Los Angeles Football Club, the reigning MLS champions, have gone four consecutive league matches without earning three points and have dropped to third place in the Western Conference standings.

This past Saturday night, the LAFC, led by Mexican Carlos Vela, had to settle for a 1-1 draw at BMO Stadium against the San Jose Earthquakes.

"We are going through a difficult moment, but we are a good team. I believe in my teammates and friends on this team. We will keep working and we will be better. We have to be patient, these streaks happen during the season, and I'm sure we will bounce back," midfielder Mateusz Bogusz said after the match.

LAFC was the dominant team on the field with 14 shots, 6 on target, against the Quakes' 9 shots, 3 on goal. They dominated possession with 64% and also had a numerical advantage from the 56th minute after the dismissal of the visiting goalkeeper, Daniel.

Cristian Espinoza opened the scoring for San Jose with a counterattack in the 30th minute, beating LAFC defender Mamadou Fall one-on-one. Seven minutes later, LAFC found the equalizer from the penalty spot converted by Denis Bouanga. In the second half, despite pushing forward and creating opportunities in the Quakes' area, the winning goal did not come.

"When you are trailing in the score, you have to put more emphasis on the offensive side, but without neglecting the defense. I think we managed the game very well after conceding the goal, and we fell short. We had good opportunities to score, especially in the second half. The players did enough to win, but they didn't finish their chances," LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said.

This was the seventh occasion in the last eight matches that LAFC has conceded the opening goal and had to come from behind. They have lost four of the last seven games when their opponents scored first. Not only that, but in their last twelve matches, including the U.S. Open Cup elimination match and the CONCACAF Champions League final against Leon, they have only managed to get two wins.

"I told the players that we have to be able to win the game 1-0. We are conceding easy goals at the moment. That needs to stop. I consider our defensive performance in the first half to be poor, just like the other night (against Galaxy). That has to change. In order for us to win a game, we need to have a 90-minute performance and not just 45," Cherundolo said.

The reality is that the LAFC squad is fatigued as they have played ten games in the last 40 days and have key absences. Cherundolo has had to rotate players and manage their minutes. For this match, key players like Carlos Vela and Ilie Sanchez came off the bench in the second half. Captain Vela entered the field in the 72nd minute, replacing Kellyn Acosta, to the applause of the fans.

The black and gold team is dealing with injuries to Jesus Murillo and Sergi Palencia, Aaron Long is away with the United States national team for the Gold Cup, Kellyn Acosta and Timothy Tillman have recently returned from injuries and are not yet 100%, and Mahala Opoku was transferred to Montreal this week, leaving them short of offensive options.

A positive aspect for the team was the return of Senegalese defender Mamadou Fall after a year on loan in Spain with Villarreal. Against the Quakes, it was his first game back with the Los Angeles team. Due to the team's need, he played the full 90 minutes in his first game and paid the price with some mistakes, including the visitors' goal.

LAFC will have two matches next week, hosting St. Louis on Wednesday and playing in Minnesota on Saturday before the All-Star break, a break that the black and gold team undoubtedly needs.

"The team needs a break, I think that's evident," Cherundolo concluded.