LOS ANGELES — Lucky No. 7?
If the start of Los Angeles Football Club’s seventh season in Major League Soccer is any indication, it could be.
Dispatching the Seattle Sounders 2-1 in a midday match at BMO Stadium, LAFC secured a league-record seventh consecutive season-opening win, adding to the catalog of historic moments against their Western Conference rival.
The first LAFC goal of the year went to midfielder Timothy Tillman, who volleyed a lofted cross from new fullback Omar Campos inside the near post just before halftime.
Mateusz Bogusz, starting in the middle of the attack between Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera while LAFC continued negotiating with free agent Carlos Vela, smashed in the Black & Gold’s second goal 10 minutes after the break.
The Sounders got back into the game with less than half hour to go following a video review on a tackle in the LAFC box by defender Aaron Long on his U.S. men’s national team compatriot Jordan Morris.
Long chased down a Morris breakaway and clipped the forward in front of new LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
With Professional Soccer Referees Association members locked out to begin the season, replacement official Wesley Costa pointed to the spot, where Seattle’s latest Designated Player signing, Argentine midfielder Pedro de la Vega, converted by sending Lloris the wrong direction.
Captain of the 2018 World Cup winning French team, Lloris’ first save with LAFC came in the third minute. By the conclusion of the match, including six minutes of stoppage time, Lloris made seven saves.
In three meetings last year, LAFC held Seattle scoreless, taking a pair of 1-0 wins to go with a scoreless draw.
Saturday’s result pushed the Black & Gold’s unbeaten streak against their division rivals to – you guessed it – seven.
Overall, LAFC improved to 10-5-4 against the Sounders, and is 7-1-1 against them on their own turf, which was a plush green canvas in front of an announced crowd of 22,214 on opening day.
Seattle opened the season with several key contributors unavailable.
A bad hamstring meant veteran goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who played the most matches in Sounders’ history, was replaced by Andrew Thomas, a three-time All-Pac 12 first-team selection at Stanford making his MLS debut.
Frei was one of three players, along with midfielder João Paulo (left hip) and defender Yeimar Gómez, with 30 or regular-season appearances for Seattle last season who did not suit up to begin the 2024 campaign.
LAFC’s depth wasn’t nearly as stretched, despite Friday’s news that 19-year-old center back Lorenzo Dellavale would miss the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee during a closed-door preseason match in early February against Charlotte.
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For another young LAFC defender, the 21-year-old Campos, his well-taken assist punctuated a strong first half playing down the left side where Diego Palacios had patrolled the previous four years.
Most of Campos’ successes occurred in the defensive end, where he and teammates – especially midfielders Eduard Atuesta, who started in his return after playing the last two seasons in Brazil, and Ilie Sanchez – each made plays in and around the LAFC box that disrupted potential Sounders’ attacks.
On the other end of the pitch, Bouanga, last year’s Golden Boot winner, was kept off the scoresheet, clanging a pair of shots off the crossbar.