McCarthy ensures MLS Cup gets Hollywood ending

LOS ANGELES — Not even Hollywood finest could have written the script that played out Saturday in the MLS Cup title win for LAFC.

Headlined by leading men such as Carlos Vela, Giorgio Chiellini and Gareth Bale, who are massive stars on their own, LAFC were heavy favorites against the Philadelphia Union as they entered the raucous stage of Banc of California Stadium.

With the backdrop of LAFC’s art deco crest and iconography across the venue that harks back to the golden years of the movie industry, the black-and-gold players and their Union opposition put on a performance that will go down as one of the greatest matches in the history of MLS.

Dramatic goals first stepped up as the protagonists. LAFC took the lead twice, only to be hit back by two equalizers from Philadelphia that sent the game into extra time. With a nervous energy that seeped from the pitch and into the stands, the match felt almost chess-like in extra time as both sides hoped to avoid mistakes.

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In the second half of extra time, the plot then began to careen off the tracks. Near the 110th minute, LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau sprinted off his line to stop Union striker Corey Burke, unfortunately leading to a horrific injury for the LAFC player and an ensuing red card for his challenge. With only 10 players on the field, head coach Steve Cherundolo was forced to bring on backup goalkeeper John McCarthy — a 30-year-old alternate with only a single appearance in 2022, which was a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids in May that featured two goals off penalties.

So in stepped McCarthy, an unlikely hero in the spotlight and someone who just so happens to be from Philadelphia. Outside of perhaps some die-hard LAFC supporters, many MLS fans likely didn’t know much about the goalkeeper who was playing lower league soccer a few years ago.

With a roaring applause from the now-booming crowd at Banc of…