Major League Soccer’s Decision Day 2024 sets up well for the Los Angeles Football Club.
Winners in their last four against the league, LAFC remains alive for the top seed in the Western Conference despite its disappearing act in the second half against the first-place Galaxy in mid-September.
Taking a two-goal lead only to lose, 4-2, prompted a six-point swing in the race for home-field advantage until at least the MLS Cup final. The difference at the time put LAFC seven points behind the Galaxy instead of one.
Since then, though, LAFC did what it had to.
With two games in hand, Steve Cherundolo’s team took 13 of 18 points, narrowing the gap with the Galaxy to three after its latest memorable victory in Vancouver last weekend.
Rounding into form after a small dip in the wake of the Leagues Cup final loss to Columbus in August, LAFC (18-8-7, 61 points) is guaranteed no worse than the second spot starting with the playoff-opening best-of-three series.
To clear the final hurdle and overtake the Galaxy at the wire, LAFC must dispose of the outmatched San Jose Earthquakes (6-24-3, 21 points) on Saturday at BMO Stadium.
“I think the main thing we have to focus on is ourselves,” LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman said. “If we don’t do our job, then it doesn’t matter what the Galaxy does.”
With the Galaxy (19-7-7) playing at the same time in Houston (14-10-9, 51 points), LAFC’s playoff positioning would depend on what the five-time MLS champions do. If the Galaxy loses, the Black & Gold can snatch the top spot with a victory, thanks to the second of the league’s nine tiebreaker procedures.
Tied at 19 wins apiece, the outcome shifts to goal differential. LAFC needs a three-goal swing in its favor to avoid the next category, goals, which would nab the conference for the Galaxy.
“If you do your job but results don’t go your way, there’s no point in making that negative by any means,” Cherundolo said. “It’s only a positive. We’ve won a couple games in a row now and to finish the season on a high note with a win is very important.”
LAFC has the good fortune, it seems, of closing out the regular season against the last-place team in the league, a historically poor group that exists among the worst in MLS history. The Black & Gold dismantled San Jose, 6-2, in MLS action in June, and 4-1 in a Leagues Cup knockout match in August.
The Earthquakes’ points total – including three against LAFC in a May match at Levi’s Stadium that proved to be a positive turning point for Cherundolo’s group – is the seventh lowest outside of the MLS shootout era and pandemic-shortened season of 2020.
Suffering a 25th loss in 34 games would tie San Jose with the 1999 New York/New Jersey MetroStars for the most defeats in a single season.
Meanwhile, heading into Decision Day, LAFC has lost the same number of times through 98 matches in all competitions the last two years, a 52-25-21 stretch.
Following an MLS-team record 53 games played in 2023, this year brought at least 48 more for LAFC (it could reach 52), establishing a two-year high.
“Everybody at LAFC is working towards a common goal to maximizing the team’s potential and trying to win anything we partake in,” Cherundolo said. “That only happens when everybody is willing to sacrifice and put their own interest aside. And that’s the feeling I’ve had at LAFC the last couple of years. That’s very gratifying, it’s wonderful to see and it’s great to take part in.”
The marathon campaign tested and tempered a roster that underwent significant changes as the club seeks a third consecutive MLS Cup final appearance.
“I think for us we all want to compete and we want to win games, so the more games we have the better,” said Tillman, who has operated in a two-man midfield with Lewis O’Brien in recent weeks.
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“We know that our roster is very deep and that’s what helps us this season,” he added. “I think I said at the beginning of the year we will need everyone this season. It’s just like that. Everyone gets their minutes. We need everyone to play well and try to do the best for the team.”
Coming off back-to-back weeks of quality training, another reinforcement is expected to arrive when Mexican star Carlos Vela serves as an option off the bench for the first time since re-signing with LAFC last month.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES AT LAFC
When: Saturday, 6:15 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium
TV/radio: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)/710 AM, 980 AM