Repainting of patriotic mural on Corona-area dam begins
- April 12, 2023
Painting has begun to restore the iconic patriotic mural on the Prado Dam near Corona after years of advocacy and a legal battle for the beloved artwork created nearly four decades ago.
Workers, who will use the same design as the original mural, began the job Tuesday, April, 4. The project will be completed in late April.
More than $100,000 in donations came in to support recreation of the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Mural, which is visible off the 91 Freeway.
After many years, the mural began to fade, and issues with graffiti and lead paint concerns arose. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the dam, in 2015 announced plans to remove the fading painting, leading mural co-designer Ron Kammeyer and the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles to sue in May 2015 to stop the plans. The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2022.
The mural was created by 30 Corona high school students in 1976 to mark the nation’s bicentennial. Students camped out over two weekends with donated paint from local hardware stores and finished the mural in May 1976. It depicted the Liberty Bell and the words and numbers: “200 Years of Freedom: 1776-1976,” in red, white and blue paint.
After losing the lawsuit, the removal of the lead-painted mural was inevitable, but talks of recreating the mural with non-lead paint began.
The Bicentennial Freedom Mural Conservancy, Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Army Corps of Engineers and the Orange County-based painting company One Way Painting joined in a project to revitalize the mural. Fundraising began in September.
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“Being involved in the past year and working hard with the conservancy has been just really exciting and a roller coaster with negotiations on the mural,” said Perry Schaefer, co-designer of the mural. “And now seeing it all come together is just amazing and mind blowing we’ll be able to maintain this history after all.”
So far, workers are painting “200 Years of Freedom” in red paint on a white background. Next, they will work on the liberty bell and “1776-1976.”
“We chose the freedom liberty bell because it best symbolized our country,” Schaefer said. “This country is not perfect and it has cracks, but it the freedom it symbolized is important. And we have a piece of that here in California with the mural.”
Information: http://friendsofthepradodammural.com
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Elon Musk says owning Twitter ‘painful’ but needed to be done
- April 12, 2023
LONDON — Billionaire Elon Musk has told the BBC that running Twitter has been “quite painful” but that the social media company is now roughly breaking even after he acquired it late last year.
In an interview also streamed live late Tuesday on Twitter Spaces, Musk discussed his ownership of the online platform, including layoffs, misinformation and his work style.
“It’s not been boring. It’s quite a rollercoaster,” he told the U.K. broadcaster at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
It was a rare chance for a mainstream news outlet to interview Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX. After buying Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk’s changes included eliminating the company’s communiciations department.
Reporters who email the company to seek comment now receive an auto-reply with a poop emoji.
The interview was sometimes tense, with Musk challenging the reporter to back up assertions about rising levels of hate speech on the platform. At other times, Musk laughed at his own jokes, mentioning more than once that he wasn’t the CEO but his dog Floki was.
He also revealed that he sometimes sleeps on a couch at Twitter’s San Francisco office.
Advertisers who had shunned the platform in the wake of Musk’s tumultuous acquisition have mostly returned, the billionaire said, without providing details.
Musk predicted that Twitter could become “cash flow positive” in the current quarter “if current trends continue.” Because Twitter is a private company, information about its finances can’t be verified.
After acquiring the platform, Musk carried out mass layoffs as part of cost-cutting efforts. He said Twitter’s workforce has been slashed to about 1,500 employees from about 8,000 previously, describing it as something that had to be done.
“It’s not fun at all,” Musk said. “The company’s going to go bankrupt if we don’t cut costs immediately. This is not a caring-uncaring situation. It’s like if the whole ship sinks, then nobody’s got a job.”
Asked if he regretted buying the company, he said it was something that “needed to be done.”
“The pain level of Twitter has been extremely high. This hasn’t been some sort of party,” Musk said.
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Lakers work OT to beat Timberwolves, advance to face Grizzlies in first-round series
- April 12, 2023
LOS ANGELES — A raucous, roaring sellout crowd welcomed the Lakers back to the postseason on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The fans turned the arena electric at times, no doubt imagining their voices igniting another of those extended playoff runs that once were spring rites of passage.
The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves nearly spoiled the celebration, pushing the Lakers to the brink. The Lakers capitalized on the energy of their fans before it was too late and seized a 108-102 overtime victory that sent them into the first round of the playoffs as the Western Conference’s seventh-seeded team, something that seemed all but unattainable a few months ago.
The Lakers will play the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a best-of-seven series, with Game 1 on Sunday at noon PT in Memphis.
The Lakers were 2-1 against the Grizzlies during the regular season, winning both games at Crypto.com Arena and losing once at FedExForum in Memphis. The Grizzlies will have home-court advantage for the first playoff series between the two franchises.
LeBron James called the Grizzlies “a really good team, very well-coached.” He then listed the strengths of their rotation players one by one in an extended analysis of the Lakers’ first-round opponent, pausing after several minutes to add, “Obviously, I haven’t thought about Memphis one minute.”
James was joking, of course.
No team in the three-year history of the play-in tournament has won a first-round series, so the odds were stacked against Tuesday’s winner. Neither the Lakers nor the Timberwolves played the kind of game that might lead anyone to think they could become the first to break through.
Minnesota was the better, more consistent, team for most of the game despite playing without two starters in their lineup. The Timberwolves led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter before the Lakers rallied behind Anthony Davis, James and backup guard Dennis Schröder.
“The crowd definitely got us back into it,” Davis said. “Having the crowd behind us, it was fun. This is what you dream about playing in Crypto, and just allowing the crowd to do their thing and getting the other team rattled and giving us a little more energy to go on runs.”
James’ 3-pointer with 2:02 left in regulation pulled the Lakers even at 95-all, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Neither team could break the tie in the closing seconds, turning over the ball repeatedly, until James passed to an open Schröder for a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.
Davis then fouled Minnesota’s Mike Conley on a 3-point attempt and Conley made all three free throws with 0.1 remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 98-all. Davis – who led a defensive effort that held Minnesota to seven total points over the final 11 minutes of the game – paid the price for his aggressive defense of Conley, running at him from some distance and lumbering into him. Davis and James said they had a mix-up about who was supposed to defend the shooter in the corner.
“That was totally on me,” said Davis, who had 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. “He faded out of bounds where I was going. But it goes back to next-play mentality, and we got it done in overtime.”
In overtime, James fed Rui Hachimura for a 3-pointer from the right wing and the Lakers took a quick 101-98 lead. Schröder’s layup on a give-and-go play with Davis made it 103-98 on the next possession, and the Lakers suddenly were in command with their largest lead of the game. Schröder iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left.
James led the Lakers with 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. Schröder had 21 points, going 3 for 4 from 3-point range and stepping up tremendously for D’Angelo Russell, who had a rough game against the team that traded him in February. Russell had eight assists but scored two points on 1-of-9 shooting before getting benched down the stretch.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota and played with five fouls from the start of the fourth quarter on. Conley had 23 points and finished 6 for 8 from behind the arc.
The Timberwolves must win a second play-in game Friday against either the New Orleans Pelicans or Oklahoma City Thunder in order to advance as the eighth-seeded team and set up a first-round series against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans and Thunder play Wednesday.
The Lakers were at something resembling full strength, apart from the nagging foot injuries James, Davis and Russell had battled in recent days and weeks. All three were in the starting lineup, however. Schröder (neck/Achilles) also was sound after sitting out the past two games.
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The Timberwolves were nowhere near full strength, however, and it was their own fault after they suspended center Rudy Gobert one game after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in the second quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Pelicans that sent them to L.A.
In addition, Jaden McDaniels couldn’t play because of a broken right hand, suffered when he punched a wall in frustration during the Timberwolves’ victory over the Pelicans. He was fitted for a cast Monday and was said to be out indefinitely. Plus, Naz Reid was sidelined by a fractured wrist.
The Lakers outscored Minnesota 19-12 in the fourth quarter and 10-4 in OT.
“We expected a dogfight and they gave us one,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, whose team started the season 2-10 and sat six games below .500 at the trade deadline.
Davis, who played 43 minutes, sounded eager for a few days to recharge.
“It took everything out of us to get to where we are, and it took more out of us tonight,” Davis said. “But we’ve got a couple of days before we go to Memphis to start preparing for them. It’s been a battle. It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but now is the time to show who we are, and we showed it tonight.”
“My job is to lead this team defensively and that’s what I wanted to do and it kind of got us going.” @AntDavis23 with @LakersReporter on tonight’s play-in win, his foul on Conley in regulation and more. pic.twitter.com/G2uEv6jPAh
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 12, 2023
Monster performance by @AntDavis23 (24 PTS, 15 REB, 3 BLK, 2 STL) in the #ATTPlayIn OT win!
Lakers/Grizzlies Game 1: Sun, 3pm/et, ABC pic.twitter.com/tSQRilVXwf
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2023
30 FOR THE KING.
LAKERS WIN TO GET IN.@KingJames powers the Lakers into the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel! pic.twitter.com/6Hw35GM3qf
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2023
Dennis Schroder came up big in the clutch tonight with 18 of his 21 points coming in the 2H and OT!
The @Lakers will face Memphis in Round 1.
Sunday, April 16
ABC pic.twitter.com/t0ez1P6P3X
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2023
.@KingJames on the #Lakers journey to get to the #NBAPlayoffs, his early thoughts on the Memphis matchup and overcoming AD’s close out foul on Mike Conley. pic.twitter.com/PboFoxGc7u
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 12, 2023
“This game was the definition of having the ‘next-play’ mentality.” Darvin Ham on the #Lakers getting the win, their resiliency and Dennis Schröder’s big night. pic.twitter.com/hEdQrelEhQ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 12, 2023
“It’s probably the loudest I’ve seen it since I’ve been here.” Austin Reaves on the atmosphere tonight and how the #Lakers overcame the late game turnovers. pic.twitter.com/FMVLFgrRt0
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 12, 2023
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Tesoro softball defeats Mission Viejo for sole possession of first place in league
- April 12, 2023
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Kiara Cisneros hit a grand slam and Loula McNamara allowed one earned run in six innings to lead Tesoro’s softball team to a 12-2 victory at two-time defending South Coast League champion Mission Viejo on Tuesday.
Cisneros and Kennedy Proctor — both juniors — each finished with three hits to pace the attack by the Titans (12-4-1, 3-0), who took sole possession of first place in the South Coast League. Proctor also hit a solo home run and scored three runs.
McNamara, a sophomore left-handed pitcher, scattered seven hits, walked two and struck out three.
Tesoro, ranked 11th in Orange County, plays at No. 16 Aliso Niguel (15-4, 1-1) on Friday in another key South Coast League game.
Mission Viejo fell to 10-11-1 overall, 2-1 in league.
In other games:
In the Empire League:
No. 17 Cypress 8, No. 5 Pacifica 3: Junior Breana Townsend went 2 for 4 with four RBIs and junior MadelineGranados allowed one earned run in a complete game as the visiting Centurions (15-2-1, 5-0) finished the first round of league undefeated. Pacifica fell to 14-7, 3-2.
In the Crestview League:
No. 4 Esperanza 11, No. 14 El Modena 1: Mia Sanchez allowed one run and struck out five and Jenna Gober and Sharyn Duncan hit home runs as the host Aztecs (16-4, 4-0) posted their second consecutive mercy-shortened victory against the Vanguards (11-9, 1-3).
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Taylor Shumaker added three hits for Esperanza.
No. 13 Canyon 7, No. 7 Villa Park 6: Carson Cooper went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Sam Gresham and Jessalyn Gallegos each drove in two runs to help the host Comanches (14-8, 2-2) take sole possession of second place. The Spartans (15-7, 1-3) lost by one run for the third time in the past four games.
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Ducks’ skid reaches 12 games with loss to Canucks
- April 12, 2023
ANAHEIM — The door to the NHL’s cellar cracked open Tuesday for the Ducks as the ‘race’ to the bottom of the NHL standings took an unexpected and eventful turn several thousand miles away in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The Penguins, fighting for their playoff lives, lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, who came into the game having dropped 11 of their last 12. That result came shortly after the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets picked up a point with an overtime loss in Philadelphia.
Chicago wrapped up its 5-2 win about three minutes before the puck dropped for the Ducks’ game against the Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center.
The Ducks suffered yet another loss as they fell to the Canucks, 3-2, keeping them in contention for last place overall, which carries a 25.5% chance of winning the NHL draft lottery on May 8 and the right to select uber-prodigy Connor Bedard. The Ducks haven’t won in 12 games, last winning on March 17 against the Blue Jackets.
The standings for the three bottom teams after Tuesday’s games:
No. 30: Chicago – 58 points. One game remaining.
No. 31: Ducks – 58 points. One game remaining.
No. 32: Columbus – 57 points. Two games remaining.
Even though the Blackhawks and Ducks have the same number of points, Chicago holds the first tiebreaker: wins in regulation.
On Tuesday, the Canucks were sparked by center Elias Pettersson hitting the 100-point mark in a season with his primary assist on Brock Boeser’s power-play goal at 12:14 of the first period and adding another on J.T. Miller’s game-winning goal at 1:26 of the third period, which broke a 2-2 tie.
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal made 33 saves and the offense was led by two secondary assists from Trevor Zegras and defenseman Drew Helleson’s first NHL goal, at 15:32 of the second period.
“I always dreamt of it,” Helleson said. “I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen. But it’s pretty surreal. It’s just kicking in now that it actually happened. It’s a pretty good feeling for sure.
“I kind of blacked out and then I looked up and saw Z (Zegras) skating at me. He was smiling almost bigger than I was.”
The friendship between Helleson and Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe – who made his NHL debut in the loss – goes back to their youth hockey days in Minnesota. What would they have said then, if they had been told they’d eventually be teammates in the NHL?
“I think it depends on when you would have told us,” Helleson said. “If you would have told us when we were little, we would have believed you. But I think growing up, through the ranks, maybe not so much. To actually be here with him is pretty cool and to see his first game is pretty special.”
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins noted how excited the players and staff were for Helleson’s first goal.
“It’s certainly one of those little victories that we take in games like this,” Eakins said.
Ducks rookie Mason McTavish had the other goal, scoring on the power play at 17:20 of the first, to cut the Canucks’ lead to 2-1. McTavish did not finish the game because of an upper-body injury suffered in the second period.
For the third time in three games, there was an NHL debut for the Ducks. On Saturday, it was goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek, in an overtime loss at Arizona. One day later, Helleson made his debut, playing alongside Nathan Beaulieu on the second defense pair against Colorado. And it was LaCombe taking the vaunted rookie solo lap Tuesday.
LaCombe logged 18:24 of ice time, recording three blocked shots and one hit. He signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks on Monday, two days after his University of Minnesota team lost in the NCAA championship final.
LaCombe’s parents were in the arena for his debut and his two older sisters were on hand, too, surprising him with their unexpected arrival. Of course, there was no shortage of advice from his new teammates.
“There were definitely a few guys – playing with (Kevin) Shattenkirk. He was kind of giving me pointers the whole time,” LaCombe said. “He was great the whole time, so it was awesome. And the coaches were great about it before the game, telling us to play and just use your instincts.”
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Said Eakins: “I thought he played well. He didn’t seem nervous at all. Looks like he’s got a little bit of ice in his veins.
“There was a play in the third period where the puck was basically right on the line, on the blue line, and he walked it straight across with no fear. Usually, a guy will just get that puck and rip it in deep. But I thought he showed great confidence.”
Earlier in the day, the Ducks recalled forward Bo Groulx from their AHL affiliate in San Diego and Groulx made his season debut, centering the fourth line and was 67% in the faceoff circle.
“He was really good,” Eakins said. “I started throwing him out there for a few more on the penalty kill and thought he did a good job there.
“It’s amazing. Bo has played games here before but his maturity level now, coming in, it’s like he’s gained five years of manhood.”
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Fed up by LA pothole, Arnold Schwarzenegger fills it himself
- April 12, 2023
LOS ANGELES — Fed up by an enormous pothole in his Los Angeles neighborhood, Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up a shovel and filled it himself.
The actor and former California governor tweeted a video Tuesday of him and a helper using packaged concrete to repair the road in the Brentwood area.
Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go. pic.twitter.com/aslhkUShvT
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 11, 2023
“Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it,” he wrote on Twitter. “I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go.”
A neighbor rolled down her car window and shouted her thanks at the action movie star.
“You’re welcome,” said Schwarzenegger, decked out in work boots, a leather jacket and shades reminiscent of his role in “Terminator.”
“You have to do it yourself. This is crazy. For three weeks I’ve been waiting for this hole to be closed,” he said.
Related Story: In wake of Southern California’s wet winter, potholes pose a perilous problem
Daniel Ketchell, a spokesperson for Schwarzenegger, said Brentwood residents made repeated requests for repairs since winter storms opened up potholes and cracks on local roads.
Mayor Karen Bass last week announced a plan to address what she called an unprecedented number of damaged streets across the city. Since Dec. 30, Los Angeles has received 19,692 service requests for repairs, and as of April 6, crews had filled at least 17,549 potholes, officials said.
Related Story: 19,279: The number of pothole-repair requests the city of LA received. How many got fixed?
The Department of Public Works did not immediately respond to an email asking whether the pothole Schwarzenegger filled had been scheduled to be repaired.
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Dodgers held to three hits in shutout loss to Giants
- April 12, 2023
SAN FRANCISCO — On a chilly night at Oracle Park on Tuesday, it was a race to see which got cold faster – the garlic fries or the Dodgers’ offense. Both lacked their usual zest.
The Dodgers had averaged seven runs over the previous seven games but managed just three hits in a 5-0 shutout loss to the San Francisco Giants.
“We scored nine yesterday, scored zero tonight. Baseball – it happens,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We had opportunities. We just didn’t come through tonight.”
Accurate on both counts.
Despite the combined three-hitter by six Giants pitchers – including former Dodgers Alex Wood and Scott Alexander – the Dodgers had plenty of baserunners. They walked five times (and lead the majors with 65 this season), had two batters hit by pitches and another reached base on catcher’s interference.
But they stranded 11, going 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
The Dodgers also hit three balls that left the bat at 98 mph or higher – one each by Mookie Betts (98.2), Miguel Vargas (102.4) and Will Smith (104.6) – but those were run down by Giants outfielders.
Freeman was 0 for 5, including two of those at-bats with runners in scoring position and struck out three times.
“Yeah, I’m still trying to find it,” Freeman said. “Working hard, trying to feel good at the plate. It’s a grind. It’s a long season.”
If Freeman is “still trying to find it,” he is at least hitting .375 while he searches. Chris Taylor looks to be lost at sea.
Taylor struck out three times Tuesday and has started the season 3 for 31 with 14 strikeouts – a troubling follow-up to a cold spring and an injury-plagued sub-par year in 2022 during which he had one of the poorest contact rates in MLB.
“It’s discouraging, but that’s part of the game,” Taylor said.
“I mean, I have my days where I feel good in BP and in the cage, and then just not translate it over to the game. Sometimes that’s mechanics. Sometimes it’s just pitch selection or approach. I feel like, mechanically, I was in not the best spot. … I’m still not quite right. I think you got to just keep going and understand that, it’s still early in the season, and like I said, just come in with a fresh mindset, keep working, keep your head down, move forward.”
Taylor came up with runners at first and second and one out in the second inning. He struck out for the first time against Wood and James Outman followed with a ground out.
Taylor’s second strikeout ended the fourth inning with a runner at first.
The Dodgers’ best chance to dent the scoreboard came in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases on two singles and the catcher’s interference. They came away empty-handed.
Taylor went down swinging on four pitches against Giants reliever Jakob Junis.
“I thought I had good at-bats against Woody and just swung under two 3-2 heaters,” Taylor said. “Then I think the third at-bat, it was just the frustration getting to me, swinging at bad pitches.”
Alexander came in and got Outman to dribble a ball in front of the plate which Alexander flipped to catcher Blake Sabol for a forceout. The lefty reliever then struck out Miguel Rojas to end the threat.
“No, we didn’t,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the failure to “move the ball forward” with the bases loaded. “That was something I was counting on to put a little pressure on those guys. We just got to be better right there. We do.”
Monday night’s two-homer, seven-RBI breakout star Max Muncy (with a career slugging percentage of .590 at Oracle Park) watched the rally die from the bench, one of three left-handed hitters Roberts could have used as pinch-hitters for Taylor or Rojas. But the Giants had two left-handed relievers available (Alexander and Taylor Rogers) and Roberts didn’t use them until the eighth and ninth innings, all three with no one on base. Muncy and Heyward struck out. Peralta grounded out.
“I thought about it,” Roberts said of using one of the pinch-hitters for Taylor or Rojas with the bases loaded. “Obviously I had Muncy on the bench right there. But I just felt that Chris could move the ball forward. I thought about it but didn’t pull the trigger.”
The Giants got all of the scoring they would need in Dustin May’s first 19 pitches.
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Too many of those missed the mark as the Dodgers starter walked the first two batters he faced then gave up a two-run double to Joc Pederson on a ground ball down the first-base line. May walked two more after that but gave up just one more hit and no more runs in 5⅓ innings.
“I wasn’t very crisp at all tonight,” May said.
“I never really found myself. They were just swinging at balls that were in the zone. Just gotta throw more strikes. … I felt fine. Pregame bullpen was fine. Just didn’t have it once I got out there.”
The Giants put the game away in the eighth when they scored three runs on back-to-back home runs by David Villar and Brandon Crawford off Evan Phillips. Phillips had not given up a home run since last May 26 and a total of just two in his first 76-2/3 innings with the Dodgers.
“We’re not going to make any excuses for scoring zero runs,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ fourth loss in their past five games. “We’re just going to come out tomorrow and try to win a series.”
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LAFC steamrolls Vancouver to advance in CONCACAF Champions League
- April 12, 2023
LOS ANGELES — Picking up where it left off in Vancouver, the Los Angeles Football Club completed a lopsided victory on Tuesday night and advanced to the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Going with the same starting 11 that produced a 3-0 victory last week at BC Place, the second leg of the series at BMO Stadium was essentially over before it began.
LAFC captain Carlos Vela converted a penalty in the eighth minute.
The 34-year-old forward added another goal at the half-hour mark by chesting down a long pass over the top of the Whitecaps defense from midfielder Ilie Sanchez and calmly finishing with his left foot.
Vela’s brace gave the Mexican forward eight goals in CONCACAF Champions League play dating to 2020, when he scored five times in five games en route to an eventual final defeat against Tigres UANL.
Midfielder Jose Cifuentes, assisted by Denis Bouanga, hammered LAFC’s third goal of the night to seal the emphatic win, 6-0 on aggregate.
Bouanga entered the match with five goals after three games in the competition. The Frenchman set up Vela’s penalty by storming into the box with the ball at his feet and taking a clear foul.
Unlike last month’s second leg against Costa Rican club Alajeulense, when LAFC saw a similar three-goal lead drop to one before holding on for a 4-2 win on aggregate, any chance of a Whitecaps comeback was summarily dismissed by Steve Cherundolo’s hungry group.
“We feel very good but it’s also a time to try to improve,” the LAFC head coach said. “It’s an easy moment to teach and to learn and to accept criticism and that’s what we’re trying to do. I thought our defensive performance in the first 25 minutes was not very good. We just kept backing up and dropping and trying to find safety in numbers, which is not the way we want to play and actually got pretty lucky in the fifth minute to not go down a goal. We talked about it half and the improvements were there right away. We were back to our way of defending and football.”
Four saves by LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy in the opening half included a pair of stellar stops in the first 20 minutes that stymied hopes of a Whitecaps rally.
Last year’s MLS Cup MVP finished with six saves as he protected LAFC’s third straight 3-0 win and fourth consecutive clean sheet.
During the first leg in British Columbia, McCarthy had to make one save, a consequential deflection that denied former LAFC defender Tristan Blackmon and kept the match scoreless.
“I’m impressed by the way they’re humble and they are disciplined when they defend because sometimes they have to defend,” said Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini, who called LAFC the best team in North America prior to the first-leg match and reiterated his praise on Tuesday night.
Said Cherundolo, the former U.S. men’s national team defender: “As far as I know in this game the recipe to success is to defend well and at moments be effective in front of goal. … For the most part, we’ve had a lot of answers this season defensively and it will be something we continue to work on.”
The Black & Gold have opened their 2023 campaign with seven shutouts in 10 games. Despite LAFC’s strong start as it seeks to repeat as MLS champions and make another deep Champions League run, Vela expressed frustration over his lack of contributions on the scoresheet leading up to the first leg against the Whitecaps.
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“I am working hard. I am trying,” Vela said last week. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you are making mistakes or play not a good game, but in the end, the important thing is to come the next day because it’s another chance to get better and get in the position I want. In my head, there are only positive things to get my rhythm and be at my level. After that, for sure a lot of good things are coming.”
Vela and his teammates have plenty to look forward to.
On April 25, LAFC will resume CONCACAF Champions League play against either the Philadelphia Union or Atlas FC. The Union, which LAFC defeated to capture the MLS Cup last November, leads the series 1-0 ahead of the second leg in Mexico on Wednesday night.
In the meantime, still unbeaten in league play, LAFC turns its attention to the rival L.A. Galaxy for their first MLS showdown of the year on Sunday in Carson.
Orange County Register
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