LOS ANGELES – There was a wistfulness in Ryan Hollingshead’s voice, and an understandable note of bitterness.
LAFC have played in a plethora of big games since the fullback arrived at the club in 2022, winning an MLS Cup, a Supporters’ Shield and this year’s US Open Cup. And they’ve tasted some heartbreak, too, falling short in the championship finals of Concacaf Champions Cup, this year’s Leagues Cup and last year’s MLS Cup.
But the pain of Saturday night’s 2-1, extra-time Western Conference Semifinal loss to Seattle Sounders FC at BMO Stadium might linger a bit longer.
“There was never a moment that I thought … an imminent goal was coming. It was them just being opportunistic in a playoff game, and knowing that it's one game and they can try to steal it on the road, and it's exactly what they did,” said Hollingshead after the resourceful Sounders snapped their 10-game winless skid vs. LAFC when Jordan Morris poached a 109th-minute winner to stun the hosts and their vibrant supporters.
“I think we've shown in our time, in the last three years that I've been here, that LAFC is fighting for every championship that this league offers,” Hollingshead added. “And I think even the story tonight isn't Seattle coming in here and outplaying us. It's us feeling like we lost a clear chance to win another title.
“That’s the disappointment for the team, and from the guys and from the staff. To have an opportunity like that in front of you and to come up short feels – it hurts even a little bit more.”
Missed opportunity
The chaos of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs had serendipitously opened a path for LAFC to a second league title, or so it seemed.
With the Eastern Conference’s elite – Shield winners Inter Miami CF, defending champions Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati – all upset in Round One, the Black & Gold found themselves the top-seeded side among the remaining survivors, ensuring they’d retain home-field advantage for as long as they remained alive in the postseason.
The next adversary standing in their way was one they’d seemingly learned how to beat at will: a Sounders group carrying the psychological weight of that three-plus years of pain doled out by their antagonists from Southern California.
For a battle-tested squad like theirs, it all felt like an opportunity they could and should seize with both hands, just as they have so often before along the constant quest for hardware overseen by head coach Steve Cherundolo.
“Making two finals, winning a trophy, bringing it back to the club, winning first place in\] the West having played, I think, the most games in the Western Conference – I think any team signs up for that season,” said veteran defender [Aaron Long. “It's a great season, but we're so greedy as footballers, and we always want more, right?”
For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if that vision, of hoisting another cup in this stadium next month, flashed across his mind, then vanished into the ether of a chilly winter.
“Knowing that you got three home games to win it all and you let it go, it's going to leave you wanting more. It's going to leave that bitter taste in your mouth a little bit,” Long added. “So you can look at it on one hand, a great season, getting a trophy. If you bring a trophy home every year, everyone signs up for that. But we're going to want this one back. We're just – I think it's the way that we are as footballers, the culture of the club.
“We just want these trophies. And I think we could taste this one. It's going to be tough.”
Stunned by Seattle
After both sides walked a knife’s edge during the first half, Hollingshead made the vital breakthrough, arriving in the box to curl a low, seeing-eye strike past the excellent Stefan Frei in the 50th minute. It seemed normal service would continue for LAFC at Seattle’s expense.
But everything changed nine minutes later, with Maxime Chanot’s own goal arresting his team’s momentum in a flash. Having dominated that very scenario time and again, showing themselves expert at cultivating a lead, Cherundolo & Co. will rue their inability to consolidate this one for months to come.
"It's fair to say we beat ourselves tonight. Not taking anything away from Seattle – they played well, had a good game plan, but we did enough. Just couldn't be clean enough in the final third to score one more,” said Cherundolo.
“It hurts. It's disappointing. We're disappointed for our fans that we couldn't play a couple more games at home. It was a really great opportunity for us this season, but that's sports. Sometimes you lose; you can't always win. And we'll regroup, we will reassess, or assess this season, which I think overall was extremely positive. That's what I just told the guys. It was a fantastic season again, and we'll try to do the same thing next year, but with a better ending.”
Going again
With showcase summer signing Olivier Giroud struggling to settle, questions about the future of veterans like Carlos Vela and Kei Kamara, and the usual challenges to keep a successful project on course in the league’s dynamic environment, offseason questions are already looming around the Black & Gold.
Cherundolo took a mostly positive outlook while retaining the pragmatic sensibility that has defined his LAFC tenure.
“We'll sit together, management and coaching staff, and figure out how we can improve from this year,” he said. “We'll analyze first, find out where the weak spots are, where we can improve. We'll look at it statistically. We'll look at it subjectively as well. And we'll be prepared for next season because the season starts off with a lot of games.
“… We feel like we're in a good spot to improve this team for next year, which was the complete opposite of last season. We started off with a very, very thin roster and ended up adding later. But we feel good where we're at right now and how we'll start next season. And we're looking forward to fielding a stronger team next year than we did this year.”
