Sports
MLS Decision Day 2024: What's at stake for the Galaxy and LAFC?
Major League Soccer has dubbed the final match day of its regular season “Decision Day,” because that’s when the final places in the league’s 18-team playoff tournament are decided.
Only two of those spots remain unclaimed, but that hardly makes this Decision Day anticlimactic. LAFC and the Galaxy both go into their finales Saturday with a chance to finish first in the Western Conference and secure home-field advantage through the first three rounds of the postseason, greatly easing their paths to a possible MLS Cup appearance.
The Galaxy (19-7-7) top the standings with 64 points and will clinch their first conference title in 13 seasons with at least a draw in Houston. A loss, however, opens the door for LAFC (18-8-7), which can jump over its rival by beating San José at home and making up a two-score deficit in goal differential, the key tiebreaker.
“We don’t spend a whole lot of time discussing scenarios. For us, the important thing is doing what we can and focusing on that,” said LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo, who is bidding to become the first coach to take his team to three consecutive MLS Cup finals since New England’s Steve Nichol from 2005 to 2007.
The home-field advantage will make that task much easier since LAFC’s 10 home wins in MLS play trail only the Galaxy’s 13. On the road, LAFC is a mediocre 8-6-3.
The Galaxy’s home-road split is even more pronounced: Greg Vanney’s team hasn’t lost in 16 games at Dignity Health Sports Park but is 6-6-4 away. Still, that’s a far cry from last season when the team won just eight times, finishing 13th in the 14-team conference table.
“We changed the group quite a bit from last year. We brought in guys that make a difference,” midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said of a team that added eight starters since the beginning of the 2023 season.
Although the Galaxy go into Decision Day in the lead, they also face the bigger challenges. Not only will they be on the road, but they’ll also be facing a Houston team fighting for a favorable postseason seeding and be without suspended midfielder Mark Delgado and likely winger Joseph Paintsil (hamstring). Another midfielder, Marco Reus, will have limited playing time because of a hamstring injury.
“Here we are, with everything in front of us to play for,” Vanney said. “We want to go win this game to give ourselves the home field through as much of the playoffs as we can. We’re going there to get a result and try to solidify our position.”
LAFC will be playing at home against the worst team in the league, one that has conceded an MLS-record 75 goals. But the black and gold, who will be playing for the 99th time since the start of the 2023 season, will be looking inward, midfielder Timothy Tillman said.
“If we don’t do our job, then it doesn’t matter what the Galaxy does,” he said. “If we do a good job then everything’s in our hands.”
The only playoff berths unsettled heading into Decision Day are the final two spots in the Eastern Conference, currently occupied by D.C. United and Montreal. Both Philadelphia and Atlanta, which are three points back, can advance with wins if D.C. and Montreal lose.
The playoffs open Tuesday with wild-card games between the eighth- and ninth-place finishers in each conference. The first round, a best-of-three series, begins Oct. 25.
Sports
Growing forfeits in soccer because of ineligible players could spur change to CIF bylaw
Forfeits by high school boys’ soccer teams in the City Section and Southern Section playoffs continued Friday as both sections try to deal with violations of CIF Bylaw 600, which prohibits players from participating in outside leagues during their sports season.
Calabasas pulled out of the Southern Section Division 3 championship because of an ineligible player. Chavez became the sixth City Section school eliminated from the playoffs for using an ineligible player and was replaced by Chatsworth for the City Division I final.
There’s also an allegation about another Southern Section team that could result in another forfeit in the final.
Some high schools thought they had found a solution by not allowing players to play until after their club seasons ended in early December. Cathedral had several players miss its first three games because of several big club tournaments in November and early December.
“You communicate to students and parents,” Cathedral coach Arturo Lopez said. “Unfortunately, there’s more and more academies now.”
Ron Nocetti, the executive director of the CIF, said, “I think we have to have conversations with our sections.”
CIF membership repeatedly has rejected the proposal of getting rid of Bylaw 600. Schools don’t want to have their coaches battling it out weekly with club coaches, which also would place additional pressure on athletes dealing with school work and then having to do double workouts.
The balancing act for students already is tough enough, with the amount of club teams growing in a lot of sports because it’s a lucrative business. The CIF briefly suspended the rule during the pandemic in 2020 but quickly reinstated it.
The problem is club soccer programs are holding competitions in the middle of the high school season, and players, knowing the rule that you can’t play high school and club at the same time, apparently have decided to try to do both with the hope of not getting caught.
This year, they are getting caught. Emails alleging violations started arriving to City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos before the semifinals. If a player is found to have played club, the high school team has to forfeit, and if it happens during the playoffs, the team is eliminated.
Usually the pressure is on schools to make sure rules are not violated, but for Bylaw 600, schools can do everything right and still be punished for a player violating the rule on their own.
Several leagues are expected to present proposals to get rid of Bylaw 600. Nocetti said membership might be open to adopting changes.
“Maybe this is a tipping point for schools saying maybe it’s time to make a big change with the rule,” he said.
Sports
Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones
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Anthony Richardson Sr.’s future in Indianapolis faces more uncertainty than ever.
The Indianapolis Colts granted Anthony Richardson, the team that used the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the quarterback, permission to explore a trade. His agent, Deiric Jackson, confirmed the latest development in the 23-year-old’s tumultuous career to ESPN on Thursday.
Veteran quarterback Daniel Jones beat out Richardson in a preseason competition for the starting job. Jones made the most of another opportunity as an NFL starter, helping the Colts win eight of their first 10 games of the 2025 regular season.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson heads off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
However, his season was ultimately derailed by an Achilles injury. The setback came two years after he tore an ACL with the New York Giants. The Colts appear ready to move forward with Jones, clouding Richardson’s future in Indianapolis.
Jones is set to become a free agent in March, meaning the Colts must either use the franchise tag or sign him to a new deal. Richardson has started just 15 games in three seasons with the Colts, his tenure largely shaped by injuries.
A shoulder surgery limited Richardson to four games during his rookie campaign, while a series of setbacks cost him four games in 2024.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for an open receiver during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
Richardson suffered what was described as a “freak pregame incident” during warmups last season, landing him on injured reserve after attempting just two passes in two games in 2025. He has thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in his NFL career.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that the vision problems stemming from Richardson’s orbital fracture last October are “trending in the right direction.” He added that Richardson has been “cleared to play.”
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to return to the Colts next season.
When asked about Richardson’s standing with the Colts moving ahead, Ballard replied, “I still believe in Anthony.”
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Sports
Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational
William Hudson, a 14-year-old freshman golfer, shot 71 on Monday at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills to win the Servite Invitational.
“It was very important to me and my school,” Hudson said.
Some think it’s the first time a St. John Bosco student won an invitational title.
Hudson is a straight-A student who picked up his first golf club when he was 3. He has a daily routine involving practicing at 6 a.m. before heading to school. He’s also enrolled in a school entrepreneur program that involves taking classes at a junior college that will qualify for college credits.
“They are long days, but I get through it,” Hudson said.
He comes from a family that enjoys golf. His great-grandfather played until his death at 98 last year.
“I love how it can take me to interesting places and meet interesting people,” Hudson said. “I can play for the rest of my life. It’s a lifelong sport.”
It’s looking like another strong year for golfers in Southern California, with several individual champions returning, including Jaden Soong of St. Francis and Grant Leary of Crespi.
Now Hudson has thrust himself into the conversation.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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