Defenders of the Banc - The LAFC Podcast

Send us a text It's Derby Days at Banc of California Stadium, and all eyes of the MLS world descend on downtown Los Angeles for the showdown between LAFC and Carson. The most anticipated game of the year is finally upon us, and you can hear all about it here on Episode 56 of Defenders of the Banc! Vela vs. Zlatan. Bob vs. Schelotto. Olly vs. Gizmo. This isn't the undercard to Wrestlemania; this is...

Send us a text As the season winds down, the excitement at the Banc is heating up! It's time for Episode 55 of Defenders of the Banc! LAFC hosted in-state "rivals" San Jose, and things did NOT go well for the Smurfs. The Black and Gold emerged victorious, to the tune of a 4-0 home beatdown, behind two goals from the future MVP, Carlos Vela, including one that will certainly be up for Goal of the Y...

Send us a text LAFC takes it's talents to sunny Sandy, Utah, and you'll hear all about it on Episode 54 of Defenders of the Banc!  If you weren't able to attend the game, The 3252 did it's best to make you feel right at home while watching the TV broadcast. As always, from the opening kick, all you could hear was the Black and Gold faithful for the full 90'. LAFC had it's chances in the first half...

Send us a text LAFC was back at the Banc, so it's time for another game recap episode from your boys at Defenders of the Banc! Here on Episode 53, re-live the highs, lows, and highs again of the thrilling 4-2 victory over the Jersey Boys. A Carlos Vela continued to prove that he is the MVP of the league this season, notching two assists and a PK goal on the night. It was a night of set-piece succe...

Send us a text Have you ever heard of a midfielder in the center? Or is it center mid? You asked for it, and it's here! The Defenderettes are launching their very own podcast! In this pilot episode, Panda, Scarfette, and Sweet Home Amy reunite after their incredibly successful Women's World Cup recap episodes on Defenders of the Banc (check out the episodes!). They join forces on their new podcast...

Send us a text No game recap? No interview with a special guest? No problem. The boys at Defenders of the Banc tackle their first transfer window episode!  We focus on moves that either directly effect the roster of the Black and Gold or the teams chasing us for the Supporters Shield. LAFC takes a loss on local product Christian Ramirez as he gets shipped to Houston, the much-talked-about signing...

Send us a text The boys of the Black and Gold made the cross-country trek to the home of the Patriots, Gillette Stadium, to take on the Revolution. We hit the half-century mark on this episode, recapping the 2-0 win in The House That Tom Brady Built.  It was a solid-but-not-spectacular performance by LAFC, holding the home team off the scoring sheet while establishing our defensive dominance at ti...

Send us a text It's All Star Week in the MLS, so the boys at Defenders of the Banc thought it would be a great idea to showcase a few All Stars of our own on this surprise episode! It's Episode 49, and we couldn't think of a better All Star to have with us than Jonathan "Ultra Gringo" Reimer of the Shoulder 2 Shoulder Podcast! Four LAFC players represented well in the 2019 edition of the MLS All S...

Send us a text LAFC comes back home to Banc of California Stadium to take on the defending MLS champs, Atlanta United, and with that comes Episode 48 of Defenders of the Banc. Fresh off the heels of a stinging defeat at Carson, the Black and Gold were looking to bounce back to their winning ways and stay ahead of the pack for our first piece of hardware, the Supporters' Shield.  The fans were bare...

Send us a text Round 1 of the 2019 edition of the Battle for Los Angeles took place in Carson last night, and with that comes the newest episode of Defenders of the Banc, featuring your boys, Christian "Filly" Filimon and "The Scarf" J.R. Lebert. It was deja vu all over again as Carson defeated the Black and Gold (and camouflage?) of LAFC, 3-2. It was a tale of two all stars. Two goals by captain...

Send us a text In this very special episode of Defenders of the Banc, Filly and The Scarf record another chapter in their "Stories from the Stadium" series! The boys were privileged enough to be invited to the Univision HQ in Westchester, CA, which is also the site of the famous YouTube TV Studios, home of all the Black and Gold pre and post-game action and so much more!  We sit down with the voic...

Send us a text Didn't we just do this?! Yes! Not even 48 hours later, our boys in Black and Gold were back in action, and this time, it counts in the MLS standings! It's time for Episode 45, our recap of LAFC's 3-1 comeback win on the road in beautiful, 91-degree Houston, Texas.  With a lineup that featured just THREE regular starters (Tyler Miller, Steven Beitashour, and Mark-Anthony Kaye), LAFC...

Send us a text LAFC's run in the 2019 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has come to an end. On this episode of Defenders of the Banc, a very frustrated Filly and The Scarf recap the Black and Gold's 1-0 loss at home this season, our first loss at the Banc, to a team that we are quickly learning to hate, the Portland Timbers.  This episode is short and full of angst, as watching LAFC crash ou...

Send us a text We got 4 stars! We got 4 stars! On our latest episode of Defenders of the Banc, Panda, Scarfette, and Sweet Home Amy give you a fun-filled and highly energetic recap of the 2019 Women’s World Cup Finale in France! We give you the tactical play-by-play, talk about Rapinoe’s glory and Lavelle‘s much deserved goal, and even throw in a request for an NWSL team to (finally) come to Los A...

Send us a text LAFC was back at the Banc for an MLS match for the first time on over a month, so that means the boys of Defenders of the Banc are back with another jam-packed recap episode here on the podcast! It's time for Episode 42 of Defenders of the Banc! As we wish a very happy birthday to our newest young star, Pablo Sisniega, we recap the incredible 6-1 win over the Traveling Marc dos Sant...

Send us a text Defenders of the Banc are back, featuring Panda, Scarfette, and Sweet Home Amy, to recap the USWNT’s Women’s World Cup semi-final vs. England. The girls skip the bacon and sip some tea to celebrate the 2-1 victory! Tune in for the game recap, birthday cheers for Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn, some fun stats, and a look ahead to the final against the Dutch. Between the PK talk and the...

Send us a text Another episode of Defenders of the Banc... another massive win by our boys on the road! It's as if they knew that no good 4th of July celebration is complete without some tasty BBQ. LAFC served up Sporting KC on a platter, 5-1, in a game full of first and fantastic finishes and, more importantly, showed that the loss to Colorado just a few days earlier was nothing more than a small...

Send us a text On our latest episode of Defenders of the Banc, Panda, Scarfette, and Sweet Home Amy recap the USWNT’s World Cup Quarterfinal victory over France. We start the episode off with a very important debate over bacon, we talk a little about our next opponent England, aka Three Lionesses, and we tell you what to expect from the tournament moving forward. We shout out our girls from the Ca...

Send us a text The MLS season is back underway (after a 27 day break!), so the boys are back with another game recap here on Episode 38! Unfortunately, the second half of the season is off to a bit of an auspicious start, as LAFC falls 1-0 in Colorado.  Filly and The Scarf break down the breakdown near Denver, including Pablo Sisniega and Josh Perez making their first MLS starts, friend-of-the-pod...

Send us a text Here comes another episode of Defenders of the Banc, and it’s the next installment of our interview series, Stories from the Stadium. As lifelong punk and hardcore fans, Filly and The Scarf had to pinch themselves after this one.  The legendary band Suicidal Tendencies, first formed in 1980 out of Venice, CA, is unquestionably on the Mount Rushmore of thrash/punk bands. Bands like G...

Send us a text On our latest episode of Defenders of the Banc, Panda and Scarfette recap the USWNT’s World Cup Quarterfinal victory over Spain. Later in the episode, the girls are joined in the third chair by co-host Amy, on location in Kentucky! After a quick “Wait, What?” moment, the girls touch on all the VAR decisions in the WWC, specifically highlighting the Brazil vs. France game. The girls...

Send us a text The Defenders of the Banc are back, this time with another of our Stories from the Stadium! We love being able to tell great stories and introduce the LAFC community to great people from around the stadium. Our latest episode, Episode 35, is a fantastic interview with two of the members of the band All Good Things, lead vocalist Dan Murphy and guitarist Andrew Bojanic. Not only are...

Send us a text In this episode, Panda and Nina bring you the latest recaps from matches of the Group Stage of the Women’s World Cup for the US Women’s National Team: matches with Thailand, Chile, and Sweden. We also bring you a little history about the evolution of the Women’s World Cup. Get to know our co-host in the third chair, Amy Acevedo, aka “SweetHomeAmy”, as we talk about the potential mat...

Send us a text The Open Cup is back underway, and with it comes Episode 33 of Defenders of the Banc! The Black and Gold were back at The Banc, and boy did it feel good. On this episode, Filly and The Scarf break down the burial of the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-1, as LAFC moves on to the Elite 8 of the Open Cup.  Hear all about the fantastic, hard-fought win, including our thoughts on the rising star...

Send us a text Episode 32 is here, along with the Open Cup, the Gold Cup, Copa America, and the Women’s World Cup! Here on Defenders, we thought we take a small break from all the cups (and shooey’s!) to sit down with an incredible father and son duo, Mathew and Nima Bahri.  Mathew has been covering soccer for Persian radio in Los Angeles for nearly 20 years, the last two of which have involved co...