Local News
LAFC ends four-game losing streak in title games with 3-1 victory over Sporting KC in 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final – NBC Los Angeles
It took nearly two years, but the Los Angeles Football Club has finally won another title.
Since hoisting the MLS Cup trophy in 2022, LAFC has finished as the runner-up in four consecutive championship games, including the 2023 MLS Cup in Colombus, Ohio last December.
Playing in their fifth final in the last two years, LAFC snapped their four-game losing streak in title games with a 3-1 victory in extra time over Sporting Kansas City in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night.
For LAFC, it was a sense of unfinished business after falling in four straight finals including two already this season.
“We’ve have an amazing group here. We’ve gotten to the finals a few times now and it’s important to reward ourselves,” said LAFC defender Aaron Long, who wore the Captain’s armband for the match. “The group right now is hungry. To taste these finals many times in a row now and to get this close, we’re all just really happy. We’re happy to give back to the fans. They’ve been suffering a lot.”
Sporting KC was seeking to become the only MLS team in history to win five U.S. Open Cup titles.
The final was a battle between two teams headed in opposite directions over the last month.
Sporting KC is currently on the outside looking in of the MLS Cup Playoffs, but are 3-1-2 over their last six matches for a total of 10 points.
Meanwhile, LAFC, a powerhouse atop the Western Conference all season long, has won just once since Aug. 22, a 1-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
Led by their new superstar Olivier Giroud, LAFC made sure they would not finish second in another tournament.
Giroud scored his second goal for LAFC–both in finals–to help lead the team to victory.
“When you play in a final, you just have to go for it,” said Giroud after the victory celebration. “I’m really proud of this team. We celebrated with the fans like a family. This was a little boost for the end of the season.”
Waves of black and gold jerseys flooded onto the field to rejoice at the blowing of the final whistle, marking the second title in LAFC’s young history.
Donned in U.S. Open Cup Champions hats, shirts, and scarves, the players poured onto the field to celebrate with their families, including LAFC legend Carlos Vela, who just re-signed with the team last week and has yet to step foot onto the pitch this season.
Kei Kamara, the oldest current player in the league, who grew up in Los Angeles, embraced his wife in front of the LAFC supporters section the 3252.
“This moment here for me to come home and be in LA, and be part of this young rich history of this club is awesome, and tonight was a special night,” said Kamara, who also won the U.S. Open Cup with Kansas City in 2012.
LAFC’s captain for most of the 2024 campaign, Ilie Sanchez, grabbed Vela, the team’s longtime captain, to help him hoist the trophy as fireworks erupted overhead.
Later, the trophy was passed to Giroud and Lloris, two players who traveled nearly 6,000 miles from Paris to Los Angeles, to help LAFC lift another trophy.
“We’re on the same page. We just try to bring our experience, leadership, and calmness,” said Giroud and Lloris, longtime friends and teammates with the French national team that won the World Cup in 2018. “Especially when you’re trying to win a trophy. This team has a lot of quality.”
Los Angeles is nicknamed Championship City, or “TitleTown, USA.” In a stadium that is a few miles away from the Lakers, Dodgers, and Kings, it was only fitting that LAFC lifted another trophy en route to what hopefully is just one among many more to come for the newer club.
The mental toll of losing in four consecutive championship games can be daunting. It can affect one’s confidence, not to mention lay seed to doubt that can grow like weeds inside the mind. Just ask the Buffalo Bills of the mid-1990s.
Wednesday’s victory represented a new chapter for the budding franchise decked in black and gold in downtown LA. It ended those seeds of doubt locked inside the labyrinth of the mind and revitalized a team that still has an opportunity to reach their third consecutive MLS Cup Final later this year.
“This will only make us stronger down the stretch of the season. I’m convinced of that,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo.
One thing is for certain, Wednesday’s trophy was a reward for their patience, suffering, and disappointment over the last 500 days.
“I thought I would feel a big sense of relief,” continued Cherundolo. “But right now, all I feel is joy.”
Both teams had their opportunities in the first half, as goalkeepers Hugo Lloris for LAFC and Tim Melia for SKC, had their skills on full display.
Giroud opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. Mateusz Bogusz received a through ball from Sergi Palencia on the right side of the box, and his cross found the foot of the legendary French striker for the 1-0 lead.
There it is.
Olivier Giroud has the breakthrough in the @opencup final! pic.twitter.com/1bQBdwge3l
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
However, the lead would be short-lived.
Less than ten minutes later, Kansas City leveled the score on Erik Thommy’s right-footed flick from the back of the box to the upper-left corner of the net inside the near post.
WE’RE LEVEL!!
Erik Thommy responds immediately to equalize in the @opencup final. pic.twitter.com/AglHTKB6Pc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
The back-and-forth battle continued with the underdogs nearly netting the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute off a set piece, but once again Lloris was able to make a critical save. He made another in the 92nd minute.
Defender Omar Campos, who entered the game in the 67th minute, raced into the far left corner of the box and slotted a shot into the far post for the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute.
OMAR CAMPOS IN EXTRATIME FOR THE LEAD@LAFC x @opencup pic.twitter.com/pSDWLs6gfU
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Sporting KC ratcheted up the pressure over the next ten minutes, but got caught on the counter by former teammate, and current LAFC Super Sub, Kei Kamara.
Kei Kamara. That’s the tweet.@LAFC x @opencup pic.twitter.com/CBS27FgNE2
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 26, 2024
Kamara buried a header in front of the net in the 110th minute for an insurance goal that put the game to bed as LAFC held on until the final whistle to lift their first U.S. Open Cup trophy in team history, ending their streak of four consecutive finals losses.
“We want to win every game we play in, it just doesn’t work out like that sometimes. These guys have never won the US Open Cup trophy before, and now they can say they’ve won it,” said Kamara. “To be able to celebrate with my family and bring them into the locker room with me. That’s special. That’s what I wanted. That’s a good feeling.”
Local News
See where coyotes are spotted most in LA County – NBC Los Angeles
From the Valley to Leimert Park and Hancock Park, people in communities across Southern California have been spotting coyotes in their neighborhoods.
Not nestled in the mountains, but in urban areas where many young children and house pets live.
“We actually shouldn’t be surprised that coyotes are showing up in what we consider to be non-traditional locations like the middle of a city,” said Tim Daly, California Department Fish and Wildlife public information officer.
Daly says that’s in part because coyotes are looking for food and resources not being found in their environments. And, what we are doing might be inviting to them.
“It’s almost always unintentional. We might forget that we left the pet food out at night. We might not have remembered to clean our barbecue at the end of a long meal,” Daly added. “And, there’s those odors and bits of food still on a barbecue. We may be forgetting to trim under our backyard brush because we think, oh, it looks so lush and fully grown but that’s also a place where wildlife can hide. It’s a shelter.”
Reports about coyotes to their office are tracked.
Total coyote interactions 2017-2024
Coyote sightings, depredation, possible human conflict, and nuisance complaints.
Our analysis of data obtained by the NBC4 I-Team shows calls to the department about coyotes in Los Angeles County have increased in all categories -from sightings to nuisance- compared to last year.
Looking back to 2017, most reports about coyote run-ins with pets or livestock or what’s called “depredation” in LA County happened in zip code 91745 — the Hacienda Heights neighborhood.
Most nuisance reports, which could be anything from tipping trash cans or making messes, were most reported in the 91711 area near Claremont.
And, most of the calls about potential human conflict came from zip code 90027, the Griffith Park neighborhood, followed closely by 91364, the community of Woodland Hills.
“We look at those reports every day, and then we will respond accordingly if we feel there’s a potential public safety issue going on, we will work with the people who made that report to make sure A, they’re okay, and B, they’re doing everything they can to eliminate what’s attracting them to their yard,” Daly said.
Daly believes part of the rise in report could coincide with more people at home.
“Also, more of us have cameras on our homes and in our backyards than ever. And so, we’re getting a lot more sightings reported to us that way as well,” he added
He says sighting numbers might be a bit skewed because multiple reports might come in about the same animal.
Again, the department tells the NBC4 I-Team, we could be the ones creating space for coyotes and other wildlife to feel invited, barbeques not being cleaned up, fallen fruit in your yard, bird feeders with overflow of seed are attractive to coyotes.
The department wants to hear from you if you come across a coyote, especially if you feel at risk, so they can better access what is happening.
They have a way to do that right on the front page of their website. There is also a link that explains how to deal with not just coyote but any wildlife you might come across in your home.
Local News
Accused LA bus hijacker previously spent time in prison – NBC Los Angeles
The man accused of commandeering an LA Metro bus at gunpoint in South LA, holding a driver and passenger hostage, and of murdering another passenger, previously served time in state prison for transporting or selling controlled substances, records and officials confirmed Thursday.
Lamont A. Campbell was arrested Wednesday by LAPD SWAT officers after the overnight standoff and pursuit, in which the bus passenger died after being shot multiple times, allegedly by Campbell, police said.
Jail records showed Campbell was being held without bail and was expected to make an initial appearance in court Monday.
No criminal charges had been filed in the bus hijacking as of Thursday afternoon.
Authorities have not shared the name or age of the person who was murdered during the ordeal.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Campbell, 51, began serving a 5 year term for transportation or sales of a controlled substance in August, 1996, and was paroled in 1998.
Campbell returned to prison in January, 2010 to serve a 6 year term for transportation or sales of a controlled substance with a prior conviction, and was released on parole in 2011.
He was released from parole supervision the next year.
LA County Superior Court records show Campbell pleaded no contest in 2018 to a misdemeanor drug possession charge and was placed on 3 years probation.
The LAPD said officers responding to a shots fired call near Figueroa and West 119th St. early Wednesday spotted a man, later identified as Campbell, boarding the Metro bus.
The bus operator was forced at gunpoint to drive through Downtown and stopped after running over spike strips near 6th and Alameda Streets, where members of the LAPD’s SWAT team stormed the bus, rescued the driver, and arrested Campbell.
Local News
Lithium ion batteries catch fire in crash at Vincent Thomas Bridge – NBC Los Angeles
Firefighters and a hazardous materials team responded to a rollover crash and fire involving a big rig carrying lithium ion batteries Thursday near the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.
There were no injuries reported in the crash early Thursday afternoon near the busy shipping port. Details about what led to the rollover were not immediately available.
Traffic was backing up on and near the bridge.
Flames and thick smoke could be seen coming from the shipping container on the trailer of the truck, which was on its side in the 900 block of North Seaside Avenue.
There were reports of one battery exploding, the LA Fire Department said.
LAFD Alert-Update #SanPedro Vehicle Rollover with Hazardous Materials 940 N Seaside Av MAP: https://t.co/ZFd4vTz5Aw FS40; DETAILS: https://t.co/uXgdfL1ThP
— LAFD 🔥 (@LAFD) September 26, 2024
“Firefighters have created a large perimeter around the site and are in the defensive mode (keeping their distance with hose lines for protection),” the LAFD said.
No evacuations were ordered early Thursday afternoon.
The 47 Freeway was closed east of Ferry Street.
Refresh this page for updates.
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