LAFC vs. Seattle Sounders - Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs - Western Conference Semifinals
Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. PT
🏟: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
🛍: LAFC HQ open 12-9 p.m. PT (in-stadium access only after 5:30 p.m.)
🕹: Level Up Arcade open 5:30-7:30 p.m. PT pre-game and 90 minutes after the final whistle.
After advancing past Round One with a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Game 3 of their Best-of-3 Series, LAFC now hosts the Seattle Sounders on Saturday, November 23, at BMO Stadium, in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals.
This marks LAFC's third consecutive appearance in the Western Conference Semifinals. No other MLS team has reached this stage of the postseason in each of the past three years.
The Black & Gold faces the Sounders for the fourth time in an elimination match over the last thirteen months, having defeated Seattle in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals, the 2024 Leagues Cup Quarterfinal, and the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal. Each of those matches was hosted by Seattle.
LAFC enters this matchup unbeaten in its last 10 meetings with the Sounders (8W-2D-0L). Its last loss to Seattle was a 2-0 defeat in 2021.
Sounders In Depth:
Coached by Brian Schmetzer since 2016, the Sounders endured the slowest start in club history this season, then fought back to finish in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 16W-9L-9D record, including 12 wins in their final 16 matches. The team boasted the league’s best defense, conceding just 35 goals in 34 matches.
“Seattle is a really good team,” midfielder Timmy Tillman told reporters after training on Thursday, “especially defensively. I think they had a tough start in the season, but then halfway through they really changed it and they had a really good second half of the year, so we have to be aware of that. We know they are a good team and it's going to be hard to beat them.”
The Sounders' lone victory at BMO Stadium came in 2019, when they defeated LAFC 3-1 to knock out that year’s Supporters' Shield winners in the Conference Final.
In their Round One Best-of-3 Series against Houston, the Sounders eliminated the Dynamo in two games, with both wins coming via penalty shootouts after the matches ended in draws during regulation time.
The Sounders' attack is led by Jordan Morris, who netted 13 goals and contributed five assists in 34 regular-season matches. Midfielder Albert Rusnák, who was recently named the Sounders’ MVP for 2024, provided 26 goal contributions—10 goals and 16 assists—in 32 regular-season appearances.
“I think the majority of their goals have come off of set pieces in the last 10 games,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo pointed out on Thursday. “So we're well prepared. Now it comes down to guys performing on game day, and it has [come down to that] in the last matches we played against them too. They've been tight margins, and we're looking forward to another tight match, but we're at home and our expectations are to win.”
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It can maintain its tactical discipline against a Sounders team that has scored just once in their last seven meetings with LAFC. Drawing energy from the BMO Stadium crowd will also play a role for LAFC, which is undefeated at home in its last six matches across all competitions and hasn't lost a home playoff game since its 2019 defeat to Seattle.
With a trip to a third consecutive Conference Final on the line, LAFC will rely on an attack that’s led by forward Denis Bouanga, who has been a consistent threat against Seattle, having scored five career goals against the Sounders, including four in their last three encounters.
Seattle Can Win If:
They put their recent struggles against LAFC behind them, look past their defeats at LAFC’s hands in two knockout matches this year, and tune out the BMO Stadium crowd. Undefeated in their last nine games (5W-0L-4D), the Sounders are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and will be eager to start strong after a 20-day break following their Game 2 win over Houston.
