This text discusses the upcoming soccer game between Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and Real Salt Lake (RSL) on Wednesday night. It mentions that the game will be played on grass instead of snow, unlike LAFC’s previous game in Utah. Both teams are tied for the top of the Western Conference with 43 points. LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead emphasizes the need to quickly forget their previous loss and focus on the game against RSL. The text also notes that RSL will be missing their leading scorer, Cristian Arango, due to a suspension for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy. LAFC, on the other hand, will have midfielder Timothy Tillman back in the mix after being sidelined last week due to too many yellow cards. The game will be played at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and will be televised on FS1, Apple TV+, and local radio stations.This text discusses the upcoming soccer game between Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and Real Salt Lake (RSL) on Wednesday night. It mentions that the game will be played on grass instead of snow, unlike LAFC’s previous game in Utah. Both teams are tied for the top of the Western Conference with 43 points. LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead emphasizes the need to quickly forget their previous loss and focus on the game against RSL. The text also notes that RSL will be missing their leading scorer, Cristian Arango, due to a suspension for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy. LAFC, on the other hand, will have midfielder Timothy Tillman back in the mix after being sidelined last week due to too many yellow cards. The game will be played at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and will be televised on FS1, Apple TV+, and local radio stations.
LAFC will get midfielder Timothy Tillman back for Wednesday night’s game against Real Salt Lake after he sat out last week’s 5-1 loss to Columbus Crew due to an accumulation of yellow cards. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
First of all, according to the weather forecast, there will be no snow storms in Southern California this week.
This is good news for the Los Angeles Football Club, because Real Salt Lake is coming to the city.
Despite absurd, wintry conditions at America First Field in March, LAFC’s second game of the season marked the MLS debut off the bench for 18-year-old Venezuelan David Martínez. He had never seen snow before, let alone tried to play soccer in it. What would have otherwise been a memorable day, Martínez said, “definitely” became the craziest moment of his young career.
For almost all other participants on the trip, it was a race to quickly forget.
Months after a 3-0 loss to Utah, it should benefit Martínez and his teammates to be playing on grass instead of inches of fresh powder in a key conference match on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium — though it meant little in their last outing, the club’s worst home defeat, a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew.
The end of a club-record 13-game unbeaten run joined the list of LAFC games that brought on memory loss in 2024, along with the trip to Salt Lake City in the spring and a failed adventure in San Jose in May.
“If you show up and have a bad night, that’s not unacceptable, but you’ve got to have the mentality to put it aside and respond well,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said after the game against Columbus.
To erase that point from their memory, they need to quickly focus on RSL. That shouldn’t be hard, as both teams are tied for the top of the Western Conference with 43 points, along with Galaxy.
For LAFC (13-5-4) the pain of Saturday was somewhat eased, but RSL (12-4-7) and Galaxy (12-5-7) also suffered a setback this weekend.
Following the 3-0 loss in Portland, RSL learned that the man leading the offense, the league’s leading scorer and former Black & Gold favorite Cristian “Chicho” Arango, had been suspended for four games, including the All-Star game, for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy.
The new MLS-MLSPA Joint Anti-Discrimination Policy, which was implemented in February, aims to eliminate racial and discriminatory incidents on the field by discouraging misconduct, achieving both discipline and accountability, and encouraging fairness, growth and education, the document says.
Neither MLS nor RSL have released additional details about Arango’s suspension, but in effect, LAFC will not be held accountable for the 29-year-old Colombian forward, who scored 17 goals and had 11 assists in March, scoring two and assisting two.
Colombian midfielder Andrés Gómez, who benefited from Arango’s assists on the snowy day, will also miss the midweek match due to a number of yellow cards.
With 48 goals, Arango and Gómez are the highest-scoring duo in MLS. Their absence “definitely affects (RSL’s) offensive effectiveness and threat,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “They’re doing a great job and are a really good team, even without those two. But Chicho is a special player and Gómez has had a really good season.”
On the other side of the field, LAFC defenders Jesus Murillo and Sergi Palencia will miss the game after receiving red cards against the Crew. Center back Aaron Long is willing to replace Murillo, Cherundolo said, and Omar Campos will step in for Palencia, who has been one of LAFC’s most important players this season.
Midfielder Timothy Tillman is back in the mix after being sidelined against the Crew due to too many yellow cards. And up front, forward Cristian Olivera is ready to contribute after returning from helping Uruguay to a third-place finish in the Copa America.
REAL SALT LAKE AT LAFC
When: Wednesday, 7:45 PM
Where: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles
Television/Radio: FS1, Apple TV+ (free)/710 AM, 980 AM
