Austin FC v Los Angeles FC: Cherundolo lauds visitors' defensive discipline

Steve Cherundolo has paid tribute to Los Angeles FC's defensive solidity as they look to end the regular season on a high note, starting against Austin FC.

LAFC sit third in the Western Conference, with this their game in hand, and should they beat Austin at Q2 Stadium, they will keep their hopes of topping the table alive.

Cherundolo's side have won each of their last six matches in MLS, keeping a clean sheet in the last three, while conceding just three goals overall in that run.

And the 46-year-old has noted how key their strong defence has been in keeping them in the fight at the top of the West in the latter stage of the campaign.

"It's work on the training field; it's staying disciplined with the players and understanding that we have a specific way of playing," he said.

"Cheating is not an option for us defensively. The way I learned the game was that the more disciplined you are defensively, the better set up you are in the turnover.

"We'll always work on that, and that seems to be working for us. It's something I believe in strongly, and as long as I'm head coach, that will be priority number one."

They face an Austin side who have lost each of their last three matches in all competitions, following up their U.S. Open Cup final defeat to Nashville SC with a 3-1 loss to St. Louis City SC last weekend.

Austin have booked their place in the play-offs, thanks to San Jose Earthquakes' loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps last Sunday.

And Nico Estevez was disappointed after a tough week, but he is hopeful Austin can finish the regular season on a high note.

"It was a horrible week for us, terrible. But this is life, it hits you," he said.

"Thank god we did a good job in the summer to get points on the board. We want to win for ourselves, but we knew the [U.S. Open Cup final] was going to be difficult, and we've lacked composure [since then].

"But we will focus on the one competition now, and we'll prepare ourselves the best that we can."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin FC – Owen Wolff

Owen Wolff notched his eighth assist of the 2025 regular season on Saturday, tied for the second most in a season in club history (Diego Fagundez – 15 in 2022).

Wolff is the only one of the 42 MLS players with at least eight assists this season who has not turned 21 years old yet.

Los Angeles FC – Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris made three saves on Wednesday during the 24th regular-season clean sheet of his MLS career.

Since the beginning of last season, Lloris' 24 shutouts are tied for the most by any MLS goalkeeper with Charlotte FC's Kristijan Kahlina.

MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN

Cherundolo's side notched their sixth straight victory with a 2-0 win against Toronto FC on Wednesday. Since the beginning of last season, LAFC have had three regular-season winning streaks of at least six games, while all other MLS teams combined have had two such streaks (Charlotte, FC Cincinnati, one apiece).

Austin's 1-0 road win against Los Angeles FC in March was their first clean sheet in 12 all-time meetings in the matchup. A team has shut out LAFC in consecutive matches in a single season on three occasions – the Houston Dynamo in 2023 and 2024 and the LA Galaxy in 2020.

However, Austin have lost their last three competitive matches despite scoring a goal in each defeat.

The only other time the Verde have lost three straight matches while scoring in each one was in July-August 2023, with two of those matches coming against Liga MX teams.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Austin FC – 26.5%

Draw – 23.6%

Los Angeles FC – 49.9%