LAFC hope to tighten defense with goal-hungry Austin up next

Los Angeles FC look to have a better defensive showing when they return to MLS play with a home contest against Austin FC on Saturday afternoon.

LAFC (2-1-0, 6 points) were exposed often in a 5-2 road loss against the Seattle Sounders last weekend after pitching shutouts in their first two MLS matches of the campaign.

When LAFC returned to the pitch Tuesday in CONCACAF Champions Cup play, they lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew. However, they advanced to the quarterfinals due to a 4-2 aggregate score.

Denis Bouanga's goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time prevented LAFC from being blanked.

LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo was highly disappointed with the performance and wasn't thrilled with the effort of his players.

"It is not my job as a coach to motivate the players," Cherundolo said. "They are professional athletes, and motivation has to come from within."

Austin FC (1-2-0, 3 points) have played three 1-0 games, losing the last two. They fell at home to the Colorado Rapids last weekend.

Austin nearly tied the match late in the first half, but Myrto Uzuni's header hit the crossbar.

Now the competition level increases in the eyes of Austin coach Nico Estevez as he sees LAFC as a tough team to face.

"We play against one of the top teams in the entire league," Estevez said. "One of the teams that is consistent and fights hard. ... They are a big team in the league.

"For us, we can win (against) any team in this league, but we have to do a lot of things good."

Getting the offense untracked would be a welcome thing against the powerful LAFC squad.

But just seeing where his team rates is appealing to Estevez, who is in his first season as Austin's coach.

"We can challenge ourselves," Estevez said. "We can see where we're at and we go there and compete and do our best."

Last season, LAFC notched a 2-0 home win over Austin in the Leagues Cup on Aug. 7, and the other two meetings ended in 1-1 ties.

--Field Level Media