Defenders of the Banc - The LAFC Podcast

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As the strange, long 2020 season winds down, one thing has remained maddeningly crystal clear: LAFC is THE Jekyll and Hyde team of MLS this year. One night, we look like the Supporters Shield winning world-beaters we were for much of 2019. The next, we look slow, out of sync, and disorganized against an inferior opponent. Rinse, repeat, and throw in an injury or three, the coronavirus, and off-the-field issues. That’s our 2020 season in a long-winded nutshell.

 It was more of the same as LAFC headed to San Jose to take on Matias Almeyda’s Earthquakes squad. LAFC raced out to a somewhat undeserved 1-0 lead on a goal by forward (for this match) Latif Blessing, only to be caught napping on the near post for an own goal by Eduard Atuesta. Later in the half, after several other misses opportunities for the home side, the ageless wonder, Chris Wondolowski netted for the 166th time in his MLS career to put San Jose up a goal heading into the half. To be frank, LAFC was lucky to be down just a goal. 

 Taking off his spectacles and business suit, Carlos Vela emerged from the phone booth looking very much like the cape-wearing goal scorer of 2019. He played with pace, great touch, and, as the kids say, a little wiggle. He looked great. However, despite going down to 10 men, San Jose found another from their maestro, Cristian Espinoza, and LAFC was now chasing two. A late connection from Vela to Rossi made it close, but it was right before the final whistle, and LAFC found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline. 

 This match was not without its silver linings, however. Carlos Vela looked great. Diego Rossi extended his Golden Boot lead to three with just one match remaining. And if anything good can come from this type of a loss, San Jose’s win was Carson’s demise, as the Galaxy won’t be able to taste the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. 

 Also on the episode, the boys get alliterative, Scarf repeats himself on purpose, and Filly makes more fun of Andy Najar. We celebrate an MVP on This Day in LAFC History, we root for the first minutes for one of our Academy products, and we see a light at the end of the CCL tunnel. Or is that just a train? Only time will tell, or maybe Filly and the Scarf will on Episode 129! 

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On Episode 127 of Defenders of the Banc, we have more reasons to celebrate! LAFC begins another winning streak at the expense of Houston while also clinching their 3rd straight trip to the MLS Cup Playoffs! 

Playoffs? Playoffs? Yeah, we’re talking about playoffs yet again! In a season that has been frustrating, disrupted, disjointed, and at times disappointing, LAFC has righted the ship and is playing their best football at the most important time. Bob has kept the locker room together, despite lineup changes, injuries, and departures, and LAFC is again near the top of the Western Conference. 

In addition to the breakdown of the 2-1 nail-biter victory over Houston, Filly and the Scarf discuss the first positive COVID test for the Black and Gold, news that broke during tonight’s match. We also touch on the dumpster fire down in Carson, a dream start to Nashville’s MLS tenure, and the retirement of the sandwich pick between LAFC selections in 2018. 

It wouldn’t be an episode without some Defenders ridiculousness. This Day In LAFC History unfortunately documents the darkest day in our club’s young run. We congratulate fellow podfam member Heart of LAFC and the reigning podfather, Josef Zacher, on their 150th episode while Filly tries to get the hashtag #blamescarf up and running. Filly also writes a poem, more of an ode, really, to Houston and Scarf delivers a hot take on Bob Bradley winning Coach of the Year. This episode really does have everything: Rants with Filly, a very short Scheduling with The Scarf, birthday wishes for a former squad member, and… oh, wait. We forgot our “Wait, What?!” moment again! We’ll try to remember on Episode 128 in just 4 days. 

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For the 4th time in 2020, it's Derby Day in Los Angeles! For the Black and Gold, however, it was also a "Welcome Back!" party being held at the Cathedral of the Black and Gold, Banc of California Stadium. 

Welcome back to our winning ways over Carson, a dominant 2-0 victory! Welcome back to a top-notch defense putting up a clean sheet. Welcome back to the four players we missed while on international duty: Diego Rossi, Brian Rodriguez, Diego Palacios, and Jose Cifuentes. And most importantly, welcome back to our long-injured duo of Tristan Blackmon and the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP, Carlos Vela.

Filly and the Scarf took in the match from Rowdy's Brew Co. in Rancho Cucamonga with our friends at the Ontario Fury, and it couldn't have been more of a celebration. It was a complete performance by our defense, allowing just one shot on target. It was a relentless onslaught by a now-complete roster on offense, firing off 27 shots and possessing the ball more than 64% of the match. Just about the only thing it wasn't was a battle between Mexican superstars. While Carlos Vela announced his presence with authority, Chicharito wasn't even in the 18, nursing both hamstring and self-esteem issues while having to answer questions about his leadership and connection to the rest of the locker room. LAFC ride goals from Danny Musovski and the right foot of Carlos Vela en route to the 2-0 win.

On this episode, we take a moment to remember the life of Daryl Grove, host of the Total Soccer Show podcast, who passed from colon cancer at the age of 40. Daryl and the TSS podcast blazed a trail for so many of us, and he will be greatly missed. 

Also, Scarf takes a look at just how much LAFC relies on their players under 22-years old, Filly rants on MLS scheduling their playoffs during another round of international duty, and the Defenders debate the Supporters Shield Foundation's decision to award the shield at the end of this season. Why did Filly bring up the Patriots? Who does Scarf think was snubbed from the Top 22 Under 22 list? And who became the first player from Carson to see red in the derby? You'll have to listen to Episode 126 to find out! 

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It’s Episode 125, and we are doing something we don’t normally do here on Defenders of the Banc: We are celebrating a tie! 

 It’s been a long and tumultuous road both on and off the pitch in 2020, so when little victories come, we need to take time to celebrate them. Tonight’s match against Portland certainly gave us another moment to celebrate, and we recap the entire 102-minute match in Portland here on 125. 

 LAFC got off to an inauspicious start, with an early yellow on Jordan Harvey opening the bookings in just the 5th minute. The Black and Gold had a few chances in the opening half but, for the most part, Portland controlled the pace and flow of the first 45 minutes. San Pablo looked very good, making several saves and keeping it scoreless going into the locker room. 

 Jeremy Ebobisse, fast becoming a Rose City thorn in the side of LAFC, found the back of the net against us yet again, as Pablo seemed to be at least a little off of his line after a bad turnover by Adrien Perez. With LAFC down at about the hour mark, Mahala checked in and immediately provided some life and energy to the lineup. The Academy kids check in along with Dejan Jakovic for the final push, and LAFC played their best 20 minutes of the match with the young guys leading the way. Three minutes into stoppage, more LAFC history was made as midfielder, yes, midfielder Eddie Segura found Mahala who slotted a soft touch pass to 16-year old wunderkind Christian Torres for his first MLS goal and the game’s equalizer. LAFC walks out of Portland with a point.

 Also on this episode, Carlos Vela has a girl! Congratulations to Carlos, Saioa, and Romeo on welcoming their new daughter, India, into the world. LAFC gets their four stars back from international duty as Bob Bradley coaches his 100th match for LAFC across all competitions. It’s a rare full week off for LAFC, and Filly and the Scarf intend to take full advantage. It’s time to rest up, run that 5K for Athletes In the Making, and detox just in time for the LA Derby as Carson makes the trip into Los Angeles to take an L at the Banc. 

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Episode 124 is up, and on this episode, we recap LAFC’s trip up the coast to Portland. To take on Vancouver. How 2020 is that? And unlike our previous match, a 6-0 shellacking of the Whitecaps, this match did not end well for the Black and Gold. It was not without its moments of history for the “Next 5 Years” LAFC hardcover book, however. Christian Torres became the first Academy player to start a match and 15-year old Erik Duenas took the pitch for the first time for LAFC. 

During a first half that will live on only in our imagination thanks in part to an outage at the YouTube Studios and the sultry tones of Dave Denholm on the radio, LAFC fell behind early on a goal by “The Tank”, Lucas Cavallini. With their bunker-first mentality and a starting lineup with six players who didn’t start in the big loss, Vancouver went into the half up a goal but down many LAFC viewers. 

LAFC would fall behind by two after another goal scored by Cavallini, assisted by the same pair of Dajome and Montero, before a few subs by Bob breathed some life into the match. Mahala, Duenas, and a little earlier, Bryce Duke, changed the energy of the match, and the score line. Despite the best efforts of the ref, who was in charge of just her second MLS match ever, Duke helped LAFC earn a PK. After not one but two bites at the cherry, as Max says, Eduard Atuesta slots it past Evan Bush to cut the deficit in half. It really did seem like LAFC would claw back to earn a point on the road, but it was not to be, and Vancouver took all three points on the road. 

It was a big week for LAFC signings, with Jesus David Murillo and Mark Segbers coming on board, two signings that should definitely bolster our back line just in time for a playoff push. Is Murillo the answer at CB we have been clamoring for since the Walker Zimmerman trade? We hope so! This Day In LAFC History celebrates the birth of John Thorrington while News and Notes sees four LAFC players facing off on the international stage. The Defenders find themselves an amazing breakfast spot in La Habra (Eggbred) while Dexter Quinn joins us in the third chair for the first time in 98 episodes. If only we let him speak more… 

LAFC plays again in just 4 days as they hope to solidify their place in the table. That’ll be Episode 125, a quarter of the way into the next 100. We couldn’t be more appreciative of all the support for us here at Defenders as we make the playoff push during our final five matches. 

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In a season that started several years ago back in March of 2020, for the first time, LAFC is on a winning streak! What a day in Los Angeles, as the Black and Gold wrap up a huge win over the defending champs about an hour before our hometown Lakers wrapped up number 17, and, more importantly, one for Kobe, Gianna, and everyone else who lost their lives in the awful accident in February. 

Watching the match as media once again, sitting in Banc of California Stadium, able to witness firsthand the improbable victory over the Sounders has been one of the better days here at Defenders of the Banc in quite some time. This was, by far, the best we’ve felt after a match in a long time. A brace by The Moose, a rocket from Pancho, a turn-back-the-clock performance by Jordan Harvey, quality minutes on the backline by Mohamed El-Munir, and the debut of Mahala all contributed to a wonderful 3-1 victory for LAFC. 

It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, however, as LAFC looks to be without the services of Mark-Anthony Kaye for the foreseeable future after a bad, bad looking ankle sprain (we’re hoping it’s just a sprain). We will also still be without the services of Andy Najar, after he gave us five and a half solid minutes on the backline before coming up lame and walking himself off the pitch and down the tunnel. However, further crisis was averted when both Eddie Segura and Pablo Sisniega both got up after a clash inside the box that left us all holding our breath. 

If you make it through the almost 90 minutes of Episode 123, first, thank you! Doing so will yield all kinds of wonderful information from your favorites, Filly and The Scarf. On this episode, you can learn all about the academy relationship we have built in Ghana and the new CB that could FINALLY be the replacement for Walker Zimmerman. Also, Filly pulls a Rain Man and repeats a few lines over and over, Scarf is part of a jelly bean club, and old man BWP plays almost 100 minutes! What an episode!

We’ll see you in just three days for Episode 124!

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It’s Episode 122 of Defenders of the Banc, and it’s another happy one after a 3-1 defeat of RSL on the road. LAFC kicks off a brutal gauntlet of 5 matches in just 18 days with a trip up to Sandy, Utah, and it went about as well as possible. Diego Rossi added to his Golden Boot-leading total, BWP added to his legendary career tally, and Brian Rodriguez, yes, Brian Rodriguez scored his first MLS regular-season goal for LAFC. 

Wait… is that The Scarf SINGING on the episode? The Mouth of the South Bay ventures into uncharted waters with an original song all about the first regular-season goal of Brian Rodriguez, and it ranks up there as one of the more unique moments of our 122 episodes. Maybe it was the euphoria of LAFC’s first road win since August 2019. Maybe it was the joy of taking the lead on the road for the very first time in 2020. Or maybe it was having an entire week in between matches for the first time in a while. No matter why he wrote it, we really hope you enjoy it!

This Day in LAFC History recaps history at the Banc in October while our News and Notes section discusses some very real holes in the lineup soon-to-be-created by a few national team call-ups. What language did Filly call Scarf “Scarf” in on the episode? Why was Andre Horta mentioned not once, but twice? And do the boys remember their “Wait, What?!” moment on the episode? You’ll have to listen to Episode 122 to find out. If “Brian’s Song” gets stuck in your head, that’s just an added bonus!

In addition to all of the wonderful support you give to us here at Defenders of the Banc, please take some time out this week to head on over to the Angel City Chicks, who have a fantastic interview with Julie Uhrman, Founder and President of Angel City, Los Angeles’s professional women’s soccer club, kicking off in 2020. Thanks!

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There are times here at Defenders of the Banc where we really, really enjoy ourselves. The time we recorded after our first defeat of Carson? Amazing. The episode we knocked them out of the playoffs? Fantastic. And being able to sit down with people like Larry "The Legend" Freedman, Adama Diomande, Steven Beitashour, Max Bretos, and many others? Top of the list. 

Well, here on Episode 121, you can add another interview to that list of episodes that have been an absolute blast to record. We sit down with the Most Interesting Man in MLS, 2018 Inaugural Black and Gold teammate and current MLS pool goalkeeper Charlie Lyon. This interview actually happened a few months ago, but with games coming almost every three or four days, we wanted to wait until we had a little bit of time and space to let this one breathe. And what better day than International Podcast Day! 

Hear Charlie's incredible story of going from LAFC, to the MLS pool keeper, to logging, to suiting up for (almost) every blue-uniformed team in MLS. Hear a first-hand account of exactly what it was like in the bubble in Orlando, including why Charlie couldn't play for a Canadian team during the tournament. 

What does Charlie think of Banc of California Stadium and The 3252? Why might Tyler Miller be Charlie's biggest rival in MLS? And when was the last time Charlie cut his hair?! Please take a listen to one of our favorite episodes we have put out in quite a while. This one is a whole lot of fun, and a really interesting listen. Trust us, we recorded it!

Enjoy Episode 121, and the Most Interesting Man In MLS, Charlie Lyon. 

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You know it’s rough when we are channeling the words of the great mid-90’s to early 2000’s philosopher and poet Rob Schneider. In our quest for back-to-back wins for the first time this season, it’s only right that we quote his immortal words from The Waterboy: “Oh, no. We suck again!” 

It’s another disappointing, frustrating, and confounding loss for the Black and Gold. Another team to whom we had never lost. Another team coming into the Banc and taking 3 points. But this time, it’s more than just “another team.” It’s the bottom-feeders of the West. It’s the doormats of the MLS. This loss was to the hapless San Jose Earthquakes. After leading for 80 minutes. In stoppage time. At the death. 2020 really has been a cruel mistress.

LAFC took a much-deserved lead into the half, with Mark-Anthony Kaye slotting one home right before the whistle. Despite a couple of solid chances by legend Chris Wondolowski, LAFC took that 1-0 lead into the 80th minute. That would be when everything fell apart. Thanks to an aggressive run by Shea Salinas, San Jose tied it up until stoppage time, when a streaking Jackson Yueill found the back of the net right before the final whistle to steal all 3 points for South San Francisco. Ugh… 

Despite the doom and gloom, and there’s a fair share of it, This Day in LAFC History reminds of the good ol’ days. You know, the ones with Carlos Vela and three-and-a-half Perezes. We remember those fondly. News and notes highlights history made by BWP and, just as noteworthy, the boys actually remember the “Wait, What?!” moment of the podcast! 

How does Filly finally prove his Italian heritage? Why is Scarf running a 5K for the very first time? And could the Defenders possibly find a silver lining in the final phase of the MLS regular season? You’ll have to listen to episode 120 to find out! More than ever, we love, appreciate, and really do need your support! 

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Marc Dos Santos knows LAFC perhaps better than any other opposing coach in MLS. After serving as an assistant to Bob in our inaugural season of 2018, he took the job as head of the Whitecaps, where he dealt LAFC our first loss of 2019. Some said Dos Santos had LAFC all figured out. But as you’ll hear on Episode 119 of Defenders of the Banc, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Last season, after the aforementioned defeat to Vancouver, in Canada, LAFC roared back. Despite going down 1-0, LAFC rattled off 6 consecutive goals en route to a massive win. Bob even got some help from his son-in-law, Andy Rose, as he contributed an own goal. Surely there’s no way lighting would strike twice, right?

 Wrong. LAFC forced the Whitecaps to wave the white flag yet again, putting up another 6 goals and, improbably, another gift from Bob’s son-in-law on the score sheet. BWP netted a brace, Rossi added to his league-leading total, and Brian Rodriguez assisted on three goals, but only one makes the box score. It was a performance for the ages, for the second time in as many years.

In addition to the usual recap, the boys look back on the career of Danilo Silva while watching the match from the Banc, Phillip Ejimadu joins Alejandro Guido in San Diego, and we forget our “Wait, What?!” moment yet again. It’s a six-pack for LAFC tonight. The only question is whether it’s Labatt’s or Molson. Either way, it’s Vancouver waving the white flag. 

Another 10 games or so round out the 2020 MLS schedule, so you’ll be hearing plenty from Filly and the Scarf during the month of October. Don’t forget to use that #KickChildhoodCancer to raise money for pediatric cancer research. We’ll see you for episode 120!

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