2022 Western Conference Semifinal: LAFC vs LA Galaxy (Derby de LA)

Lore & Background

The Derby de LA predates LAFC's existence by nearly two decades. Galaxy, as a charter-era club, built the foundation of professional soccer in the city, and for years they were the only LA team in MLS. When LAFC arrived in 2014 with a bold red-and-blue identity and an immediately passionate fanbase, the rivalry was born almost overnight. It is a rivalry of neighborhoods, of identity, of who truly represents Los Angeles on the pitch.

Playoff derbies carry a different gravity than regular-season fixtures. There is no next week, no rematch, no consolation. The 2022 Western Conference Semifinal placed the two clubs in that knife-edge scenario, and the atmosphere in the stadium reflected a city split down the middle. The noise, the tension, the history compressed into ninety minutes plus stoppage—this is the derby at its most distilled.

LAFC's progression through this round kept their 2022 playoff run alive and set up a Western Conference Final that would test them against a different kind of opponent. For the Galaxy faithful, the elimination stung in a way regular-season losses rarely do. For the red-and-blue side, it was validation that the younger club could stand toe-to-toe with the city's original in the moments that matter most.

In Their Own Story

The stadium hums before kickoff. Two sets of scarves—red and blue on one side, silver and blue on the other—create a visual split that looks almost like a flag. The pitch is immaculate, the floodlights cutting through a thin coastal haze. You can feel the specific weight of a playoff derby: no one is here to enjoy a draw. Every touch is a declaration. The first few minutes are a war of nerve—tight marking, short passes, a crowd that roars at every challenge as though it were a knockout. Then the match finds its rhythm, and the city holds its breath. When the final whistle sounds, one side erupts, the other falls silent, and a million group chats light up before the players have even reached the tunnel.

Reader's Guide

Stakes: one win, one elimination, and the entire identity of a city's soccer split in two.

The match opens with a tense, physical first half—both sides probing, neither willing to commit. The crowd noise is a constant, a wall of sound that swells with every challenge and dips with every turnover. You can feel the two fanbases turning away from each other in the stands, a physical divide in the noise.

The turning point comes as the match enters its decisive stretch: a moment of quality breaks the deadlock, and suddenly the energy shifts. The winning side's end of the stadium becomes a cauldron, the losing side's a stunned, silent block. The broadcast desk is loud, the crowd is louder.

The aftermath is immediate and raw. Players collide in celebration or collapse to the turf. The losing side walks off to a silence that is somehow worse than boos. The winning side's locker room becomes a party before the final whistle has fully faded from memory.

Why it still gets brought up in group chats: because in a city that claims both teams, a playoff derby is the one night where the split isn't abstract. It's personal. It's the night one side gets to say 'we are LA soccer' and the other side has to live with the silence for another year.

Did You Know?

• The Derby de LA predates LAFC by nearly two decades—Galaxy have been the city's MLS presence since the league's early years, making the rivalry a story of an established identity meeting a new one.
• Playoff derbies between the two clubs are rare, which makes each meeting carry disproportionate emotional weight compared to regular-season fixtures.
• LAFC was founded in 2014, meaning the 2022 playoff derby was one of the early chapters in what is still a relatively young rivalry in MLS history.
• The single-elimination format means there is no second chance—the stakes are absolute, which is why the atmosphere in these matches is consistently described as unlike any other fixture in the league.