Sunday, November 8 | 3:00 p.m. PT
Finley Stadium - Chattanooga, TN
WATCH: FOX LA Plus (Ch. 13), OneFootball.com, MLSNEXTPro.com
For the first time in club history, LAFC2 will play for the MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
The Western Conference champion Black & Gold travels to Tennessee to face Eastern Conference champion Chattanooga FC at Finley Stadium on Sunday , with one more victory standing between LAFC2 and its first league championship.
The sixth-seeded Black & Gold captured its first Western Conference title, the first trophy in the team’s four-year history, with a 1-0 victory away to rival Ventura County FC on October 30. In doing so, LAFC2 became the lowest-seeded team ever to reach the MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
Sunday’s match will be LAFC2’s first appearance in the MLS NEXT Pro Cup and the club’s fourth consecutive road match of the postseason. All the championship action kicks off at 3:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast locally in Los Angeles on FOX LA Plus (Ch. 13) as well as streamed online at OneFootball.com and MLSNEXTPro.com.
A RUN OF FIRSTS
LAFC2 entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season with 45 points from an 11-8-9 record. The Black & Gold proceeded to eliminate three higher-seeded opponents away from home, becoming the lowest-seeded team ever to reach the MLS NEXT Pro Cup Final. The previous lowest seed was No. 4 Austin FC II in 2023, which went on to win the cup.
LAFC has won as many away matches in these playoffs (2W-0L-1D) as it did during the regular season (2W-7L-5D). The Black & Gold opened the playoffs against No. 4 Houston Dynamo 2, advancing in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes. LAFC2 followed that by stunning No. 1 overall seed Austin FC II, 1-0, at Parmer Field, with Sebastian Nava scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time.
The run continued in the Western Conference Final against No. 3 Ventura County FC. Marius Aiyenero scored in the 63rd minute before LAFC2 held off its rival to earn a 1-0 victory, its first Western Conference championship, and a place in the MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
Now LAFC2 has an opportunity to add another milestone. A victory Sunday would give the Black & Gold four consecutive road playoff results over higher-seeded opponents, matching the 3W-0L-1D run by the 2023 Austin FC II side, which also included a draw followed by advancement on penalties.
FROM SIXTH SEED TO WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPION
LAFC2’s path to the final has looked much different from its regular season, when the Black & Gold was almost unbeatable in their friendly confines but went 2W-7L-5D on the road.
The defense has been central to LAFC2’s playoff run. After Houston scored twice in the opening round, LAFC2 has recorded back-to-back postseason shutouts – the first consecutive clean sheets the team has kept since blanking Colorado Rapids 2 (3-0) and Portland Timbers 2 (0-0) in late July-early August.
The performances have also highlighted the young core that has developed together throughout 2026. Nava (age 23) delivered the late winner against Austin, Aiyenero (18) scored the Western Conference championship-winning goal against Ventura County, and goalkeeper Ethan Scally (18, pictured above) has played a central role throughout the postseason, including two saves in the shootout against Houston.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
Chattanooga FC enters the final as the No. 2 seed from the Eastern Conference after finishing the regular season with a 15W-6L-7D record and 56 points, setting club records for wins, points, and final seeding since joining MLS NEXT Pro 2024.
The postseason runs through Finley Stadium, where the Boys in Blue went 10W-2L-2D during the regular season. Chattanooga has carried that form into the playoffs, defeating New York City FC II and CT United FC by identical 3-1 scores before rallying past Columbus Crew 2, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference Final.
Chattanooga trailed Columbus 2-0 inside the opening 20 minutes before Alex McGrath pulled one back just before halftime. Damien Barker John equalized in the 71st minute, and Farid Sar-Sar completed the comeback with the winning goal in second-half stoppage time.
Sunday will mark Chattanooga’s first appearance in the MLS NEXT Pro Cup. The club is also the first independent team in league history to both reach and host the championship match.
WE MEET AGAIN
Chattanooga’s roster includes 42-year-old starting goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović, the oldest player in the league. The English Premier League veteran and former Swiss international played for LAFC in 2023, logging two starts and one clean sheet in the MLS regular season, plus a memorable victory on penalties over Monterey Bay in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup. In that match LAFC (which was in the middle of Concacaf Champions competition) started a lineup of mostly teenagers -- backed by the veteran Jakupović in goal. Jakupović ended up converting a penalty kick in the postmatch shootout and saving two opposing penalties to help LAFC advance (photo below). Current LAFC2 midfielder Bryan Moyado played in that match, as well.
TWO FIRST-TIME FINALISTS
The 2026 MLS NEXT Pro Cup also guarantees a first-time champion. Neither LAFC2 nor Chattanooga FC has previously appeared in the league final, and both clubs enter after winning their first conference championships.
For LAFC2, the opportunity represents the culmination of a breakthrough fourth season, head coach Fabian Sandoval’s first season in charge of the club’s MLS NEXT Pro side, which is composed mainly of LAFC Academy graduates including U.S. Youth National Team star Jude Terry.
Chattanooga’s appearance carries history of its own. Now in its third MLS NEXT Pro season, the independently operated club is the first non-MLS affiliate to advance to the championship match. The club previously played in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) before moving MLS NEXT Pro in 2024.
LAFC2 CAN WIN IF
It remains composed away from home, defends collectively, and capitalizes when their opportunities arrive.
LAFC2 has shown it does not need to control every stage of a match to find a way through. The Black & Gold survived Houston’s comeback, stayed patient for 92 minutes before breaking through against Austin, and protected a one-goal lead for nearly half an hour against Ventura County.
Against a Chattanooga team that has won 13 of its 17 home matches across the regular season and playoffs, LAFC2 will need another disciplined performance. If Terry, Nava, Aiyenero, Tommy Mihalić, Charlie Kosakoff, and captain DeCarlo Guerra (below) can create opportunities while the defense maintains its postseason form, the Black & Gold will have a chance to complete a historic road run to a championship.
CHATTANOOGA FC CAN WIN IF
They use the home-field advantage that carried the independent club throughout the season and establish the attacking rhythm that produced 56 regular-season goals. Last weekend’s win over Crew II was played in the rain, on Finley Stadium’s artificial surface–two factors that affected the flow of the match. Early weather forecasts for Sunday in Chattanooga call for temperatures in the 50s with a slight chance of precipitation.
The Eastern Conference champions have also shown they are comfortable playing from behind. Their comeback against Columbus in the Conference Final turned a two-goal deficit into a victory, with three different players finding the net.
LAFC2 will need to limit those momentum swings and avoid allowing the local crowd - the "Chattahooligans" - to influence the match.
Kickoff from Finley Stadium is set for 3:00 p.m. PT, with the winner becoming the fifth champion in MLS NEXT Pro history. The match will be available locally in Los Angeles on FOX LA Plus (channel 13), as well as online at OneFootball.com and MLSNEXTPro.com.
