RSL Storylines v LAFC: A Chance at Redemption

RSL Storylines v LAFC: A Chance at Redemption

Welcome back to storylines.

As always, we thank you for your unwavering, dedicated, consistent support throughout this campaign. It has been an absolute rollercoaster of a season, and one thing is for sure, we certainly could not have gotten this far without you. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, and we need your incredible support now more than ever as the team continues to push on for success this season.

RSL come into this midweek road test on the back of a frustrating loss last time out, an 0-3 away defeat at Portland on Saturday. The result represented RSL’s first away defeat in 129 days. Terminating the team’s 10-game undefeated run on the road, the second-longest unbeaten road in Major League Soccer history. RSL’s last road loss came at the start of the season, in its first game of the 2024 campaign on Feb., 21 against a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami side. It also represented only the team's second road loss this year in 12 games, and its fourth loss overall of the season in 23 games played.

It’s another quick turnaround, however, which means less time sulking and more time preparing. The fast-paced nature of the sport nowadays is such that one cannot afford to overly dwell on predicaments. Focus, instead, must be immediately diverted to the next task at hand, and up next for RSL is a trip to the City of Angels.

Pablo Mastroeni’s men are back in action again on Wednesday night for a crucial top-of-the-table decider away against LAFC, in what promises to be a blockbuster contest. Kickoff for this game at BMO Stadium is 8:30 PM MT. RSL then conclude its three-game road stint with a Rocky Mountain Cup thriller against Colorado Rapids on Saturday, June 20, at DSG Park. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM MT.

In the wake of Saturday night’s disappointing result in Portland, the upcoming games present an opportunity for redemption, and perhaps absolution of some sort, certainly with the fans, and Pablo and Co. will no doubt be working to erase the painful memories of Saturday night’s loss starting with a bounce-back performance on Wednesday. As always in storylines, we bring you some of the most compelling narratives that could sway the pendulum in our favor.

Storylines

• A Chance at Redemption: Saturday night’s result was disappointing, no doubt about it. But what matters now is how the team can bounce back from such a devastating result, and no one is better at pulling a team out of a bad result than Pablo. RSL’s previous performance against LAFC also offers some reassurance and will be a source of confidence.

The Deep Dive

• A Chance at Redemption: Saturday night’s result was disappointing, no doubt about it. But what matters now is how the team can bounce back from such a devastating result, and no one is better at pulling a team out of a bad result than Pablo. RSL’s previous performance against LAFC also offers some reassurance and will be a source of confidence.

If you’re reading this, odds are you witnessed Saturday’s Portland performance, and for that, we offer our sincerest apologies. Saturday night’s defeat was a disappointment, there’s no sugarcoating that. A depressing result that followed a particularly rough 90-minute performance, but Pablo and the boys will know that. We all know that, so there’s no time for sulking or deliberating. Instead, you learn what you can, take what you must, and pledge to do better.

The team has had such a magical start to the season, but no matter how good you are, you can’t win every game, and you can’t play beautiful football for 90 minutes every single week, or sometimes three times in one week. Even the best stumble sometimes, but such is the way of life and the nature of the sport we all love. And the stats will show you that we certainly are one of the best. Everyone falls, but what separates the best from the rest is having the determination to rise again and keep fighting, and no one understands that fact more than our beloved head coach, Pablo Mastroeni.

RSL’s head coach has a consistently proven ability and propensity for being able to galvanize his teams in the wake of a defeat, which is evidenced by the team record of just nine losses in RSL matches immediately following a defeat throughout Mastroeni’s 124-game reign thus far. Amazingly as well, four of the nine back-to-back losses occurred in the first month following midfielder, Pablo Ruiz’s mid-August knee injury, and none this year.

Since August 2021, RSL has recorded 19 wins and 10 draws and suffered only nine back-to-back losses in Mastroeni’s 124 games at the helm of the Claret-and-Cobalt. The team has now earned a result in 29 of the 38 games following a loss during Pablo’s tenure. This trend has continued this season with the 1-1 draw on Feb. 24 against St. Louis following the season-opening loss to Miami, the March 23rd, 2-1 win in Vancouver following the rare home loss to Colorado on March 9, and the July 3rd, 3-2 win at home against Houston Dynamo following the 1-0 home loss against LA Galaxy on June 22. Every defeat this season has been met with a response in the next game, with two wins and a draw in matches following a loss this year.

The team’s last win against LAFC earlier in the season will also provide some reassurance and confidence ahead of Wednesday. The Claret-and-Cobalt earned a hard-fought 3-0 victory against the Black-and-Gold on March 2nd in a winter wonderland contest courtesy of goals from **Chicho Arango** and a brace from **Andres Gómez**, both of whom are unavailable for selection on Wednesday due to a league suspension for the RSL Captain and caution accumulation for the young winger. The team has already proven that it can get the job done against LAFC, and in adverse conditions nonetheless, and that will no doubt be a source of inspiration going into this crucial tie.

As has been consistently emphasized in previous storyline editions, one of the biggest things Pablo preaches is the importance of mentality, and that mentality is part of the reason RSL has this season recorded its best-ever start to a new campaign in the franchise’s history, and the ultimate secret to the team’s success thus far this year. The team’s mentality abounds in bouncing back from losses during the Mastroeni era, with its collective resilience and the “never say die” attitude, particularly on full display. Wednesday night offers a unique chance at redemption and none better to do it against than your title-chasing rivals, and you best believe Pablo and his coaching staff will be getting the players battle-ready for what promises to continue to be a record-shattering season.

It's redemption time for the Claret-and-Cobalt, and as always, may the odds be ever in our favor.

Enjoy the continued magic of RSL’s 2024 season starting Wednesday, with an 8:45 PM MT kickoff in LA on MLS Season Pass / Apple TV+