Only twice in its history has LAFC played eight games in a single month. The last time it happened, in May 2023, LAFC was marching toward its second appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup final, mixing those games with a rigorous MLS regular-season schedule and two U.S. Open Cup matches. LAFC went 3W-3L-2D in those eight contests on its way to playing an MLS-record 53 games across all competitions in a single calendar year.
Next month, LAFC will dive into a similar cauldron when it plays eight games across three different competitions, with an average of just 2.7 rest days between matches.
THU. JULY 4 | VS. GALAXY AT ROSE BOWL |
SUN. JULY 7 | @ HOUSTON |
WED. JULY 10 | HOME VS. NM UNITED (U.S. OPEN CUP) |
SAT. JULY 13 | HOME VS. COLUMBUS |
WED. JULY 17 | HOME VS. REAL SALT LAKE |
SAT. JULY 20 | @ SEATTLE |
FRI. JULY 26 | HOME VS. TIJUANA (LEAGUES CUP) |
TUE. JULY 30 | HOME VS. VANCOUVER (LEAGUES CUP) |
LAFC’s challenging July kicks off with a two-week stretch in which the Black & Gold will meet two teams it’s currently battling atop the Western Conference standings (Galaxy and RSL) and the defending MLS Cup champions (Columbus Crew). Sandwiched between those three games is a tilt that could propel LAFC into the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest soccer competition in the country.
After that comes an MLS rivalry match in Seattle, then the Black & Gold closes out the month with two group stage matches in Leagues Cup, the annual clash between Major League Soccer’s clubs and those in Mexico’s Liga MX. Oh, and on July 24 the MLS All Stars will face Liga MX’s All Stars. (LAFC forward Denis Bouanga, who would play a 90-minute match every day if no one stopped him, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be in Columbus, Ohio, for that one.)
Following LAFC’s 6-2 win over San Jose on June 22, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said of the daunting days ahead: “It's a difficult stretch, not just for us, for all the teams … We understand going through last year with a lot of games, how to manage our load in training and the games and rotations. I think we have a good road map there from last year. But staying healthy is everything, and we'll be smart with our rotations and subs in those congested periods to make sure we do stay healthy and have enough fresh legs on the field to get results.”
Here’s a preview of what forecasts as a blistering July:
THU. JULY 4
7:30 pm PT
VS. GALAXY AT ROSE BOWL
The 2023 installment of MLS’ best rivalry was contested at the Rose Bowl for the first time and produced the largest crowd in league history (82,110). The heightened stakes of this year’s Rose Bowl clash — these two sides have lived near the top of the Western Conference all season — could see that record get broken. Although LAFC is 22 years younger than the Galaxy, the Black & Gold holds an 8W-7L-5D advantage in MLS play, including two playoff wins.
SUN. JULY 7
4:30 pm PT
@ HOUSTON DYNAMO
A rematch of last year’s Western Conference final (won by LAFC 2-0), this night game in the south Texas heat will feature two rivals who have produced epic clashes over the last six years. This year’s Dynamo went unbeaten in June and would make the MLS Cup playoffs if the season ended today.
WED. JULY 10
8:00 pm PT
HOME VS. NEW MEXICO UNITED (U.S. OPEN CUP)
With a victory at BMO Stadium over New Mexico United of the USL Championship, LAFC would advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals for the second time in club history. The Black & Gold will not underestimate the Black and Yellow, who are in first place in the USLC’s Western Conference.
SAT. JULY 13
7:30 pm PT
HOME VS. COLUMBUS CREW
On a rainy night in Ohio last December, the Crew prevented LAFC from winning its second MLS Cup title by winning Columbus’ third. Now this growing rivalry shifts to Los Angeles. Back in May 2022, the first time LAFC played eight games in one month, the Crew came to LA and fell 2-0. LAFC went 4W-3L-1D that month on its way to earning the star above its crest.
WED. JULY 17
7:45pm PT
HOME VS. REAL SALT LAKE
Storylines abound here. MVP candidate Cristian “Chicho” Arango visits the city where he got his start in MLS, and became a league champion, to face LAFC’s own MVP frontrunner, Denis Bouanga (last year’s runner-up). This is also a rematch of the infamous snow game of March 2, 2024 (a 3-0 RSL win). Real Salt Lake, who have sat atop the West for most of this season, saw its 15-game unbeaten streak end on June 22. Through June 30, LAFC was enjoying a double-digit undefeated streak of its own.
SAT. JULY 20
7:30 pm PT
@ SEATTLE SOUNDERS
These two rivals have earned more points than any other teams in the Western Conference since LAFC entered MLS in 2018. During the 2023 conference semifinal in Seattle, Bouanga’s 30th-minute breakaway goal gave LAFC a 1-0 win and ended the Sounders’ 19-game unbeaten streak in playoff home games, raising the temperature of this already heated biannual grudge match. LAFC defeated the Sounders 2-1 in both teams’ 2024 season opener.
FRI. JULY 26
8:00 pm PT
HOME VS. CLUB TIJUANA (LEAGUES CUP)
One of Liga MX’s youngest teams makes the 140-mile trip north to face one of MLS’ youngest teams, in Leagues Cup, the World-Cup-style tournament for which both leagues pause their regular-season schedules to determine a champion. Club Tijuana – known as the Xoloitzcuintles, or Xolos, after a hairless breed of dog – have struggled thus far in 2024, but have won two Mexican trophies since they were founded in 2007.
TUE. JULY 30
7:30 pm PT
HOME VS. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (LEAGUES CUP)
The other opponent in LAFC’s Leagues Cup group resides just over the United States’ other border to the north – and these two clubs know each other well. LAFC played Vancouver an eye-opening six times in 2023, across three competitions, with LAFC going 4W-1L-1D in those games, including a two-game sweep in the MLS Cup playoffs. LAFC kept that run going with a 3-0 win over the Whitecaps at BMO Stadium in May.
