Sounders at Los Angeles FC: Three Questions

Wednesday’s match (7:39 p.m. PT/MLS Season Pass) is a contest to retake the Western Conference lead.

Two giants of MLS will meet on Wednesday night. They’ll do so when the East Coast is asleep, without a handful of players at full availability thanks to the odd play-date between international break and Gold Cup, and home side LAFC will be on short rest.

It’s the type of premium match made for pay television.

In this rivalry’s short history each team only has a single win on opposing soil (Los Angeles won a so-called away game at the Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando too).

How will Steve Cherundolo deal with his long streak of double-game weeks? Let’s ask Trebor of Angels on Parade that and other questions:

SaH: How is Steve Cherundolo going to handle another double-game week meeting up with an international break? Does he have any squad left to rotate?

AoP: The good news for LAFC, this isn’t new territory for them. This side has faced quick turnarounds and busy weeks all season so in that regard Steve Cherundolo knows how to navigate multiple matches in a short amount of time. This is a bit different granted, given the International break, but even that isn’t foreign for Cherundolo. Having come from USL Championship with Las Vegas Lights, and as proof with Mahala Opoku, he knows how to get the best out of the young talent within this organization, and talent this club has. We saw some of that in their win against Sporting KC with Julian Gaines and Nathan Ordaz seeing full MLS debuts as well as Yekeson Subah seeing his debut coming off the bench.

SaH: When LAFC was at its best Carlos Vela looked to be one of the best signings in MLS history. This year he seems... normal?

AoP: This is an interesting observation because it is one we made last season. Compared to his previous seasons, most notably the historic 2019 season, 2022 was a quiet year for the veteran. He took half as many shots, scored fewer goals than normal, and was more of a facilitator for the squad, while Chicho Arango and others took all the focus. Last season, that change from being the one the team depended on fully for goals and offensive success, to becoming more of a facilitator for others, was critical for the team’s overall success. The difference this season has been despite the hot start, Denis Buoanga has hit a bit of a wall. Something we never really saw from Arango. That has cast an even brighter light on how Vela has taken a step back. So, we wouldn’t call it normal so much as it is embracing a new role, however those missed penalties definitely made him seem more human than we have seen him with LAFC.

SaH: With all the rotation, who is a lesser known player that you’re excited to see more of during this stretch?

AoP: Christian Torres would be the obvious shout for those hoping to see the possible future of LAFC. This is a player that has been with the club since their arrival to the MLS, back in 2018. He has played for the senior team several times and has already scored a goal in the MLS. He is definitely a youngster the fans love to watch, and if he can showcase his talents in this stretch, we could be looking at another Opoku situation with a youngster having a breakout season. Honorable mention goes to Julian Gaines. LAFC has a way with churning out really impressive defenders, interesting to see where Gaines fits into that.

Check out Trebor’s previews and other content at Angels on Parade.