It’s been an LAFC kind of week. Los Angeles Football Club began their 2025 MLS season just like their previous seven seasons… with a win. A sold-out crowd led by The 3252 Supporters section celebrated a 1-0 victory over Minnesota United on a beautiful Southern California Saturday afternoon at BMO Stadium last Saturday. Newly acquired veteran forward Jeremy Ebobisse delivered the game’s only score in the 78th minute for the win.
“It’s very special. I’ve had a lot of experiences playing here. Never on the right side of the 3252,” said Ebobisse. “Would’ve
been nice to score in front of them, but there will be plenty of opportunities to get goals on that end as well, but it was a special environment today.” Ebobisse had played his previous eight MLS seasons with the Porland Timbers and the San Jose Earthquakes.
Fast forward to Tuesday night at BMO in a must-win situation against the Colorado Rapids to advance to the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. After a scoreless first half, LAFC midfielder Mark Delgado redirected a pass from David Martinez in the 49th minute to give the Black & Gold a well-deserved 1-0 win.
Delgado said, ” “It felt great, especially with the 3252, the big black and gold wall, so it was exciting, a burst of adrenaline. I was excited and happy to celebrate it with the team and celebrate the victory.”
LAFC had lost the first leg of the aggregate matchup at Colorado 2-1 last Tuesday but advanced based on relinquishing fewer goals at home. The club will next face the Columbus Crew in the two-leg aggregate on Tuesday, March 4, at BMO Stadium before traveling to Columbus for the second leg on March 11.
And this week isn’t over yet for LAFC as they host New York City FC this Saturday, March 1, 7:30 p.m. again at BMO. NYCFC played to a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami 2-2 in their season opener at Miami. Forward Alonso Martinez had given New York a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute before allowing Miami to tie the match in stoppage time.
LAFC forwards Nathan Ordaz and Denis Bouanga assisted on Ebobisse’s winning goal over the Loons. Bouanga, LAFC’s leading scorer the past two seasons has also assisted in all three season opening games for the club. His image was also the focus of the 15,000+ Buoanga bobbleheads given to the fans in attendance.
“It looks like me. Really, really well done and I’m really happy to have this bobblehead for myself and, of course, for the fans,” said Buoanga. “Yes, for my son. He wants it, he saw it yesterday and he said, “I want, I want, I want”, so now he has three.”
Buoanga was also encouraged playing with his new teammate Ebobisse. “It’s good for a new attacker to arrive and score. It’s good for his confidence, for our confidence, for all the players. It gives us more confidence to win games.”
Featured and highlighted in the pregame ceremonies was the large LAFC tifo unveiled over The 3252 section honoring the firefighting heroes from the recent devastating local wildfires that ravaged the Southland in January.
The season opening game winning streak beginning from a club’s first season is the record for Major League Soccer and also has set the standard for Los Angeles major professional sports franchises. Here’s a breakdown of each team’s first eight season starts from their inaugural year in Los Angeles: 1) LAFC (2018) 8-0; 2) LA Raiders (1982) 7-1; 3) LA Lakers (60-61) 6-2; 3) LA Sparks (1997) 6-2; 3) LA Rams (2016) 6-2; 6) LA Galaxy (1996) 3-1-4; 7) LA Aztecs (1974) 5-2-1; 8) LA Dodgers (1958) 5-3; 8) LA Rams (1946) 5-3; 10) LA Angels (1960) 4-4; 10) LA Clippers (84-85) 4-4; 12) LA Kings (67-68) 3-4-1; 13) ACFC (2022) 1-2 (3 seasons) ; 14) Anaheim Ducks (93-94) 1-7.
Overall LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo was satisfied with the result. “I was happy tonight, with the overall performance and where we’re at, considering obviously a short preseason and getting off in the Champions Cup. Having control and still pushing to score and not concede is difficult, and it shows maturity at this stage in the season which I’m very happy with.”