LOS ANGELES — For the first time, the Los Angeles Football Club has earned the right to compete for an MLS Cup.
Hosting the Western Conference final Sunday afternoon at Banc of California Stadium, LAFC dominated Austin FC 3-0.
The outcome sets up an MLS Cup final on LAFC’s home pitch Saturday, Nov. 5, against the Philadelphia Union or New York City FC, who play the Eastern Conference final later Sunday.
A goal by Colombian forward Cristian Arango off a bending corner kick by LAFC captain Carlos Vela in the 29th minute gave the Black and Gold a lead it would not relinquish, pushing the Western Conference champions’ record to 19-1 in 2022 when they score first.
LAFC tacked on an insurance goal an hour into the match when Vela, again off a corner kick, clanged a ball off the head of Austin forward Maxi Urruti that deflected beyond the reach of goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
While the pending victory party unfolded in the stands, Mahala Opoku, who entered the match for Arango in the 71st minute, put the game away after corralling an Austin giveaway when he rolled a shot past Stuver to make it 3-0.
Throughout the most successful season in LAFC history, first-year head Steve Cherundolo’s most spoken desire was for his team to play opening halves as well as they did closing halves.
A minus-two goal differential over the first 45 minutes. A plus-30 goal differential after the break. It was more than a trend.
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On Sunday, LAFC managed to engineer not just a strong start — it put together the best first half of the season by dominating the visitors in a variety of ways.
Pressing against Austin’s build-from-the-back approach, LAFC’s attackers and midfielders closed down hard on opposing players and produced multiple scoring chances that, if not for Stuver, would have put the game away earlier.
Out of 16 first-half shots, LAFC put six on target. Meanwhile, Austin’s frustration mounted as it accrued more yellow cards than attempts on Maxime Crepeau — a massive departure from its previous two playoff matches, when it unleashed 56 shots on Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.
By the final whistle, after LAFC supporters enjoyed chants of “olé” as their team played keep away, Austin totaled seven shots, just one on target, compared to 22 and 10 for the victors.
More to come.