Head Coach: Dekel Keinan
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium
2024 Regular Season: 14W-2D-2L, 44 pts, finished 1st in the NISA Western Conference, 2024 NISA Playoffs: Defeated Irvine Zeta FC 3-2 in pk’s after 1-1 draw AET in the NISA championship final
2024 Season Recap:
The Los Angeles Force completed its sixth season in the NISA league, finishing first in the NISA Western Conference with 37 points. After getting knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 NISA playoffs by eventual champions Flower City Union last year, the LA Force made significant changes to its roster and coaching staff. LA’s previous head coach, Matt Morse, was replaced by Dekel Keinan, who would take over in a player/coaching role. In the offseason, the Force added some big names to its squad, such as Michael Salazar, Josue Cartagena, Garrett Hogbin, Aydan Bowers, and Victor Blanco. Goalkeeper Seth Torman was signed to replace longtime Force goalkeeper Brandon Gomez. The LA Force began its season in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 win over Redlands FC in the first round. The Force would fall 1-0 to USL League One side Spokane Velocity FC on the road in the second round of the Open Cup. The first NISA match of the season for the Force was undoubtedly an entertaining one. The Force fought back down 2-0 to 405 derby rivals Irvine Zeta FC, scoring two late goals from Bryan Ortega and Chila to escape with a 2-2 draw. The Force followed that up with a 4-0 win against Arizona Monsoon FC and then lost 2-0 at home to Capo FC to end the month of April. After a tough start, the Force turned things around in May. LA won all three of their matches that month, defeating Irvine Zeta FC, Capo FC, and Arizona Monsoon FC. The Force began the month of June with a 1-0 loss to Irvine Zeta FC; after that, the Force went unbeaten the rest of the regular season. LA defeated Arizona twice(second match forfeit win), Capo FC, and got a draw against Zeta FC between June and July. In the NISA Independent Cup, the Force shut out NISA Nation side Laguna FC 7-0 in round one. Lobos FC forfeited their round two matchup, so the LA Force advanced to the West regional championship, where they defeated SC Union Maricopa 5-0. Down the stretch, the Force won their final six regular season matches and extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches (Note: two matches against Arizona Monsoon were forfeit wins). Many role players step up for the Force throughout the season, including Mouhamadou War, Dante Brigida, Bryan Ortega, and Joel Quist. Michael Salazar finished as the club’s top goal scorer with nine goals. Goalkeeper Seth Torman tied for first in the NISA Golden Glove race with six clean sheets with Irvine Zeta FC goalkeeper Mitch North, but LA Force goalkeeper Seth Torman edged out North for the award by having a better save percentage (75.61 percent to 71.79 percent) and average conceded goals (.7692 per match to .8462 per match). LA finished in the top spot in the NISA Western Conference, made the playoffs, and received a bye to the NISA Championship final after the Maryland Bobcats FC were excluded from the postseason. In the championship match, the Force needed to go all the way to penalties to defeat rivals Irvine Zeta FC 3-2 after a 1-1 draw after extra time to win their first NISA championship trophy. The 405 derby has grown into an intense rivalry in NISA between these two sides, with Los Angeles holding the edge over Irvine Zeta FC this time in their seventh meeting on penalties and a 3-3-1 overall record. The Force finished their 2024 season on a 12 match unbeaten streak.
Offseason Updates
I haven’t heard much from the 2024 NISA Champions LA Force since their season ended in October. They’ve been too busy celebrating their championship run because that’s all I’ve been seeing on their post on their social media pages lately. I do know their owner, Bob Friedland, is working with the city of Long Beach to make it their long-term home. The LA Force’s original home when they joined the league in its first season in 2019 was Rio Hondo Stadium at Rio Hondo College in Whittier for three seasons. The Force played across various venues in Southern California during the 2022 season and spent the 2023 season at Championship Stadium in Irvine before settling on Veterans Memorial Stadium as their home venue this season. The club hasn’t announced any roster moves or what it has planned for 2025. However, the club has announced that it will host open player tryouts soon.
I’ll keep you posted if any more news develops regarding the Los Angeles Force during the offseason. What are your thoughts on the LA Force’s 2024 season in NISA? Let me know in the comments section below. That concludes my 2024 NISA season recap for all the clubs this year. I’ll see you all next year, so take care of yourselves, and I wish you all a Happy New Year!
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