Read this before you buy a boat or RV – tax laws have changed

• July 9, 2023

After everything we’ve been through in the past couple of years, doesn’t it feel like the whole country needs a vacation?

What if you could take that vacation anytime you wanted? Imagine escaping to the great outdoors or enjoying our oceans and lakes whenever you desire while still enjoying the comforts of home.

That is the appeal of a mobile vacation haven, be it a boat or RV. It goes beyond just the freedom to explore — it’s a tangible investment in unforgettable experiences.

But before you set sail or hit the open road, it’s crucial to consider the tax implications of this investment decision. The tax breaks that reduce the cost of your investment have changed and will now depend on how you intend to use your mobile vacation home.

Second home on wheels or on water

According to the IRS, if your boat or RV has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities, it can qualify as a second home for taxes.

However, it might be a surprise that the write-offs in 2023 are more limited than in the past. (For this article, an RV is any recreational land vehicle, whether a camper van, fifth wheel or motorhome, and a boat is any watercraft, as long as it has a bed, toilet and stove.)

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that passed in 2017 introduced some changes to the rules for deducting mortgage interest and limited the ability of most Americans to deduct taxes and itemize deductions.

Under TCJA, you can generally deduct mortgage interest on up to two qualified homes plus any grandfathered debt totaling $375,000 for married taxpayers filing separately and $750,000 for all other taxpayers. Therefore, if your mortgage on your first home is near the limit, mortgage interest on a second home, which can be an RV or boat, may not be deductible.

There is also a deduction for personal property and sales taxes on RVs and boats. However, the TCJA also implemented a cap on state and local tax deductions. The SALT deduction limitation is $10,000 for married couples filing jointly and $5,000 for married individuals filing separately or single taxpayers. This limitation may affect the overall tax benefits, especially if you max out your SALT deductions with your primary residence or state income taxes.

One of the most significant changes resulting from the above, along with the elimination of exemptions and the increase in the standard deduction, is that most Americans no longer have enough deductions to make it worth itemizing. Instead, they take the standard deduction. Therefore, before buying a second home, add the combined interest on your two homes, the $10k  SALT tax deduction, and your charitable deductions to ensure you have enough to itemize and take advantage of the deductions.

While most RV ads claim you can write off your camper/travel trailer or motorhome as a first or second home, checking with your tax professional is a good idea. Also, TCJA is set to expire at the end of 2025, so it will be interesting to see if these rules will change again in 18 months.

Renting it out

Renting out your recreational vehicle or watercraft can generate rental income to offset your ownership expenses, just like with a traditional vacation home. The tax implications of your rental income or loss will depend on how often you rent it out and how it’s classified for tax purposes.

According to the IRS, if you rent out your vacation home (including your RV or boat) for 14 days or less in a year, the rental income is generally not taxable. This can be a significant advantage if you only rent it for short periods of time.

If you rent out your vacation home more than 14 days a year, you must report the rental income on your tax return. However, you may be eligible to deduct certain rental-related expenses, such as insurance, maintenance and depreciation, to offset the rental income and reduce your taxable rental profit.

If you have a loss, rental activities are generally passive, subject to the passive loss rules. These rules limit the ability to deduct rental losses against other sources of income, such as wages or business income unless you meet certain exceptions.

It’s advisable to consult with a tax professional to understand the implications of the passive loss rules and how they apply to your situation.

Using it for business

You may be eligible to deduct expenses if you conduct business activities, such as traveling to job sites, completing administrative work, and holding client meetings from your recreational vehicle if used as a mobile office.

Let’s say you own a boat and operate a guided tour business showcasing a coastal area’s scenic beauty or take out others on fishing or snorkeling expeditions. Costs associated with that business on the days you operated the tours would be deductible.

Some business owners travel and sell at hobby shows (like woodworking or quilting)  and use their toy hauler to transport themselves and goods for sale. In another example, a retired entrepreneur offered makeovers and sold clothes from her motorhome to residents at retirement homes up and down the state.

In these cases, you could potentially deduct a portion or all expenses related to the RV or boat’s maintenance, fuel, docking fees or parking charges, insurance, and depreciation as business expenses based on the business usage.

The IRS scrutinizes business deductions, particularly those related to mobile offices, and there are specific rules you should be familiar with. It’s advisable to consult with a tax professional who can provide guidance specific to your business.

Owning an RV or boat is a big investment decision. A motorhome can cost $100,000 or more. You could stay 500 nights in an average hotel at $200 a night for the cost of the motorhome. Only you can decide if it is a suitable investment for your family.

As Erica Jong said, “Live your life by a compass, not a clock. “Whether you choose to rent or own, take that vacation! It is probably overdue.

Michelle C. Herting is a CPA, Accredited Business Valuator, and an Accredited Estate Planner. She specializes in succession planning, business valuations, and settling trusts.

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Ken Potrock: Measure A is wrong for Anaheim

• July 9, 2023

At Disneyland Resort the well-being of all our cast, including their overall employment experience, is at the heart of everything we do. But Measure A, the Anaheim hotel and event worker ballot measure, is bad for business and fundamentally unfair. That’s why we are joining the coalition representing more than 100 event venues, hotel owners, small businesses, nonprofits and residents that oppose this flawed initiative.

But let me tell you what we do support — competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and growth opportunities for our cast, worker safety, the value of collective bargaining, and a vibrant and competitive Anaheim.

Measure A requires hoteliers and others to pay employees at least $25 per hour. As part of our recent collective bargaining agreement, housekeepers at our three hotels will make a minimum of $25.50 per hour by mid-2024— so for Disneyland Resort this portion of the initiative is not a matter of finances, it’s a matter of principle.

Measure A also institutes several onerous work rules that would make it nearly impossible for hotel owners to operate. Imagine this scenario …if a housekeeper cleans one extra square foot — yes, just one — beyond the set maximum, double pay (at least $50 per hour) would be required for the entire shift. What’s more, the workload of a housekeeper could substantially be reduced if their rooms to be cleaned are on more than a single floor, have more than one bed, or were not cleaned the prior day. Implementing these unrealistic rules is unreasonable and ultimately will make Anaheim uncompetitive.

At Disneyland Resort we believe decisions about compensation and work rules belong at the bargaining table not the ballot box. For nearly 70 years we have worked with our 26 unions to successfully negotiate fair and equitable agreements. Through collective bargaining, we have contracts with strong starting wages, up more than 40% over the last five years. Today, many hourly roles begin at $20 per hour or above. This initiative completely circumvents negotiations — an end-around tactic being used statewide with a damaging ripple effect, essentially rendering the negotiations process as meaningless.

We are committed to employee safety and already had mutually agreed to implement panic buttons for our housekeeping cast members. But thanks to a recently approved city ordinance requiring panic buttons at all Anaheim hotels, this issue is now off the table and can no longer be used to mask an initiative that will have significant consequences for so many hotels in our city.

Hotels and small businesses, several that have been family-owned for generations, will be devastated by Measure A. With many still recovering from COVID-impacts and not yet fully staffed, they will have to shift costs to guests or close their doors entirely. Anaheim benefits from a unique tourism ecosystem and this wage increase will unequivocally make the cost of lodging in Anaheim more expensive, driving tourism dollars out of the city and leading to potential taxation of residents to make up for lost revenue.

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Measure A further targets city-owned facilities. Anaheim’s own study shows that the Convention Center alone could be negatively impacted by about $8 million per year, and that labor costs could increase by 19% at Angel Stadium and Honda Center. This equates to less money for vital city-provided services. In addition, libraries, churches, sports facilities, and nonprofits with spaces of a certain size also would be affected.

We are thankful to have bounced back after our extended closure and for our 34,000 cast members. We are proud of the wages, benefits and perks we offer including affordable healthcare starting at $7 weekly for eligible individuals, our Aspire 100% tuition-paid education program, financial support for childcare, theme park tickets, exclusive events and more.

Our Disneyland Resort cast members are our top priority, and we will continue to do right by them, but Measure A is wrong for Anaheim.

Ken Potrock is president of Disneyland Resort.

​ Orange County Register 

Servite, Cypress surprise by reaching the semifinals of South County passing tournament

• July 9, 2023

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MISSION VIEJO — One of the biggest revelations at the South County passing tournament sprung from a team that graduated its two best wide receivers in May, and lost arguably its best returning option to an injury in the first game on Saturday.

The other stunner came from a school coming off its worst finish in school history, and some wild shuffling of quarterbacks last fall.

Cypress and Servite weren’t the obvious picks to reach the semifinals at the high-octane, summer event but both showed progress in earning their shots against two 7-on-7 titans for a chance to reach the championship.

The Centurions met Mater Dei, which won the Battle at the Beach at Edison last weekend. The Friars faced defending South County champion and tournament host Mission Viejo.

A joke on the Cypress sideline before the semifinals was essentially which one of the four teams seemed a bit out of place.

“Who expects Cypress to be in the final four of this tournament?” asked Centurions coach Rick Feldman, who brought his team to the event for the first time.

Mater Dei and Mission Viejo restored order with lopsided victories in the semifinals, and the Monarchs won the tournament, but Cypress and Servite certainly left their mark as improved teams.

The Monarchs defeated Mission Viejo 28-14 in the final behind four touchdown passes by Stanford commit Elijah Brown, including three to senior wide receiver Marcus Brown.

Mater Dei finished 7-0 for the second consecutive weekend to polish its resume as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in multiple preseason polls.

Servite gave the rival Monarchs arguably their toughest game, falling 29-21 in the teams’ tournament opener.

The Friars bounced back to win four consecutive games before falling to Mission Viejo 35-14 in the semifinals.

Servite was led by Leo Hannan, a 6-foot-4, 207-pound junior who was part of a crowded quarterback group last season as the Friars went 1-9.

Under the direction of first-year coach Chris Reinert and new offense coordinator Cheyne Lacanaria, Hannan kept the Friars on the move by connecting with a compelling cast of receivers.

The group included emerging senior tight end Aidan O’Callaghan, senior wide receiver Quinn Rosenkranz, junior wide outs Jacob Martin and Ethan Naudin and junior running back Quaid Carr.

“We hung in there,” Hannan said of the Mater Dei game. “We competed just fine. I thought we looked the part, played the part.”

In the quarterfinals, Hannan threw three TDs to O’Callaghan en route to a 35-28 triumph against Centennial Corona. He also tossed TDs to Martin and Carr as the Friars beat the Huskies, who were undefeated but played without QB Husan Longstreet.

O’Callaghan also impressed with a leaping TD catch in a 21-15 victory against Tustin.

“He’s the dude who looks like Hercules,” Hannan said of O’Callaghan (6-3, 220).

In a testament to the offense’s improvement, Carr was the only contributor Saturday who earned all-league honors last season.

“It’s going great,” Hannan said of the Friars’ summer. “We got these new coaches. I love these guys. New, good energy, turn stuff around. If we can just (now) have a good year, and build.”

Hannan landed several offers in the spring, including Washington, Arizona and Illinois, but his focus is now solely on the Friars.

“I want to win games. That’s No. 1,” he said. “Comeback season. That’s really everyone’s focus around here. This a big tournament for us.”

Cypress waged its own comeback while providing a peek into what its offense will look like without wide receivers Matt Morrell and Trevor Monteleone.

Senior quarterback Aidan Houston rallied the Centurions past La Habra in the teams’ opener for a 23-21 victory.

The victory set the tone for Houston working well with senior wide receivers Michael Hubbard and Jake Porteneuve, senior tight end Bruno Caldarella and senior running back Destin Sanchez.

The connections came after Cypress lost senior athlete Jesse Mauldin to a collarbone injury against La Habra.

“(Aidan) is having a great day,” Feldman said of the 5-foot-11, 165-pound dual threat. “His decision making. He’s making quick reads, and his accuracy has been spot on, and we’ve had receivers making huge plays.”

In one of the most exciting games of the tournament, Cypress fell in pool play to Centennial Corona 36-35. The Centurions, according to the tournament rules, could have settled for a 36-36 tie because of the automatically awarded extra-point following its late score. But the Empire League powerhouse opted for the 2-point conversion and lost one point when its attempt failed.

In the quarterfinals, Cypress defeated Bishop Amat 42-35.

That’s a lot of points for a team that graduated a duo in Matt Morrell and Trevor Monteleone who combined last season for 122 receptions for 2,225 yards and 19 TDs.

Hubbard, Porteneuve and Caldarella each finished last fall with one reception apiece.

“For us to come in (here) and perform like we have today,” Feldman said, “I’m happy.”

MISSION VIEJO DEFENDS LINEMEN TITLE

Mission Viejo defended its title in the linemen competition.

The Diablos capped the event by defeating Chaparral in the finals of the tug-of-war, which ignited a wild celebration.

“That’s just the Mission culture,” senior defensive lineman Titus Miller said. “We celebrate each other because a win up front is a win for everybody. We all come together as a unit at the end of the day. We win, lose together.”

In the semifinals of the tug-of-war, the Diablos overcame an early surge by Millikan to rally for the victory.

#AndStill @missionfootball defeats Chaparral en route to linemen title, Mater Dei and Servite didn’t participate but Diablos were dominant @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/Mrz0aYLCBt

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) July 8, 2023

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Galaxy extends unbeaten streak to 7 games with victory over Philadelphia

• July 9, 2023

CARSON — The Galaxy is riding all of the positive momentum now.

After a slow start to the season, the Galaxy, thanks to a strong 3-1 win in front of 21,269 over the Philadelphia Union Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park, improved their unbeaten streak to seven consecutive games and is starting to look like a team that has figured things out. It is just the second time this season that the Galaxy have won consecutive games.

“Momentum in this league, like I always say is precious,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said Friday.

“The early part of the season was just poisoned with so much noise. Negativity in every aspect of things. It just felt bad. You sense now, with the solidifying of results, getting hard-earned points, not always three on the road, winning games like the other night (Tuesday against LAFC), that it changes the dialogue and narrative of it.”

This was the first meeting between the teams since 2019. The Galaxy (5-9-7, 22 points) entered having dominated the short series between the club, winning eight of the 12, with only one loss and three draws.

The Galaxy took a 2-1 lead into halftime thanks to an Union own goal. Off of a corner kick, the inswinging ball from Douglas Costa came off of Union defender Olivier Mbaizo’s butt. Galaxy defender Chris Mavinga was making an effort to get to the ball before the ball went in.

The final knockout punch came in the 76th minute as Riqui Puig hit a laser from approximately 24 yards out that flew by Union goalkeeper Joe Bendik and into the upper corner. The goal and the win gave the Galaxy consecutive wins over last season’s MLS Cup participants.

The win still leaves the Galaxy below the playoff line in the Western Conference, but definitely in striking position heading into next Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Galaxy will go into that game three points behind the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“We’re learning how to trust each other,” Vanney said. “I feel like through the determination and grit on the road, guys are coming together with each of these results.

“We’ve minimized the number of challenging moments and we’ve increased our good moments.”

The Galaxy opened the scoring in the with a goal by Tyler Boyd in the 15th minute. Puig and Delgado had the assists. Puig setting the stage with a perfectly-played ball out of the midfield out wide to Delgado, who supplied the cross to Boyd.

This was the second consecutive game that Boyd has scored a goal and the second consecutive game that Puig had a goal and an assist.

“I think we were superior in all phases,” midfielder and captain Gaston Brugman said. “We’ve found the team and if we all fight for the same objective, the team is more united.”

The Union tied the game at 1-1 in the first half on Mikael Uhre’s 36th-minute goal.

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US men’s volleyball rebounds against France

• July 9, 2023

ANAHEIM — The morning after Team USA’s fourth set from hell U.S. coach John Speraw worked the room at his team’s practice trying to see if there was anything left in the tank.

“I was trying to gauge it today at serve and pass and I was walking around and talking to the guys, ‘how are you feeling? What do you think? Are we going to be able to go full speed?’” Speraw recalled.

The answers would be late in the second set of Team USA’s Volleyball Nations League match with reigning Olympic champion France Saturday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.

In a scenario that eerily resembled the U.S.’s meltdown, the pivotal fourth set of Friday night’s upset loss to Argentina, the team dropped a trio of set points before nailing down the second set and rolling to a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 27-25) victory.

The win was a tribute to the resiliency of a veteran squad that found a way to bounce back after wasting five match points before losing Friday’s fourth set 43-41 and then, shell shocked, dropping the fifth of the 2 hour, 26 minute match.

The U.S. closes out VNL pool play against Bulgaria Sunday (8:30 p.m.)

“I don’t know if there was one difference,” Speraw said. “There wasn’t a change in some mentality. It’s just that we made that play tonight.

“I still don’t think we were perfect. Some of the issues that hurt us last night hurt us tonight as well but we just made a couple more plays. I was really impressed with how we came out even though we were battling some obvious fatigue.”

The match was also a reminder of the parity within elite men’s international volleyball.

“Ten of the 12 teams at the Olympics next summer could win a medal,” Speraw said.

France, the gold medal winner in Tokyo and last year’s inaugural Volleyball Nations League champion beating the U.S. in five sets last July, won’t be among the eight teams advancing to the VNL final eight later this summer in Poland.

Not that France didn’t give Speraw and the U.S. some nervous moments even in the third set when the Americans couldn’t close out the night on two match points late.

“If it had gone four it could have been anybody, it could have been anybody on the court,” Speraw said. “I was looking back there and I almost told everybody on the bench to start warming up, just because I wasn’t sure how that was all going to end. But it worked out great.”

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UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski beats Yair Rodriguez with third-round TKO for featherweight title

• July 9, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Alexander Volkanovski re-asserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290.

Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who was the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout.

Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, was among those in attendance. He entered the venue shortly before the main card began, walking next to UFC President Dana White and drawing roars from the T-Mobile Arena crowd. Trump shook hands with Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby, a major UFC fan who sat behind him. Jamal Murray of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets also had a floor seat.

Volkanovski, a minus-390 favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook, took Rodriguez (16-4) to the mat near the 2-minute mark of the first round and kept him there to dictate the pace. That became a theme as the second round played out much the same way, with Volkanovski, 34, also delivering several shots to Rodriguez’s face.

Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, then took the fight to Volkanovski in the third round, preventing the ground and pound with a series of kicks to put him on the defense. But with a minute left, Volkanovski slammed Rodriguez, 30, to the mat and pounded him with rights and lefts before referee Herb Dean stepped in.

This was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11. That ended Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak, and after the brief elevation to lightweight, he dropped back down to featherweight for this fight.

Before moving up, Volkanovski had won five title fights to make a strong argument as the best featherweight of all time. He also has been in the conversation for the top current pound-for-pound fighter, and Volkanovski is second in the UFC’s official rankings to Jon Jones.

The Volkanovski-Rodriguez match highlighted the International Fight Week card that included a second championship bout.

Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja captured the flyweight belt by beating champion Brandon Moreno of Mexico, winning by split decision. Judges Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo gave the Pantoja the victory at 48-47 in the five-round fight, but Ben Cartlidge saw the bout quite differently with a 49-46 score in favor of Moreno.

Pantoja (26-5) collapsed to the mat after the decision was announced. He has beaten Moreno (21-7-2) in all three meetings.

“I worked so hard,” Pantoja said. “I left everything I had.”

Moreno, a minus-196 favorite, dominated the second round, but had a hard defending Pantoja’s ground game in the other four. Even so, the battle was fairly even for the most part, and the blood on both fighters’ faces underscored how much each went after the other.

Moreno won the belt nearly a year ago and successfully defended it in January.

Robbie Lawler, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday, heads into retirement on a high note after knocking out Niko Price just 38 seconds into the first round of their welterweight bout.

Lawler, 41, ends his career with a 30-16 record and one no-contest. He teared up watching a video tribute to him following the fight, and the crowd roared chanting his first name.

“It was a hard training camp,” Lawler said. “Nothing felt good. Today was the first day I felt good.”

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Clippers fall to Jazz in summer league opener

• July 9, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Xavier Moon made six 3-point shots on his way to a team-high 26 points, but the Clippers could not stop Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George (33 points, 10 rebounds) and dropped their NBA Summer League opener, 104-99, on Saturday night.

George, the No. 16 overall selection in last month’s draft, finished 12 for 24 from the field (6 for 15 from 3-point range) and Ochai Agbaji had 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots to lead Utah (1-0). Micah Potter scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and UCLA product Johnny Juzang added 13 points (3 for 5 from 3-point range) for the Jazz.

Moon finished 10 for 14 from the field and 6 for 8 from behind the arc in 24 minutes for the Clippers (0-1).

Second-year guard Jason Preston had 15 points and 10 assists in 29 minutes and second-year center Moussa Diabate had 11 points, 12 rebounds (six offensive) and two blocked shots in 24 minutes. Kobe Brown finished with 11 points and nine rebounds and Jordan Miller scored 12 points.

The Clippers trailed 49-39 at halftime and trimmed the margin to six after three quarters, but they could not make up any more ground in a high-scoring fourth quarter for both sides (39 points each). Utah extended its lead back to 16 points on a George 18-foot jumper with 4:25 left, but a trio of Moon 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds tightened the final margin.

The Clippers finished 4 for 13 from the free-throw line compared to 11 for 12 for the Jazz.

The Clippers’ next game is Monday at 7:30 p.m. PT against the Sacramento Kings. They have afternoon games on Wednesday (vs. Memphis, 12:30 p.m.) and Friday (vs. Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m.) before a fifth game against an opponent to be determined at a day and time to be announced.

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Denis Bouanga’s goal gives LAFC 1-1 draw with Earthquakes

• July 9, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Feeling downright quaint compared to Tuesday’s record-setting attendance at the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Football Club returned home to BMO Stadium on Saturday hoping to end a three-match losing streak.

A draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in front of an announced crowd of 22,033 — some 60,000 fewer than the Fourth of July crowd that watched LAFC lose 2-1 to the Galaxy — was enough to stop their slide.

Denis Bouanga scored his 12th goal of the season, smashing a penalty kick down the middle that leveled the match in the first half. The French MLS All-Star earned the opportunity when he was fouled in the box attempting to sidestep a defender.

San Jose captain Christian Espinoza, also an All-Star, finished his 10th league goal of the year minutes earlier, giving the Earthquakes a short-lived lead.

LAFC (9-7-6, 33 points) dictated terms of the second half, especially after opposing goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Brito was shown a red card in the 56th minute for a handball outside the box that disrupted an LAFC breakaway by Mateusz Bogusz following a perfectly weighted pass from Kellyn Acosta.

“We did enough to win tonight,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “We’re just having trouble crossing the finish line now.”

Still, the result produced the first home points for LAFC since June 21. They have tallied eight points over their last six matches at BMO Stadium, including a 2-1 victory over San Jose in May, when Carlos Vela connected on a game-winning penalty kick in the 95th minute.

The last of three regular season meetings between the California clubs on Saturday — the first draw in 15 all-time meetings — featured the return of Senegalese center back Mamadou Fall off a 12-month loan to La Liga’s Villareal CF.

Fall was slotted into the middle of the LAFC back line alongside Honduran Denil Maldonado, who has been the team’s most reliable interior defender for the past two months.

“He’s been here a few days,” Maldonado said of Fall. “So to have the opportunity to build the friendship and more importantly everyone is here to provide and put their input and give their all from the team. So it is a good feeling to get that vibe from players that are coming back or incoming.”

With injuries, international duty, and fatigue stretching LAFC center back options thin, Fall’s availability was welcome, albeit challenging, the 20-year-old defender said.

“Throwing Fall in right away without a proper preseason and having to play 90 minutes is never easy,” Cherundolo noted after the match.

In Spain, Fall primarily played with Villareal’s B team, registering nearly 2,000 minutes after 22 starts with that group. He played a pair of appearances with the senior squad.

Fall noted that the key lesson he took from training and competing in Spain over the past year was to “keep it simple and smart.”

Over two seasons with LAFC, Fall played 35 regular season matches and made 29 starts. In the months before transferring last August, Fall appeared to fall out of favor with Cherundolo, starting one of the last 11 games he was available after doing so in 13 of the club’s first 14 matches.

Fall returned to LAFC with a maturity he did not have when he left, coaches and players said.

On the field, they welcomed his physical play, ability to run down attackers, close spaces, and to be a threat for headers on set pieces. As well as strong passing out of the back.

“That’s what I expect to see,” Cherundolo said. “I would also expect to see a few tactical mistakes here and there, which is completely normal and natural and common for younger defenders anywhere in the world.”

After creating a couple dangerous chances with passes deep into the San Jose end, a Fall foible prompted the Earthquakes (7-7-8, 29 points) goal a half hour into the match.

Moments after he had put Fall in the spin cycle, San Jose captain Christian Espinoza outraced the long-legged defender on a counterattack. A cutback of the ball toward the middle of the box created plenty of room to hit a left footed shot past John McCarthy.

“I made a couple mistakes,” Fall said. “I think it was a terrible defensive play from me. I will take it on myself that they scored.”

The finish, which Cherundolo described as another soft goal, was the Argentine midfielder’s fourth against LAFC, the most for any Earthquakes player.

“That’s always difficult to find some continuity and to understand each other’s movements and habits you want and need in a backline,” Cherundolo said. “We’re fighting that at the moment. Sometimes it’s an individual mistake. Sometimes a tactical error. Sometimes it’s a little unlucky. Sometimes a collective failure. It’s always something and those somethings need to go away fast.”

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