the match with 15 clearances, eight headed clearances, and 77% of duels won. It was nothing short of a monstrous defensive performance.

The multitude of quality individual performances in collaboration with the disciplined tactical setup allowed LAFC to prove that rotation to the second team does not mean they are devaluing the U.S. Open Cup, much less giving up. 

In the end, LAFC showed resiliency to win the tie, advancing to the Round of 16 while resting the entire first team bar Jakupovic.

Steve Cherundolo can make a mistake

LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo is often praised for his in-game adjustment, whether personnel or tactical. At Cardinale Stadium, we finally saw Cherundolo make a mistake.

Up 1-0 in the 85th minute, Cherundolo brought fullback Armando Avila on for attacking midfielder Christopher Jaime with his second substitution of the game.

The purpose of this change was obvious; batten down the hatches. That also brought a formation change to a back five with Jeremi Rodríguez pinching in as a center back and Avila playing left wingback. On the surface, this makes sense. Putting an extra defensive player on the pitch should help when defending.

However, this left the LAFC midfield too thin — an area of the park it had controlled for the entire match. Five minutes later, in the final minute of regulation, Simon Dawkins found this vacated space at the top of the box, taking advantage to score a rocketed shot past Jakupovic to level the match. That sent the game to extra time.

Four minutes into extra time, LAFC was once again exploited in this space. Simon Dawkins picked up the ball forty yards from the goal before playing a slightly chipped pass directly forward to break the LAFC midfield line. Christian Volesky took the pass on the turn with one touch to settle, before breaking the LAFC defensive line to assist Jesse Maldonado, who only had to slot it home.

Within ten minutes of Cherundolo implementing the personnel and system change, Monterey Bay flipped the game on its head to lead 2-1.

At that point, Cherundolo recognized his mistake. He switched back to a 4-3-3 system in the 101st minute, bringing on Matheus Maia, an attacking midfielder, in place of Javen Romero, a fullback, with his third substitution of the game. 

Apparently, that was all Cherundolo needed to return to perfect in-game adjustments, as four minutes later, Matheus Maia scored the equalizer for LAFC on a slick counter-attack. Mistakes are apparently possible for the continually impressive LAFC Head Coach, though upon limited evidence, Cherundolo can rectify those rare mistakes with immediate resolutions. 

LAFC has the best goalkeeper union in MLS

Goalkeeping was a constant worry throughout the first four years in Los Angeles. Whether it was Tyler Miller, Pablo Sisniega, or Kenneth Vermeer, the team could not be confident in the man between the sticks. 

In 2022, LAFC Co-President and General Manager John Thorrington set out to resolve that problem. His way of doing so was purchasing star Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau for $1 million. Statement made.

Under the radar, Thorrington picked up a guy who wasn’t sure he would get another shot in MLS — then 28-year-old John McCarthy. On a one-year deal with a club option for two, Thorrington believed he found a suitable backup to his new star goalkeeper. Little did he know, McCarthy would be asked to come up in the biggest moment in club history, the 2022 MLS Cup penalty shootout, and he would deliver. Of course, after the horrible broken leg suffered by Crepéau in extra time of the MLS Cup, that was exactly the situation McCarthy was thrust into. 

He thrived then and has been thriving continually ever since. McCarthy has performed at such a high level thus far in 2023, Cherundolo will be faced with a tough decision on who to start once Crépeau is fully recovered and ready to go.

At the beginning of 2023, Thorrington added another goalkeeper to ensure a backup for McCarthy heading into the season - Eldin Jakupović. Coming from the Premier League, Jakupović had obvious pedigree, but he hadn’t played significant minutes in years. On Tuesday night in Seaside, the Swiss goalkeeper proved he is yet another astute addition to the goalkeeper union at LAFC.

Not only did Jakupović save two penalties to win the game, but he scored one as well. All that after 120 minutes of a goalkeeping clinic. Sure, LAFC conceded two goals, but Jakupović was still fantastic. He ended the night with five saves, four of which were from shots inside the box. As the oldest player in the squad by a large margin, Jakupović was a vocal leader throughout the match as well. If it weren’t for Jakupović, LAFC would never have gotten to penalties in the first place.

When Crépeau is back healthy, which should be relatively soon, LAFC will surely have the best three-deep goalkeeper union in all of Major League Soccer.