The Pitch: Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals

The full Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals schedule is below, with each game being broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, in addition to the LA Galaxy's match against Minnesota United FC being broadcast on FS1, FOX Deportes, TSN, and RDS.

Saturday, November 23

6 New York City FC vs. No. 7 New York Red Bulls (5:30 p.m. ET, Citi Field)
1 LAFC vs. No. 4 Seattle Sounders FC (10:30 p.m. ET, BMO Stadium)

Sunday, November 24

4 Orlando City SC vs. No. 9 Atlanta United (3:30 p.m. ET, Inter&Co Stadium)
No. 2 LA Galaxy vs. No. 6 Minnesota United FC (6 p.m. ET, Dignity Health Sports Park)

The top seed in the Western Conference for the third time in six seasons, LAFC is no stranger to success in its MLS infancy and has emerged as one of the league’s premier clubs since entering in 2018. With three more victories in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, LAFC would move one step closer to cementing its place as the next MLS dynasty and establish head coach Steve Cherundolo, co-president and general manager John Thorrington, and a sensational roster of players including Denis Bouanga, Mateusz Bogusz, and Hugo Lloris, among others as legends of the league.

Only two teams in MLS history have advanced to MLS Cup in three consecutive years: 1996-99 D.C. United, who earned four consecutive berths and three MLS Cup titles, and the 2005-07 New England Revolution, who lost each of the finals they advanced to. Six teams have won two MLS Cup titles over a three-season span:

1996-98 D.C. United (wins in ’96, ’97)
1997-99 D.C. United (wins in ’97, ’99)
2001-03 San Jose Earthquakes (wins in ’01, ’03)
2006-08 Houston Dynamo FC (wins in ’06, ’07)
2011-13 LA Galaxy (wins in ’11, ’12)
2012-14 LA Galaxy (wins in ’12, ’14)

Cherundolo, who has advanced to MLS Cup in each of his first two years as head coach and won in his first season in 2022, has the opportunity to join elite company, as only three head coaches have won at two MLS Cup titles in a three-year span: Bruce Arena (1996 and 1997 D.C. United, 2011, 2012, and 2014 LA Galaxy), Frank Yallop (2001 and 2003 San Jose Earthquakes), and Dominic Kinnear (2006 and 2007 Houston Dynamo FC).

To reach a third consecutive MLS Cup, LAFC will rely on the standout play of Bouanga, who sits only one goal behind Seattle’s Raúl Ruidíaz (nine) for the most postseason goals among active players despite only appearing in 11 playoff matches. With a pair of goals, Bouanga can become just the ninth player in MLS history to reach 10 career postseason goals and join the ranks of Landon Donovan (25), Carlos Ruiz (16), Brian McBride (10), and others in league history.

Will Kuntz is Waking a Sleeping Giant at the LA Galaxy

A decade ago, the LA Galaxy was at the pinnacle of MLS after becoming the first club in league history to lift the MLS Cup for a fifth time. Since then, the club has qualified for the postseason five times in 11 seasons and tried to recapture the magic of their early 2010’s squads. The club attempted to do so by enlisting the star power of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Douglas Costa, Steven Gerrard, and more, but it’s the front office star power of Will Kuntz that has seemingly turned the club’s fortunes this season.

After leading cross-town rivals LAFC to two Supporters’ Shields and an MLS Cup title between, Kuntz became the LA Galaxy’s General Manager at the end of 2023 to oversee first-team soccer operations through the academy, including scouting, player acquisitions, salary cap and budgets. His savvy management of the MLS roster rules brought in Belgian First Division champion Joseph Paintsil, Japanese First Division champions Miki Yamane, and Gabriel Pec, a 23-year-old rising star from Brazil, in January in addition to summer-signing Marco Reus, a former German National Team Player of the Year.

Alongside proven MLS stars in Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig, as well as support from intraleague signings in John Nelson, Edwin Cerrillo, and John McCarthy, Kuntz’s big signings in his early tenure as GM of the Galaxy have hit the ground running, and it’s shown in the club’s first top-two finish in the Western Conference since they last won MLS Cup presented by Audi in 2014 and the club tying its record of goals scored (69) in a 34-game regular season during that same year.

Now with Pec freshly named MLS Newcomer of the Year and the offensive pieces firing on all cylinders with nine goals in two games so far this postseason, Kuntz’s first full season at the helm of the Galaxy’s roster building could see him face off against his former side, LAFC, in the Western Conference Final in a battle between two beasts he created in MLS.

Stefan Frei – Most Underrated Player in MLS History

The key player in Seattle’s two-game sweep of the Houston Dynamo in the Round One Best-of-3 Series was Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who proved to be a brick-wall in back-to-back penalty-kick shootouts. Frei, who is one of only four MLS goalkeepers to have appeared in more than 400 career games, continues to achieve remarkable heights in his standout career and a third MLS Cup title would move him into the echelon of the most underrated players in league history.

Despite never having been named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year or a Best XI selection, Frei has compiled one of the greatest goalkeeper resumes in MLS annals. He ranks second all-time in regular-season clean sheets (116), third in goalkeeper games played (407), and fourth in saves (1,266), while ranking in the top 20 all-time in goals against average (1.24) among players who have appeared in 200-or-more games. Frei has taken it up a notch in the postseason, appearing in 34 games and ranking second overall with 14 clean sheets, fifth with 102 saves, and in the top 15 in goals against average (0.93) among goalkeepers who have appeared in at least 15 playoff games.

With an MLS Cup victory, Frei would join Pat Onstad as one of only two goalkeepers with at least three MLS Cup titles and would further his case as one of the all-time great MLS ‘keepers.

18 Years Ago, Dax McCarty and Óscar Pareja Share Formative Career Moment

As a 37-year-old looking to make an impact after retiring from MLS, Óscar Pareja transitioned from player to assistant coach for FC Dallas in 2006. One of the first projects he worked on – the development of the club’s sixth overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, Dax McCarty.

The task was not smooth sailing for Pareja and McCarty, in 2021, McCarty expanded on a formative moment with the current Orlando City head coach. McCarty was not chosen for Dallas’ opening gameday roster and instead played with the reserve team. Frustrated by this, he played selfishly in the team’s loss with little commitment. Pareja, the coach of the reserve team at the time, lit into McCarty after the game, marking the first big wakeup call of his young career and something he’s always appreciated.

18 years later and a 37-year-old himself now, McCarty meets Pareja again – this time the Eastern Conference Semifinal in what could be the final match of his MLS career. McCarty’s post-playing career future is uncertain – maybe following in Pareja’s footsteps to coaching – but the impact of Pareja on the early stages of the MLS legend’s career is certainly unquestionable.

To assist in your coverage of the 2024 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSsoccer.com/Media-Resources.