Sports

LAFC is surging as the hottest team in MLS. Will it carry the team to another title?

Published

2 years ago

June 14, 2024

LAFC is surging as the hottest team in MLS. Will it carry the team to another title?

Eleven games into this MLS season, LAFC had lost as many games as it had won and had scored as many goals as it had given up. The numbers were as mediocre as the team’s play — and mediocre wasn’t going to cut it for a franchise seeking a third straight trip to the MLS Cup final.

But those numbers didn’t add up for coach Steve Cherundolo, who thought the record didn’t reflect his team’s performance.

“I can create a statistic that puts me in a fantastic light. Any player can,” he said. “I can find one that puts them in a horrible light. So I try not to draw conclusions from that.

“What is fair to say is the team is playing better.”

With five straight wins — all shutouts — LAFC is playing better than any team in MLS as it returns from a two-week break Saturday in Orlando, Fla., the first game of a five-day road trip that also will take it to Austin next week.

Defender Aaron Long said the team took its early struggles in stride, knowing they wouldn’t last.

“We were confident in our abilities,” he said. “Every team, throughout the season, goes through ups and downs right? We were in a little bit of a down moment, we had things that weren’t falling our way.

“Then we kind of got ourselves out of that and got over the hump. Now we feel like we’re on a roll.”

Well, they were on a roll, anyway. Because of the vagaries of the MLS schedule, LAFC’s most recent game was June 1. Long said most of the players used the break to heal and rest — he went to San Diego with his family for three days. But now they’re eager to get back to business.

“We feel like there’s a reset button,” he said. “We want to start the next stretch of the season as good as we can. It was good to go on the break on a high like that.

“The mood is good and we’re champing at the bit to get back out there.”

LAFC midfielder Ilie Sánchez, left, heads the ball in front of FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira during an LAFC win on June 1.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Cherundolo said LAFC’s uneven start was magnified by the team’s success in winning two Western Conference championships, a Supporters’ Shield and an MLS Cup in the last two seasons.

“It’s L.A. and it’s OK,” he said. “We understand our role and our reputation and we feel perfectly comfortable with high expectations.”

Part of the reason they weren’t meeting those expectations was a defense that started May by giving up three goals in a 3-1 loss to last-place San José, the team with the worst goal differential in MLS. That performance left goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who started the last two World Cup finals for France, ranked as the worst player at his position in MLS.

But Lloris and the team haven’t given up a goal since, the five consecutive shutouts and 480 scoreless minutes both setting club records. Add in 125 consecutive scoreless minutes in two U.S. Open Cups wins and LAFC hasn’t conceded a goal in 575 minutes in all competition and hasn’t trailed in its last seven games.

“For defenders, it’s kind of what we want to do,” center back Jesús Murillo, speaking in Spanish, said of the scoreless streak. “The beginning of the season was difficult and we had to make some adjustments, we had to get better. Now we’ve done that.”

That surge has carried the team to second in the conference and fourth in the Supporters’ Shield standings with half a season to play.

“There’s definitely a better sense of team defending,” Long said of LAFC, which added two defenders in addition to Lloris since last season, resulting in a period of adjustment at the start of the schedule. “I don’t think it’s the back four or the back six in particular, but the group as a whole. There’s been a lot of stability, a lot of clarity in what we’re trying to do.”

That’s important because for all the attention the team has gotten for its offense — an LAFC player has won the MLS Golden Boot three times since 2019 — the team has won with defense, ranking in the top five in fewest goals given up in each of its three best seasons.

LAFC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz celebrates after scoring against Minnesota on May 29.

But here’s the scary thing for opponents: LAFC (9-4-3) is almost certain to get better this summer with the addition of Olivier Giroud, the French national team’s all-time leading scorer. Giroud, who tied for third in Italy’s Serie A with 15 goals for AC Milan this season, signed a designated-player contract with LAFC last month and will join the team after his duties with France in the European Championships are over.

He’ll likely make his LAFC debut in the Leagues Cup in August, joining an attack led by Denis Bouanga, the reigning MLS scoring champion who has scored four times in his last five games.

Good fortune, it would seem, is starting to snowball for LAFC. Cherundolo, nonetheless, still says what matters most is the next game, not the last one.

“It’s a perspective thing,” he said. “You can think in terms of streaks or you can think game to game or even half to half. So the streak is just one game.

“This is the space we’re in mentally right now and not thinking in streaks.”

Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

2 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away.

“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”

Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.

“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”

Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.

“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”

Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.

“Yes.”

Sports

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

Published

14 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.

Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.

On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.

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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.