2023-12-02 00:45:51
Houston Dynamo’s, from left, Nelson Quinones, Franco Escobar and Amine Bassi celebrate their 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City after an MLS playoff soccer match Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Michael Wyke/Associated Press
The Houston Dynamo mustered just three road wins this MLS season.
One of those came midseason in Los Angeles, where the atmosphere will be very different this Saturday for a Western Conference Final showdown between the Dynamo and LAFC at BMO Stadium.
Artur expects the final to look nothing like when Houston outscored Los Angeles FC 5-0 in a five-day span in the regular season, with the Dynamo winning 4-0 at home on June 10 and 1-0 on the road four days later.
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The June 14 victory, courtesy of a goal from Micael, was Houston’s first road win on a day the Dynamo had several real chances despite holding just 29% possession. They also won at Real Salt Lake, 3-0, on Aug. 26 and wrapped the regular season with a 3-1 win at Portland on Oct. 21.
But Los Angeles FC has been there before. After suffering a pair of regular season losses versus Austin FC last year, LAFC went on to win the third and most important bout 3-0 in the conference final before moving on to beat Philadelphia 3-0 in the MLS Cup Final.
“Now, they play a little different tactically, but they also have the winning mentality and now bring even more intensity to the playoffs,” Artur said. “But on our side, too, I think we improved a little bit playing away from home, so we have to bring the intensity that we have been bringing in the playoffs and also the courage and desire that we have been showing a little more at the end of the season, playing away from home.”
First-year coach Ben Olsen agrees with that sentiment. The coaching staff has been very clear with the team this week, after re-watching the first two LAFC games, that those June matches don’t have anything to do with this game. He said the Dynamo took advantage of Houston’s hot weather and a busy schedule for LAFC, which was also juggling the CONCACAF Champions League at the time.
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Los Angeles FC, the reigning MLS Cup champions and 2022 Supporters’ Shield winners, is seeking to become the first club to win back-to-back MLS Cup titles since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12.
LAFC, which will be playing its 52nd game of the year, enters the match unbeaten in its last six, while the Dynamo have dropped just two matches in their last 17 in all competitions (9-2-6), but own just one win in six trips to Los Angeles. LAFC leads the all-time series with a record of 5-3-5.
But Houston has come a long way since finishing 13th in last year’s Western Conference standings (25 of 28 teams overall). After clinching their first playoff spot since 2017, the Dynamo eliminated Real Salt Lake in round one before beating Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in the conference semifinals on Nov. 26, with a goal from Franco Escobar, who was a member of LAFC’s 2022 MLS Cup title team. Corey Baird, who made 14 appearances for LAFC in 2022, will also be lining up against his former team.
This will be the first playoff meeting between the teams.
“LAFC in the playoffs is different, I’ve said this many times. You see how they go about the playoffs, it’s definitely different from the regular season, they’re that good,” Olsen said. “They know they’re going to be in the postseason and they really do turn it up, so that’s kind of the challenge. We have been more focused on their recent games because they’ve had some structural changes and how they go about the game, and personnel changes from those games.”
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A few months ago, team captain Héctor Herrera, who was named to MLS’ Best XI this week after scoring four goals to go with 17 assists this regular season, believed LAFC was perhaps the strongest, most complete team in terms of players, position by position.
His opinion hasn’t changed.
Now, Herrera and Co. are 90 minutes away from potentially traveling to Ohio on Dec. 9 to play in the MLS Cup Final versus Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final winner between the Columbus Crew and CF Cincinnati.
“I still think that they are a very strong team, with very quality players, players with a lot of experience, and that it is going to be a very difficult game,” Herrera said. “Personally, we do not have to change our identity, which has brought us to this conference final. Obviously, in the game sometimes you have to modify things due to issues, situations, or moments of the game, no, but hey, we need to be ourselves at home or in Los Angeles, where we have to play.”
Denis Bouanga has been Los Angeles FC’s catalyst all season. In late October, the 29-year-old winger won the 2023 MLS Golden Boot after tallying 20 goals to go with seven assists this regular season. He has added four playoff goals since then, including a game-winner in the 30th minute at Seattle that sent LAFC to its third conference final since the club’s first season in 2018 with a 1-0 win on Nov. 26.
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Bouanga, who was also named to MLS’ Best XI, has scored at least one goal in his last eight games for club and country (Gabon) and is a goal away from tying teammate Carlos Vela’s record from 2019 for most goals (38) in a calendar year across all competitions.
Olsen expects to see numerous Dynamo players helping Griffin Dorsey out in transition or the run of play, making sure they’re clear on Bouanga’s tendencies, what he does and where he shows up on the field.
In addition, Vela has scored four goals against Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark since 2021, two last year, and another pair when Clark played at Portland.
It will be a collective effort, Olsen said, from front pressure to the midfield, screening spots that Bouanga and Co. like to get the ball and repressing it.
“We’ve dealt with really high-level transition all year. Some teams are built this way and we’ve been dealing with that a little bit,” Olsen said. “We have some ways to go about it. But this is a very high-level attack, and you can do everything right and you’ll still get looks, so as I said before, we’re going to have to make some saves, we’re going to have to bail each other out, we’re going to have to have some really clever and brave box defending, it’s just what this game is going to look like.
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“But we also have to be ourselves and be brave and still play and make sure that we have the ball as well in this match.”
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