A stellar first-held effort was wasted by the Sounders and the result was another defeat at BMO Field in LA. Midfielder Mateusz Bogusz’s left-footed shot in the opening minute gave LAFC a 1-0 lead and was it for the scoring in the Western Conference Showdown between the two rivals.
EARLY WAKE UP CALL
The early gut punch woke up the Sounders who went into attack mode using the left flank. Leo Chu used his speed and quickness to attack LAFC’s backline, Ryan Hollingshead and Denil Maldonado. Albert Rusnak played central midfield with Nicolas Lodeiro pinching in from the left side and Lodeiro up front. When Chu found space and time to cross the ball into the box the Sounders had just one runner in the box. Ruidiaz’s had decent looks at the goal in the fourth and eighth minutes, but the chances went begging.
CONTINUED PRESSURE
Keeping on the front foot and the Sounders had chances in the 37th minute which was a Chu header that was blocked. LAFC had a chance to double its lead just before the half, but Denis Bouanga’s left-footed shot was wide right of the Sounder’s goal
A DIFFERENT HALF
Sounders started the second half on the front foot looking for the equalizer and generated two corner kicks inside the first five minutes. With Sounders FC dominating the run of play LAFC HC Steve Cherundolo went to a high press in the 62nd minute. The tactical changed the complexion of the game in LAFC ‘s favor. LAFC dominated midfield play and caused the Sounders into careless turnovers and bad decisions in the attacking half. Despite the disjointed play, the Sounders were given a lifeline late in the game.
A LIFELINE
In the 76th minute, a Var review overturned Jose Cifuentes’s goal due to a handball infraction by Cifuentes. Sounders HC Brian Schmetzer made several late substitutions hoping fresh legs would outlast the tired legs of LAFC who were on their third game in the last week. Schmetzer inserted Reed Baker-Whiting for Cody Baker, and Kelyn Rowe for Nicolas Lodeiro looking for more pace. Eight minutes late Josh Atencio replaced Joao Paulo and Heber replace Leo Chu. Fredy Montero replaced Ruidiaz in the 87th minute. For all of their hard word the Rave Green were unable to get that one last shot to equalize the game.
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POST GAME NOTES
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC remains in third place in the Western Conference with 28 points (8-7-4), while LAFC jumps into sole possession of first with 32 points following tonight’s result (9-3-5).
- Seattle falls to 3-7-4 all-time against LAFC in regular-season matchups, including a winless 0-6-1 road mark. However, Sounders FC has defeated LAFC in both postseason meetings, 3-1 wins in the 2019 Western Conference Final at BMO Stadium and the First Round in 2020 at Lumen Field.
- Tonight’s match was the second of two meetings this year between the two sides, after playing to a 0-0 draw on March 18 at Lumen Field.
- The loss extended Sounders FC’s winless run to four games (0-2-2), with the club winning just two of its past 11 matches across all competitions (2-6-3).
- The Rave Green are without three players due to international duty at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan are with the U.S. Men’s National Team, while Alex Roldan is with El Salvador.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Los Angeles FC 1
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Venue: BMO Stadium
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Ryan Graves
Fourth Official: Brandon Stevis
VAR: David Barrie
Attendance: 22,125
Weather: 70 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
LAFC – Mateusz Bogusz (Kwadwo Opoku) 1’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LAFC – Kwadwo Opoku (caution) 35’
SEA – Nico Lodeiro (caution) 61’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Cody Baker (Reed Baker-Whiting 73’), Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou; João Paulo (Josh Atencio 81’), Obed Vargas, Nico Lodeiro (Kelyn Rowe 73’), Albert Rusnák, Léo Chú (Héber 81’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Fredy Montero 87’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Dylan Teves
Total shots: 10
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 8
Offside: 1
Corner-Kicks: 6
Saves: 1
Los Angeles FC – John McCarthy; Denil Maldonado, Diego Palacios, Giorgio Chiellini, Ryan Hollingshead; Ilie Sanchez, Carlos Vela (Jose Cifuentes 71’), Daniel Crisostomo (Erik Dueñas 89’), Kwadwo Opoku; Mateusz Bogusz (Nathan Ordaz 89’), Denis Bouanga (Stipe Biuk 60’)
Substitutes not used: Eldin Jakupovic, Christopher Jaime, Diego Rosales, Julian Gaines
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 17
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 8
Saves: 2
