LOS ANGELES — Stars were in the stands and on the pitch at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night as the CONCACAF Champions Cup returned for a glitzy quarterfinal pitting the Los Angeles Football Club and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF.
Despite the many familiar faces operating on both sides of the ball, it was LAFC’s Nathan Ordaz, a 21-year-old homegrown product from Van Nuys, who earned the attention.
Ordaz’s goal in the 57th minute held up as LAFC outworked and stifled the previously unbeaten Herons, claiming a critical 1-0 victory in the first leg of the two-match series in front of a sell-out crowd of 22,207.
Receiving the ball in the middle of the field, Ordaz turned toward goal while holding off iconic Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets. Three quick touches gave Ordaz the room he needed to strike a low knuckler from 24 yards out that cleared diving Argentine goalkeeper Oscar Ustari’s outstretched arms.
To that point, neither team had manufactured an overtly dangerous chance, but not for a lack of effort or quality.
The goal came as LAFC turned up the temperature on Miami, whose inability to connect through saw Messi and Suarez with more shakes of the head and skyward glances than shots on goal.
The LAFC midfield did its job and the team’s collective defending was enough to keep it scoreless through the first half, when Coach Steve Cherundolo’s team struck a balanced tone – avoiding the pitfalls of overaggressiveness and the trap of timidity.
LAFC and Ordaz also benefited from Jamaican referee Oshane Nation’s decision not to penalize the youngster who started in the middle of the attack between Denis Bouanga and Cengiz Ünder.
A skirmish with Inter Miami defender Maxi Falcón midway through the first half resulted in a video review for a red card, but Nation ruled the infraction of an arm to the face only required a yellow. Cherundolo showed much faith in Ordaz, leaving him in the match until the 90th minute when Marlon entered to provide some defensive insurance.
Miami’s best looks came on free kicks from the top of the box, including one in stoppage time that Messi struck over the crossbar.
The series featuring two of the top teams in MLS now heads to Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium, where another strong performance from LAFC could send the club to the semifinal round against either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Pumas of Liga MX, who played to a 1-1 draw in their first leg.
More to come on this story.
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