Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, May 3

• May 4, 2024

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Friday, May 3

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FRIDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Round 1

DIVISION 1

Huntington Beach 11, Santiago/Corona 2

Aquinas 7, Pacifica 2

Cypress 5, Calabasas 2

Santa Margarita 7, Tesoro 0

Bonita 15, JSerra 2

Corona 1, El Dorado 0

DIVISION 3

Fountain Valley 4, Trabuco Hills 3

Los Alamitos 5, Walnut 0

South Torrance 3, Northwood 1

La Habra 2, Redands East Valley 1

Beckman 1, Temescal Canyon 0

El Modena 9, Dana Hills 3

DIVISION 5

Segerstrom 1, South Pasadena 0

Calvary Chapel 6, Saugus 2

Montebello 3, Katella 1

DIVISION 7

Oxford Academy 7, Western Christian 1

BOYS TENNIS

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Round 2

DIVISION 2

Troy 11, El Dorado 7

DIVISION 3

Riverside Poly 14, St. Margaret’s 4

DIVISION 6

Los Amigos 10, Garey 8

​ Orange County Register 

Dione Barbosa makes UFC debut thanks to dreams and determination

• May 4, 2024

The past four years of Dione Barbosa’s life can be described as geometrical, going full circle into an Octagon.

The former Brazil Judo National Team member embarked on an ambitious dream less than four years ago in pursuit of a pro MMA career. She left Brazil and moved to Huntington Beach to live and train with MMA star and countrywoman Cris Cyborg, helping the Grand Slam champion prepare for her Bellator featherweight title defenses while honing her own skills for her future in the sport.

The goal was ultimately realized in September, when Barbosa locked in a first-round armbar submission on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract. And what better way to debut in the UFC than to go back to her home country and face Ernesta Kareckaite in front of a partisan crowd at UFC 301 on Saturday in Rio De Janeiro.

“Oh my gosh, this is like a special moment for me,” Barbosa (6-2) said by phone on Wednesday from Rio, which is roughly 1,500 miles south of her coastal hometown of Recife on the easternmost point of Brazil. “I’m so happy and glad to be back in Brazil. I go to the USA because I really want my UFC contract and everything, so to come back to Brazil with my contract and fighting here is like the world for sure.”

Barbosa’s journey was even more challenging than it sounds. She received the opportunity to fight for a UFC contract eight months ago only after another fighter had to withdraw. That meant Barbosa, who turns 32 on Wednesday, had to cut 16 pounds on four days’ notice to make the 136-pound bantamweight limit.

No problem, right? Other than the fact that Barbosa is a flyweight and accustomed to fighting 10 pounds lighter and she was nursing a knee injury.

Then heavy rains caused the cancellation of her flight to Las Vegas. Undeterred by the downpour, Barbosa got in her car. The whole way, Barbosa was dead set on stepping in that cage: “I will fight. I will. I will. It’s my moment, it’s my chance. I will get my contract,” she said.

In the end, after driving nearly eight hours there, she needed just 4 minutes and 35 seconds to secure the victory.

Then came the waiting game. Barbosa’s was the first of five fights that night. A victory is no guarantee of a contract. So she had to agonize through four more fights before waiting to hear if UFC president Dana White called her name.

“When he said my name, I’m like, ‘Whew, yeah! I get it. Yes!’” Barbosa recalled. “I do whatever I need to do, but I never wait for a lot from people, so I really put myself in position and I can like make the work done. But in this situation, we have like no idea.”

Nicknamed “The Witch,” Barbosa gushes about Cyborg and the opportunity to learn from one of the sport’s greats and grow into the fighter she has become, which included earning her Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. When asked what advice the Bellator 145-pound champ gave her, Barbosa says the biggest lesson has simply been watching the Brazilian legend go about her business on a daily basis.

Barbosa, who also trains at Huntington Beach’s Kings MMA under Master Rafael Cordeiro, has won her past three fights, as has the 25-year-old Kareckaite (5-0-1), a two-time Lithuanian kickboxing champion who earned her UFC contract on the same show three weeks after Barbosa.

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And now, Barbosa’s dream is over. For now, it has become an achievement.

“I know that the day I decided to come to the USA, I come here for this contract, for this moment. So like I’m not just dreaming. I’m like working hard,” Barbosa said. “I did what I needed to do, like I do whatever I need to do. If my coach talks to me like, ‘Oh, you need like run every day like 20 miles a day for you to have the result you want?’ I will. So yeah, in my mind there’s no halfway and I just do what I need to do.”

UFC 301

When: Saturday

Where: Rio Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

How to watch: early prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPN); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)

​ Orange County Register 

Willie Calhoun batting 4th for Angels because Ron Washington says young players aren’t ready

• May 3, 2024

CLEVELAND — Journeyman Willie Calhoun found himself hitting in the cleanup spot in his first game with the Angels on Friday.

“I took some names and put them in a hat and shook them up and he came out fourth,” Manager Ron Washington said.

After the assembled media chuckled, Washington added: “Seriously. You think I’m joking.”

Washington went on to explain that he actually wrote some names on pieces of paper and threw them on his bed. He also had Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe in the mix.

Those players have each shown some power in the major leagues and gotten off to solid starts this season, but Washington said he really didn’t want to give either of them the responsibility of hitting fourth.

“They’re too young,” Washington said. “I tried putting Adell in the top of the lineup and it lasted a day. I tried putting (Zach) Neto in the top of the lineup and it lasted two days. I’m not going to take O’Hoppe and put him in the fourth hole. I’ll hit him fifth or sixth, but for some reason when you put them in one of those spots, they think they’ve got to be special and they don’t. They really don’t. They’ve just got to be who they are. If you can give us base hits there, I’ll take it. You can give us doubles there, I’ll take it. I’m not looking for home runs because I don’t have that kind of team.”

Given all that, what if Washington had picked Adell or O’Hoppe off the bed?

“I’m glad I picked Calhoun, because if I would have picked up one of the kids, I would have changed my mind,” Washington said. “So it was meant to be.”

Calhoun, 29, was set to make his Angels debut after playing for the Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees. He was hitting .268 with a .706 OPS at Triple-A when he got the call. He was hitting .316 with a .792 OPS in his last 14 games.

“I started off a little slow but then started picking things up the last two-and-a-half weeks,” he said. “I found a little something with my swing, so I’m just going to continue to do that, and carry it here.”

As for batting cleanup, Calhoun said it doesn’t make a difference to him, which is exactly why Washington put him there.

“Where you hit in the lineup doesn’t matter,” Calhoun said. “I feel like you get pitched the same way if you hit first, fourth or ninth.”

Washington also moved Luis Rengifo in the No. 2 spot, because he apparently also has that attitude.

“He just goes and has his at-bat,” Washington said. “He’s not about trying to do anything special but what he does. I certainly hope he’s able to run with it.”

Rengifo came into the weekend hitting .326 with an .841 OPS.

WHAT ABOUT DRURY?

Infielder Brandon Drury, who also could have been a choice to hit cleanup, was not in the lineup for the second straight game because of neck and head issues. He’s officially listed as being out with a migraine, but Drury said that he’s felt some stiffness in his neck ever since a diving play on Tuesday.

Drury went through a full workout on Friday, and he could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday.

NOTES

Three-time American League MVP Mike Trout underwent a successful partial medial meniscectomy on Friday, according to the Angels’ medical report. The Angels would not provide any timeline, but a typical recover for that type of procedure would be four to six weeks. …

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Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) was scheduled to extend his throwing to 90 feet on Friday. The Angels do not want to bring Silseth back as a reliever, so he will need to be up to at least 90 pitches during his rehab games. …

Infielder Michael Stefanic (quadriceps strain) was scheduled to face live pitching on Friday. Stefanic is on the 60-day injured list, so he’s not eligible until late May.

Infielder Miguel Sanó (left knee inflammation) could be back when the Angels return from this trip next Thursday, Washington said. “I hope so,” Washington said. “It just needed to quiet down.”

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-2, 3.12 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Ben Lively, 0-1, 2.30 ERA), Friday, 3:10 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Admired by all, Homeboy leader Father Boyle gets Presidential Medal of Freedom

• May 3, 2024

Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries — the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the world — was honored by President Joe Biden with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on Friday, May 3.

Officials at Homeboys Industries said in a statement that Father Greg, as he is widely known, “exemplifies the transformative power of compassion, forgiveness, and second chances. For nearly forty years, Father Greg has empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals to break free from the cycles of poverty, violence, and incarceration.”

The nonprofit uses its $40 million budget to provide services and support to 10,000 people annually.

Other Medal of Freedom recipients on May 3 included philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, former U.S. President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledeck.

In 1988 as pastor at Dolores Mission Church, the most impoverished Catholic parish in L.A., Boyle sought to give a second chance to ex-gang members and former prisoners. And then after the 1992 L.A. riots, Boyle and others set up Homeboy Bakery where former prisoners and former gang members learned skills and got the chance to make changes in their lives. According to Homeboys Industries, “36 years later, that first social enterprise business has evolved into 13 social enterprises.”

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Related links

Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour is a mashup of Father Boyle and Fernando Valenzuela
First lady Jill Biden visit to LA’s Homeboy Industries shines light on non-profit’s ‘impact’
BMO financial group gives $1 million to Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles
Homeboy Industries’ Father Greg Boyle shares hope at Pasadena mayor’s breakfast
Everyday Heroes: Father Greg’s Homeboy Industries helps gang members ‘return to themselves’

​ Orange County Register 

Trampas Canyon Reservoir hits major milestone ahead of schedule

• May 3, 2024

A “lake” has formed in south Orange County, with migrating birds resting in the cool water, deer and even the occasional mountain lion spotted along its shore.

“It really is a pretty setting,” said Donald Bunts, general manager of the Santa Margarita Water District. “The wildlife is totally enjoying it.”

Bunts and his folks are celebrating its fullness – it has for the first time reached 90% capacity – because the body of water is actually a reservoir of supply that will help irrigate surrounding communities without tapping into the drinking water the district has to purchase to meet needs.

“Any drop we are able to use from (the Trampas Canyon Reservoir) lets us save a drop of imported drinking water,” Bunts said. “It is an absolute one-for-one benefit.”

The water is treated wastewater, turning what would have been flushed away during the winter months into a resource for watering street medians, golf courses and other community assets during the hot summer months.

And all that treated water captured in the Trampas reservoir didn’t go into the ocean, Bunts added.

The last two wet winters helped top off the reservoir sooner than expected because irrigation went way down, Bunts said, but when it gets drained down to meet summer landscaping needs, that’s going to be OK because that has always been the intention.

The reservoir was completed in the summer of 2020 and as of this week is holding about 1.45 billion gallons of water, district officials said. Its total capacity is about 1.6 billion, which they point out “could fill the Rose Bowl approximately 20 times over.”

The water district serves the cities of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano, as well as Coto de Caza, Las Flores, Ladera Ranch and other southeastern canyon communities.

“Trampas Canyon Reservoir is operating just as we envisioned,” the water district’s board president, Saundra Jacobs, said in a statement. “Think of it as a savings account — not for a rainy day, but for a sunny one. By storing this water now, we can utilize it for irrigation purposes instead of tapping into our drinking water reserves during the hot, dry summer months.”

And, with future advances the district is planning, the water in the Trampas reservoir is expected to ultimately be usable as a drinking supply for the public. That is probably, if all goes well, three to five years away, Bunts said.

In the meantime, the community can tour the Trampas reservoir, typically off-limits, during Saturday’s Water Festival being hosted by the district to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

“It is a beautiful body of water,” Bunts said, adding the district owns the property to the ridgeline around the reserve and it has been “dedicated to open space in perpetuity.”

The Water Festival will feature a “Star Wars” theme this year, in honor of its May 4 date, and there will be children’s activities such as pipe-building races, face painting, meeting reptiles and more.

There is the district’s WaterWorks Garden to tour, with master gardeners on hand, and presentations on worm composting and birds of prey planned. And two-hour bus tours of the district’s infrastructure, including Trampas, will be offered; reserve seats at smwd.com/222/Water-Festival.

Activities are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the district’s headquarters, 26111 Antonio Parkway, in Rancho Santa Margarita.

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​ Orange County Register 

5 things to know about Saturday’s NCAA men’s volleyball final in Long Beach

• May 3, 2024

The NCAA men’s volleyball title game is set — and it should be a thriller.

No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Long Beach State, two of the best volleyball teams in the country, will square off on Saturday afternoon, May 4, at the Walter Pyramid, with the national championship on the line.

The Bruins (25-5) are searching for their second title in a row. The Beach (27-2) are looking for their first since going back-to-back in 2018-19.

It should be an intense game, with the Walter Pyramid, on the LBSU campus, poised to be packed with boisterous fans on both sides and the two teams having blueblood credentials.

Here are five things to know about Saturday’s title match.

The matchup

From a neutral perspective, this was the ideal pairing for the tournament final.

UCLA finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, while Long Beach State was third, despite having a better overall record than both the Bruins and No. 2 Grand Canyon University.

LBSU also won the Big West Conference regular season and tournament championships. UCLA fell to GCU in the finals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s conference tournament.

But for the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins and LBSU got the top-two seeds — so they could only face off in the title match.

There are even more intriguing storylines than just the top-two seeds playing in the finals.

The Bruins, for example, are trying to win back-to-back titles. The Beach, meanwhile, will likely have strong support among the crowd, given that they are the hosts. The Beach are undefeated at the Walter Pyramid this year and the last time they won the national title, in 2019, they were also the tournament’s hosts.

The two teams played home and away matches earlier this year. They split the pair, with the home team winning each one in four sets.

And one more wrinkle: UCLA knocked LBSU out of last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinals, en route to the 2023 title — so the Beach will be looking for some revenge.

How we got here

The NCAA Tournament featured only eight teams, so the opening round on Tuesday was the quarterfinals.

UCLA swept No. 8 seed Fort Valley St., part of the University System of Georgia, in the opening round on Tuesday. LBSU also dominated its opening match, sweeping No. 7 Belmont Abbey, a private liberal arts college in North Carolina.

Thursday’s semifinals, though, were both gauntlets.

UCLA survived a thriller against No. 4 UC Irvine, outlasting the Big West team three sets to two.

The Beach saw their title hopes flash before their eyes against No. 3 seed Grand Canyon University before pulling off an epic comeback.

GCU won the first two sets in overtime, 26-24 and 28-26, respectively.

That silenced the home crowd — which was the majority of the 3,786 fans in attendance — and put LBSU one lost set away from bowing out of the tournament. But the Beach stormed back. They won the third set 25-18 and the fourth 25-23.

That set up a decisive fifth set.

The Beach jumped out to an early lead before GCU clawed its way back. The Beach then extended their lead again, hitting match point at 14-10. Sotiris Siapanis got the kill to end the match — sending the crowd into a frenzy and his teammate flooding onto the court.

How to watch

The finals will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Walter Pyramid.

The Pyramid, which can hold about 4,000 people, was nearly at capacity as of Friday morning, said Roger Kirk, LBSU’s spokesperson for athletics. But LBSU will sell a limited number of standing-room-only tickets beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. Those tickets, available at the Walter Pyramid box office, will cost $30.

If you can’t go to the game, you can watch online or on television. ESPN will air the match on its flagship cable station and on its subscription streaming service, ESPN+

By the numbers

Here’s a look at some key numbers for UCLA, Long Beach and their finals matchup:

37: The number of combined national championship appearances UCLA and LBSU have made, not counting Saturday. UCLA’s men’s volleyball program had made the finals 27 times before Saturday, while Long Beach has played in 10 previous title matches.
23: The number of combined national titles the two teams have won. UCLA is looking for its 21st national championship in men’s volleyball on Saturday. For LBSU, it’d be the fourth title.
19: The number of victories LBSU has had at home this season. The Beach have yet to lose at the Walter Pyramid this year.
5: The maximum number of sets the two teams can play on Saturday. It’s a best of five series, meaning the first team to win three sets will claim the title. The first four sets go to 25 points and a team must win by two points. The final set, if necessary, would go to 15.
4: The number of times the Walter Pyramid has hosted the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament, including this year. The Pyramid also hosted in 2001, 2003 and 2019.

About the venue

While the Walter Pyramid may not have the national profile of other Long Beach landmarks, such as the Queen Mary and Aquarium of the Pacific, it’s certainly iconic locally.

And it has to be one of the more inventive sports arenas in the region.

The venue, which is 18-stories tall and boasts a cobalt blue exterior, can be seen for miles and, according to the university’s website, is one of only four true pyramid structures in the United States. The others are in Las Vegas, Memphis and San Diego.

“The Walter Pyramid is believed to be the largest space-frame structure in North America,” the website says. “The building’s infrastructure utilizes 18,000 steel tubes and connection modules, joined by more than 160,000 three-quarter inch bolts. If the tubes were laid end-to-end, they would form a pipe span 26 miles long.”

The Pyramid officially opened on Nov. 30, 1994 — making this year its 20th anniversary. The Beach opened the Pyramid’s history by beating the University of Detroit in men’s basketball 71-64 in front of 5,021 people. ESPN also broadcast that game

And on Saturday, the Walter Pyramid will once again play host to a nationally televised sporting event — with the eyes of the college volleyball world upon it.

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​ Orange County Register 

Cinco de Mayo: You might be surprised how long it’s been celebrated in the U.S.

• May 3, 2024

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862.

It is not observed as a national holiday in Mexico, but schools in Puebla, where the battle took place, are closed for the day.

Mexico’s Independence Day is Sept. 16.

A report published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture said the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the U.S., started in California in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico.

Time magazine reports that the modern U.S. observance came into fashion in the 1940s during the rise of the Chicano Movement.

The Chicano Movement concentrated on issues such as restoration of land grants, farm workers’ rights and education.

Several leaders were Cesar Chavez, Reies Tijerina and Rodolfo Gonzales.

“Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures,” Chavez said.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo picked up a lot of momentum in the 1980s when tequila and beer companies began to promote it.

May 5, 1862. Depictions of the battle showing Mexican cavalry overwhelming the French troops below the fort at Loreto. Scene recreated by Francisco P. Miranda. Oil on canvas, 1872.

Back and forth

The Mexican victory did not last long.

A year later, with 30,000 troops, the French were able to defeat the Mexican army and capture Mexico City.

But three years later, with support from the U.S., Mexico recaptured the capital and executed the French-installed ruler Maximilian I.

Mexican American

More than a decade before the Mexican victory at Puebla, citizens of Mexico became U.S. residents after the annexation of Northern Mexico in 1848.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War, guaranteed full citizenship for all former Mexicans who requested it.

This really only applied to the Spanish-Mexican elite. About 80,000 people in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico were given citizenship.

It did not come easy for them, as many American settlers lynched Mexicans. Between 1848 and 1860 at least 163 Mexicans were lynched in California by what was mostly “frontier law.”

A large-scale influx of refugees came around 1910 when Mexico was in revolution and civil war.

California’s only Hispanic Governor

Jose Pacheco was born in Santa Barbara in 1831.

His father died in the Battle of Cahuenga Pass just weeks after he was born. The battle was a fight between wealthy landowners and the Governor of Alta California.

Pacheco’s father sided with the government and fought on horseback with a lance against Jose Avila of the rebel army. They charged each other three times, like a jousting tournament. When Avila’s lance was knocked to the ground, he shot and killed Romualdo Pacheco.

Jose Pacheco became a judge at age 22 in San Luis Obispo County and worked his way up in politics. He was a Republican and became Lieutenant Governor from 1871 to 1875.

When Gov. Newton Booth was elected to the U.S. Senate Pacheco became California’s 12th governor in 1875 for less than a year.

In 1879, he was elected the first Latino to represent a state in the U.S. Congress. He was re-elected in 1880.

Census change

The 2030 U.S. Census will include new race and ethnicity check boxes for Hispanic people and people of Middle Eastern and North African descent, the Office of Management and Budget announced this year.

The change is the first to race and ethnicity categories in 27 years and comes after years of criticisms that major racial and ethnic groups are left out of demographic collection.

In previous censuses, most people of Middle Eastern background were listed under the “White” category, and Hispanic people were considered an ethnicity, separate from race. People of North African descent did not have a clear individual category.

Mexicans are the largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 60% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2021.

From 2000 to 2021, the Mexican-origin population increased 79%, growing from 20.9 million to 37.2 million.

At the same time, the Mexican foreign-born population living in the U.S. grew by 23%, from 8.7 million in 2000 to 10.7 million in 2021.

Blending it up

The first Cinco de Mayo celebrations didn’t include margaritas — those weren’t invented until the 1940s. And consistently frosty beverages wouldn’t come until the invention of the frozen margarita machine.

Frozen margaritas, blended with ice, became popular in the 1950s, and by the 1970s, the margarita surpassed the martini as the most popular American cocktail.

At Mariano’s Mexican Cuisine, a Dallas restaurant, the blenders couldn’t keep up. In 1971, inspired by the 7-Eleven Slurpee machine, owner Mariano Martinez and his friend Frank Adams adapted a soft-serve ice-cream machine to make margarita “slush.” After 34 years of service, the first one was retired to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Mariachi music

Every year at the end of August, the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico celebrates the largest Mariachi festival in the world: Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charreria.

The largest Mariachi festival in California will be June 8 at the Hollywood Bowl. This year will be the 35th anniversary and Mariachi USA is the longest-running annual show at the Hollywood Bowl.

“In reflecting on the remarkable journey of Mariachi USA over the last 35 years, I am reminded of the profound connection that exists between our heritage and the music that defines it. It’s what I refer to as ‘Mariachi DNA’, the deep-rooted essence of mariachi music that runs through our veins,” event promoter Rodri J. Rodriguez said on the Mariachiusa.com website.

“Clearly, you don’t have to be Mexican to have Mariachi DNA. I for one am Cuban, yet when I hear mariachi, I feel the phenomenal excitement from head to toe.”

Sources: U.S. Census, Office of Management and Budget, California State Library, Mariachiusa.com, Smithsonian, Pew Research Center, UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC strives for consistency and points in San Jose

• May 3, 2024

Through the first third of the MLS regular season, the Los Angeles Football Club, on the whole, has been average.

That’s the assessment of LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo, whose team enters its 11th matchday this weekend situated fifth in the Western Conference and ninth in the Supporters’ Shield race with 15 of a possible 30 points.

While April yielded a positive stretch for Cherundolo’s players, who went unbeaten after a three-loss March, ups-and-downs as a group and individually continue to get sprinkled in week to week and half to half, which was a focus of team meetings this week.

“For us, some good moments and some moments where things weren’t as sharp and consistent as we had hoped,” Cherundolo observed prior to visiting the struggling San Jose Earthquakes (1-8-1, 4 points) at a full-capacity Levi’s Stadium for what’s billed as the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration on the West Coast.

Margins are thin by design in MLS, but the finely sliced manner in which LAFC (4-3-3) has gone about its business in 2024 could just as easily court trouble in a league where competitive balance remains constant.

Take the stoppage-time win over Portland last Saturday or the late draw a week earlier against the New York Red Bulls: Had Denis Bouanga been unable to deliver in either instance, LAFC would be dealing with its worst start in seven seasons.

“The level is close between the teams, so only the consistency of performance will make the difference,” observed goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who noted that he is having more fun on the field than expected after departing Tottenham for LAFC.

“It’s probably where we are trying to improve in some aspects of our game to get the right rhythm because we need to get points.”

Last year under similar circumstances, LAFC lost 2-1 to the Earthquakes despite a Bouanga goal in front of 45,000 fans at the home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Coming off his Golden Boot campaign, Bouanga remains among the most potent weapons in the league, finishing six goals so far this season (all in April) while leading MLS in total shots (60) and shots on target (22) as he spearheads an attack that ranks No. 1 in those categories.

Yet from Cherundolo’s perspective, even Bouanga’s game-changing performances could be better, especially before the French winger moves into scoring position.

“It’s not so much that he needs to improve, a player of his age and ability, but it’s more of just being consistent in his decision-making along the lines of our game model,” Cherundolo said following the Portland win. “I think that would go a long way for the group more importantly, and, of course, for Denis himself.

“The game from our own end into the opponent’s box or around the final third should be very simple, very repetitive and very predictable for your own teammates. Unfortunately, his decision-making doesn’t make it predictable at times and you can throw a few guys into the same boat.”

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Away from BMO Stadium, these shortcomings haven’t helped LAFC, which has one point in four matches. And as the calendar turns, May could offer as many as five road games compared to a pair of home dates if the Black & Gold advances in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

“We are coming into a tough period in terms of schedule and we really need all the players involved and committed to help the team,” Lloris said. “Obviously, the best way to start this period is to get a good win and performance at San Jose.”

LAFC at Earthquakes

When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara

TV/radio: Apple TV (free)/710 AM, 980 AM

​ Orange County Register