LAFC heads to Houston hoping to feel the heat – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

LAFC’s Mateusz Bogusz, right foreground, is brought down by Houston’s Luís Caicedo, left, during the second half on June 14, 2023, at BMO Stadium. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)

After an emotional and nerve-wracking July 4 victory over the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Football Club travels to Houston in the heat and humidity for a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Finals on Sunday.

After losing twice in less than a week in the regular season to the Houston Dynamo last year, LAFC won when it mattered most with a 2-0 victory at BMO Stadium in early December that sent the club to its second straight MLS Cup.

Sandwiched between El Trafico and a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, LAFC’s first meeting with Houston this season offers the hosts a chance to become the first team to beat the Black & Gold in more than a dozen games since early May.

“We haven’t traditionally done well there and we’re looking to change that,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said Saturday as his team prepared to travel to Texas.

In MLS, LAFC won five of 15 points in Houston and also lost a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match in 2018.

Houston has lost just once in its last seven games, a 3-2 defeat to Real Salt Lake on July 3, and sits seventh in the West.

“We know we can respond,” Houston center Erik Sviatchenko said. “We have a strong group that is at a high level.

“We need a full stadium. It would be nice against LAFC to put them under pressure at Shell Energy.”

The Dynamo (8-7-6, 30 points) have held their own in the league despite injuries at the back. Under head coach Ben Olsen, who took over last year and won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Houston has allowed the third-fewest goals in its conference while using a possession-based style to control games.

“Even at home, they put pressure on us,” LAFC midfielder Ilie Sanchez said. “We had to play a very complete game to qualify for the MLS Cup. On top of that, they’re playing at home and they always show their best face when they play in Houston, not just against LAFC but against any opponent in this league. I remember playing with Kansas City and struggling to get results there, and again with LAFC I had the same struggles.”

For Houston, fullback Franco Escobar, a member of LAFC’s 2022 MLS Cup champion team, will not play due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

As tough as the Dynamo can be, no MLS team has been a bigger challenge to its opponents over the past two months than LAFC, which has conceded the fewest goals in the West (24) and is tied for second in the league (43).

Looking to extend its 12-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, LAFC “are doing their best to keep the same mentality, the same attitude and the same discipline, because we know that’s the shortest path to getting results,” Sanchez said.

Cherundolo’s starting lineup has been consistent over the last three games, although changes could come Sunday and again Wednesday for the US Open Cup quarter-final against New Mexico United at BMO Stadium.