Los Angeles Football Club drop first points of the season
The reigning Major League Soccer Cup champions tied 0-0 against the Seattle Sounders in their first road game of the 2023 campaign.
The Los Angeles Football Club went on the road for the first time this season and they tied 0-0 against the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on Saturday evening. This is the first time during the 2023 campaign that the reigning MLS Cup champions drop points after winning their first two home games.
LAFC remains unbeaten
Despite the draw the Los Angeles Football Club remain unbeaten after three games this season and they are in second place in the standings in the Western Conference with seven points with a record of 2 wins and one draw. The ‘Black & Gold’ are playing simultaneously in two competitions and head coach Steve Cherundolo is trying to manage each of the players’ minutes to avoid injuries and fatigue.
LAFC will play two league games against FC Dallas (25 March at Home) and then Colorado (1 April Away) before going on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps for the first leg of the quarter-final of the CONCACAF Champions League on 5 April. So the schedule will be tight for the Los Angeles-based team, but their objective is to win both competitions with the roster that is available.
“For us on the road after a busy couple of weeks it is an excellent point. With a little luck you can come away with three or lose the game. So I think it is a fair point because Seattle is a very well rounded team and a very difficult team to beat at home. So compliments to the players that played excellent. I thought the second half was quite disciplined defensively,” said Cherundolo after the 0-0 draw.
“The more games we have like that in MLS, the better we are all doing. I thought it was a fun game to watch, a very close game and we always knew that it was going to be decided by one play or one goal. Physically we [LAFC] are quite grueling, especially for us because of our congested schedule, but Seattle went through that last year successfully and we are trying to do the same,” concluded Cherundolo.
The Los Angeles Football Club are trying to emulate what the Sounders did last year when they won the CONCACAF Champions League to become the first MLS team to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. The difference is that Seattle had a slow start of the season and didn’t qualify to the MLS Cup playoffs, so LAFC is trying to do things different and be competitive in both competitions.