FC Cincinnati continues its march to the MLS Cup Playoffs this weekend by hosting a team who just recently lifted a trophy of their own. LAFC, the Los Angeles Football Club, visits TQL Stadium for the first time since 2022 but arrives in Cincy as winners of the 2024 US Open Cup. Lifting the Lamar Hunt trophy on Wednesday night in LA after a 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the final.
That match took LAFC into extra time on Wednesday, meaning not only did the California club play an exhausting midweek matchup, but they also added an extra 30 minutes of play to an already busy week. For a club making the cross-country trip to Cincy already, any extra fatigue could play a role this weekend.
That being said, FC Cincinnati players and coaches know better than to take the multi-time Cup winners lightly. As the Black and Gold have experience winning on short notice.
"They're coming in on a high," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of LAFC on Thursday. "They're a very strong team. They just won a trophy, and rightfully so, they should be coming in with good energy and excitement.
"Whoever LAFC field I'd imagine there's going to be some good energy and confidence. They're one of the deepest teams for me in the league, and so if they have to rest guys, there's going to be hungry players and guys that are pushing for more minutes like you see with our team, with any team at this stage. So if our guys think because there's going to be rotation that gets easier, then we're approaching it the wrong way."
LAFC is on a stretch, and it has seen them not only win the 2024 US Open Cup but also make the finals of League Cup 2024, challenging their depth and top-end talent all along the way. So, regardless of who LAFC selects to play, FC Cincinnati is expecting a challenge from their visitors.
"It's not new to them to play a big game on a Wednesday, and then a big game on a Saturday. So they're going to be coming out firing. We can't really look at them as if they're going to be some kind of a wounded animal, because they have a lot of quality," Roman Celentano said Thursday. "They'll be ready to hit us. So we're not looking at it as something we can take lightly."
Los Angeles is known for its versatile approach and ability to strike off the counter. Forward Denis Bouanga particularly shines as an elite force for the team with his 18 goals this season, but star power is littered throughout the LAFC roster. Most notably, French World Cup winners Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris have joined the side this season, bolstering their squad into the superstar ranks.
"They've been, I would say, as consistent, if not more consistent than any team in the past three, four, five years of making it to finals," Noonan said of LAFC. "They've won some, they've lost some, but they have experience in getting there and knowing what those games look like. So this isn't a final, but what you've come to expect from them is a team that knows how to get to big games and play in big games. It's been pretty impressive what they've been able to do. (LAFC Head Coach) Steve [Cherundolo's] done an incredible job."
FC Cincinnati vs LAFC – Saturday, September 28, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
TV Talent (English, Apple): Steve Cangialosi (PxP), Danny Higginbotham (Analyst)
TV Talent (Spanish, Apple): Sammy Sadovnik (PXP), Diego Valeri (Analysis)
Radio (English): ESPN 1530
Radio (Spanish): La Mega 97.7 FM
Radio Talent (English): Tom Gelehrter (PXP), Kevin McCloskey (Analyst)
Radio Talent: (Spanish): Gustavo Luques (PXP), José Romero (Analyst)
Against LAFC
It’s been a short but unsuccessful history with LAFC. In each of the two previous meetings between FCC and the California club, LAFC has come out on top. First, in the opening weeks of FCC’s inaugural MLS season, when The Orange and Blue visited the then-named Banc of California Stadium and fell 2-0. Then again, in the early weeks of the 2022 schedule, when LAFC came to TQL Stadium and won 2-1.
In that most recent game, Luciano Acosta scored just before halftime to give FCC the lead, but LAFC scored twice in the second half to win.
All-time Corey Baird has played the most games against LAFC in his career across MLS, starting six and playing eight matches. He has also scored two goals. Baird, a southern California native, also made 14 appearances for LAFC in 2021, scoring three goals.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Best of the West – Under Head Coach Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati are 12-3-4 against a West opponent in MLS Regular Season play, including 5-0-0 this season. Since 2022 – when MLS interconference matchups were limited to 6-8 per season – FC Cincinnati are the first Eastern Conference club to have won five times in a single season against their Western Conference opponents. Only Seattle Sounders (5-1-0, 15 pts.) - who have completed their 2024 slate against East opponents - have as many points and wins as FCC in interconference play so far this season.
No MLS club has gained more than 15 points in just six interconference matches since 2022.
Not dropping – FC Cincinnati are 15-1-0 (.938) this season when scoring the first goal, the most wins in MLS (2nd: LAFC & LA, 14) and best win percentage (2nd: MIA, .893; 11-0-3) this year when striking first.
Record setting - FC Cincinnati Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta is one goal or assist shy of tying his 2023 club record of 31 single-season goal contributions. Acosta holds the top-three single-season goal contribution tallies in FCC history. Only five totals in club history have been more than 20, and Acosta holds three of them.
First Time W – LAFC are one of five clubs - all Western Conference foes (VAN, LAFC, SKC, ATX, LA) - which FC Cincinnati have never beaten in MLS competition. FCC lost both prior matchups against LAFC - in both 2019 and 2022. The Orange and Blue already defeated two clubs for the first time previously this season (FC Dallas, St. Louis CITY SC).
First to 50 – Both FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan and LAFC Head Coach Steve Cherundolo are nearing their 50th MLS Regular Season wins as manager, each in their third season. With a 49-22-27 record in 98 matches, Noonan could become the fifth-fastest head coach in MLS history to reach 50 wins in the MLS post-shootout era. On the other sideline, Cherundolo also seeks his 50th win.
Scouting LAFC (14-8-7, 49 points, 4th in Western Conference, L-T-L-T-L)
Los Angeles Football Club, or more preferably known as LAFC, has been one of the most dominant clubs in MLS since arriving as an expansion team in 2018. While in fourth place and well on their way to their sixth MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in seven years, LAFC is at a low point in their season. Since the League Cup, they have been winless in five league matches.
Given their success in the US Open Cup and Leagues Cup this season, LAFC have had a busy and full schedule and media observers have noted their fatigue of late in league matches. They will have a quick turnaround again this weekend when they visit TQL Stadium as LAFC hosts the 2024 US Open Cup finals this Wednesday against Sporting KC in Los Angeles. They will then have to jet from LA to Cincy to take on FCC on short rest.
Head Coach Steve Cherundolo has led LAFC since 2022 and is the second head coach in the club's history. Last weekend, in a 3-1 loss to FC Dallas, Cherundolo started a rotated lineup, assumingly in preparation for a busy week ahead. In that match, none of Denis Bouanga, Oliver Giroud, Mateusz Bogusz and Ilie Sanchez started. LAFC did play in their traditional 4-3-3 formation but with MLS veteran Kai Kamara as the centerpiece of the offense.
That core group that did not start in the FC Dallas game is the key to success for LAFC. Bouanga, a perennial MVP candidate, is one of the most dangerous attacking offensive players in the league and punishes teams on counterattacks in a way no one else can. French superstar Giroud, who signed for the club this summer, brings a forward pedigree that few else can in MLS, and Bogusz rounds out that hydra. Sanchez, a Spanish midfielder, unlocks the middle of the field as a box-to-box midfielder and defensive stalwart.
Bouanga leads LAFC and is once again in the Golden Boot race with 17 goals this season. Born in France but is a regular with Gabon internationally, Bouanga has racked up 38 goals in 66 appearances since arriving in MLS in 2022. Bogusz, a Polish international who joined in 2023 from Leeds United, scored 14 goals in 27 appearances this season.
French World Cup winner Hugo Lloris is in net for LAFC. Lloris joined on a free transfer from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur after playing there for over 12 years and making over 300 starts.
On the defensive front, Ryan Hollingshead has been the anchor of availability, playing in 27 matches this season. Center back Aaron Long has also been a consistent starter, playing 2117 minutes in 25 starts this season.
