National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Steve Cherundolo was remarkably, impressively evenhanded, considering he and his team had just gotten their hearts torn out on live international television.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Fielding questions from reporters moments after LAFC<\/a>\u2019s chaotic, riveting, devastating 3-1 loss<\/a> at Inter Miami<\/a> on Wednesday night, a result that crashed the Black & Gold out of the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, Cherundolo could somehow still crack a rueful smile now and then as he pondered his side\u2019s latest high-profile heartbreak.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think you want to know,\u201d he said when asked \u201cwhat was going through your mind at the final whistle\u201d at Chase Stadium. \u201cAnd hopefully there are kids watching, so I won’t be very descriptive.\u201d<\/p>\n Always the poised, cerebral sort, Cherundolo readily admitted that the instant classic which had just transpired was \u201cexciting\u201d and \u201cvery entertaining.\u201d He even said he\u2019d \u201clove to play Miami more regularly and more often,\u201d even in the wake of the emotional gut punch the evergreen magic of Leo Messi<\/a> had dealt his team, clawing Miami back from a 2-0 aggregate deficit to 3-2 winners in slightly under an hour\u2019s worth of game time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a tough one to take,\u201d said young striker Nathan Ordaz<\/a>, the goalscorer in the opening leg. \u201cIt’s unfortunate how it happened. We were working, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen the way you want it to.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n IMCF\u2019s glory could so easily have been LAFC\u2019s. It would have been understandable had the Angelenos lost track of the cold, hard fact that they had less than 72 hours to go until their next test, an MLS Matchday 8 visit from the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> on Saturday night (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cI think that’s the beauty of playing in multiple competitions. You get to kind of forget the performances, and you don’t have to analyze this thing down to the last play of the game,\u201d said Cherundolo. \u201cThe emotions are a part of it, but these are professionals, and they’ll deal with that in the right way, and we will be ready Saturday. We’ll have a team on the field at BMO ready to win a match.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s now clear for us. We need to start focusing on MLS and climbing back up that table.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the nature of the beast for clubs at the level LAFC aspire to maintain. ConcaChampions tends to inspire obsession among those who get familiar with it \u2013 they\u2019ve twice reached the competition’s final, falling short on both occasions \u2013 and the wear and tear and extreme emotions of CCC runs, most of which end painfully, have inflicted some legendary hangovers on MLS sides over the years.<\/p>\n It can be quite difficult to settle back to earth and pivot to the weekly grind of the league, where the likes of San Jose so often lie in wait, eager to exploit all that. LAFC have lost four of their last five MLS matches while juggling CCC, dropping to ninth place in the Western Conference and 18th in the overall table \u2013 leaving them in the unfamiliar position of looking up at the Quakes as this cross-California showdown plays out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are meeting a good team. They haven’t started so so well this season, but it’s still a good team, so it will be a tough game,\u201d Quakes attacker Amahl Pellegrino<\/a> told media on Wednesday, explaining how his squad are eager to ride the wave from Sunday\u2019s jaw-dropping 6-1 destruction<\/a> of D.C. United<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it’s a derby, so it means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Next Up \u27a1\ufe0f San Jose#LAFC<\/a> | @Ticketmaster<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LAFC (@LAFC) April 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n If the past is any guide whatsoever, San Jose will need every bit of momentum they can maintain. BMO Stadium has been an utter house of horrors for the Quakes since LAFC entered the league in 2018: Their all-time record at the downtown Los Angeles ground is an atrocious 1W-10L-1D, their only win a 2-1 comeback held behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. They lost three times there just last season alone, and by margins of 6-2<\/a>, 4-1<\/a> and 3-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those numbers underline the reality that as young as LAFC are compared to their Bay Area counterparts, the SoCal club are now a reference point for a Quakes organization clambering out from under more than a decade of struggle. In year one under Bruce Arena, who once coached Cherundolo on the US men\u2019s national team<\/a>, Saturday marks the best circumstances they could ask for in turning a page from that grim history.<\/p>\n Supporters of both of these sides would usually point to the LA Galaxy<\/a> as their primary rivals. Yet they play one another about as often, and the Quakes have increasingly targeted LAFC, extending the wider \u2018beat LA\u2019 mentality that NorCal teams in all sports tend to internalize.<\/p>\n \u201cThese games always live their own life, because it’s a derby game and it’s something special and the atmosphere, it’s maybe higher than in a normal game. So you just have to come best prepared to do this game \u2013 and to have a really good start, it’s important,\u201d said Pellegrino.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like, when the schedule comes out, you always look after those kind of games.\u201d<\/p>\n Are the favorites vulnerable here? Or might LAFC take out their frustrations on the Quakes instead?<\/p>\n \u201cI think we’re going to be starting to tear up the league a lot more,\u201d vowed Ordaz in South Florida. \u201cI think we have a point to prove, and this one hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A grand total of 7\u20e3 hat-tricks for one of the most prolific goal scorers in league history!<\/p>\n Will Josef Mart\u00ednez get on the scoresheet vs. @LAFC<\/a> tomorrow night? pic.twitter.com\/A7ecLX0sBA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/main><\/p>\n<\/div>\nShifting focus<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Renewed rivalry<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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