Following a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in the Round of 16, LAFC’s Leagues Cup journey continues with a trip to Seattle to face the Sounders in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals on Saturday, August 17.

In its second season, the Leagues Cup is a World Cup-style tournament involving all 47 teams from Liga MX and MLS. At stake is the Leagues Cup trophy and three automatic berths in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.

The rivalry between LAFC and Seattle goes back much further than this young tournament. LAFC played its first-ever game at Lumen Field in March 2018, winning 1-0. Seattle knocked the Black & Gold out of the MLS Cup playoffs in 2019 and 2020. LAFC got revenge last November, defeating the Sounders 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals at Lumen. The two clubs will meet again in less than two weeks in the US Open Cup semifinals.

“It’s funny that we keep seeing each other in these big games,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said after practice on Friday, August 16. “I think it speaks to the accomplishments of both clubs. Seattle has been at the top of the Western Conference for the last five to seven years, winning trophies and cups, and LAFC has continued to do that. So I think the rivalry has been more born out of both teams battling for the top spot over the last couple of years, and that’s why at the end of a lot of these tournaments – at the end of the Open Cups, at the end of the Leagues Cup – we often find ourselves playing against each other.”

However, the Sounders have not beaten the Black & Gold in any competition since May 2021. The two titans have faced each other twice this year in the MLS regular season, with LAFC defeating the Sounders 2-1 at BMO Stadium on February 24 and 3-0 at Lumen Field on July 20. Seattle’s last non-penalty goal against LAFC came more than two years ago, in July 2022.

Denis Bouanga, who scored the only goal in LAFC’s playoff win over Seattle last fall, has scored 10 Leagues Cup goals over the past two summers, putting him level with Lionel Messi (10) at the top of the competition’s all-time goalscoring list.