A 3-0 win against St. Louis CITY SC at BMO Stadium may be just what the doctor ordered for LAFC.
After failing to put a shot on target through the first 70 minutes of their Matchday 25 showdown against the Western Conference leaders, things finally came together for the hosts in the latter stages of the match: Carlos Vela delivered on a well-taken effort in the 72nd minute, while Stipe Biuk followed in the 82nd minute and José Cifuentes found the net for the first time in 2023 to cap the scoring in stoppage time.
"That felt like us. I think one of the key factors was just persistence, having the belief that we were creating some opportunities," midfielder Kellyn Acosta said postgame. "For us, it was a collective effort and definitely a lot of positives from this game."
An exercise in patience
LAFC needed time to solve St. Louis' tactical style, which had allowed just 21 goals coming into Wednesday's match.
In fact, head coach Steve Cherundolo stated afterward that his message to his players leading up to the match was to "be patient" without "get[ting] outworked" by Bradley Carnell's side.
"It took a lot of hard work in that first hour to really take the wind out of their sails, and the game opens up," Cherundolo said. "We believe if we can do that against every team, our quality can come out in the end, and it did."
LAFC's work on the defensive side was evident as well. STL's 40 goals scored ranked third in the league, but they failed to find the scoresheet on Wednesday – even as star midfielder Eduard Löwen returned from injury.
"I think with the attacking power that we have, we create opportunities first and foremost, but for us, we want to be defensively sound, and that will give us a good opportunity to win the game," Acosta said. "Today was a testament to that, and hopefully we can build on this shutout, and hopefully more to come."
"Joy" restored for LAFC?
LAFC have 12 regular-season games remaining on their MLS schedule, starting with a trip to Minnesota United FC on Saturday (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). As they'll have their eyes set on continuing to stack wins and challenge for the top spot in the West currently held by St. Louis, Wednesday's win ended a frustrating stretch for the team (0W-3L-1D).
"We're coming. We're LAFC," Acosta said. "What we did last year was great, but this is a new year, and from our standpoint, we want to compete against the best, which is in St. Louis, and we want to beat them.
"… In the past games, the ball wasn't going our way, but for us just to find our joy again, even in these difficult moments, we need to find ways to bring that happiness to the game. This game, it took a lot of hard work. We see the scoreline say 3-0 and it's a sexy scoreline, but it took a lot of work to get to that point."
