The House of the Mouse became a house of horrors for LAFC, as the pre-tournament favorites were bounced by, of all teams, the cinderella story of the COVID Cup, Orlando City SC, led by, of all players, Joao Moutinho. LAFC loses on PK’s 5-4 after ending regulation locked at 1. This week should have been a celebration of epic proportions at Banc of California Stadium. The All Star Game was set to pit a team of Liga MX foes against a likely LAFC-laden MLS All Star squad at the Cathedral of the Black and Gold. Unfortunately, the hell that has been most of 2020 cancelled those plans, pushing them back at least a year. In light of these crazy times, at least we had the MLS Is Back tournament to look forward to. Well, the run is over, after a decidedly-tired looking but valiant effort from our boys. Another BWP goal was not enough, as a 90th minute equalizer from Joao sent the game to PK’s. Tied after one round, Jordan Harvey unfortunately bangs his shot off the crossbar, and the hopes of LAFC advancing were tenuous at best. Though LAFC was able to see out their subsequent rounds, so was Orlando, and, just like that, the dream of hoisting the COVID Cup was over. It’s out of the bubble and back to L.A. for the Black and Gold. The world has taken notice of Diego Rossi. Bradley Wright-Phillips has found the magic that he had for so many years in New Jersey. The tournament was finally the coming out party for Brian Rodriguez that we were waiting for, with 2 goals and 4 assists. And, in our humble opinion, we look to have our #1 keeper in Kenneth Vermeer. All that being said, it’s an unfortunate exit for the favorites. Licking our wounds is never easy, and this one certainly hurts, but we do our best to keep it nice and regular for you as well, with two “Wait, What?!” moments, This Day In LAFC History, and the usual banter back and forth. Why does Filly have some ‘splaining to do? When will Scarfstradamus get one right again? And will the Defenders ever be able to walk around Vietnam without being mobbed? (You’ll hear why, don’t worry.) Please make sure to stick around for the end of the episode for our heartfelt tribute to the godfather himself, Jerry Jimenez of Heart of LAFC. Thank you for listening as we head to Episode 110!