It’s been more than three weeks since the Los Angeles Football Club won a match.
Wednesday night’s U.S. Open Cup final at BMO Stadium presents a unique opportunity, one the team earned with that late-August victory near the banks of the Green River, at the 4,500-seat Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
The gutsy 1-0 effort against the Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal was a “funny one” for LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Taking place on the host’s training grounds, Lloris was reminded of his experiences throughout a lengthy career in France and England, where all manner of amateur and professional teams squared off each year for domestic glory.
The spirit of the Coupe de France and England’s FA Cup – the oldest soccer tournament in the world – share a lot in common with America’s national tournament.
“There is a lot of magic,” Lloris said this week. “Domestic cups are always important. It doesn’t matter the country. And I hope we can add this one for LAFC.”
To accomplish that, the Black & Gold must deny Sporting Kansas City from becoming the fourth five-time U.S. Open Cup winner. SKC would be the first to achieve that feat since L.A.’s semi-pro Maccabee AC pulled it off in the 1970s and 1980s.
An L.A. team hasn’t lifted the Open Cup since the Galaxy in 2005. Wednesday could be the 11th time since the mid-1950s that a local group carried the day.
Like its more famous European brethren, including Spain’s Copa del Rey, Germany’s DFB-Pokal, the Dutch Cup and so on, the 109th edition of the oldest prize in U.S. soccer has its share of quirks.
LAFC and SKC were among just eight MLS teams in the field, a sizable decrease from the 29-team top flight of American soccer at a time when the federation and MLS kick around the parameters of future participation.
For LAFC’s English midfielder Lewis O’Brien, separating a nation’s top teams from its domestic cup seems like a crazy thing to discuss.
“If that conversation was even brought in England it would be shut out straight away,” said O’Brien, who played every minute of the Open Cup semifinal and got his first taste of the FA Cup with Bradford City in 2018. “I think the person would be sent out of the country that brought the idea up.”
American international and LAFC center back Aaron Long, who finished second to SKC in 2017 as a member of the New York Red Bulls, acknowledged “there’s a ton of MLS teams that really love this tournament and felt like they got short-sided a little bit by not being able to play in it.”
“We felt fortunate,” Long continued. “We wanted to go for it from the beginning. And now we have the chance, so just trying to complete the job.”
For LAFC, the knockout tournament seeded a club record 13-match unbeaten streak starting with a 3-1 victory in Las Vegas on May 8. A pair of decisive results at BMO Stadium over second-division USL Championship foes Loudoun United FC (of Virginia) and New Mexico United then sent them to Seattle’s suburbs in search of an initial Open Cup final appearance.
Meanwhile, Sporting’s presence illustrates another shared aspect of domestic tournaments regardless of their location.
Although Kansas City was officially eliminated from MLS postseason contention last weekend, joining San Jose as the only teams in the league to face that reality so far, for the past few months they found purpose and resolve in the promise of the do-or-die Open Cup.
“Sometimes when you don’t really perform well in the regular season or the league then the domestic cup is really interesting because it’s where you can surpass yourself and it’s a different approach of football,” Lloris said.
Led by head coach Peter Vermes, Kansas City’s Open Cup journey began with its only two wins in seven matches during the month of May. Both came against lower division foes, Omaha and Tulsa. In July, the team defeated FC Dallas to set up a “David and Goliath” semifinal against the USL Championship’s Indy 11.
Both finalists have outscored the opposition 10-2 in their four matches.
Based on LAFC’s current state of play, however, the timing of the final feels fraught.
Adding to the tension of a mediocre run in league play (collecting six of its last 24 potential points, starting with a 5-1 home loss to Columbus in mid-July), LAFC finished second in four straight finals, including in the Leagues Cup a few days prior to bouncing back at Starfire.
“The good thing is we are not at our best in the league right now but it’s like when you play a different competition it can bring you some fresh air,” Lloris said. “That’s probably what we need right now. Also it’s a final. I would say it’s not the best way to prepare for a final in three days. Normally you have a full week to prepare. But we don’t manage the schedule. We take the challenge.”
SPORTING KANSAS CITY AT LAFC
What: U.S. Open Cup, championship match
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium
TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – Free710 AM, 980 AM