Final: Crew blocks LAFC from becoming back-to-back MLS champions
COLUMBUS, Ohio — LAFC entered Saturday’s MLS Cup final 90 minutes from history.
It finished the game looking ahead to next year.
With a chance to become the first team to win back-to-back titles in 11 years, the reigning MLS champion was undone by a four-minute span late in the first half when goals from Cucho Hernández and Yaw Yeboah gave the Columbus Crew a comfortable lead they would not give back en route to a 2-1 win.
LAFC got late life when Denis Bouanga banged in the rebound of his own shot in the 74th minute, a goal set up by a Columbus mistake deep in the Crew end. After a turnover, Jesús Murillo took possession of the ball and fed Bouanga in the center of the box, only to see Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte make a brilliant save on a right-footed shot. However, the rebound bounced straight to Bouanga who poked it in on a left-footed finish.
That gave Bouanga a piece of personal history, matching teammate Carlos Vela’s MLS single-season record with 38 goals in all competition. But it proved to be the only history LAFC would make on a night.
It was LAFC’s first postseason loss in eight matches, dating to 2020.
90th minute: LAFC and Crew push for game-changing goals
Crew 2, LAFC 1, 90th-minute mark
In the 85th minute, Diego Palacios was called for a yellow card on a bad tackle.
The Crew lost the momentum they owned in the first half.
The Crew and LAFC made two substitutions apiece in the final five minutes minus stoppage time. The supporters are getting louder as they sense a chance to close out the match with momentum.
LAFC has exhausted its sub windows, while the Crew has one more available.
In the 88th minute, Alex Matan had a strong look on the left side of the box but didn’t seem ready for the ball and shot it wide left.
In the 89th minute, a ball in the box was headed toward goal and Giorgio Chiellini bumped into Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. No foul was called on the play.
In the 90th minute, the Crew made its final change, removing former LAFC player Diego Rossi from the match.
Officials flashed seven minutes of stoppage time, giving LAFC seven minutes to find an equalizer.
82nd minute: LAFC continues to challenge Crew
Crew 2, LAFC 1, 82nd minute
Expect a long stoppage time due to the Crew injury.
LAFC continues to pressure the Crew and has picked up more fouls, but it has not been able to find an equalizer.
Rain, which stopped after a first-half appearance, has resumed.
74th minute: Dénis Bouanga scores, cuts Crew lead
Crew 2, LAFC 1, 74th minute
Dénis Bouanga, the leading scorer in MLS, is giving LAFC life.
Bouanga broke free in transition and fired a left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box. It was deflected by Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, but Bouanga tapped the ball into goal just before reaching the end line.
Schulte was hurt on the play, but independent doctors approved him staying in the match.
70th minute: LAFC continues to pressure Crew
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 70th minute
LAFC continues to pressure the Crew in every way possible, piling up fouls and runs that have yet to translate into goals.
Ilie Sánchez was called for a yellow card on a bad foul in the 67th minute, LAFC’s third yellow card of the match.
65th minute: Bouanga can’t convert shot
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 65th minute
In the 61st minute, Malte Amundsen was called for yellow, setting up an opportunity just beyond the box for LAFC. Carlos Vela passed to the right to Jesús Murillo, who then crossed toward Dénis Bouanga. Bouanga was in traffic and arched his shot too high over the crossbar.
LAFC is moving the ball on the Crew’s end more than it did in first half, but it has not translated to goals.
60th minute: Carlos Vela shot saved
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 60th minute
In the 53rd minute, Timothy Tillman was called for a yellow during another physical LAFC challenge. Now two LAFC players have yellows (Vela and Tillman).
Carlos Vela got a good bounce in transition and fired a shot on goal in the 57th minute, but it was off his right foot and saved by Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
In the 59th minute, Tillman was called for a foul and the Crew begged the official to call it a yellow instead. But the ref refused and LAFC quickly replaced Tillman in the lineup by Mateusz Bogusz.
52nd minute: It’s getting chipy
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 52nd minute
LAFC has pushed back, if not with goals, then with shoves.
The Crew had a build up along the left sideline and Carlos Vela attempted a slide tackle on Cucho Hernández, who flew in the air. The officials called it a bad foul and hit Vela with a yellow card.
Play continued before the card was flashed and LAFC’s defenders scrambled to avoid surrendering a third goal.
And LAFC resumed pushing, literally, to control possession.
46th minute: And we’re off again ...
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 46th minute
Can LAFC turn things around in the second half? We’ll soon find out as the second half has kicked off.
Half: LAFC shows sign of life during stoppage time
Crew 2, LAFC 0, half
LAFC put together one of its better runs during the three-minute stoppage time period in the first half, but the combination play that included Carlos Vela led to the ball spinning across the face of goal and out after a deflection. LAFC could do nothing with the ensuiing corner.
The Crew trailed 2-0 in its Eastern Conference final match before rallying to beat FC Cincinnati to reach the MLS Cup final, so it’s possibly to flip the momentum, but it’ll take considerable improvement for LAFC to pull off such a surge.
The Crew held possession for 68% of the first half and earned eight shots while LAFC had four. The Crew converted its two shots on goal, while LAFC missed its sole shot on goal.
37th minute: Crew pours on second goal
Crew 2, LAFC 0, 37th minute
The skies opened up, dumping rain on the pitch as LAFC tried to regroup after giving up a goal following a hand ball.
The Crew pounced, staying aggressive and driving toward goal.
Malte Amundsen passed to Yaw Yeboah, who connnected on a left-footed shot from the center of the box.
It was a big blow for the Crew, who have struggled to counter the Crew’s aggressive attack.
33rd minute: Crew score after LAFC hand ball
Crew 1, LAFC 0, 33rd minute
LAFC’s Diego Palacios was called for a hand ball in the 31st minute, finally buckling under the relentless Columbus attack.
The Crew’s Cucho Hernández converted the penalty kick with a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner. LAFC’s Maxime Crépeau dove the other direction.
20 minute: LAFC mounts one run, Crew misses two shots on goal
LAFC 0, Crew 0, 20th minute
The Crew could not connect during two shots on goal and continued to dominate possession.
LAFC managed one strong run up the pitch, with Dénis Bouanga winning the ball in the attacking half, but it didn’t translate to a scoring chance.
10 minute: Crew on the attack early
LAFC 0, Crew 0, 10th minute
The Columbus Crew are known for dominating possession and held the ball about 78% in the first 10 minutes of the match.
Carlos Vela and Giorgio Chiellini both delivered key defensive plays to cut off promising Crew looks at goal.
And we’re off ...
The 2023 MLS Cup final is under way.
LAFC fans traveled well, while the hometown Crew are out in force. The combined supporters have created a steady hum throughout the first portion of the match.
LAFC and Columbus both field their favored starting lineups
No real surprise to either team’s starting lineup. LAFC will use ageless veteran Giorgio Chiellini at center back. At 39 years, 117 days old he becomes the second-oldest player to appear in an MLS Cup final.
Up front, Denis Bouanga needs one goal to match teammate Carlos Vela’s single-season high of 38 goals in all club competition. The MLS Golden Boot winner with 20 goals in the regular season, Bouanga had 37 goals in 47 games for LAFC this season. Keep an eye on how LAFC starts. It is unbeaten in 19 games against MLS competition when it scores first, but is winless in 13 games when it concedes the opening goal.
On the other side, Diego Rossi, who won the Golden Boot for LAFC in 2020, starts on the left wing and Christian Ramirez, another former LAFC player, will be on the bench for Columbus. But don’t forget about him: Ramirez has come on late in the Crew’s last two games to score the winning goal.
News Analysis: Why is MLS embracing a playoff format disliked by players and fans?
No one will ever accuse Major League Soccer of being a slave to tradition.
The league expands more often than a hot-air balloon and has changed its playoff format three times in the last six seasons. In MLS, the only constant is change.
Change, however, isn’t always progress. Take the league’s newest playoff format.
No, really ... take it. Please.
After the longest season in MLS history, the league has returned this fall to the three-game first-round playoff schedule it rightly rejected after the 2002 season. And the (very) early results suggest the fans aren’t buying it, with several thousand empty seats watching both LAFC and the Philadelphia Union roll to convincing wins in the first games of their postseason series.
After nearly dying, LAFC’s Ryan Hollingshead is grateful for his second chance at life
There are mornings Ryan Hollingshead wakes to reminders of the night he almost died.
“At times my neck and my back tighten up a little bit quicker,” he said. “I can feel some muscular things and I can feel some mobility things.”
Yet every painful tweak and every dull ache is proof that he’s still alive, still walking, still playing professional soccer. All of those things were thrown into doubt during an icy winter night when Hollingshead stopped to pull a driver from a wrecked vehicle, only to be struck by another car.
First responders did not know Hollingshead had broken three vertebrae, but he had no feeling in his arms so he was fitted with a neck brace and strapped to a body board; the slightest movement, he was told, could leave him paralyzed. Doctors initially wanted to fuse the bones in his neck together, which was the safe move. But the team physician for FC Dallas, the team Hollingshead played for, suggested rehab before surgery. Inserting rods in Hollingshead’s neck, the doctor knew, would limit his range of motion for the rest of his life. There was a chance he’d never play soccer again.
More than six years later, Hollingshead, 32, is not only still on the field, but he’s also playing better than ever for LAFC. He made his first MLS all-star team this summer, a year after winning his first MLS Cup. His nine goals during the past two seasons are the most by a defender in that span and his versatility has allowed him to play every position along the back line for a team that has conceded just 32 goals, tied for fifth fewest in the 29-team league.
MLS fines LAFC, suspends supporter group 3252 due to misconduct allegations
LAFC has been fined $100,000 and supporter group 3252’s privileges have been suspended pending an investigation by MLS due to allegations of “serious misconduct,” the league announced Wednesday night.
The supporter group set off flares not authorized by MLS during LAFC’s Western Conference final match against Houston, creating so much smoke it delayed the game.
MLS announced supporter privileges for 3252 attending MLS Cup Saturday will be restricted. Fans could face other sanctions next season after the league completes its investigation.
How Denis Bouanga, Maxime Crepeau continue to deliver for LAFC
SEATTLE — Denis Bouanga was one of the last players to leave the field Sunday and when he finally got to LAFC’s locker room, he found teammate Maxime Crepeau waiting to wrap him in a warm bear hug.
The two men have become close over the last year, with the Paris-born Bouanga often relying on Crepeau, a French-speaking Canadian, to translate for him. The rare journey they shared this season speaks for itself.
Hernández: Carlos Vela wants to stay with LAFC, but antiquated MLS rules might force him out
He was the first player in LAFC history, and has been the best.
If the franchise ever erects statues in Exposition Park, the first will be made in his image.
Carlos Vela is LAFC.
Saturday night, when LAFC hosts the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference finals, the 34-year-old Vela could be playing his final home game at BMO Stadium.
This isn’t because Vela wants to retire.
This isn’t because Vela wants to move to another team.
This is because of Major League Soccer’s outdated salary structure.
LAFC owners pay to send all staff to MLS Cup final in Columbus
LAFC owners chartered flights to bring all of the club’s front office staff to Columbus, Ohio, for LAFC’s MLS Cup final showdown with the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Watch: LAFC co-owner Will Ferrell stands on a Columbus bar and leads fan chants
Will Ferrell, one of many celebrities who own small shares of LAFC, leads fans through chants a Columbus, Ohio, bar the night before LAFC faces the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup final.
‘We faced a lot of adversity’: How LAFC made the MLS Cup final
Minutes after LAFC won its second MLS Western Conference title in as many years, a stage was hastily erected on the field at BMO Stadium for a victory ceremony, complete with a trophy and a rain of confetti.
About an hour later, striker Denis Bouanga and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau filed through the interview room wearing gray championship T-shirts and caps while deep into the night fans and team employees lined up on the grass to pose for pictures behind what remained of the podium.
Few teams do celebrations better than LAFC, which will load up the confetti canon at the drop of a championship hat. But if Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo in the conference final felt like a coronation, that was only half true because the team’s work is only half done. Still ahead is Saturday’s MLS Cup final in Columbus, Ohio, where LAFC has a chance to become the first team to win back-to-back league titles in more than a decade.
Crew hero Christian Ramírez, formerly of LAFC, is on playoff run inspired by his baby
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kash Ramírez will remember nothing of his father’s first MLS Cup final Saturday. In fact, he’ll probably sleep through most of it since he’ll be just 12 days old and all.
But when he’s old enough to understand, his father will certainly tell him of the role he played in making that MLS Cup possible.
“Look at my hospital bracelet. That was a little good luck charm,” a beaming Christian Ramírez said after scoring extra-time game-winners in both the Eastern Conference semifinal and final, sending Columbus to the title game against reigning champion LAFC.
MLS commissioner isn’t adding fourth designated player after ‘most successful season’
COLUMBUS, Ohio. — MLS commissioner Don Garber gave his annual state of the league address Friday. And the state of the league is so good, Garber said, that he expects no major initiatives will be adopted for the coming season.
No news is big news for a league whose only constant has been change through its first 28 seasons. But then Garber has reason to embrace the status quo.
With Saturday’s sold-out MLS Cup final between LAFC and the Columbus Crew, overall attendance this season will approach a record 12 million, including the league-high 82,110 that showed up at the Rose Bowl on July 4 to see the Galaxy beat LAFC.
‘He understands the moment.’ How Steve Cherundolo led LAFC back to the MLS Cup final
COLUMBUS, Ohio — There are a number of ways to describe LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo.
He’s the only person to win the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield in his first season as a manager. With his team’s appearance in Saturday’s MLS championship game against the Columbus Crew, he’ll become one of only three coaches to take his team to the MLS Cup final in each of his first two years; and at 44, he’s also the youngest to do so. Plus with 29 wins and 96 points through his first 50 MLS games, he had the most successful start of any coach in league history.
Yet for Herculez Gomez, a former World Cup teammate who has known Cherundolo more than a dozen years, all those accolades are like the medals on a general’s uniform: they’re window dressing that tell us nothing about the man’s character or personality.
Ask Gomez to describe Cherundolo and he talks about grins, not wins.
“Steve,” he says, “was by far the funniest teammate I ever had on the national team.”