Defenders of the Banc - The LAFC Podcast J.R. Lebert & Christian Filimon

300! We made it! 7+ years, hours and hours of content, and here we are, 300 episodes strong. Thank you to all of you out there who have supported us, listened to us, said nice or not-so-nice things about us, fueled us, and otherwise been there throughout any part of this journey. We can't wait to hit 400 with you soon!

LAFC took a trip to beautiful Cashman Field to take on the Las Vegas Lights in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. As we have been known to do this season, the boys in Black and Gold made it tougher than it needed to be, conceding another set-piece goal. Ultimately, however, some timely subs and a solid second-half effort saw LAFC pull one out, 3-1, behind a late brace from Kike Olivera and the first LAFC tally for Kei Kamara. Abraham Romero played well in his first start for LAFC. 

Aside from their suddenly-congested MLS schedule, LAFC must now ready themselves for another USL-foe, Loudon United, as the Open Cup moves to BMO on May 21. 

Between now and then, we will have MLS matches against both Vancouver and St. Louis, so stay tuned for lots of Filly and Scarf here on Defenders!

Filly and The Scarf chop it up about LAFC's upcoming US Open Cup fixture against their former affiliate, the Las Vegas Lights.

LAFC had an opportunity, at least for a minute, to share the top spot in the West if they could deliver a performance on the road against the worst team in the West. To put it very simply, we could not. This is Episode 299, and it's not pretty. 

San Jose jumped out early, scoring on a corner kick just 5 minutes in.  The Black and Gold had a few opportunities in the opening half, but either poor execution in the final third or a solid save by William Yarbrough kept us off the board. 

To start the second half, San Jose subbed on their expensive new addition, Hernan Lopez, and things did NOT get better for LAFC. A Pair of beautiful balls (giggity?) by Cristian Espinoza put the nails in our Santa Clara coffin. A Kike Olivera moment of brilliance gave LAFC a lifeline, but the same story that doomed us in the first half was the story yet again: Yarbrough and poor execution. LAFC fails yet another road test and questions now abound about our set-piece defense. 13 goals in 5 road games just won't get it done. 

Also on this episode, BMO Stadium gets it own Noah's Arcade while the boys get a new addition up top and say goodbye to a member of the braintrust. The next one is a big one, as we hit the three century mark! We can't wait to put this one behind us and to get going on 300!

LAFC heads up the coast to take on the Earthquakes at the home of the 49ers, Levi's Stadium! It looks like it'll be the debut of San Jose's new DP, Hernan Lopez. Too little, too late for San Jose? We think so!

On this episode, we again praise the exploits of one Denis Bouanga, or Saint Denis, as he has come to be known around these parts. Just when we thought our old friend, Maxime Crepeau, did enough standing on his head to deliver his new club, the Portland Timbers, a point on the road, St. Denis delivered a stoppage-time miracle and three points to the Black and Gold. Welcome to Episode 298, the one where Diego Chara sets records and sees red. 

LAFC played perhaps their best half of the season to start the match against Portland, racing out to a 2-0 lead behind a goal from Timmy Tillman in first-half stoppage and a Portland own goal.  But soccer matches are two halves long, and LAFC couldn't have come out more flat. Cabecita cut the deficit in half before Santi Moreno leveled with less than 20 minutes remaining. But consecutive yellows from Diego Chara just 4 minutes apart saw the home side go up a man, and it was time for a stunner. 

In the second minute of stoppage, after another great Crepeau save, Denis rounded the corner of the left side of the box, got everything behind his boot, and fired past Crepeau for the 3-2 stoppage time. 

Also on this episode, we discuss LAFC Day, remember our first home match, and look forward to Levi's. Enjoy Episode 298!