In a Southern California showdown as dramatic as it was physical, USL League One side AV ALTA FC bested MLS NEXT Pro’s Los Angeles FC 2, 2-1, in extra time.
Tuesday night’s final showdown pitted two third-division sides from rival leagues against each other on a chilly night at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, and LAFC 2 got the better jump out of the starting gate. While neither team scored in the opening 45, los Halconcitos led practically every other metric in that stretch, out-possessing and out-shooting the Antelope Valley hosts. However, in a taste of things to come, LA also had to make an extremely early injury sub when right back Josh Santiago went down in just the ninth minute of play.
After a halftime stadium light show set to the sweet sounds of Steve Aoki and Maná, the visitors’ health woes continued into the second half, starting with center back Kenny Nielsen. Arguably LA’s best player up to that point, his injury sub made it two starting defenders down in 55 minutes. All the while, the attack kept clicking at the other end of the pitch, and it would soon finally add up to something major. In the 64th minute, winger Sebastian Nava made a nice pass to midfielder DeCarlo Guerra, who smashed it home with a right-footed strike to give Los Angeles the all-important lead.
With LA’s defense getting more crucial by the minute, disaster struck their back line once again. ALTA striker Emmanuel Alaribe had already shown a willingness to go for Puskas nominees, including an overhead kick that sailed high right before Guerra’s goal. However, in a chaotic 70th-minute scramble right in front of the LAFC 2 net, Alaribe’s bicycle kick missed the ball entirely and instead got all of Christian Díaz’s head. It wasn’t malicious, but it had to be a yellow card, and while the concussion sub effectively gave the visitors bonus swaps in the long run, it came at the cost of not having either of their starting center backs available for the final stretch.
That made things all the easier for ALTA, who’d played a significantly more animated and effective game since returning from halftime, but LA goalie Cabral Carter had risen just as eagerly to this challenge, looking unbeatable in open play. It would take some combination of smart play and dumb luck to get past him, and in the 80th minute, that exact mix arrived. In a post-free kick storm of chaos, Emmanuel Alaribe found his redemption, taking a bounce from Osvaldo Lay and tapping it in for the equalizer. With neither side satisfied, they both kept throwing haymakers in an attempt to end this in regulation, but no one found their mark — and as is seemingly tradition in this tournament, the last match of the day went to extra time.
Surprisingly little action ensued in the first bonus half. The biggest highlight was when ALTA substitute Joaquin Acuña attempted a diving header and wound up headbutting the post instead. Fortunately, he was unhurt, and his team remained the less battered of the two, but despite possessing the ball for 68% of that 15-minute stretch, the hosts did little with it.
After a bizarre miscommunication at the start of extra time’s second half effectively let LAFC 2 steal the kickoff, the final 15 proved a more dramatic affair, with the two sides each taking swings at glory. In a microcosm of the earlier regulation, los Halconcitos’ strong start faded into more and more ALTA momentum, but as penalties loomed, the hosts appeared to take a massive blow. In the 119th minute, ALTA manager Brian Kleiban said something to a referee that was apparently so offensive it merited a red card, a decision the home crowd loudly disapproved of.
However, this would prove to mean little. As the final seconds ticked down, ALTA had another corner on their hands. Though Carter made the initial save, Jimmie Villalobos grabbed the rebound, and with a left-footed blast at point-blank range, the ALTA substitute completed the comeback for his side, then took a second yellow for taking off his shirt and had to leave with his manager. Being short handed wasn’t a problem, though, as AV thwarted LA’s last gasps to take the victory.
With this win, AV ALTA are now 2-0-0 all-time in the Open Cup. They continue to sit in the strange position of being undefeated in the tournament where they debuted, but winless everywhere else. With USL-1 matches against Westchester SC and Chattanooga Red Wolves on the horizon, ALTA will hope to shake that status before the Third Round, which is set for April 15 and 16.