After ending April with back-to-back draws, LAFC opened May with a convincing 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo last Saturday night at BMO Stadium. It was more than just a routine win. It snapped a five-game regular-season winless streak against Houston, in which LAFC had been outscored 8-0 by their conference foe.
Nathan Ordaz opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Jeremy Ebobisse added a goal in the second half to seal it for LAFC. “We wanted to be aggressive, to be on the front foot, and cause problems,” said head coach Steve Cherundolo after game. “Tonight, I saw a more complete performance on both sides of the ball. At no point did it feel like we were in danger of losing.”
It was a major step forward after recent outings that saw the team create chances but fail to put together a full 90-minutes of execution. “We started playing better with the ball and creating more chances in Portland,” Cherundolo said. “St. Louis was more of the same – a little better defensively, but still two critical errors.” Both of those games ended in a draw. “I was very happy with the way we played tonight from the get-go.”
Ordaz’s goal was his second in league play and fourth in all competitions this year, both career highs for the 20-year-old. “We have a fast counter-attacking team,” Ordaz said. “I feel good, I feel ready, and whatever they ask of me, I’m ready to do.”
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse, who added the second goal in the 79th minute, his first since the season opening win over Minnesota, echoed the team’s emphasis on speed and connection. “We talked a lot about the extra pass, trying to find our guys open, and playing with a fast tempo,” he said. “We knew we’d dropped a couple of games at home. Any time you’re doing that in this league, you’re setting yourself up to make up points on the road. We wanted to take care of business at home and turn it back into the fortress it can be.”
Veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris added another clean sheet to his record, his fourth of the season and 16th in 43 appearances for LAFC.
LAFC’s recent form, two wins and two draws since their last loss in early April has lifted them to fifth in the Western Conference standings with a 5-4-2 record. They’ve now taken eight of a possible 12 points and are 4-1-1 at home in league play. “We do have a congested stretch coming up, so we’ll see some rotations then,” Cherundolo said when asked about the new players, substitutions, and how he plans to manage them moving forward.
That stretch begins on Sunday, May 11, at 4 p.m. when LAFC travels to face the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.