Behind closed doors, the LAFC vs DC United preseason match ends 0-2
In a 0-2 upset Tuesday afternoon, the LAFC vs DC United preseason match was their opening match of the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio, California at the Empire Polo Club.
Coach Steve Cherundulo’s lineup consisted of Opoku, Brian Rodríguez, and Carlos Vela on attack with Latif Blessing, José Cifuentes, and Ilie Sánchez at midfield to start the LAFC vs DC United preseason match. On defense, Franco Escobar, Mamadou Fall, Jesus Murillo, and Diego Palacios took the field along with new goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
DC United struck a 1-0 lead early on in the 9th minute when they converted a penalty kick after LAFC defender Diego Palacios was caught for a foul in the penalty area. Forward Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku almost evened out the game a couple minutes after but his shot was cleared off the goal line by DC.
During the second half, Cherundolo swapped in Cristian Arango, Cal Jennings, and Danny Musovsk on attack with Danny Crisostomo, Frank Daroma, and Francisco Ginella at the midfield. Ryan Hollingshead made his debut playing alongside Sebatian Ibeagha, Tony Leone, and Lim Moon-Hwan. Hollingshead was acquired by LAFC on February 10 in a trade with FC Dallas for Marco Farfan.
In place of Crépeau, John McCarthy took over goalkeeping in the second half but was able to let one slide as Drew Skundrich of DC united scored in the 77th minute. The Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio will continue this weekend and the Black & Gold will compete against the New York Red Bulls at noon on Saturday, February 19. Unfortunately, the game is closed to the public and not televised.