It took nearly two years, but the Los Angeles Football Club has finally won another title.
Since hoisting the MLS Cup trophy in 2022, LAFC has finished as the runner-up in four consecutive championship games, including the 2023 MLS Cup in Colombus, Ohio last December.
Playing in their fifth final in the last two years, LAFC snapped their four-game losing streak in title games with a 3-1 victory in extra time over Sporting Kansas City in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night.
For LAFC, it was a sense of unfinished business after falling in four straight finals including two already this season.
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"We've have an amazing group here. We've gotten to the finals a few times now and it's important to reward ourselves," said LAFC defender Aaron Long, who wore the Captain's armband for the match. "The group right now is hungry. To taste these finals many times in a row now and to get this close, we're all just really happy. We're happy to give back to the fans. They've been suffering a lot."
Sporting KC was seeking to become the only MLS team in history to win five U.S. Open Cup titles.
The final was a battle between two teams headed in opposite directions over the last month.
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Sporting KC is currently on the outside looking in of the MLS Cup Playoffs, but are 3-1-2 over their last six matches for a total of 10 points.
Meanwhile, LAFC, a powerhouse atop the Western Conference all season long, has won just once since Aug. 22, a 1-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
Led by their new superstar Olivier Giroud, LAFC made sure they would not finish second in another tournament.
Giroud scored his second goal for LAFC--both in finals--to help lead the team to victory.
"When you play in a final, you just have to go for it," said Giroud after the victory celebration. "I'm really proud of this team. We celebrated with the fans like a family. This was a little boost for the end of the season."
Waves of black and gold jerseys flooded onto the field to rejoice at the blowing of the final whistle, marking the second title in LAFC's young history.
Donned in U.S. Open Cup Champions hats, shirts, and scarves, the players poured onto the field to celebrate with their families, including LAFC legend Carlos Vela, who just re-signed with the team last week and has yet to step foot onto the pitch this season.
Kei Kamara, the oldest current player in the league, who grew up in Los Angeles, embraced his wife in front of the LAFC supporters section the 3252.
"This moment here for me to come home and be in LA, and be part of this young rich history of this club is awesome, and tonight was a special night," said Kamara, who also won the U.S. Open Cup with Kansas City in 2012.
LAFC's captain for most of the 2024 campaign, Ilie Sanchez, grabbed Vela, the team's longtime captain, to help him hoist the trophy as fireworks erupted overhead.
Later, the trophy was passed to Giroud and Lloris, two players who traveled nearly 6,000 miles from Paris to Los Angeles, to help LAFC lift another trophy.
"We're on the same page. We just try to bring our experience, leadership, and calmness," said Giroud and Lloris, longtime friends and teammates with the French national team that won the World Cup in 2018. "Especially when you're trying to win a trophy. This team has a lot of quality."
Los Angeles is nicknamed Championship City, or "TitleTown, USA." In a stadium that is a few miles away from the Lakers, Dodgers, and Kings, it was only fitting that LAFC lifted another trophy en route to what hopefully is just one among many more to come for the newer club.
The mental toll of losing in four consecutive championship games can be daunting. It can affect one's confidence, not to mention lay seed to doubt that can grow like weeds inside the mind. Just ask the Buffalo Bills of the mid-1990s.
Wednesday's victory represented a new chapter for the budding franchise decked in black and gold in downtown LA. It ended those seeds of doubt locked inside the labyrinth of the mind and revitalized a team that still has an opportunity to reach their third consecutive MLS Cup Final later this year.
"This will only make us stronger down the stretch of the season. I'm convinced of that," said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo.
One thing is for certain, Wednesday's trophy was a reward for their patience, suffering, and disappointment over the last 500 days.
"I thought I would feel a big sense of relief," continued Cherundolo. "But right now, all I feel is joy."
Both teams had their opportunities in the first half, as goalkeepers Hugo Lloris for LAFC and Tim Melia for SKC, had their skills on full display.
Giroud opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. Mateusz Bogusz received a through ball from Sergi Palencia on the right side of the box, and his cross found the foot of the legendary French striker for the 1-0 lead.
There it is.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Olivier Giroud has the breakthrough in the @opencup final! pic.twitter.com/1bQBdwge3l
However, the lead would be short-lived.
Less than ten minutes later, Kansas City leveled the score on Erik Thommy's right-footed flick from the back of the box to the upper-left corner of the net inside the near post.
WE'RE LEVEL!!
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Erik Thommy responds immediately to equalize in the @opencup final. pic.twitter.com/AglHTKB6Pc
The back-and-forth battle continued with the underdogs nearly netting the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute off a set piece, but once again Lloris was able to make a critical save. He made another in the 92nd minute.
Defender Omar Campos, who entered the game in the 67th minute, raced into the far left corner of the box and slotted a shot into the far post for the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute.
OMAR CAMPOS IN EXTRATIME FOR THE LEAD@LAFC x @opencup pic.twitter.com/pSDWLs6gfU
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Sporting KC ratcheted up the pressure over the next ten minutes, but got caught on the counter by former teammate, and current LAFC Super Sub, Kei Kamara.
Kei Kamara. That's the tweet.@LAFC x @opencup pic.twitter.com/CBS27FgNE2
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Kamara buried a header in front of the net in the 110th minute for an insurance goal that put the game to bed as LAFC held on until the final whistle to lift their first U.S. Open Cup trophy in team history, ending their streak of four consecutive finals losses.
"We want to win every game we play in, it just doesn't work out like that sometimes. These guys have never won the US Open Cup trophy before, and now they can say they've won it," said Kamara. "To be able to celebrate with my family and bring them into the locker room with me. That’s special. That's what I wanted. That's a good feeling."
